Why are pentax's so hard to find?

[eliza61]

Sorry about duplicating this, I meant to post it as a new thread.

Anyway, I'm another photographer who wants to make the leap into the dslr world. I've been a good little lurker and followed the advice of all the "jedi masters" here.

I'm now at the "go to the store and hold the camera" stadge but every where I go, it seems like they have the same cameras to hold.

I have the usual Best buy, HH Chregg, Sears, Sams, walmarts near me and they all have generally Nikon, Canon and then point and shoots. I did find a few sony's but they were the high end models and I'm looking to stay in the 600-700 price range.

So Pentaxions, where the heck are your cameras hiding?

My 2nd problem, and has anyone else run across this? Is you get to the store and they have a few cameras displayed but none or maybe 1 has power to it, so you can't get a feel of the controls or the display.

 

[ukcatfan]

They got out of the big box store game a couple years ago. You have to find real camera stores to see one in person.

 

[ukcatfan]

Just noticed where you live. It might be worth your effort to go into NYC to places like B&H and Adorama.

 

[lessing]

Abes of Maine in Edison, easy to get to from turnpike, parkway, 18, or 1 & 9 If you dont want to go into the city.

 

[Marlton Mom]

I posted this on the other forum before I saw this new thread. I'm dragging it over here for you. And yes the camera's at B and H are powered so you can check out the functions.
Did some one say Southern NJ???

You are so close to B and H you can almost reach out and fondle the merchandise!

B and H is the store you want to go to if you want to feel every brand in your hands!

Here's what I would do, heck, here's what I HAVE DONE in your situation.
Get in your car and drive to the Hamilton NJ Transit train station (this is the one above Trenton). Park your car there (for about $7) and purchase a NJ Transit train ticket to Penn Station in New York City. A one way ticket for one adult will cost you $15 and a round trip ticket may be even cheaper, I'm not sure.

Hop on the train for a local (90 min approx) or express ride (65+ mins) right to the center of New York City! It would easily take you 3 hours by car from Hamilton NJ with all the traffic and tunnel congestion so this is a Win, Win, both from the consideration of time and money. The tolls and parking lot charges are outrageous in NYC.

You can relax on the train as it's more like a rail road car than a subway car and Penn Station is right under Madison Square Garden and you are literally 2 blocks away from B and H.

On your return trip, Penn Station can be a little daunting, but just look for the New Jersey Transit part of the station and never mind the Amtrak part. Both Train stations are relatively nice with bathrooms and food courts. The one at Hamilton has a Dunkin Donuts fer gawds sake! There is also a bathroom on the train but I have never been...

I have done this with my family and again with just my 12 y.o. son and his friend for a Boy's Lego store and Nintendo store trip. The boys think B and H is cool and they love to check out the telescopes, computers and especially the conveyor system.

Usually we have time and energy to go to B and H, hop in a cab and go to see something else in NYC, then hop in a cab to go eat a restaurant that we have scoped out, then back to Penn station for the trip home. The last time we went we ate in Chinatown in a place that Anthony Bourdain recommended on his show. The next time we are planning to take the boys to Sarita's Macaroni & Cheese place so you see you can really make it an adventure!

It's no secret here that I am a BIG B and H fan. Keep in mind however that you can examine all the different cameras, ask the knowledgeable sales staff for help and then go buy the camera some place else if B and H doesn't offer you the price that you want.

If you see it cheaper some place else, especially if it's like $100 or more be advised that it may be a gray market camera from a disreputable seller. There are a number of on line outfits that pop up and then change their name when their poor reputation is revealed by unsatisfied customers.

With B and H, I never have to worry about stuff like that and they do keep pretty current with everyone else s price matching, at least with the reputable places.

The rest of the folks here can post about which on line retailers they have had good experiences with.

As for me, I got to B and H to SEE the merchandise, then I check out what the prices are online from the reputable sellers, and then I pretty much wind up going with B and H because they have the price and service that I like.

I hope that helps,

Marlton Mom

 

[eliza61]

Thanks Marlton Mom,
Actually getting to New York is very easy for me as I'm originally from Harlem and find my way home generally once or twice a month. I'll check out B & H this weekend.

Eliza

Thanks all,

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Eliza - Here's a link to a very good deal on one of the Sony's that another person here found. I don't know which models you've seen at Best Buy but this is the last year model of the current A560 or the A580. Just no video in the A500 but don't know if that's important to you or not.

Sony A500 w/18-200mm

Sony's are excellent camera's for shooting the lodge!

 

[mom2rtk]

Eliza - Here's a link to a very good deal on one of the Sony's that another person here found. I don't know which models you've seen at Best Buy but this is the last year model of the current A560 or the A580. Just no video in the A500 but don't know if that's important to you or not.

Sony A500 w/18-200mm

Sony's are excellent camera's for shooting the lodge!

Eliza, that was my friend Kat was talking about. I have a Canon, but she asked me to help her find her first DSLR. This camera, as well as the Pentax had the most features for the money. I got a chance to hold the camera and walk her through some of the features this weekend and can say it seems to be an awesome deal, much more for the money than she could have found at Best Buy or Costo.

She wavered between the Pentax and the Sony. Both were great deals, but she went with the Sony simply because the kit lens was an all-in-one and she didn't want to be swapping out lenses.

Here's that thread:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2677596

Good luck!

 

[beachclub]

B&H is easy to find. Its on 5th and 41st i think. a short walk from Times square. Hopefully u stick with a Pentax. We are our own little niche
with the best lens's available for the price.
600-700 you can get a nice K-r as an entry level body. Pentax is now releasing more affordable lens's as well and toss in weather resistant.

Sorry about duplicating this, I meant to post it as a new thread.

Anyway, I'm another photographer who wants to make the leap into the dslr world. I've been a good little lurker and followed the advice of all the "jedi masters" here.

I'm now at the "go to the store and hold the camera" stadge but every where I go, it seems like they have the same cameras to hold.

I have the usual Best buy, HH Chregg, Sears, Sams, walmarts near me and they all have generally Nikon, Canon and then point and shoots. I did find a few sony's but they were the high end models and I'm looking to stay in the 600-700 price range.

So Pentaxions, where the heck are your cameras hiding?

My 2nd problem, and has anyone else run across this? Is you get to the store and they have a few cameras displayed but none or maybe 1 has power to it, so you can't get a feel of the controls or the display.

 

[topdog]

Other than B&H, there's also J & R Music World. It locate only 3 block away from ground zero. I was there 5 days ago. Just as fun as going to B&H.

 

[Daisy14'sDH]

I just bought a brand new Kr Body only, for $550, thats pretty good for Canada! 2 year warrnty too! One of my friends just purchased the K5, wow, is all one can say. I used it for an hour and all I can say is wow, its very intuitive for me after using the Kx for the last 15 months. But the Kr is a huge improvement over the Kx which is still fantastic! THe screen and being able to use the remote from the front are great and well worth the difference in price, not to forget the extra ISO, pics are usable from the 6400 range with ease and not too much editing.

IMHO...

 

[Groucho]

Like others have said, Pentax has primarily been concentrating on online sales in the USA. From what I understand, in other countries, their success in the past few years has made them much easier to find in brick-n-mortar stores.

I would guess that part of the reason, too, is that they easily sell all of them that they make. Hopefully things get all cleared up in Japan soon and they can get production lines humming again and will start to expand into more stores. Their product is certainly there and getting rave reviews across the board... they are kind of like DVC claims to be, the "best kept secret".