* Called TCR: David Hunsaker (as usual) was competent, nice, and easy to deal with. He'll see what they can put together for a proposal and get back to me on Tue/Wed. Betcha they come up with something interesting.
* Called B&H: Was immediately reminded of why I buy from their website and don't talk to their people. Only managed to tell Marty what I wanted to buy, and didn't even get to finish the sentence before said "All our prices and whether we have things in stock is listed on the website, so there's nothing I can do for you." Why even answer the phone!? Not all New Yorkers are rude, but B&H does not disappoint. For the record, D3x $7,300 (in stock), 200-400 $6,300 (BO/NOETA), 24-70 $1,730 (BO/NOETA)
* Called Roberts: Spoke to Phil Gibson. $5,799 is a great price for the 200-400, but BO/NOETA. $7,299 for D3x (in stock), and $1,729 for the 24-70 (BO/NOETA). They offer 90-day same-as-cash financing via Wells Fargo.
* Called Adorama: Spoke to Sy (x2265). Friendly, knows his stuff. Willing to sell me a D3x for $7,200 (in stock), but both the 200-400 ($6,300) and 24-70 ($1,750) are BO/NOETA. They accept Bill Me Later for financing.
You can give Samys Camera a call. I talked to a rep who said their inventory is very low. He's not sure, but, will check their warehouses, if you are interested. He said the Nikon glass is harder to find because Nikon is importing 10-15% less into the US due to the economy.
Anyway, Samys is a great camera outlet in CA. I don't use them because I live in CA and must pay the tax. 800-321-8726.
Chris Noyes wrote:
Wow, two other Nikon shooters in the Valley of the Sun! Imagine that
No no no... two other friendly Nikon shooters from FM. Not the same thing at all!
I'm going to be traveling 7/6-7/16, then again 7/20-8/12, but I suggest we get together for a good lunch soon (meaning, in between those two trips or right after I come back in August).
Chris Noyes wrote:
Besides TCR, have you checked Photomark (on McDowell)?
Just did that now that I saw your post; thanks for the heads-up and reminder.
* Called Photomark: Spoke to Rod, cool dude and knows his stuff. His costs are pretty high on these items, so the best he could offer was a D3x for $7,500 (in stock), 200-400 for $6,600 (BO/NOETA), and 24-70 for $1,900 (BO/NOETA).
* Called Competitive Cameras in Dallas, which closes at 5:00pm. Didn't get an answer, and it was 4:59pm Dallas time by my watch. I know they're a first-class shop, so I won't hold it against them... but boy, that's punctuality!
* Called Samy's in California. Spoke to Dave. Shocker: they have both the lenses in stock! The 200-400 is $5,900 and the 24-70 is $1,730. D3x, unfortunately, is priced at $7,999 (but is at least also in stock). Samy's is not able to provide any financing outside the store at the moment.
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Current bests and/or personal preferences:
D3x: Adorama for $7,200 (several other options at $7,300)
200-400: Samy's for $5,900 (Roberts is $100 less but OOS)
24-70: Samy's for $1,730 (Roberts is equal but OOS)
Given that only Samy's, out of all the places I called, has the lenses in stock, I have made the lenses (or at least, the 200-400) an urgent priority. Trying to figure out how to pay for that lens today, or have them hold it for me during 2-3 days while I straighten out sufficient cash. Then I can get the D3x in a more leisurely fashion next week. But some progress is being made.
Dave @ Samy's has agreed to match the prevailing street price of $7,300 on the body. However, management is not authorizing the use of a credit card for such a large purchase by a new customer, so we're moving ahead with the purchase of the two lenses only, and planning payment by bank (wire) transfer.
The order has been placed, and Dave is helping out by requesting the 200-400 from their warehouse furthest from L.A. instead of the nearest so it takes longer, and then setting up a shipping date of 7/13 on the order, so that I have a couple of days to straighten out the cash and send him the wire. But the order is now placed... as long as I follow through with payment, I should have the 200-400 and 24-70 by 7/16 when I get back home.
I'd love to but I'm still in the stage. Almost there... almost...
Wow! That's some serious kit! Congrats on the purchases, and good luck on getting the D3X too. May fortune shine on you so that you might keep them all this time.
