B&H Took All My Money!!! - DPChallenge Forums

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM

11/01/2005 10:26:03 PM · #1

My wife and I were in New York City this past weekend, and no trip to Manhattan would be complete without a stop at B&H. They have so many wonderful toys, and we have been saving for a while to splurge on this trip so... the treasurer said "go ahead" when we were standing at the SLR desk! :)

I walked out with:

Tamron 90mm f/2.8 macro; first impressions, this is a fabulous lens. I was looking at the Nikon 105, but for nearly $150 difference, I figured I'd give it a 14 day try. The sales person said that he had been hearing good things about it. It may be a little slower at focusing than the Nikon glass, but it's quite sharp and clean. I'll post some pics soon.

Tokina 12-24 f/4 zoom; Keep in mind that the last time I seriously shopped for lenses was in the 80's when Tokina, Tamron, etc. were one level up from dog poop, so I was... skeptical. I took a few test shots in the store with this lens and it was good enough to give it a shot. Hey, if it sucks, they have a 14 day return policy, right? :) This was actually backordered, so they have to ship it to me, it's supposed to arrive Wednesday. I'll see what the photos look like at 100% and go from there. I'm really missing this focal range (my current primary lens is a 28-80 that I pulled from my N70 35mm SLR) so it's important to get something in the 10-20 range, and this was the most cost effective method of doing it. The constant f/4 is promising, and the $500 price difference with Nikon glass is...startling.

SB600 - With the money saved by going with the "3rd party" glass, I was able to sneak in a on-camera flash to augment my strobes or for more "juice" out in the field.

A nice Manfrotto tripod with a ball head, to replace the $25 "Target Special" that I've been using in the studio.

And the best for last: The Epson P2000 40GB Storage Unit/Viewer. The image quality of this thing is INCREDIBLE. It's a little slower than I expected at copying CF cards onto it's internal hard drive, but I think that might be more a function of the CF card than the Epson. I can barely believe the picture quality of this thing. If anyone is considering a unit for field review of photos, this is the one.

My wife also got a reasonably priced Cannon macro lens (100mm f2.8). Why Nikon insists on selling basically the same lens for nearly $500 more I don't understand.

Detailed reviews on all the equipment to come... I'm just so excited to unpack all the boxes! :)

ergo

11/01/2005 10:29:09 PM · #2

Sounds like a great trip :)

Question (and I mean this in the best sense possible), why are you and your wife on different SLR systems? Wouldn't it make more sense for one of you to "switch" and then be able to share lenses?

hsteg

Fujifilm X-T20

11/01/2005 10:37:16 PM · #3

Originally posted by rgo:

girls and nikon = cooties. stay away. haha

joezl

Nikon D200

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8G IF-ED

11/01/2005 10:42:30 PM · #4

Sounds like a good time was had by all!

I have the Tokina 12-24 and it's a great lens. Solid build and sharp.

Enjoy

Nikolai1024

Nikon D300

Nikon AF Zoom-Nikkor 24-85mm f2.8-4.0D

11/01/2005 10:44:53 PM · #5

That is a LOT of stuff to buy for one trip. It takes me few weeks to commit to buying a photo equpment item. Then I shop around for the best price.

Anyway, congratulations on your purchases. I would like to know how Tokina 12-24 turns out. I need something wide and just can't pay as much as Nikon asks.

Nick

11/01/2005 10:47:04 PM · #6

Originally posted by rgo:

Sense, yes... it would make total sense.

You try telling her she's wrong. :)

Seriously, she started in high school with an AE-1, while I was playing with my daddy's Nikon F when I was a kid (the original one...I still have his old 35mm Perspective Control lens that I use from time to time). I graduated to 6006, and then an 8008s and F4 while in college. An EOS feels very alien in my hands so I'm sure not switching. My wife has the identical, but inverse experience with Canons. I'm not looking to start the war here all over again, just suffice to say we're both happy with the system we shoot. :)

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

11/01/2005 10:55:01 PM · #7

Originally posted by Nikolai1024:

Nick,

I have been agonizing over these choices for around a month now. I've desperatley been wanting a wide zoom AND a macro lens, and I just hate the local chain camera stores. If it's not a Kodak Easy Share, they don't know about it. I think the 3 local Ritz Camera stores have a total of 4 SLR lenses in stock, the rest are special order.

