I received this as an email this morning. This is not a matter of me pushing Service Photo - although it is definitely my photo equipment and supply store of choice - but a comment on the state of the marketplace, related to Internet purchasing. Moreover, could this mark the resurgence of the retail camera store?

I believe that you will be seeing this more and more in the not too distant future. Some states, including NY where I live, require you to declare any and all on-line purchases made from companies outside of NY (and for which sales tax was not charged) when you file your state income tax return. At that time you must pay the tax that should have been collected at the time of purchase. As internet sales have now achieved dominance over store sales, states are losing major tax revenues and those need to be made up.

Oct. 12, 2018


Important Message Regarding Sales Tax

Starting today, many large internet sellers of photo & video gear will be required to charge sales tax to their customers in many states - including customers from Maryland.

As MD's only specialty camera store, we've always worked hard to keep our prices competitive. Our prices for most major brands of gear & accessories are identical to those of our largest online competitors. Still, many Maryland photographers have purchased their cameras, lenses, lighting, & accessories from outside MD, simply to avoid the 6% sales tax. This disadvantage has now been erased, and we are now on an equal playing field with our online, out-of-state competitors.

We're hoping that this new development will allow us to serve more Maryland photographers than ever before. Of course, we'd love to welcome everyone to our Baltimore showroom & present our wide selection of new & used camera gear. But, we're equally excited to ship camera gear to photographers from Western MD, the Eastern Shore, & other outlying areas of MD who have traditionally ordered from sources out-of-state. (Ground Shipping is always free for orders over $50)

Our business outside MD is very small, & we do not need to charge sales tax to those customers at this time. We will monitor this situation continuously, and keep you informed if anything changes.

Please contact burke@servicephoto.com with any questions about the new sales tax changes, or anything else. We appreciate the opportunity to serve photographers throughout the USA, including our home state of MD, more than ever before!


Join us on a trip to PHOTO PLUS EXPO in New York City!
With so many NEW Products to see, This is a great year to attend Photo+!

Service Photo presents round trip bus transportation to & from Photoplus Expo on Thurs.10/25.
We'll fill 2 or 3 buses with photographers from this region, and the cost is just $60 per person.
Paid riders on our buses will each receive a $25 Service Photo voucher + other promotional
products from various vendors. Total value worth HUNDRED$ from our vendors!
• Buy your bus ticket here
• Register for Photo Plus Expo - FREE - HERE
• Click to see all of the exhibitors at the Expo
• Find out why you should attend here.
Registering for this event can be a little bit of a chore. Take your time, and go through the process
step-by-step. You can get through this registration process without paying anything -
just decline all of their offers, and use our special LINK!

Remember - our bus trip ticket is a separate purchase from the Expo registration. You must register for the PhotoPlus Expo& buy a ticket for our bus separately at the different links in this email!

Please call us, or email salesteam@servicephoto.com
for more information. This will be a fun & productive day trip for Maryland Baltimore area photographers!

We are all getting older whether we like it or not. I find that my hands don't work as well as they used to and I am not using my DSLR. I need to decrease weight and decrease the need to make lens changes. I have looked at the mirrorless options and they either don't fit in my hand or when paired with a zoom lens with my most often used focal lengths, they are to heavy. I am thinking about going to a bridge camera. Although it is a move backwards in flexibility, sensor size and available megapixels, it is much better than a phone camera which is what I find myself using now. I am considering the Nikon P1000, the Canon SX70 and the Sony RX10 IV. I would appreciate your advise and any other options that I should consider. Money is not a consideration; being able to enjoy photography again is.

Thanks

UHH Community - I'm a grandma who has been shooting photos forever, mostly of the kids sporting events and family functions; but, I'll admit I didn't really know what I was doing and got really lucky sometimes. Since retiring a couple of years ago, I've taken some classes at our local community college and now am shooting with my Nikon D7100 and primarily my Tamron 18-400 f3.5-6.3 lens; I'm much more confident shooting in Manual or Aperture priority now.

I've been reading all the comments about crop factor and am wondering if I should be considering crop factor when composing my shots. I tend to get up close and personal and fill my lens viewer with my subject, be it a face or a flower or a building or a bear; but am starting to think that I should not get AS up close and leave some room top/bottom/sides. (I'm pretty good with using Lightroom for PP.)

Am I missing something, misinterpreting what I'm reading, or way off base? Thanks for your help!

Note that if you use mirror lockup, then you press the shutter button twice -- once to move the mirror out of the way and once more to release the shutter. A cable release allows for both of these actions, one after the other.

You the photographer can pause for a couple of seconds after the mirror lockup to allow the camera to become still before releasing the shutter.

The self-timer, as I understand it, differs here because it moves the mirror and then operates shutter release in a quick sequence. The operation of the mirror introduces a minute motion that very slightly blurs the image because the shutter releases during this motion.

I bought a very well kept OM-1 MD camera this afternoon at a yard sale. There are no scratches on the body and no apparent wear marks on any of the controls. The timer lever on the front appears to be broken as it did move to the cocked timer position, but will not count down. The battery still was good and the needles matched what the sunny-16 said it should be for an exposure, so I figured the meter is accurate. The lens did not have a lens cap, but the camera was in an Oly leather case. The lens did not appear to have any scratches. The lens is a Zuiko auto-S 50mm f/1.8. I think I found a real treasure. Now just to get a roll of film and try it out.

Did I find a treasure or not? It was only $15