funny things you've heard at the camera shop

[Dan Lorth]

C'mon we all have something stored away that a novice or over zealous camera salesman has told us or have overheard them telling someone else.

I get mine in particular quite often, there is an older gentleman that works at my local that just seems to be more excited about selling than excited about knowing what he is talking about. He is a great guy but don't come to him for knowlege about the latest and greatest because if he doesnt know he will make it up. Some nuggets:

"No I am positive the 5D has 10 megapixels"

"Shooting in raw is like taking a semi truck to go grocery shopping, there are no benefits whatsoever"

"If you get dust on your sensor you are KAPUT, end of the game"

This one was particularly bad, he jumped in on another salesman showing a couple a PS camera with this:

"noo you dont want THAT camera, you want the CADILLAC of cameras <hands them a leica>"

the couple had specifically asked for a cheaper point and shoot.


Anyways, anyone else have some gems?

[Bob_A]

The 50mm f/1.4 isn't really the right lens to use on a 5D, it's just what we put on it for display.

[HankScorpio]

While stood behind a glass counter filled with film, "I don't think we sell film any more, I don't think they even make it now, everyone went digital years ago".

From the same guy a week later to someone else, "This card would be better for you, it's a 100 ISO".

[JCH77Yanks]

While buying a Powershot A590 for my 11 year old on his birthday at Circuit City -
"You know this is a high-speed camera, you'll need a high speed memory card to be able to use it at high shutter speeds..."

[tiziano]

"This card would be better for you, it's a 100 ISO".

This is just great! :D

[Jeffro250]

"If you put a Canon battery grip on the 40D, it will shoot at 8FPS.."

I look at him like he was a total idiot and walked off. :lol:

[Dave M]

While passing time looking around in a Ritz camera store:

"Just like your eyes need UV protection from the sun, your lenses do as well."

[Rockies Photo]

One time I was in the Robert's store in Carmel, and a customer was buying a Rebel XT. And they were told they needed an Extreme III, to minimize shutter lag and be able to shoot at a faster fps.

I just felt sorry for the customer, b/c they were duped into buying a card that they did not need.

[thekid24]

"Canon is by far the best"
"Nikon is by far the best"
"We sell A LOT of Olympus, theyre the best"

[Tom_D]

Camera store?

[mesabassman]

What he said Camera Store? If their prices weren't so high I would buy locally. One store here wants $1,200.00 for the 40d plus 8.75% tax. I just saved $350. I can't justify spending the extra money just to support local camera stores. It's like throwing money away. I walked into Wolf's Camera and they had the 40D listed at $1499.00.

[SeanH]

Canon's really aren't selling now days, Nikon is a much better camera, but the Sony is really leading the technology.

LMAO

[_aravena]

High speed cards were classics. When at Circuit City we had 2GB standards for $15 but we were told to push the high speed cards and given a list of reasons as to why they are better for P&S. One the list was

"Takes faster photos"
"Holds more photos" *WT!?!"
At least something was true, "Transfers photos faster"

At Ritz my manger talked a lot of crap about Canon and how much better Nikon was. Come to find out, he never owned a digital camera and didn't understand ISO digitally or anything about lenses.

I've worked a lot in camera retail so I got a million things that have been said. Best was this Kodak guy that put up photos from a kodak camera showing 1x and 10x optical zoom. Man oh man, those photos were beyond grainy and he wondered why those cameras never sold. I set ever advance camera (or super zooms I guess) to the same settings and took a photo with all their IS's on. Yeah, Sony and Kodak reps did not like that. They said the settings were wrong and that the camera works better in auto. It's not made to do anything specific like that.

It was just like WB = fluorescent ISO = 400 F5.6 SS can't recall but I think 1/60 or something around there. And I had a lot of hand stabilization by leaning. That's when I found out how truly horrible Sony's IS is. Kodak's I already figured but Panasonic's FZ-10 I think and the S5 were very comparable.

[royv]

So what kind of an upgrade would the 40D be from my 30D?
"Well a huge one actually; more pixels, more fps, bigger screen, bigger body and most importantly the Live view of course"

Really? Live view?
"yes, it means you can look through the screen just like a point 'n shoot"

[DDCSD]

My favorite was when I asked the guy at the counter of Harold's Photo (Wolf/Ritz clone) in Sioux Falls, SD to see an 85 1.8. He proceeded to hand me an 85 1.2L on an XTi body. I asked him how much, he says "We have a great price on this lens right now, $479.99" He did figure it out a minute later. I honestly didn't know the difference at the time, as I had just gotten into photography again. Once he figured it out, he goes "Oh, I'm sorry, this one is actually $2399.99"

[gary88]

At Best Buy:

"Yes, these cards are high speed, which means they can hold more RAW files. "

[AdamLewis]

Haha these are funny. I work part-time at a local camera store and I think the only thing funnier than what clerks may tell people is what the know-it-all's come in here and tell me!

