I agree, Norman Camera in Kalamazoo is great. In Lansing there is The Camera Shop. They do a great job too and often get Nikon stock in before the big boys. I was able to cancel my B&H backorder for the D800e and pick one up off the shelf for the same price. Had to add the 6%, but at least I got it weeks before I would have.
It's not just the local photo store that is vanishing, and in my opinion it's another case of government screwing the small guy. Hey, I love the "no sales tax" mantra as much as the next guy but it gives the out of state guy a huge advantage over the local retailer. Adding 6% sales tax to a $3000 camera often takes the in-state retailer out of the game. Add free shipping to the deal and they don't have a chance. I for one would love to pay a little more and get all retailers on the same tax playing field.
Just my early morning rant. Need coffee...
There should be no charge for the return if it was because of a product defect.
I even have an original MacPro 1,1 from 2006 that runs very fast with 16gb and an SSD drive. Top-of-the-Line Macs, laptops or desktops, are always upgradeable. We always buy slightly used (refurbished) and save a ton.
ANY Mac will benefit greatly from adding an SSD drive. We are running a macbook Pro 2013, 4 older MacPro desktops, and a MacAir; all with SSD drives. Very, very fast! For a new Mac be sure to check out apple.com and go way to the bottom to find the refurbished models. Deep discounts and an Apple warranty. All of our computers are refurbs! Macsales.com is a great place to buy additional memory and SSD drives. Good luck! -ED
Wow, you really stirred the hornets nest on the Mac vs PC debate. Here's what I know for sure...
My small graphics office has been running MacPros since 2006. NEVER any problem what-so-ever! I just upgraded to a new (used) 2010 model; MacPro 5,1 with 32 gb of ram and a 250gb SSD Drive. It runs everything you can throw at it, and unbelievably fast.
Before that we were running the Mac G4's, before that the original MacII and various other models in between.
I bought this last mac (3 of them) on ebay, but they are readily available from Macsales.com and Powermax.com. You can expect to pay about $1100-$1300 each fully loaded.
Oh yeah, I almost forget... mine is paired with a 30" Apple Cinema monitor at work and a 32" BenQ monitor at home. Lots of room to work!
I'm not a geek either, but I've been on Macs since 1988. Hope this helps.
Ed Shotwell
Hardware Overview:
Model Name: Mac Pro
Model Identifier: MacPro5,1
Processor Name: Quad-Core Intel Xeon
Processor Speed: 3.2 GHz
Number of Processors: 1
Total Number of Cores: 4
L2 Cache (per Core): 256 KB
L3 Cache: 8 MB
Memory: 32 GB
Processor Interconnect Speed: 4.8 GT/s
Wow, this ugly rant is almost enough to make me leave this PHOTOGRAPHY forum for good. Why don't we take on racism, abortion, ISIS? I get enough of this left/right crap everyday. Just take beautiful pictures and leave the politics at home.
thanks... I'll mark it sold. I was confused how to do it.
Too funny!!
I JUST WANT MY LENS!
Thanks! That explains everything. :-)
Just a quick question... I have had the new Nikon 300mm f4 on order since Jan 31st. Just checked again today and it is still on backorder with no anticipated date of arrival. Anyone have any insider scoop on where these lenses are?
Don't get me wrong... I love Epson printers! I've got a 2200 that prints like a champ and an R200 for letters and checks that has never failed me. It's that blasted Stylus Pro 4900 that will not work, ever. I'll bet that over the years I have had at least 10 different Epson models and the Epson V700 scanner and several other Epson scanners. Never a problem. There is a problem with the x900 series of printers that they will not address. -ED
Is it just me or is the fantastic Epson 4900 17" printer the most frustrating, ink sucking, and perpetually clogged printer ever made? When it works the prints are so, so good, but it never, ever works without being coaxed back to life.
I'm just an amateur photographer with a limited budget so the purchase and maintenance of a wide format professional printer is a big deal. I don't ask much though; I just expect it to work when it's fired up; just like my cameras, scanner, computer, smartphone, and all the rest. I doesn't. In fact it never does.
This is my second Epson 4900. The first one died a very premature death at less than 500 prints. Yes, Espon did stand behind it and sent out a replacement right away. All I had to do is box up the 200 lb beast and send it back; haul it down a flight of stairs, and haul the new one upstairs. No problem!
The second printer worked great, but they replaced my less than 500 print model with a heavily used and recycled copy with more than 17,000 prints on the print head. I complained, but to no avail.
Now it is a couple of years later and I've got a whopping 400+ prints on the new (recycled) 4900 and it is hopelessly clogged again. I've tried everything, read everything, called Epson; and now I've got the much feared "1a39" printhead error... it's dead!
Hey, it's Sunday morning and I'm just trying to figure out what to do. From everything I've read, the printer is a goner. Epson has offered to send out service from Detroit (100 miles) for time and materials and mileage with zero guarantee of success. I don't think it's worth the investment and never will be.
I think what really galls me is that Epson is totally unapologetic about the situation. If this were a car there would be a massive nationwide recall ordered. There's no apology, no discount, no replacement... nothing.
So that's my Sunday morning rant. Ideas are welcome. I just wish there was some media that would allow me a place to vent my frustrations with Epson and this "Lemon" of a printer. I'll probably just sip a little more coffee and do some more research into the Canon Prograph wide format printers. :-)