B&H Rocks!!

[defordphoto]

These guys are awesome. I ordered a 550EX Sunday. Selected 3 day UPS shipping. Not in that much of a hurry for it and did not need it before Christmas.

I check the UPS tracking site and they upgraded my shipping to UPS 2nd day air at no cost and I will have my flash on Christmas Eve.

Very impressive. Just thought I'd share.

[arthurb]

RFMSports wrote:
I will have my flash on Christmas Eve.
Very impressive. Just thought I'd share.

Don't count your Flashes before they bounce...

:)

[defordphoto]

RFMSports wrote:
Not in that much of a hurry for it and did not need it before Christmas.

[Canuck]

arthurb wrote:
RFMSports wrote:
I will have my flash on Christmas Eve.
Very impressive. Just thought I'd share.

Don't count your Flashes before they bounce...

:)

I too had a friend here that I reccommend order from B&H and he got it sent to the APO address here in(England) and it took like 3 or 4 business days, and arrived yesterday! That's like record time. I expect a week for stuff to get here average. You're spot on, B&H rock!

[westfalcon1]

B&H is the best in my opinion...I buy a ton of stuff with them and am always pleased. Can't say the same for the Brooklyn dealers!!

[defordphoto]

westfalcon1 wrote:
B&H is the best in my opinion...I buy a ton of stuff with them and am always pleased. Can't say the same for the Brooklyn dealers!!

Heheh...THAT'S for sure! I love this link:

http://www.panix.com/~donwiss/pictures/BrooklynStores/

I have bought almost all my accessories from B&H except for CF cards and have been extremely pleased with their service. I also got three killer catalogs from them over the last couple of months too. They make GREAT bathroom reading material! :)

[Canuck]

westfalcon1 wrote:
B&H is the best in my opinion...I buy a ton of stuff with them and am always pleased. Can't say the same for the Brooklyn dealers!!


I call them Crooklyn dealers!

[fwhitesides]

You've obviously never been to the store and dealt with the rude salespeople. However, they are much better than downtown hustle shops, and way better than the bastards in Brooklyn. Their personal manner leaves something to be desired, but I'm a little biased. I'm a Southern transplant here in the big city, so local folks may feel that B&H is just fine for politeness.

[defordphoto]

fwhitesides wrote:
You've obviously never been to the store and dealt with the rude salespeople. However, they are much better than downtown hustle shops, and way better than the bastards in Brooklyn. Their personal manner leaves something to be desired, but I'm a little biased. I'm a Southern transplant here in the big city, so local folks may feel that B&H is just fine for politeness

Actually I have talked with them on the phone before and they're crass at best. But, that's how New Yorkers are. They have no bedside manner whatsoever and are pretty much rude, but that's how they are and I'm okay with that. Through all the rudeness they do their job and do it very well.

I had to return a vest that was size mismarked and yes, they were not friendly by any stretch of the imagination, but (without argument) they took back the vest and sent me a new one with free shipping both ways.

Thank God for the Internet eh? :)

[CanonUser]

I ordered my 550EX and selected ground UPS 5-7 days. It came on the 3rd day. I missed the UPS truck by 15 minutes and had to wait until the next day to get my hand on that flash. Do you know how LOONNNGG a whole day is?

Happy Holiday,
Alan

[defordphoto]

canonuser wrote:
I ordered my 550EX and selected ground UPS 5-7 days. It came on the 3rd day. I missed the UPS truck by 15 minutes and had to wait until the next day to get my hand on that flash. Do you know how LOONNNGG a whole day is?

Happy Holiday,
Alan

Hehe...That's why I leave a permission note on my door saying it's okay to leave at neighbor's house or on doorstep.

Our UPS usually doesn't care here anyway. They knock on the door and don't even wait for you to answer. I go to the door and watch the truck driving off as I pick my package up off the porch.

Now I need to pick a battery pack. Deciding between the Quantum Bantum or 1+. Anyone have any experience with these?

[defordphoto]

Wow! My package arrived in town last night and has been sent over the river to the Vancouver, WA station!

Dec 22, 2003 9:46 P.M. PORTLAND, OR, US DEPARTURE SCAN
5:43 P.M. PORTLAND, OR, US ARRIVAL SCAN
4:23 P.M. LOUISVILLE, KY, US DEPARTURE SCAN
7:35 A.M. US BILLING INFORMATION RECEIVED

[Belmondo]

That's very good, Jim. We expect to see bunches of perfectly exposed indoor shots from you tomorrow.

BTW, do you ever sleep?

Tom :)

[defordphoto]

belmondo wrote:
That's very good, Jim. We expect to see bunches of perfectly exposed indoor shots from you tomorrow.

BTW, do you ever sleep?

Tom :)

I'm charging batteries now! Going to a friend's for Christmas Eve and plan to test it there, if I get it in time before we leave the house.

