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How to buy a camera

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horner
Posts: 2439 - Karma: 1,578
I've seen a lot of threads on here lately asking about sketchy camera sites and offers.  Sites that advertise cameras for way less than retail are always grey market or a scam. 

Getting expensive video and camera gear for cheap just doesn't happen.  There are no amazing deals out there.  Sometimes a manufacturer will offer a rebate of some sort, but you will never get a new camera for hundreds less than retail, unless buying used.

If you find a site that is advertising cameras at insanely low prices, turn around.  As tempting as it may be, you will lose your money.

Example of a grey market camera site.  Notice how everything is cheap? THIS IS WHAT YOU WANT TO AVOID.  There are no if's and's or but's, never buy anything from a site like this.
http://www.soniccameras.com/

Example of good sites to buy from. (list taken from dvxuser.com)
http://www.abelcine.com
www.armatosvideo.com
www.avs.com
http://www.bhphoto.com
www.birnsandsawyer.com
http://cinequipt.com/
http://www.digitalvideogroup.com
http://www.fullcompass.com
http://www.greatnorthernvideo.com
http://www.promediamemphis.com
www.roscor.com
http://www.samyscamera.com
http://www.spec-comm.com
http://www.studio-exchange.com
http://www.willoughbys.com

Stay away from these sites
A&M Photo World, www.amphotoworld.com
Abe's of Maine, www.abesofmaine.com
Banana Boat Camera, www.bananaboatcamera.com
Beach Camera, www.beachcamera.com
Best Buy PCs, www.bestbuypcs.com
Best Digital Online, www.bestdigitalonline.com
Best Price Cameras, www.bestpricecameras.com
Brand Namez LLC, www.brandnamez.com
Broadway Photo, www.bwayphoto.com
Butterfly Photo, www.butterflyphoto.com
Buydig, www.buydig.com
California Cellular, www.californiacell.com
Cameras & Electronics, www.camerasandelectronics.com
Central Digital, www.centraldigital.com
Century 21 Electronics, www.century21electronics.com
Chumbo Corp, www.chumbo.com
Computer Online, www.computeronline.com
CompuVest Corp, www.compuvest.com
DBuys, www.dbuys.com
Digital Delivered, www.digitaldelivered.com
Digital Liquidators, www.digitalliquidators.com
Digitally Unique, www.digitallyunique.com
Digital Mega Store, www.digitalmegastore.com
eCost, www.ecost.com
Electrified Discounters Inc., www.electrified.com
Etronics, www.etronics.com
Express Cameras, www.expresscameras.com
Monitor Outlet Inc., www.flat-tv-mounts.com and www.monitoroutlet.com and www.nettv-store.com
Foto Connection, www.fotoconnection.com
I Buy Digital, www.ibuydigital.com
Infiniti Photo, www.infinitiphoto.com
Inoax, www.inoax.com
Leo Barnet, www.leobarnet.com
Mr. Accessory, www.mraccessory.com
NewEgg, www.newegg.com
Onix Electronics, www.onixstyle.com
PC Nation, www.pcnation.com
Atman Inc., www.pccrush.com
Preferred Photo LLC, www.preferredphoto.com
Prestige Camera, www.prestigecamera.com
PriceGrabber, www.pricegrabber.com
Profeel Marketing, Inc., www.profeel.com
Projector.com, www.projector.com
Real Deal Shop, www.realdealshop.com
Red Tag Savings, www.redtagsavings.com
Sunshine Electronics, www.shopsunshine.com
The Twister Group, www.thetwistergroup.com
Trio Computers, www.triocomputers.com
Tri-State Camera and Computers, www.tristatecamera.com
TV Authority, www.tvauthority.com
TVs Depot, www.tvsdepot.com

If you have any doubt about a website, look it up here
http://www.resellerratings.com/

Always remember, if it looks to good to be true, it always is.  If you see the price and think to yourself "Holy sh*t that's cheap!" you know that the site is not a place where you want to be buying a camera.

Hope this helps clear up the cheap camera site questions.
Jul 1 2009 1:12PM
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SteezyOhio
Posts: 6044 - Karma: 60
adorama.com - good site to buy from, great refurbished prices
Jul 1 2009 1:15PM
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miroz
Posts: 10333 - Karma: 3,945
Alex, you're a god.  Good stuff!
Jul 1 2009 1:34PM
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mnjib
Posts: 5592 - Karma: 362
I am a bit shocked newegg.com was under the not good sites. Its one of the most legit online stores for computer parts. I have bought tons of computer related items from them.

