need assistance with lens selection.

[spikerS]

my wife and i are getting pretty comfortable with the DSLR i got us for christmas last year, but my wife is now starting to talk about getting another lens.

unfortunatly, i know nothing about them.

she wants a zoom lens, and i know these can get quite expensive. but really we are not looking to take pictures of baseball players and count hair folicles from across the stadium.

really, what we are looking for is to be able to take a picture of that deer we just saw in the farmers field about 300 yards away and get a nice picture of it kinda thing.

Also, I am finding it really hard to find a Pentax lens of any sort. seems everyone only carries cannon and nikkon. If anyone knows of a place that has a selection of Pentax lenses would be sweet as well.

We are not looking to spend a ton on the lens, but a few hundred dollars is not out of the question.

any information anyone can provide is greatly appreciated.

[mboldt]

I would definitely go down to The Camera Store in Calgary.

http://www.thecamerastore.com

You can view their selection of pentax lenses online.

[Gibson]

Yeah, you're gonna see a lot of TCS recommendations anywhere you go in the city. Best prices in town usually, pretty good staff, and a great selection of equipment.

[flipstah]

You can try Vistek. I haven't been there yet but they seem to have cheaper prices (in film anyways.)

http://www.vistek.ca

[davidm_86]

As Gibson mentioned, The Camera Store is one of the most recommended stores in Calgary. I've spent tens of thousands on gear there.

As flipstah said, Vistek is another good choice. I've seen some better prices there (though The Camera Store matched it) for my macro flash. However, I buy all my printing supplies at Vistek, they have more there for that I find.

Another option (if all else fails) is B&H Photo Video. I bought a portable media player from them and the sale went very smoothly. Very popular place for people to buy camera gear as well, however you may have to pay duties and such, so be careful!

[flipstah]

I recently bought Velvia 50's at Vistek and it's quite cheaper there than The Camera Store. I bought two at $12.99 each minus 15% off, which was quite nice.

They have a selection of Pentax lenses but TCS seems to have more. I think Vistek is mostly Niknon place. Hell, they were shocked when they saw my Konica. ;)

[C4S]

Saneal is good too!

I deal with Vistek and Camera store as well .. however, they are just always super busy .. ( or I go there in wrong time? )

Saneal is busy, but not as quite busy, and somehow, few times when I wanted to order some lens/body/gears, I can get them from Saneal sooner then Camera store/Vistek, as the manager told me why, because Canon Canada will supply the same amount of specific DSLR body/Lens to diff stores ... and I guess TCS and Vistek are usually sold out some hot items.

My case is on Canon .. as I havn't ordered Nikon stuffs for a while .. ;)

[flipstah]

Originally posted by C4S
Saneal is good too!

I deal with Vistek and Camera store as well .. however, they are just always super busy .. ( or I go there in wrong time? )

Saneal is busy, but not as quite busy, and somehow, few times when I wanted to order some lens/body/gears, I can get them from Saneal sooner then Camera store/Vistek, as the manager told me why, because Canon Canada will supply the same amount of specific DSLR body/Lens to diff stores ... and I guess TCS and Vistek are usually sold out some hot items.

My case is on Canon .. as I havn't ordered Nikon stuffs for a while .. ;)

That would be the downtown location correct? Or any Saneal other than Sunridge?

Their stuff in Sunridge is overpriced and I haven't gotten good service there whenever I went. At Vistek and TCS, you gotta bug them for service because they're busy (especially during afternoons, hence I go early) but at Saneal Sunridge, not a lot of people go there and yet I get okay or subpar service. A 62mm CPL filter (Targus) cost $65 at Saneal. I bought a Hoya 62mm CPL filter at TCS for $54.95

You be the judge.

[Mitsu3000gt]

Originally posted by flipstah


That would be the downtown location correct? Or any Saneal other than Sunridge?

Their stuff in Sunridge is overpriced and I haven't gotten good service there whenever I went. At Vistek and TCS, you gotta bug them for service because they're busy (especially during afternoons, hence I go early) but at Saneal Sunridge, not a lot of people go there and yet I get okay or subpar service. A 62mm CPL filter (Targus) cost $65 at Saneal. I bought a Hoya 62mm CPL filter at TCS for $54.95

You be the judge.

What I don't like about Blacks/Seneal, etc. is that I need to do work to get the same price that other people sell for regularily. They are more than happy to sell something to you hundreds of dollars more than what TCS sells it for (and why wouldn't they?) but as a customer, I do not enjoy having to work to get the lowest price, haggle with salespeople, ask for price matches, etc. At TCS, you walk in, get good service, and you know you're getting the cheapest price in town. I often go at lunch time because I work downtown, and even when its busy in there, I always get helped in a very reasonable amount of time.

[flipstah]

Originally posted by Mitsu3000gt


What I don't like about Blacks/Seneal, etc. is that I need to do work to get the same price that other people sell for regularily. They are more than happy to sell something to you hundreds of dollars more than what TCS sells it for (and why wouldn't they?) but as a customer, I do not enjoy having to work to get the lowest price, haggle with salespeople, ask for price matches, etc. At TCS, you walk in, get good service, and you know you're getting the cheapest price in town. I often go at lunch time because I work downtown, and even when its busy in there, I always get helped in a very reasonable amount of time.

Exactly. Why haggle when you can get it at the price you want somewhere else? At Saneal, they sell shutter cables for $20 but I bought a longer one for $10.

I just don't understand why they have higher prices than TCS when they're both niche stores.

[Gibson]

TCS only has one store, less upkeep costs.

[C4S]

Originally posted by flipstah


That would be the downtown location correct? Or any Saneal other than Sunridge?

You be the judge.

Downtown one! their main store on 11ave, who will go to sunridge that far?? lol

Neil and Bill are good to deal with:thumbsup:

I am not sure about the filters price, I buy body, lens, flash those main item from them.

It is not a bad idea to go Vistek, TCS, Saneal to shop around, they within few blocks anyway, and offer customer parking.

I am bad, all my filters, are purchased online or from HK etc. Easy!

[flipstah]

Originally posted by C4S


Downtown one! their main store on 11ave, who will go to sunridge that far?? lol

Neil and Bill are good to deal with:thumbsup:

I am not sure about the filters price, I buy body, lens, flash those main item from them.

It is not a bad idea to go Vistek, TCS, Saneal to shop around, they within few blocks anyway, and offer customer parking.

I am bad, all my filters, are purchased online or from HK etc. Easy!

I live in the NE and so it's closer for me to go to Sunridge but I don't. I just C-Train it, which is nice because right after buying film, I take shots.

What kind of filters do you buy online?