Sleep? I consider it an annoyance. But, yeah, I do sleep from time to time.

[UK_Terry]

RFMSports wrote:
]

Heheh...THAT'S for sure! I love this link:

http://www.panix.com/~donwiss/pictures/BrooklynStores/



and this link makes sobering reading as well

http://209.204.130.204/hotbuys/timeline.html

[Belmondo]

It's Christmas in Washington State, two days early. What do you think of that 128-page manual?

Have a happy!

Tom

[DaveB]

I've bought a ton of stuff from B&H over the years.

Last spring I bought a Ricoh GR1v.

When delivered it had a nasty dent in the filter ring around the lens.

Called B&H, told them the problem, sent the camera back on their nickel and they sent a perfect replacement.

Added a week to the transaction, but I feel assured that they'll take care of any problems.

[defordphoto]

belmondo wrote:
It's Christmas in Washington State, two days early. What do you think of that 128-page manual?

Have a happy!

Tom

It hasn't arrived at the house yet. It's still in the UPS queue. It might arrive today, but probably tomorrow.

[Belmondo]

Oh, sorry.
There I go....jumping to conclusions again. It's going to be there today. I know these things.

Tom

[imago57]

Actually I have talked with them on the phone before and they're crass at best. But, that's how New Yorkers are. They have no bedside manner whatsoever and are pretty much rude, but that's how they are and I'm okay with that.

I guess you consider yourself to be a fairly nice guy, however you have no problem in describing the entire population of New York as "crass at best" and "pretty much rude". Or maybe I misunderstood something here??? I have been living in NYC for the past 15 years, and I can testify to the fact that the majority of new yorkers I deal with day in day out are just very nice people. Most of them will go out of their way to assist a tourist who is lost in the street, and we have seen acts of incredible solidariety and goodnes in this city after the tragic events of September 11. I am not denying that there is an "attitude" that you may describe as "no nonsense" typical of large metropolis, but I just wouldn't describe New Yorkers the way you did.

B&H does have an excellent record and very often the best prices in town, however I find that there are also some smaller businesess who take pride in providing knowledged service and competitive prices, and whenever I can I choose to patronize those (I am always a bit scared of ending up with just one option). In my case I purchased my D60 when most stores were taking advance orders at up to 10% higher than the list price from Village Camera Shop, in Seneca NY, and I paid $2100 plus $10.50 for the shipping. I then bougth my 70-200 F4 L and 17-40 F4 L and the 550 strobe at prices that were always the same or a few bucks lower than B&H. And with an attitude that even RFMSports would love. ;)

[Sketcher]

belmondo wrote:
What do you think of that 128-page manual?

Tom
There's a manual!? Figures... so you're saying all those buttons really aren't just for show? :D. I cast my vote for B&H as well. Never been disappointed.

[Belmondo]

imago57 wrote:I guess you consider yourself to be a fairly nice guy, however you have no problem in describing the entire population of New York as "crass at best" and "pretty much rude".


Ummmm, Max:

RFM is a fairly nice guy. He's one of the people in this forum who has posted enough to allow slivers of his personality to show through. You needn't worry about him.

This is not being offered in his defense, however. The fact is, a large segment of New York's population prides itself on being a little 'over the top' in directness (for lack of a better word). They point to it with pride, and they joke about it, and it's inevitable that others will want to get it on the joke.

On the other hand, for someone from New York yourself, you demonstrate traits we don't often associate with folks from the Big Apple---sensitivity.

Having been thus acknowledged, will you now PLEASE get into the holiday spirit? You're not going to have any fun at the rate you're going.

Merry Christmas

Tom

[imago57]

Thank you Tom, you are a very nice guy.
I am already totally in the spirit, I got my Christmas presents about 1 month ago (70-200 F4 L and 550 stobe), and I have been playing with them since. The party is already planned, tomorrow I'll be going to chinatown to buy the fish and then to Broadway to see "Wonderful town".

Life is good.

Happy Holidays to all. :D

Max

[CyberDyneSystems]

ROFLMAO!

New Yorkers take "rough around the edges" to new levels!

It is High Art,. and it is part of why we love NY!

C'mon Imago,. there are just some universally acknowledged facts of life that we can not ignore or suppress with PC behavior,. some of these sweeping generalizations have truth and merit.

The British are too organized (and stiff, pompous etc...)

The French are self involved and fairly inept at military endeavors, (i could go on but I'll stop here) :D

And New Yorkers are boystrous and abbrasive! :D

Of course there are exceptions on a personal level,. but lets be real,.