And also Adorama.com is a very legit stores as well.
Jul 1 2009 1:39PM
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EH_DUBS
Posts: 3080 - Karma: 969
yeah newegg has always been fine for me. ive never ordered anything camera related but still
Jul 1 2009 2:03PM
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miroz
Posts: 10333 - Karma: 3,945

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

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

Jul 1 2009 2:11PM
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chapz
Posts: 10182 - Karma: 66
meh i just bought a lappy off newegg and it was flawless. their customer service is great, fast shipping and they're extremely secure. i had to change my billing  address to an american one(friends place) and they verified it twice and made sure everything was okay. newegg shouldnt be there, i've heard only good things...
Jul 1 2009 2:25PM
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MAC.D
Posts: 5654 - Karma: 344
my threads
Jul 1 2009 4:23PM
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horner
Posts: 2439 - Karma: 1,578
I should say, that the mentioned "bad" sites are not authorized Panasonic dealers.  So they aren't necessarily bad, you just don't want to be buying cameras from non authorized dealers, it could come back to bite you.
Jul 1 2009 4:42PM
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.jr
Posts: 5313 - Karma: 356
yeah might of wanted to make that clearer. Abes of main and New egg? legit..
Jul 1 2009 7:23PM
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horner
Posts: 2439 - Karma: 1,578
This thread should be used to post any questionable camera deals.  If it's all kept to one thread, it can be used as a good reference to everyone.
Jul 2 2009 1:02AM
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CS_Films
Posts: 468 - Karma: 466
Also if you are unsure on the websight just google the name of the company and usually if it is bad a long list of angry people pop up. Like Horner said if it seems to goot to be true it is. If you want a quality camera just do what you can to buy the best camera you can afford.
Jul 2 2009 8:47AM
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Jwenz
Posts: 8893 - Karma: 7,633
i will voge (sp?) for adorama.com as well. bought my gl2 from there and several tapes. good site for sure. Nice work horner, you never fail
Jul 2 2009 11:48AM
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1080ski
Posts: 4424 - Karma: 191
i used beachcamera.com with no problem at all. i think its a certified nikon dealer as well.

http://www.resellerratings.com/store/Beach_Camera_Beachtr
Jul 2 2009 5:49PM
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eli112233
Posts: 1028 - Karma: 15
nicely done.
Jul 3 2009 3:34PM
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ski-swagga
Posts: 5276 - Karma: 219
http://www.samys.com/product_detail.php?item=12056
its, the hv30 refurb deal, i know it's under the legit sites but this seems too good to be true. anyone's opinion?
Jul 5 2009 12:32PM
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cashdebt
Posts: 2383 - Karma: 349
wow that does seem to good to be true, i would also like to know about this
Jul 5 2009 2:15PM
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horner
Posts: 2439 - Karma: 1,578
Refurbs will be cheaper than buying new.  A refurbished camera is basically a new camera.  The camera may have been damaged so the manufacturer completely goes through the camera to get it back to spec.

The refurbed HV30 is a great deal, and it's safe to purchase from sammys.
Jul 5 2009 2:50PM
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family_vacation
Posts: 6200 - Karma: 7,840
YES, I bought one. It came and it is just like a new one. The only difference is the box.
Jul 6 2009 1:41AM
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Big_Spence
Posts: 16177 - Karma: 4,352
Wow.
That sounds like a good way to spend $450....I might have to make a future investment.
Jul 6 2009 5:01AM
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benalt
Posts: 403 - Karma: 58
ask the person at target, or best buy who makes the best camera. then buy it
Jul 6 2009 6:29PM
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BMskier
Posts: 3363 - Karma: 365
threads
Jul 7 2009 11:50AM
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pompe
Posts: 874 - Karma: 124
Yeah, that's what I did and I got this way cool Flip Vid. It's so rad, can't wait to be pumping out edits with that all year. Bout to go buy a sick wide-angle and maybe a decent fish eye for some follows...
Jul 8 2009 4:03PM
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Crock360
Posts: 2100 - Karma: 23
you really should take newegg.com off the "stay away from" list. They have a 9.86/10 customer satisfaction rating, and are a super legit site. Anything technology related, they have great products and great deals for
Jul 10 2009 11:02PM
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Bentley@DOSMedia
Posts: 1410 - Karma: 1,827
The list is from DVX User. The reason they are on there is because they are not an authorized Panasonic dealer. You may not know DVX User, but its all mainly panasonic people and thats why its not on that list. The site may be great for other things though.
Jul 11 2009 5:21AM
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DBeck
Posts: 1275 - Karma: 63
for one of my classes we had to buy sdhc cards and half the class bought from newegg cuz it was like 15 bucks cheaper. but it took almost a month for them to get it and then 3 peoples didn't work.. I forgot the brand of the cards, kingston maybe? only expeirence with newegg though, can't say for sure if they're shady or not.
Jul 13 2009 8:06PM
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pompe
Posts: 874 - Karma: 124
OK, drop the newegg banter. That's not what this thread was intended for.
Jul 14 2009 9:07AM
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Snowgoner
Posts: 5047 - Karma: 964
abes of maine is legit....

i bought a camera off there, for $50 cheaper than any other site(a point and shoot digital) they sent it out and i got it within 4 days. the customer service there is also very legit, they helped me pick out a memory card for it. they are definitely one of the most legit online stores i've dealt with.
Jul 14 2009 9:33AM
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horner
Posts: 2439 - Karma: 1,578
Like I said, the sites listed as questionable are not authorized Panasonic dealers.  It does not mean they are bad sites to buy from necessarily.

