08-02-2010, 07:16 AM
[quote name='Pinhole' timestamp='1280686665' post='1444']
I must add though - and this has little to do with ordering problems - that I lament the disappearance of the small, specialized camera shops.
[/quote]
Frankly, I don't. I can't lament the disappearance of $200 markups, rude and ignorant staff (if they aren't indifferent and lazy teenagers), the lack of quality goods, and the two week wait for any item desired ["Well ain't this place a geographical oddity--two weeks from everywhere!" - O Brother Where Art Thou]. I do occasionally find a shop that has a lot of used gear where I can save a few bucks, but Ebay presumably could fill that void as well.
I got the final wake-up call when I was trying to find out if a ring flash mounted on the Elan IIe would work with the two second mirror prefire I frequently needed for macro work. The unpleasant "experts" at the local shops didn't know and weren't concerned enough to look it up. B&H in New York sure hustled, and had the answer for me in less than one minute. I bought the ring flash from B&H and haven't looked back.
Perhaps things are different elsewhere, but to find what I need on the West Coast I pretty much have to travel to Seattle, San Francisco or Los Angeles. Or I can just look on the Interblogoweb.
IMHO much more crucial to pro photography are the small, innovative manufacturers of quality gear--I'm thinking of places like Really Right Stuff, Singh-Ray, Nik, Acratech, Kirk, and so forth. I would shower them with blessings, but being an atheist I'll settle for mutually satisfying business transactions. :-D
Scott
I must add though - and this has little to do with ordering problems - that I lament the disappearance of the small, specialized camera shops.
[/quote]
Frankly, I don't. I can't lament the disappearance of $200 markups, rude and ignorant staff (if they aren't indifferent and lazy teenagers), the lack of quality goods, and the two week wait for any item desired ["Well ain't this place a geographical oddity--two weeks from everywhere!" - O Brother Where Art Thou]. I do occasionally find a shop that has a lot of used gear where I can save a few bucks, but Ebay presumably could fill that void as well.
I got the final wake-up call when I was trying to find out if a ring flash mounted on the Elan IIe would work with the two second mirror prefire I frequently needed for macro work. The unpleasant "experts" at the local shops didn't know and weren't concerned enough to look it up. B&H in New York sure hustled, and had the answer for me in less than one minute. I bought the ring flash from B&H and haven't looked back.
Perhaps things are different elsewhere, but to find what I need on the West Coast I pretty much have to travel to Seattle, San Francisco or Los Angeles. Or I can just look on the Interblogoweb.
IMHO much more crucial to pro photography are the small, innovative manufacturers of quality gear--I'm thinking of places like Really Right Stuff, Singh-Ray, Nik, Acratech, Kirk, and so forth. I would shower them with blessings, but being an atheist I'll settle for mutually satisfying business transactions. :-D
Scott