Getting trampled on Fashion Ave. @ 4:30pm,. getting hustled at three card monty in Times square,. and getting a Gypsy Cab ride along 8th with the horn blowing all the way are all part of the NY experience! :D

[imago57]

I know I am going to sound very difensive here...but just tell me, have you ever visited other metropolis, New Deli, Mexico City, San Paulo, Naples? You just described the kind of situations I encountered in those cities. I guess they are all New Yorkers who live there. :D

Another think to pay attention when walking the streets of New York and a car almost runs you over on the pedestrian crossing is the licence plate of the car: most likely from out of state. It is a fact that most people who come to visit in NYC feel compelled to act rudely, because this is the way to act in NYC. Therefore the honking of the horns, the pushing in the streets etc. Again, I am not trying to deny that there is an "attitude" permeating the reality of NYC, but I think you are painting with too broad a brush.

It is not PC to stop before making general statements that contribute to the stereotyping of entire segments of a city or country. It is just good manners. ;)

[defordphoto]

Well, first off I think New Yorkers are awesome people. They are don't beat around the bush and tell you how they think kinda folks. I love that. But, many times it comes across as crass and rude. In fact most New Yorkers I know will admit that without blinking an eye. I am that way too so I'll join that crowd also. It was not meant to be demeaning. That's how they are. That's how they come across and that's fine.

All at the same time they perform their job in a professional manner. I have great respect for that.

[fox1]

>>I too had a friend here that I reccommend order from B&H and he got it sent to the APO address here in(England) and it took like 3 or 4 business days, and arrived yesterday! That's like record time. I expect a week for stuff to get here average. You're spot on, B&H rock!

[imago57]

RFMSports wrote:
Well, first off I think New Yorkers are awesome people. They are don't beat around the bush and tell you how they think kinda folks. I love that. But, many times it comes across as crass and rude. In fact most New Yorkers I know will admit that without blinking an eye. I am that way too so I'll join that crowd also. It was not meant to be demeaning. That's how they are. That's how they come across and that's fine.

All at the same time they perform their job in a professional manner. I have great respect for that.

Thanks for the clarification, I really appreciate it. :)

[defordphoto]

imago57 wrote:
RFMSports wrote:
Well, first off I think New Yorkers are awesome people. They are don't beat around the bush and tell you how they think kinda folks. I love that. But, many times it comes across as crass and rude. In fact most New Yorkers I know will admit that without blinking an eye. I am that way too so I'll join that crowd also. It was not meant to be demeaning. That's how they are. That's how they come across and that's fine.

All at the same time they perform their job in a professional manner. I have great respect for that.

Thanks for the clarification, I really appreciate it. :)


:)

[CyberDyneSystems]

RFMSports wrote:
Well, first off I think New Yorkers are awesome people. They are don't beat around the bush and tell you how they think kinda folks. I love that. But, many times it comes across as crass and rude. In fact most New Yorkers I know will admit that without blinking an eye.

This is my experience as well,. I lived in Manhattan for some time.. and needless to say, know a great many natives. Not only do they admit it,. they are proud of it,. as part of there heritage. This is the PC part that makes no sense to me. Sometimes by being too PC and denying a stereotype we can in fact be denying our own heritage.

I am not trying to argue with you on this and I apologize for belabouring the discussion,. but what you are saying is such a contradiction of what ALL the New Yorkers I know would say on the subject. It is the stuff of legend!

And yes,. I have visited,. and lived in other cities that have similar paces to NY,. but see if you get run down on the sidewalk by people leaving work in Toronto. :)

[BobbyC]

I ordered a 28-135 IS lens from B&H on 9/11/2001 and received it on 9/14/2001. I thought it was a pretty awesome thing to get it during that time, not only for B&H to get it out, but for Fedex to get it here to Houston during those trying times.

Living in the 4 largest city in the country, there is a great difference in the personalities of here and NY, and I have many New Yorker friends that also openly admit to the fact that they are rougher around the edges than most. As was said, they take pride in it and I for one have no problems with anyone from there, but it is true.

[KarlJones]

Just to offer another perspective…

A while back, I happened to hear one of our recently re-located (from NYC) marketing heads to L.A.’s office comment about among other things, the people: “... well the people here are really nice alright, but truth be told they are 'a little slow.'”

[fwhitesides]

imago57 wrote:
I have been living in NYC for the past 15 years, and I can testify to the fact that the majority of new yorkers I deal with day in day out are just very nice people. Most of them will go out of their way to assist a tourist who is lost in the street, and we have seen acts of incredible solidariety and goodnes in this city after the tragic events of September 11. I am not denying that there is an "attitude" that you may describe as "no nonsense" typical of large metropolis, but I just wouldn't describe New Yorkers the way you did.Whoa there! I hope I didn't open a can of worms with my original statement about camera shops in NYC. I've only been living here for 18 months, and my impression is that, in general, people are helpful and mostly friendly...so long as you don't block the escalator in the subway or walk any slower than the fastest speed humanly possible. It has also been my experience that every camera/electronics shop I've been in (save for one) have been staffed by rude, pushy hustlers. I guess that's the appropriate way to treat customers in this city, but it makes me want to order online (from non-NYC dealers). I much prefer to deal with local merchants, but I also refuse to be condescended or treated like crap. I get along much better now in the city by doing as the locals do: walking fast, shoving my way to where I want to go, and not taking any crap from anybody for any reason.