Sometimes sites like abes sells products that they are not an authorized dealer of.  You don't want to be buying from a site that isn't authorized to sell whichever brand of equipment you are buying. 
Jul 14 2009 10:56AM
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Snowgoner
Posts: 5047 - Karma: 964
oh my bad i should have read the whole thread.
coincedentally the camera that i bought was a panasonic. haha oh well.
Jul 14 2009 11:11AM
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Wilsooon
Posts: 321 - Karma: 62
my threads
Jul 20 2009 8:13PM
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Holte
Posts: 10740 - Karma: 7,814
I've only had bad experiences with Abe's of Maine. Bought a projector from them last summer and it took eight weeks to get it delivered. They finally realized around week five that they hadn't shipped it after telling me it had already been delivered two weeks earlier. I later bought a camera from them and they shipped the wrong product. However, both purchases were really good deals, so I guess you get what you pay for.
Jul 29 2009 5:00PM
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inactive
Posts: 4772 - Karma: 97
horner, where do you stand off ebay purchases of 'slighly used' cameras?
Jul 31 2009 10:26AM
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ParkE
Posts: 1388 - Karma: 190
adorama is very legit
vanns.com very legit(usually cheaper)and if you live in montana(idont) go check out their store
Jul 31 2009 10:37AM
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LMPJibbin
Posts: 1607 - Karma: 17
holy shit thats more websites then i can comprehend
Aug 2 2009 6:58AM
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horner
Posts: 2439 - Karma: 1,578
I've bought an Fx1 on ebay before.  As long as the seller has good feedback, provides lots of details and pictures, I'd say it's usually a safe bet.  Of course, it's never a 100% guarantee, you just have to be very cautious when buying a used camera, especially on ebay.  If you don't feel 100% confident about the purchase, don't buy it.  Also, make sure you ask the seller lots of detailed questions about the camera.  If they really want to sell it, they will tell you everything you need to know.
Aug 2 2009 8:55PM
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justinTpetricko
Posts: 287 - Karma: 1,043
honestly get it person. my friend bought one from a sight and he got it used and broken and had to put another 200$ into it just to get it to shoot
Aug 18 2009 7:47PM
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bout_it
Posts: 1233 - Karma: 17
great thread. thanks for the info.
Aug 19 2009 2:56PM
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coclover
Posts: 8 - Karma: 10
aint no bitch
Aug 20 2009 5:19AM
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nigpuss
Posts: 157 - Karma: 711
bitch
Aug 23 2009 7:42PM
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basedjase
Posts: 2510 - Karma: 640
yes indeed, just bought this. but not refurb for $35.00 Click for larger image
Sep 2 2009 12:14AM
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ninjea
Posts: 2083 - Karma: 28

just go a quick question and don't feel like making a new thread,

Can the canon hv30/40 shoot in 250fps or would i have to slow it down with editing software.

Sep 8 2009 8:10AM
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horner
Posts: 2439 - Karma: 1,578
No consumer, prosumer camera can shoot at 250fps.  At least not anything worth buying.  If you want slow motion footage, shoot 60i.
Sep 8 2009 3:23PM
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adamlukowski
Posts: 3676 - Karma: 311
I bought a Canon HG20 from Newegg.com for 600$ when its originally 900$. Ive also used Newegg for Everything technology related
Sep 15 2009 8:59PM
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slickohio
Posts: 550 - Karma: 21

my threads

Nov 9 2009 5:22PM
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DrZoidberg
Posts: 5675 - Karma: 4,268
KEH is legit. I've bought 3 lenses and my brother has gotten several bronica components from them. Usually you can get good bgn condition stuff, I got Ex lenses though and they were flawless.
Nov 21 2009 6:25PM
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ryo.i-p
Posts: 5 - Karma: 10
check out  www.vistek.ca
Nov 22 2009 2:51AM
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grilledsteezeyo
Posts: 1419 - Karma: 72
awesome info
Dec 27 2009 8:13PM
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jeremy.g
Posts: 4931 - Karma: 459
sketchy haha. i dont think i would have attempted it
Jan 2 2010 8:20PM
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