wurtz Loc: Dayton, Ohio

What is your opinion on purchasing a new camera be it thru the camera manufacture such as Nikon, Canon or thru a reliable camera company such as B&H or Adorama.

XKaliber

I was unaware camera manufacturers sold direct to non-retailers. If that is the case, many retailers selling these brands would be VERY unhappy.

Both B&H and Adorama are very reputable outlets and have knowledgable sales reps which can help with questions. I have done business with both and have never been disappointed with the products or the customer service I have received.

John Lawrence

I've purchased through the Nikon Store, B&H and Adorama. They're all good. I do most of my business with B&H. Their service is outstanding, their staff is knowledgeable and they carry everything I need down to the smallest item.

Adorama also has great service and knowledgeable staff but they haven't always had some of the small items I need. The Nikon Store is good but they only deal with one brand. I like dealing with a company that has all of the brands. It's easier to do comparison shopping. Good luck.

wurtz Loc: Dayton, Ohio

Thanks for the response. I was looking at a specific brand of camera and was on their website and thinking of purchasing thru their retail store.

Musket Loc: ArtBallin'

Adorama, Amazon, B&H, Local Photo store are all reputable dealers.

MagicMark

I buy everything through Amazon.com. However, they don't have customer service but they do have people who've purchased your product and will answer detailed questions about it. So, it's like customer service accept the service is through recent customers instead of in-house sells reps.

jdubu Loc: San Jose, CA

I have purchased gear from B&H, Adorama and Canon directly through their online store.

The only difference (if any) between anything I have purchased, is if it is a refurbished from Canon direct, it has a 1 year warranty. Some refurbished from outlets have a shorter warranty.

Depending on what you are looking at, all 3 sources have promotions or sales. I recently picked up a refurbished 85mm 1.8 from the Canon store for $285 during a promotion.

Jtrim Loc: Elmira Heights, NY

Crutchfield is also very good along with B&H,Adorama,Canon & Nikon stores. However if you live in New York you can save 8% tax by buying through Crutchfield and still get the extra discounts that B&H & Adorama offer.

Brooklyn-Camera Loc: Brooklyn, New York City

Why new, what is wrong with refurbished or gently used? Can save a few bucks and put it towards some glass.

sueyeisert Loc: New Jersey

I'd rather buy new a full warranty is worth the extra money.

tainkc Loc: Kansas City

Sony sells direct. They even have a website. Dealers do not get angry because whatever it is at the Sonystore.com, it is the same price at Best buy or places like Adorama. Sony also charges sales tax if applicable, for every state or province. The only advantage with Sony is that you can purchase product that the retailers don't carry. Big whoop.

wurtz Loc: Dayton, Ohio

Thanks all. Its good to know that Sony retail charges tax on purchases from their web site where B&H and Adorama does not.
Nothing wrong at all buying refurbished if its from the camera mfg. themselves in my opinion.

marcomarks Loc: Ft. Myers, FL

I'm not aware of a manufacturer that DOESN'T have an online store actually. I got my Olympus PEN E-PL5 from Olympus in their online store. I got a sale price through them and that's why I did it.

If it weren't for the price, I probably wouldn't do it again because I had to call them and hassle them numerous times to get it. It's my opinion that Olympus should fire the whole U.S. store bunch, shut the store down, and let UPS employees pretend they are an Olympus store and warehouse inventory for Olympus like Dell does. Then you'd get stuff within a day or two.

The employees in the NY store facility lied a different lie every time I called without batting an eye. My order taker initially said I couldn't have the sale price because it was a $50 rebate on ordering an additional lens. I said no - look at your own site and you'll see it's not a rebate but a sale price. She tried it two or three times and I demanded she go to a manager to be allowed to sell it at the advertised price. After that was over, she said it would be shipped next day after my PayPal cleared because shipping was done for that day (at 2:30 p.m.). Two days later another person I talked to said it was shipped the day before - but it wasn't. The first time I called on Friday I got somebody in Costa Rica and he said his computer showed the camera as shipped. He recommended calling Monday. For my second call on Friday I got somebody in NY and they said it would be shipped on Monday because the cameras had just come in from overseas and weren't inventoried yet. On Monday they said it wasn't in stock and and soon as some came in on Wednesday it would be shipped same day. Finally that wasn't a lie and on Wednesday it was finally shipped and Friday I received it.

So the total time from ordering to getting it was 12 days. If I had ordered from B&H or Adorama it would have most likely been here in 3 days max. But I saved a lot because I caught Olympus in a terrible mistake on their website and it was worth the wait.

It would seem advantageous to order from the manufacturer directly but actually there doesn't seem to be an advantage unless they have a discounted price that isn't available from retailers and that's not going to happen very often.

wurtz Loc: Dayton, Ohio

Marcomarks, thanks for the update on your experience with your camera purchase. Seems like some people care less about their jobs and customer service (satisfaction) than other places of business that sell the same product. When I ran a business, customer service was prime and we did well. When sales go down they may wonder why. Looks like B&H and Adorama or other reputable retailer may be the place to purchase in the future.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I would favor a retailer, and let them take the profit.