The most recent was a guy who came in yesterday and told me that he loves his medium format hasselblad. He went on to tell me that 35mm will never be as good as his hasselblad because the film for his MF hasselblad is.......are you ready?......"smaller"

Sometimes I just dont know what to say.

It never fails though in here. Guys (mainly guys..some girls too though) always come in and try to impress me by always throwing out the word "hasselblad". Id bet my entire kit that none of them could tell a hasselblad from a hole in the ground if they had to -.-

[WMS]

Haha these are funny. I work part-time at a local camera store ...

It never fails though in here. Guys (mainly guys..some girls too though) always come in and try to impress me by always throwing out the word "hasselblad". Id bet my entire kit that none of them could tell a hasselblad from a hole in the ground if they had to -.-

Just where is this Camera store I might choose to take you up on you bet....

Wayne

[greg20d]

I was told by a Wolf employee that Nikon raw is the only digital image allowed in court

[thekid24]

I was told by a Wolf employee that Nikon raw is the only digital image allowed in court
wow u win this round.lol

[olly_k]

I was told by a Wolf employee that Nikon raw is the only digital image allowed in court

That's a bute!

The best I have witnessed is when I was testing camera's D50 / 350d I had taken some in-store pics onto my card to take home and have a decent look. When I returned to the shop disappointed with focus issues (yes I know :oops:) I was told "You see the little dial by the viewfinder here (points to diopter adjustment) this was probably not set which controls camera focusing". Well I ceased to ask any more questions at that shop and swiftly moved on!

[Quad]

The two funniest things I ever heard were one the other side of the counter while I did a stint as a lowly worker in a camera store while in college (I have an excuse);

1) Customer comes in with a piece of undeveloped film.

Me: Uh sir you do realize that this film is ruined as it cannot be exposed to light.
Customer: No it's ok as it was jammed in the camera but I was told to remove it from the camera in a dark room which I did.
Me: You have to keep it in the dark until after it is developed.
Customer: Really the instructions didn't say that.
Me: The must have missed that bit.


Customer: (hands me a bunch of used flash cubes) Please develop these.
Me: They are flash cubes you need the film for the photos.
Customer: The instruction book said to use flash cubes for taking photos in the dark.
Me: A quick run down of what that means.
Customer: So you can't make photos from them?
Me: No. (I feel it is to my credit I did not laugh the poor woman was already distressed enough).

Both times I thought that these people were having me on but they were serious. I asked the first quy but the second was a rather older woman so I don't think she was just bored and out for a lark.


And people wonder why instructions can get painstakingly obvious at time.

Does break up the boredom though.

I once heard a company sales rep tell one of my customers use a $10 filter and you will have a $10 lens. I added, much to his displeasure, and use a $25 filter (his brand) and you have a $25 lens. He didn't like that. I think the $10 filter was a hoya (they were decent filters then as now) and he sold Heliopan or B+W. Filters were cheaper in those days (we still made 400% on them and I loved 'em for it) but lenses still cost a few hundred (I made about 10%-15% on those and I didn't much care for them on that score).

[Contivity]

Just out of curiosity, can you get kicked out of a store for advising another customer with the proper info? How about get a cop called on you?

[tiziano]

Just out of curiosity, can you get kicked out of a store for advising another customer with the proper info? How about get a cop called on you?

You can get kicked out, it happened to me years ago, when some thiefs were selling computer s***t to ignorant customers. But they cannot call the cops. What would be the charge? Speaking up the true?

[eddarr]

What would be the charge? Speaking up the true?


Trespassing.

[scotteisenphotography]

at ritz...

"Do you have a Canon 50 1.4? , i'm looking for a nice lens for my 5D"

"No we do not, but we ahve the new EFS 18-55 IS which would work great"

"EFS doesn't fit on full frame cameras"

"yes it does"

"show me on the display 5D"

.....

[thekid24]

at ritz...

