Camera store recommendations

[Thantos]

Hey all,
I am looking for a few recommendations for stores with good deals and customer service. Who have you used in the past that you would recommend! I would prefer companies in the U.S. only please as to avoid huge shipping and customs costs.
Thanks Gene

[ajith.rajeswari]

I got most of my deals from Amazon, if you are looking for "Brick and Mortar" store to get a feel then you are try http://www.sanjosecamera.com/ (in Bay area CA) , if you dont want to buy but rent then try http://borrowlenses.com/ for renting from other people/store try http://us.zilok.com/

[McQ]

B&H Photo is probably THE standard camera equipment supplier. Adorama is also not bad. Just be careful of all the other New York camera stores that will often require you to purchase additional items/warranties/etc before sending your order off in a timely fashion.

[Colin Southern]

An excellent "sanity check" is to look them up on www.resellerratings.com - UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES deal with Sonic Cameras or any of their derivatives.

www.bhphotovideo.com are the gold standard - the likes of Adorama & amazon can be trusted - anyone else be sure to post here first so that we can do a bit of "due dilligence" for you!

In fact, there's a powerful lesson here ... checkout the website of Sonic Cameras (I won't post the link because that could help them with the search engines) you'll find that their website looks great - sharp pricing, excellent customer service etc ... and then take a read of ...

http://www.resellerratings.com/store/Sonic_Cameras

... to see what they're REALLY like (it's ironic that the only ones to score them highly appear to have done it accidentally!).

[Felipe]

All I can say is ADORAMA.
Best prices, very professional attention on the store in Manhattan and excelent online service.
I'm sure there are plenty of other good places, but this recommendation comes from my personal experience.

[dendrophile]

For what it's worth, for UK readers of this forum, I've used:

1. Warehouse Express www.warehouseexpress.com - huge range, fast delivery.
2. Camera World - only ever visited their central London store, but always helpful.
3. I've bought lenses from an ebay seller called kerso. Always very responsive to emails, and is up for a little bit of haggling. Would be my first point of contact if I wanted to extend my range of gear. His stock is shipped from Scotland.

Graham

[rroberts41]

I use Amazon for just about everything. If I don't find it there, then B&H or Adorama will usually have it. The reason I like Amazon so well is because of the reviews. I read ALL reviews before I order. A frequent mistake that some people commit is to only read the 5 star ratings, and ignore the rest. Believe me, even tho' the 5 star ratings are important, you can't really know a product until you've read everything about it. Even if you purchase locally, be sure and read the reviews on Amazon or some other good source before you buy. Oh yes...if you like using Amazon, please post your review. I don't think it's fair to use the reviews for purchase decisions and then not post a review after you buy.