YES YOU CAN get better deals elsewhere!

So now we have three new big issues to avoid talking about at a bar.
It used to be sex, politics and religion. Now it is the environment,
terrorism and the bad economy. For me, I tend to avoid talking about
all (except for sex), but today I feel it is necessary to speak a
little about a recent decision I made. When it comes to gear,
everybody has their own plan. Buy it as soon as it comes out and worry
about paying for it later, establish a yearly (or bi-annual)
replacement plan, etc. For me it has been, 1. TAKE CARE OF YOUR
GEAR!!! 2. BUDGET TO REPLACE !!! 3. REPLACE AS NEEDED !!!
We all would love to have that new fan-dangled cool gadget, case,
light, etc. I tend to believe that when we were using film a person
could own a manual camera and it could last for years. Now, you buy a
digital body and you know that 6 months later it will be outdated. Not
to mention will also have to match the camera with the latest computer
to process.

Back to the point. Every now and then you might get into a tight
budget and want to save a few bucks by either buying a used lens or
imported instead of USA version, or go with some fly by night company
and take a risk to get what you are paying for. I tend to believe that
I should always make an attempt to get the best price for the best
gear always. I recently did this by taking the 'other' company route.
I have some friends who insist on using the B&H or Adorama route
simply because they are HUGE company. This does not mean that they are
perfect. I have had problems with both over the years (Although I do
prefer Adorama when I can), but in today's day and age, we are quickly
realizing that our dollar needs to be stretched or maybe not
stretched, but rather increased (Case in point Nikon's 8K D3X). Trust
me, there used to be a day when business owners would actually come
down on a price to make a deal. Those days are coming back. We should
not be held captive to set prices. Other businesses don't assume
photographers to hold them captive on prices do they? But if you walk
to Wolf or Ritz camera and ask for a 14-24 lens they will have no
problem in telling you the price is $300 more than anywhere else. This
lens goes for $1650 at BH and Adorama (1900 at Ritz). I recently got
the same exact lens AND 5 year extended NIKON warrantee for 1500. No
fake, no gimicks, no nothing. And I received it within the week. There
are deals out there. You just have to look for them.