Ready to buy...

[Gary]

Friends -

I've owned a G1 for about a year and have been using the D30 in my day job as an art museum photographer for about as long. I photograph the local opera company and their season is about to begin, so I'm about ready to bite the bullet and buy my own D30.

Over the years, I've bought tons of stuff from Calumet and B&H here in the states, but the price I see posted at Focus Camera is a lot more appealing. I assume it's not gray market merchandise since they offer the current Canon USA microdrive/battery rebate.

I rarely go price shopping. preferring to spend a bit more and buy from dealers I'm familiar with, but that approach would cost me quite a bit in this situation. Has anyone bought from Focus Camera or are there other dealers I should be considering?

Thanks in advance,

Gary

[Trekker]

Give Canoga Cameras in LA a try....call and talk with Greg Noble....he'll give you the best price on the web for a US model and they throw in an additional year warranty (US) from Canon. Thier service is great....on time and as promised.....no games. Highly recommended. Although I am from California (e.g., have to pay sales tax), I preferred to buy from them. www.canogacameras.com....good luck.

[Gary]

Trekker -

Thanks for the recommendation; I ordered a D30 outfit from Greg this morning. The price he gae me was about $130 less than listed on the website!

Hopefully, my next post will be about a topic more compelling than price shopping...

[JCDoss]

Out of curiousity, what was the actual price you were quoted?

I'm just about ready to buy too, and I keep seeing how Canoga will advertise $2500, but if you "call and ask for Greg," you'll only have to pay $2200 or so.

Did you buy other things besides the D30 from them? (ie, lenses, BiG-ED, filters, memory, etc)

Thanks,
JCDoss

[Gary]

I bought a package containing a D30 body, BG-ED3 grip, additional BP-511 battery, and a one year warranty extension for $2470. I didn't ask the price of the body alone.

Greg says I'll have it Wednesday, sounds good to me...

[brandon.ME]

Trekker/Gary--

So, the D30 was NOT gray market? I called Greg on your recommendation as well and he gave me a sweet deal on all the gear I wanted. Essentially saved me over $400. However, I did my due diligence and checked with Camera World in Portland (though I live in Phoenix) since I bought my Olympus 3040 from them in July and was totally satisfied with the experience. The salesperson there says that they have to pay $2400 for the camera and didn't know how Canoga could get it any cheaper from Canon. Is this just another "scare tatic" or what? Obviously, when I'm about to fork over $4,000+ on camera gear I don't want to get screwed. Any advice/reassurance would be MUCH appreciated. Thanks!

--Brandon

[jcwu]

CameraWorld pays $2400 for a USA warranty camera? I find that very hard to believe. $100 margin on a $2500 item is REALLY low.

[brandon.ME]

well, they sell it for $2,900 (at least that's their advertised price), they haven't gotten back to me on their "rock bottom" price. sooooo, no worries buying from Canoga???

[jcwu]

Well I guess it's tough luck for CameraWorld then. Tell whoever you talked to at CameraWorld that maybe they should consider getting their stock from Canoga Camera. :)

[Gary]

Greg assured me that I was buying a USA camera, and it would qualify for the Microdrive/battery promotion from Canon.

Their website (canogacameras.com) states that they don't sell gray market stuff at all...

[brandon.ME]

great news then! gary, i would GREATLY appreciate it if you would let me know if you're satisfied with your order when you get it. i plan on purchasing mine next monday. woohoo! thanks everyone!

--brandon

[Gomez Photography]

If I were you ,I would wait for the new 1D Canon. Just my opinion.Having a Raw file and a jepen at the same time will be priceless as far as work flow. Best luck Michael

[brandon.ME]

as i am purely a photographer only by hobby i feel the 1D is not worth the extra money...probably about $3200 more just for the body. i would even consider myself as an amateur, so again, i know the 1D will be one sweet camera, but i can't justify the extra cost when i'm not getting any money in return. hehe...doh!

[Gary]

Friends -

I received my D30 from UPS this morning at 9:30, with all the accessories and at the price quoted. I would be very pleased to do business with Canoga Cameras again!

[atvantageit]

Well i ordered a d30 from buydig.com... after 3 days nothing had posted to my credit card so i called 'em up... they said that it was out of stock and that's why i hadn't been billed yet. that's funny, it was in stock according to their web site. well the long and short of it is they screwed everything up and i cancelled my order. wasn't looking forward to opening a new one with them - it takes them 3 days just to process an order before shipping it!! so i was reading this and came across canoga camera...

Just called up greg - super nice guy. no pressure and easy transaction. he can ship same day as you order - unheard of at buydig.com. great prices (camera was a little more than at buydig.com but you make up for it on shipping - they actually charge normal prices). so if anyone's in the market for a new one, call up Greg and get one. you won't be disappointed, beats the heck out of buydig and customer service is even better than b&h IMHO... something about those east coast accents...

John

[nitwit3]

I paid the same price for the same exact package. Love Canoga Camera and working with Greg Noble. I'm getting everything from him. I tried Cambridge Camera otherwise known as AAA Camera and several other aliases (finally cancelled the order through them and my credit card company)...dealing with them'll make you run for the prozac.
Good luck, I know you'll have a ball when you get the D30...it's a blast.

Cheers,
Nitwit3

[Peter Gregg]

I bought from Greg Noble at Canoga Cameras on Sept 25th. Got a USA warranty camera with a Canon USA 1 year extension (2 years total). I paid $2250. It was here at my house 2 days later. Had USA warranty card in it, Canon USA extended warranty papers, rebate forms for free 1 gig micro drive and free battery.

A week ago I ordered the new Sigma 24-70 2.8 EX lens. Was here 2 days later.

I know of at least 8 folks that have repeated what I bought and all were satisfied. This is a great camera shop and I have no problems recommending them. Get their 800 number from www.canogacameras.com I am not associated with them but I sure am a satisfied customer.

Pete