Rodolfo Paiz wrote:
Forgot to note: one of the good things about buying from B&H or Adorama is not having to pay NYC sales tax. Whatever I do, it will definitely not involve showing up there in person.
Yes, but what you do is show up in person to negotiate a price based on buying all that expensive stuff together, then you have them ship it to you, thereby avoiding the tax. Now having said that, in most states, you're supposed to pay a "usage tax" to make up for the lost sales tax, but I'll admit to never have paid that either, although I usually buy locally anyway.
However, both the 24-70 and the 200-400 are out of stock at most places I've checked lately and they're definitely out of stock at B&H. And prices keep increasing. If they did have it, B&H would be charging $1750 for the 24-70 (used to be $1470) and $6300 for the 200-400 (used to be $5000.) (I wish the stock market were doing that well.)
Jul 04, 2009 at 10:32 AM
Andre Labonte Offline • • • • • • Upload & Sell: Off
Dave @ Samy's has agreed to match the prevailing street price of $7,300 on the body. However, management is not authorizing the use of a credit card for such a large purchase by a new customer, so we're moving ahead with the purchase of the two lenses only, and planning payment by bank (wire) transfer.
The order has been placed, and Dave is helping out by requesting the 200-400 from their warehouse furthest from L.A. instead of the nearest so it takes longer, and then setting up a shipping date of 7/13 on the order, so that I have a couple of days to straighten out the cash and send him the wire. But the order is now placed... as long as I follow through with payment, I should have the 200-400 and 24-70 by 7/16 when I get back home.
I'd love to but I'm still in the stage. Almost there... almost......Show more →
Woooo Hoooo! Congrats man! Family and camera equipment! Life is good.
Sorry for the delay in responding... I'm traveling and Net access has been hard to get (but then, so has sleep so I won't complain).
Love the reach of the D300, and if you look back at prior posts of mine I pretty much said that I'd be dragged "kicking and screaming" to FX only if I really had to. But I've come to the conclusion that, for what I want to do in photography, I pretty much have to.
My goal is to shoot mostly aviation, wildlife, and landscapes (in that order) in order to build up a good stock portfolio so that I can sell prints at "fine-art" prices. My expectation (and great hope) is to focus on the same kind of market where I've sold a few prints so far: 16x24, 20x30, and bigger sizes, on canvas. My current prices are roughly $1/sq.in. if you work it out: 16x24 canvases at $400, 20x30's at $600, and a favorite 13x65 pano for $700.
In the end, I believe that delivering the kind of quality I want to deliver at those sizes and larger, is going to require as many pixels as I can get, with the lowest noise and best saturation/rendition/image-quality that I can get. And I also believe that, if I'm going to sell someone a $500 piece of "art", then I want to do everything in my power to make sure that image is worth what they paid, or more. Certainly that includes improving myself as a photographer, but it also includes getting the best gear for the job.
It's been a tough decision, though: the D300 gives me reach, the D3 gives me high ISO capabilities (leopards at dawn), and the D3x gives me MP for huge prints with great resolution. No one camera does (or could) give me everything. But I can compensate for the reach issue by spending money on lenses and a personal trainer, and I can live with some noise if I have to. So despite the cost, I finally concluded that the D3x was the best choice if I could only have one camera. And at that price, I can only have one camera.
I'd still stick with DX if it was just for me... the reach is phenomenal, and I certainly have no beef with the D300 quality whatsoever! It's just that, once I make it a serious goal to sell $500 prints, then suddently that bloody perfectionist bone starts itching...
In the end, the 200-400 ($5899) and 24-70 ($1729) came from Samy's in California ($77 in shipping), while the D3x ($7200) was provided by Rod Klukas at Photomark in Phoenix along with the gracious offer of free overnight shipping to Miami.
Please excuse me while I go chew my nails off waiting for Tuesday when I can get my hands on the camera...
Congratulations Rodolfo! I'm pleased to hear that you managed to pull it off. Rod Klukas is a cool guy and he helped me out a lot with his knowledge and advice when I was putting my filter system together. Rod and the other folks over at Photomark are a great asset for Phoenix area photographers (Tempe Camera, too).
Looking forward to seeing some shots from the new gear.
but I'm still in the 
stage. Almost there... almost...
.
Happy ending: D3x, 24-70, and 200-400 all done.