What’s Your Preference?

Pacifico · #1 (**permalink**) 11-15-2010, 05:14 AM

I've been looking around for a new bag and happened to run across a post in the gear section mentioning the Think Tank Retrospective 20. Rather than order it online I decided to try and find one I could see and touch to be sure it's what I wanted.

Today I walked into a store and started looking around, it's a small shop that doesn't really do too much work with dSLR's...they focus on medium format and technical cameras. The guy that was there was really friendly and helped me find the bag I was looking for. In passing, he mentioned that they typically aren't open on Sundays he was just there to finish up on some stuff.

I'm not sure how it got started but he started telling me about the medium format cameras, I didn't know anything at all about them. He explained quite a bit about them, not in a salesman type of way but as someone who was really passionate about the gear. I learned quite a bit and was really happy to be talking to someone like him.

Somewhere during the conversation I turned and looked onto the counter...sitting there in a box was the Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8D ED AF. I had been looking around for one and was just about to order one new from B&H last night. Not sure why but I didn't think he'd be selling it...but I asked anyway. He told me that he got it from one of his customers, probably in some sort of trade, but that he didn't really sell Nikon gear and hadn't thought about selling it. After a minute he asked what I was looking to pay for one of those so I told him that I'd be willing to pay about $750 (they seem to go for about $1000 new), I thought it was a pretty fair price. He looked at me and said I could have it for $650...so the deal was made. It had been sitting in his shop for about a year and he hadn't even tried it to be sure it worked right...he said that if there was anything wrong with it I could just take it back and he'd refund my money.

I brought it home and it works perfectly on the D7000. I'm pretty happy I didn't buy the new one for $1000 and especailly happy I didn't go off and buy the 70 - 200 for over $2K.

In all it was a pretty good day, I walked into a shop that was supposed to be closed, met a pretty cool/knowledgeable guy, bought a nice bag, and bought the lens I've been looking for at what I think is a pretty descent price.

He also found wide angle lens sitting there and an old SB-28 that I might go back and buy from him one day...the stuff has been there for over a year so I'm sure it'll be there for a while longer.

Now I can't wait until my sons next soccer game.

... just thought I'd share.