D200 Anyone

[Michael Mingo]

I was curious if any of the members of this group have ordered the D200
- and if so - where did you place your order at?

I've got an order at National Camera - I've always tended to buy the
camera from a local dealer and buy lenses online - just my personal
preference - that sales tax adds up - but like to support local
businesses when I can.

Thanks.

[davev]

I haven't, but I shoot with a Canon.
The new Nikon looks impressive. I'm sure you're going to like it.
I'm not really a big fan of national camera. I think if I bought one
local,
I'd go to west camera.

Just my opinion.

[Andy Cosgrove]

I'm also a Canon guy, but I wanted to comment on buying local. I like
the convenience of National Camera, but it really irks me how high
their prices are. West Photo does seem to be more competetive. However,
I haven't yet purchased anything from West. I bought my last two lenses
from National Camera but I had them match West's price, which wasn't
much over B&H.

Plus, West carries many more brands. I think National is a little
arrogant in which brands they carry. For example, they don't Sigma or
Tokina because they "don't like them."

If I have patience, I will usually go to B&H.

[Michael Mingo]

I agree - as far as pricing for lenses - I would never buy local - I
bought the 70-200 Nikon VR lens earlier this year and National just
can't match the price of some of the online vendors - but when it comes
the D200 - all the prices are the same regardless of where you buy - of
course you have to pay sales tax but that is not a huge issues compared
with the overall cost of the D200.

I've never been to West, but want to check it out - I have only heard
one negative comment about West, but need to form my own opinion. The
think I hate about National is it always seems so busy when I go there
and takes forever to get help from the staff to get some questions
answered.

[Andy Cosgrove]

I just starting checking out West a few months ago. They tend to be a
little more "pro" I think, which means the sales staff seems more
knowledgable.

Buying the camera local is a good idea, since it's easy to bring back
if you have problems. Lenses aren't as big a deal to ship back and
forth. I didn't buy my camera locally, I took a chance and bought from
Dell. Luckily I didn't have any problems with the service or the
camera. I saved a bunch of money doing it, though. And that was with
tax, too.

[Greg Z]

I am considering the D200 to replace my S2 as a backup camera. It
sounds compelling; I really like the idea of a lightweight body with a
pro build.

I will probably buy from West. I've found that they are competitive
with online prices for camera bodies and some lenses. Plus they're a
pleasure to work with.

[Justin Holmes]

I probably won't be getting one. At this point, I need glass more than
a new body, but the D200 looks like a winner.

RE: buying local. I really like West, and dislike National. West seems
to have a better selection, and much more helpful staff. I got a 20
minute tutorial on tripods when I went in there, and it was about 5
dollars cheaper (including tax) than B&H would have been with shipping.
The few times I have been to National, I was either ignored or
condescended to, and they didn't seem to have what I needed anyway.
Never made it to the pricing phase.