As far as shopping around goes, there's no good local shops around me. I had done some research, reading reviews and checking photos taken with the different brand lenses here, but the proof is always in the pudding. I was a bit apprehensive about picking "3rd party" glass, but the $$$ proposition was just too strong, it was either buy a wide zoom OR a Macro if I stayed in Nikon glass. B&H is the mecca of East Coast photography, and while their prices aren't the absolute lowest on the net, I'm usually willing to pay a little more to support a real shop that stands behind their customers.

Don't worry, I'll post reviews on all the new toys in the coming weeks. :)

kenskid

Nikon D700

11/01/2005 11:13:15 PM · #8

I just purchased the SB800 from BH. It will be here Friday....Yeee Haaa

faidoi

Pentax K10D

Pentax DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AF

11/01/2005 11:13:25 PM · #9

You would've saved money if you went the weekend before :P

jaxed

Canon EOS-300D Rebel

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6

11/02/2005 10:44:35 PM · #10

x

Message edited by author 2005-11-02 22:50:35.

justin_hewlett

Canon EOS-1000D Rebel XS

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS

11/02/2005 10:49:16 PM · #11

Originally posted by hsteg:

Originally posted by rgo:
Sounds like a great trip :)

Question (and I mean this in the best sense possible), why are you and your wife on different SLR systems? Wouldn't it make more sense for one of you to "switch" and then be able to share lenses?

girls and nikon = cooties. stay away. haha

Lol...agreed.

alanfreed

Nikon Z9

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

11/02/2005 10:53:22 PM · #12

Originally posted by kenskid:

I just purchased the SB800 from BH. It will be here Friday....Yeee Haaa

Really? I can't believe you didn't mention this before...! :P

Ennil

Nikon D200

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

11/03/2005 01:41:48 AM · #13

Originally posted by rgo:

It's a real pain in the a**. We did that with my father and oh the fights we had! We wouldn't talk with each other for days in the middle of Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, San Diego...And we would miss loads of photo oppartuanties. So no, it's not a good idea to "switch" cameras, thought maybe one could get a convertor so you could at least switch lenses.

Ah.. B&H... a dream... With the trees and the boxes hovering in the air, and the free photoshop magazins.

Message edited by author 2005-11-03 01:42:53.

Makka

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

11/03/2005 05:54:18 AM · #14

I'm amazed they were even open! Everytime I emailed them recently they were on a bloody holiday for some reason or another! They lost my business!

coolhar

Canon PowerShot Pro 90 IS

11/03/2005 07:59:40 AM · #15

Originally posted by rgo:

... Question (and I mean this in the best sense possible), why are you and your wife on different SLR systems? Wouldn't it make more sense for one of you to "switch" and then be able to share lenses?

Look at it this way -- They have the best of both worlds and can share experiences and opinions with someone totally trusted. Most of us are going to go thru our whole photographic lives without getting a taste of what the other side has to offer.

glad2badad

Apple iPhone 16 Pro

Lensbaby Sweet 35 Optic

11/03/2005 09:36:05 AM · #16

Adorama does that too. I'm sitting here waiting for some filters I ordered to show up...grrr. I placed my order the day before they initiated their temporary close. Wish I had known, would've ordered somewhere else...

Originally posted by Makka:

I'm amazed they were even open! Everytime I emailed them recently they were on a bloody holiday for some reason or another! They lost my business!

downtherabbithole

Canon EOS-30D

Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM

11/03/2005 11:07:10 AM · #17

Originally posted by hsteg:

Nikon is obviously a real mans camera!

lol jk