"Do you have a Canon 50 1.4? , i'm looking for a nice lens for my 5D"

"No we do not, but we ahve the new EFS 18-55 IS which would work great"

"EFS doesn't fit on full frame cameras"

"yes it does"

"show me on the display 5D"

.....
NICE!! please tell me they tried...lol. The look on his/her face would have been worth taking a picture of

[tiziano]

Trespassing.

In a shop open to public?

[In2Photos]

NICE!! please tell me they tried...lol. The look on his/her face would have been worth taking a picture of
My local Ritz (Wolf) wouldn't even have one (5D) to try.

[eddarr]

In a shop open to public?

In the US if you are asked to leave and do not you are trespassing. The owner has the right to refuse service to anyone. As long as it's not a violation of civil rights.

[scotteisenphotography]

NICE!! please tell me they tried...lol. The look on his/her face would have been worth taking a picture of

there was a "clank" and then an Err. 99.

[HankScorpio]

In the US if you are asked to leave and do not you are trespassing. The owner has the right to refuse service to anyone. As long as it's not a violation of civil rights.
Trespass is not a criminal offence in England.

[Dan Lorth]

A lady told me her camera had 30 megapickles and I had to leave because I was laughing so hard.

[DDCSD]

Trespass is not a criminal offence in England.

:confused: So I can come into your house and hang out on the couch and you can do nothing about it? You have to just put up with me?

[Contivity]

Sometimes when i hear lies like that, i tell the customer after the sales rep went away for a bit and finished what i was doing anyway... I don't want to get into trouble, but can't let someone get suckered up just like that...

[OdiN1701]

:confused: So I can come into your house and hang out on the couch and you can do nothing about it? You have to just put up with me?

That will save me the expense of a hotel if I ever visit England.

I'll just find a nice looking house and chill out.

[OdiN1701]

Sometimes when i hear lies like that, i tell the customer after the sales rep went away for a bit and finished what i was doing anyway... I don't want to get into trouble, but can't let someone get suckered up just like that...

I do this a lot with computers at places like Best Buy. They don't like me because I won't let them spout BS if I'm within earshot.

I also stopped a guy at Circuit City about a month ago who they had talked into purchasing an HD-DVD player.

[HankScorpio]

:confused: So I can come into your house and hang out on the couch and you can do nothing about it? You have to just put up with me?
Sadly yes, as long as you didn't break in. If I tried to force you out, I'd get arrested for assault. The only thing I could do is sue you if you damaged anything. Though I doubt you'd stay once I introduced you to my music collection :D

[OdiN1701]

Sadly yes, as long as you didn't break in. If I tried to force you out, I'd get arrested for assault. The only thing I could do is sue you if you damaged anything. Though I doubt you'd stay once I introduced you to my music collection :D

You cannot be serious.

So say the door wasn't locked, and some stranger just came in off the street and refused to leave, you can't do jack?

I find that hard to believe. Glad I don't live there.

[_aravena]

In Italy you can't harm an intruder even if they broke in.

So glad I live in Florida. We can kill someone that breaks into our homes, if we feel threatened. :D

[HankScorpio]

It's true. Criminals in the UK have more rights than law abiding people. Just try getting squatters out of a house here.

Anyway, back to the topic.

Not heard in a camera shop but from my friend's mum. She wanted to know if there was some sort of cable that would speed up the transfer of images from her P&S to the PC. I went round to look at the set up and found she was plugging the camera directly into a printer, printing the images then scanning the prints. Now I know where my friend gets his stupid.

[ironchef31]

A lady told me her camera had 30 megapickles and I had to leave because I was laughing so hard.

Now I can't stop laughing... co-workers are giving me strange looks now.

[OdiN1701]

A lady told me her camera had 30 megapickles and I had to leave because I was laughing so hard.

It must take amazing shots of sandwiches.

[DDCSD]

Not heard in a camera shop but from my friend's mum. She wanted to know if there was some sort of cable that would speed up the transfer of images from her P&S to the PC. I went round to look at the set up and found she was plugging the camera directly into a printer, printing the images then scanning the prints. Now I know where my friend gets his stupid.

That is hilarious! That's what the direct print button is for! Instant file transfers.....:lol:

[DDCSD]

It must take amazing shots of sandwiches.

I'd say it is an amazing sandwich.

[ironchef31]

I'd say it is an amazing sandwich.

RAW is the best format for pickles.

[I26]

A lady told me her camera had 30 megapickles and I had to leave because I was laughing so hard.

