REVscene - Vancouver Automotive Forum

lilaznviper · 02-11-2009, 05:49 PM

your lens flash and other accessories?

alright i typed it right this time, since the last time i failed at it

Bonjour43MA · 02-11-2009, 06:48 PM

thecamerastore.com

bccamera

bikerx · 02-11-2009, 06:51 PM

craigslist
bccamera.com/forummmmm
friends
Kerrisdale camera
beau photo

edit:revscene too

B4N M3 · 02-11-2009, 07:29 PM

I HATE thecamerastore.com with a burning passion.

Their prices are ridiculous, their selection is ok at best and their customer service sucks balls. When I was buying my 70-200 (back when the CDN dollar was worth MORE than the US dollar, I called them up and here's how the convo went:

me: "hey, I found the 70-200 for $549 in the US, but I'd love to support a Canadian company instead. How close can you come to it?"
camerastore: "uhh...how much do we have it for?"
me: "$642.79"
camerastore: "well...I can go as low as $642.79 ... how's that?"

That little smartass quip lost them my business for ever. (I ended up ordering the 70-200 along with a Tamron 17-50 f2.8, well over $1K worth of equipment from the American company that day and laughed all the way to the bank).

Aside from that...I use:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com (they're not the best, but sometimes they have good deals)
http://www.sigma4less.com (I've ordered a few things from there...their customer service isn't the greatest, but their prices rule). Coincidentally, I'm ordering a Tamron TC from them tomorrow.

amazon would be good, but the US site doesn't ship to Canada and the Canadian site sucks for selection.
I find Adorama's prices to be high (they include free shipping in the States, so they jack their prices...so us Canadians get hit twice).

B4N M3 · 02-11-2009, 07:32 PM

oh, but I see you're looking for a 50 1.8 II...it's quite possibly the most sold and re-sold Canon lens. Pick it up locally through craigslist/RS/or even brand new...I've seen it go for 100-110 brand spankin' new.

77civic1200 · 02-11-2009, 08:44 PM

Which TC are you buying? I have a 2X just sitting here, my lens is much too slow to use it...

B4N M3 · 02-11-2009, 08:50 PM

I'm ordering a Tamron SP 1.4x Pro. What do you have?

I was entertaining the idea of a 2x, but I have a relatively slow lens as well (70-200 f4L), and not sure if I want to get down to f8 with a 2x and, from what I've read, good 1.4 TCs are virtually unnoticeable, while most 2x TCs seem to all degrade images enough to notice.

!Aznboi128 · 02-11-2009, 10:27 PM

www.sigma4less.com has been great so far

B4N M3 · 02-12-2009, 08:26 AM

just ordered my TC from them

Again, the usual below-par customer service, but for $176US shipped for a Tamron 1.4x SP Pro I'm not gonna complain

keitaro · 02-12-2009, 03:46 PM

i've ordered from thecamerastore and have had no problems. Perhasp B4N M3's experience is based on an individual sales person was poor. But dealing with them as a company has been a pleasant experience. I've found their prices to be reasonable as well.

B4N M3 · 02-13-2009, 10:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by keitaro

i've ordered from thecamerastore and have had no problems. Perhasp B4N M3's experience is based on an individual sales person was poor. But dealing with them as a company has been a pleasant experience. I've found their prices to be reasonable as well.

It was actually the manager. And yes, my experience may not be indicative of the entire organization. However, he may have just gotten pissy because I dared ask him to lower his price a little.

some of their prices are reasonable only by Canadian standards. If you look beyond the border, they're still lame.

Example: I did my research and decided to buy a Tamron SP 1.4x TC...they have it for Nikon, but not for Canon...wtf? Their price is 230 plus tax, plus shipping (even in Alberta with one tax, that would be $250+, but those of you in BC would be charged both taxes). I picked mine up for $215 CDN (174 US), shipping, everything included, and there's no duty of photo stuff. I saved close to 100 bucks, you guys in BC would easily save 100 bucks. (If they had it at all)

Other hugely popular choices (like the Sigma 10-20, which is my most used lens and is very popular among enthusiasts), they simply don't stock. Boggles the mind.

Some other prices (50 1.4/70-200 2.8 IS/etc) are roughly on par with places like S4L or B&H, but I just steer clear of them altogether lol.