Where to buy

The best prices for camera equipment in the USA are found in mailorder stores that advertize in the American photo magazines. The one thing they all share in common, except for B&H, is that they are run by scumbags who will rip you off and raise your blood pressure and turn you off mail order for good. The ones that have a consistently good reputation on the net, and ones that I concur with, are B&H in New York (1-800-947-9980) and Camera World of Oregon in Oregon (1-800-876-7057). Both these places have given me good service in the past and their prices are perhaps not the cheapest that you will see advertized but very close. Note that the cheapest prices you see are likely to be lies many times; the places that advertize them might come up with all sorts of excuses for not having it at that price when you actually try to buy it, or they will charge you heavily for shipping and handling, removing any price advantage.

Another place that I am trying now is Adorama. Their website is very easy to use, and others have told me that there are no scams. I bought a Tachihara 4x5 system from them recently and the whole thing went very smoothly. So in addition to the two places mentioned, I would add Adorama as a good place to get stuff, especially since many times they are even cheaper than B&H!

Note that magazines like Popular Photography claim to have a "check-rated" where only reputable dealers advertize in the magazine. This is total BS; most of the companies that advertize there have a horrible reputation and I would stay away from them.

Executive summary

Some pros and cons for Adorama, B&H, and CWO:

Adorama - pros

Easy to use website.

Lowest prices of the three.

Experience with 4x5 system very positive --timely shipment, as ordered.

Adorama - cons

One phone conversation long time ago demonstrated New York "bruskness" that is more commonly called rudeness elsewhere. I guess all New York shops are like this.

B&H - pros

Extensive inventory. Perhaps the most extensive. They have almost everything related to photography imaginable.

Lower prices generally than CWO.

Informative advertizements. They will print most of the prices in the ads unlike CWO who you have to call to find out most prices.

B&H - cons

Rude and brusk operators. This is a price paid for dealing with any shop in New York City since abruptness seems to be part of their culture.

Longer shipping times (to California at least). I have had to wait 10-12 days sometimes for my orders to come here.

CWO - pros

Operators a bit friendlier and less abrupt.

Faster shipping times to California. Most of my orders have arrived in 3-4 days after ordering.

CWO - cons

Slightly higher prices than B&H.

Ads are not very informative.

Not as extensive an inventory. They don't carry darkroom supplies at all.

In general, when ordering from a mailorder place, know exactly what you want. The operators are NOT going to explain anything to you, and if they do, it will only be to sell some product for which they might get a bigger commission on. You have to tell them precisely and carefully the exact model number of that camera body, or lens, or filter, or anything else that you want. Also, always use the credit card so that if you don't get the merchandize, you can complain to the credit card company if the mailorder place refuses to believe you. You shouldn't have such problems if you stick to B&H or CWO.

USA warantee versus Grey market.

A grey market item does not have a US warantee; it has an "international" warantee instead. Canon USA supposedly honors international warantees too although they are not obliged to. Nikon supposedly does not. With Canon, there are usually differences between the US and Grey market items, with the difference being usually in favor of the grey market item. For example, the EOS 5 (the grey market version of the A2E) has a metering scale in manual mode that the A2E lacks. People do use grey market stuff without problems but all of my stuff is US market. I am not sure what the parts situation might be for US versus Grey after a few years. Be sure to ask the salesperson what you are getting. The grey market item might be a little cheaper sometimes.

DISCLAIMER:

The above is just based on my experience. I am not a spokesman for any of the companies mentioned above, just a satisfied customer. I am not liable for any trouble you might have if you follow my advice.

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