I just about fell off the chair on this one!!!:lol:

[ggt1_02]

Not heard in a camera shop but from my friend's mum. She wanted to know if there was some sort of cable that would speed up the transfer of images from her P&S to the PC. I went round to look at the set up and found she was plugging the camera directly into a printer, printing the images then scanning the prints. Now I know where my friend gets his stupid.

Winner, winner, chicken dinner! That is a classic.

[tom1s]

After reading this thread I don't know if I should laugh or cry....

[Tom_D]

A lady told me her camera had 30 megapickles and I had to leave because I was laughing so hard.Was it an Olympus, Sony or Pentax? (http://www.digitalartsonline.co.uk/news/index.cfm?NewsID=7606)

[20droger]

A lady told me her camera had 30 megapickles and I had to leave because I was laughing so hard.
Kosher dills, I presume....

[Tom_D]

Was it an Olympus, Sony or Pentax? (http://www.digitalartsonline.co.uk/news/index.cfm?NewsID=7606)Sometimes I read what I expect to see rather than what is actually printed and missed the pickles part of the original post. Sorry.

Would photography improve if we all carried around megapickles?

[Foxgguy2001]

nope, but the deli industry sure would stand to benefit.

[Rockies Photo]

Just where is this Camera store I might choose to take you up on you bet....

Wayne

Wayne,

The store Adam is referring to is called Murphy's Camera. It is in the Summit Shopping Mall. :D ;)

Here is the Address

4110 Summit Plaza Dr
Louisville, KY 40241
(502) 423-1080‎

And here is a link to a Map from Cali, copy & paste to your browser: ;)

http://maps.google.com/maps?daddr=4110+Summit+Plaza+Dr,+Louisville,+KY+40 241+(Murphy's+Camera)&geocode=7884643157578160544,38.306357,-85.577501&dirflg=&saddr=California&f=d&dq=Murphy's+Camera&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=44.744676,90.966797&cid=38306357,-85577501,7153419576525380505&ie=UTF8&z=5

[Hermeto]

Delli will be the first to introduce megapickles cameras, I guess..

[jaybird]

I went to a camera store at the warwick center here in Nairobi (a small strip-mall) to check out a camera store they had. I was greatly disappointed as they only had old Nikon gear in an old display case. The salesman was trying to sell a Nikon manual film camera to a guy trying to get into wedding photography. Here was his clincher "...and with this model you can go to 1/8000 of a second. That will freeze the molecules of the people you are taking pictures of...".

I had to get out of the store!

[20droger]

Hey, we all want frozen molecules.

[scottycam]

Not at the camera store but on a bus.....

We were on a bus at the Grand Canyon, heading up to get a shot of the sunset. An elderly lady was teaching her friends about her camera. She had an xti on a monopod and was explaining to her friends that she needs a better camera cause her's didn't have a sunset mode. She asked a friend if they had a sunset mode, they said yes. They must've had a really good P&S. ha

She then was complaining that the guy at the Ritz told her that the camera can take amazing pictures and that he lied to her. A few minutes later, she mentioned that she needed to get one of those curvy looking things in order for her pictures to come out good....that curvy thing she needed was a lens hood. I think she taught the whole bus something.

haha.. It was fun to listen to and the guys sitting across from her couldn't stop chuckling since they were clearly avid photographers.

[djeuch]

Wayne,

The store Adam is referring to is called Murphy's Camera. It is in the Summit Shopping Mall. :D ;)

Here is the Address

4110 Summit Plaza Dr
Louisville, KY 40241
(502) 423-1080‎

And here is a link to a Map from Cali, copy & paste to your browser: ;)

http://maps.google.com/maps?daddr=4110+Summit+Plaza+Dr,+Louisville,+KY+40 241+(Murphy's+Camera)&geocode=7884643157578160544,38.306357,-85.577501&dirflg=&saddr=California&f=d&dq=Murphy's+Camera&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=44.744676,90.966797&cid=38306357,-85577501,7153419576525380505&ie=UTF8&z=5

I've BEEN to that store! :)

I used to live close...

Google Map (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&geocode=&saddr=3908+landherr+dr,+40299&daddr=4110+Summit+Plaza+Dr,+Louisville,+KY+40+241+ (Murphy's+Camera)&sll=38.307181,-85.583496&sspn=0.956922,1.636963&ie=UTF8&z=12)

[Skrim17]

I was at a photoshop seminar and during the time when everyone goes to the "trade show" a gentleman from B&H had an expodisk and was talking about the new ring flash that they are marketing. A guy comes up and asks if he needs different' sized expodisks for different lenses as when he puts the one he has on his photos come out all gray...