Anyway, that's my view, from my perspective. We all see it a different way, and that's okay. I enjoy living here, but it does get on my nerves from time to time.

[defordphoto]

To get back on topic here...

It's on the truck!

Dec 23, 2003 3:25 A.M. VANCOUVER, WA, US OUT FOR DELIVERY

Of course I have seen that before and not received my package. If it's not here by 6pm I'll call and have them hold it at the station for me as I would like to get it this evening.

Hey, they may come across as rude, but they're sure quick at B&H!!!

[Belmondo]

Sheeesh!!! Even I'm getting excited, Jim, and I already have a 550EX. I imagine they'll keep going all day (and evening) if necessary since tomorrow is proabably going to be at least as huge day for the shipping companies.

[Belmondo]

BTW, Jim, I hear on the news that there's a suspected case of Mad Cow Disease in Washington. I told my wife not to worry.....it's just Jim getting excited about his flash attachment.

In the meantime, this is probably a good time to be a vegetarian just in case that really isn't you.

:) :) :) :)

[defordphoto]

LOL! Yeah...WOW! UPS just showed up as I was typing this post!!! Cool!!! Gotta go play now and read the massive manual.

But first, off to resellerratings.com to leave feedback.

[Canuck]

Jim,
could you let us know your thoughts and likes/dislikes with the flash? I was just wondering. I have an insanely old, like approx 1986 vintage Sunpak auto 36DX Thyristor flash that works great w/ the 10D. It is really bright to boot! That bounce bit really helps direct flash back where it should be. I also have a Quantum battery pack that needs charging. I will likely be using it Chirstmas Day taking pics. I asked if they wanted me to bring it and they said yes. Ok, so the 10D, Canon 16-35 F2.8L, and possibly flash are gonna get a workout! Wooo-hoo! I'm wondering how they made out w/ the Sony Cybershot 3.0 MP digicam they got. I recon I will soon find out.

[Canuck]

RFMSports wrote:
belmondo wrote:
That's very good, Jim. We expect to see bunches of perfectly exposed indoor shots from you tomorrow.

BTW, do you ever sleep?

Tom :)

I'm charging batteries now! Going to a friend's for Christmas Eve and plan to test it there, if I get it in time before we leave the house.

Sleep? I consider it an annoyance. But, yeah, I do sleep from time to time.

One of my friends over here says that sleep is for the weak, and that you can sleep when you're dead!

Please let us know how the flash works out! Tnx.

[defordphoto]

I will definitely report back on the details of the flash. Stay tuned....

:)

[danphoto1]

I am from RI but have delt with NY people in business and they are the same as anywhere else. some great some not so great and some that you'd like to forget about. For the most part If you treat them ok they will reciprocate.

I would like to add Adorama to the mix. I just ordered a 2nd 1D and asked my sales person if it was in stock and if it could be overnighted. He said yes and told me I would get it Tuesday AM. The camera arrived at my office at 9:10 am sharp on Tuesday. I asked him the quoted price before purchasing and he quoted a price 100 dollars higher than what I saw on the net, so I questioned the price and he looked it up. He then told me that I was correct and lowered the price that I had seen advertized.

I also called another company that showed a much lower price for the camera and was told that the lowerprice was for the body only. I then asked if it could be sent overnight and was told that they only had the complete kit. the Kit of course sold for much more and could be delivered right away. I wasn't surprised and declined that sale.

[arthurb]

One Scrooge proven wrong again!

Merry Christmas everyone...


I'm glad that you got the package in time for the holiday!

[defordphoto]

Yes, Dan. Adorama and Samys both offer equal servcie (from what I have read) to B&H. Prices are pretty much the same too.

[Belmondo]

I've used B&H and Samy's, but never Adorama.....no particular reason. I've also had very good experience with 17th Street.

Jim. How's the flash doing?

Tom

[defordphoto]

belmondo wrote:
I've used B&H and Samy's, but never Adorama.....no particular reason. I've also had very good experience with 17th Street.

Jim. How's the flash doing?

Tom

Awesome! I shot a batch over at a friend's house at their Christmas Eve thingie and all photos came out awesome! No under/over exposures. Colors are perfect. I couldn't be happier.

Gotta sit down with that manual today...

[danphoto1]

The only reason that I purchased at Adorama is thtat the camera was $100.oo and a freind had purchased and had good luck with them. I figure that the !$100 could go towarrd some cleaning kits for the ccd or toward a better card. B&H will send a great catoluge to you that is great for reference and a just plain old wish book..........


Dan