Buying a DSLR online

locomotiveman

So, I'm looking at the Canon Rebel XT and would like some thoughts on where to buy one online. What I would really like is one with two lenses but I would be ok with the single original lens. I have come across any number of stores that carry it, but I don't know them well enough to decide if I trust them.

saltiness

http://bhphotovideo.com/

I've spent over $1000 there and never had any problems. They usually have the lowest price or are within a few percent of it and do not charge tax.

For any place you consider use resellerratings.com to check it out first.

edit: Also, I would get only the 18-55mm kit lens to start out with. It's not top quality but it's a great learner lens. If you want something for low light later, the Canon 50mm f1.8 has great image quality and is less than $80.

locomotiveman

They are certainly who I've been leaning towards this whole time. Do they also not charge sales tax to NY residents?

saltiness

I think you're screwed if you're in NY.

powerss

abesofmaine.com is a great place too. They will try to upsell you on accessories, but they definitely don't hound you.

Ants Marching

If you're American, buy from B&H Photo. This is the standard place to buy photography equipment online.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/

If you're Canadian, buy from Canada Camera. Same as above but with more maple syrup.
http://www.cameracanada.com/

I just bought a Nikon D70s from Canada Camera. Three days to get to me and it was $150 cheaper than retail.

Mind if I ask, why are you only looking at Canon as your option?

Edit: I see I was beat to the punch on B&H by Saltiness so I'll simply say B&H is your best bet.

Edit #2: Spend your money on the lens, not the body. Bodies come and go but the glass will stay with you forever. If you have to get a lesser body for that better lens, do it.

locomotiveman

Canon is what all my digital experiance has been in ( which means I shouldn't need to install that much for one thing). I have been flirting with a Nikon since a guy down the hall I know has the D80 along with several lenses but I'm not so sure I'd be comfortable with borrowing them and risking damaging them.

saltiness

There's not much of a difference between the two (Canon and Nikon). Canon has a better first party lens selection and the best pro bodies but Nikon has (imo) better consumer and prosumer level bodies. I'm not sure what you mean by having to install anything but you don't need to install any software on your computer to use a Canon or Nikon DSLR. The included software is mostly for n00bs, if you have Photoshop you're set.

locomotiveman

Yeah I meant the program for downloading from the memory cards more then anything, it is the same between all Canon products from what I can tell.

saltiness

It's also unnecessary which is what I'm saying.

locomotiveman

Yeah thats right there is a way to do that thru photoshop isn't there, to be honest I'd been without a copy of photoshop for so long I'd forgotten that.

saltiness

You don't actually need any special software if you're on XP. Just plug in the camera, Windows will download the images.

sammaverick

Besides B&H, http://www.beachcamera.com is also pretty good. My friend just bought a Canon Xt there 2 weeks ago and it arrived fine.

I use Picassa and it automaticlly downloads my photos onto my computer when I plug my CF card in the reader.

Shazkar Shadowstorm

sammaverick wrote: »

Besides B&H, http://www.beachcamera.com is also pretty good. My friend just bought a Canon Xt there 2 weeks ago and it arrived fine.

I use Picassa and it automaticlly downloads my photos onto my computer when I plug my CF card in the reader.

Got my Nikon D50 body from there + lenses from B&H

nexuscrawler

Never knew B&H had such a large mail order bussiness. Yes they do rock though.

I'd suggest going to a store and handling any camera before you order it online. Feel and such is very important to camera choice.

locomotiveman

Oh yeah I molest an XT every time I'm at Target and am pretty happy with its feel.

EggyToast

These guys look pretty cool; I'll have to bookmark them. Hey, one of the photographers for our wedding had a nikon dslr and it had an auto-adjusting flash, with a dim flash for medium light up to a bright flash for indoor. Is that a body feature, or a flash feature?

nexuscrawler

I love my Xti I jsut have zero time to use the damn thing

meatflower

This is not so much for where to buy the DSLR, but just a tip for what to do afterwards. I speak from some experience, I was the Photo Editor for my High School yearbook for 3 years and oversaw the transition from 35mm to DSLR and a fully digital workflow.

We used the EOS Digital Rebel (not XT), as our initial purchase was before the XT's were available.

For RAW processing, once you get the camera, I recommend Capture One.

http://www.phaseone.com/Content/Software/ProSoftware/ProductOverview.aspx

If you're gonna be taking a lot of pictures, it makes converting them to JPEG or whatever image format you want a breeze. Very good, professional level, program.

Another plug for B&H though, bought 4 Rebel's from them and a heap of other equipment, great folks to deal with.