Canadian retailers

Hello all, I am looking for reputable retailers in Canada that anyone has used

and recommends.<br>

I have used<br>

<br>

www.henrys.com<br>

www.vistek.ca<br>

<br>

Any recommendation would be appreciated

I've bought from Vistek before and also The Camera Store, Saneal, and Pro Digital 2000. I've been into the first three stores in Calgary as well.

 

I like The Camera Store the best. The prices are good, the staff are helpful, and they have a ton of great gear. Vistek is good, but I found the staff to be a little "too cool" for my liking, a bit over-impressed at themselves. Not a bad store though and it has a slightly different range than the others.

 

Saneal I didn't really like much. The staff were a bit weird and they won't let you return anything, except for an exchange, and only within ten days of purchase.

 

Pro Digital 2000 is an eBay store operating out of Toronto, as far as I know. I've bought from them. They have by far the cheapest prices, but there's no guarantee that the goods are good. I just got a Lowepro camera backpack from them the other day and, although it was nearly half the price of anywhere else, it must have been a factory second, because the largest interior pocket was accidentally sewn shut. On the website they stated its condition as brand new and nowhere does it say anything about the faulty pocket. They don't take any returns either, even if the product is faulty. Buyer beware.

 

So there you go. I've never bought from Henry's, though they have a good reputation, as far as I know. The prices are a bit dearer than the Calgary stores, though.

I've used both in Toronto. No complaints. not much barganing room.

 

Errol

Try Just Cameras in Mississauga, Ontario. They have been in business for over 25 years. Small but excellent service.

www.adencamera.com

or

www.downtowncamera.com

 

Both go out of their way to give much better deals than Vistek and Henrys.

It would help greatly to know what you're after, equipment-wise. The usual suspects(Henry's+Vistek)haven't yet realized how the relatively strong Cdn$ has led many customers South to NYC. That huge fact, along with eBay and a "couldn't-give-a-$hit" attitude will probably kill the over-extended Henry's chain soon.Give Just Cameras a try. They're honest and usually try to better the big guys'prices whenever possible.

I use Simon's Cameras in Montreal regularly for mail order(www.simonscameras.com). Small store, good service, and better prices than the larger chains like Henry's. Not sure where you are in Canada but I know shipping to Ontario is cheap. You also save the PST if you are not in Quebec. With today's exchange rates, however, B&H and the big US outfits may be a better choice.

Carmine - you didn't indicate state which part of Canada you were interested in - but I deal @ Thriftway Drugs here in Lethbridge AB. Purchased my 18-200 lens thru them for $830 Cdn. I've also dealt with Vistek in Calgary and found them to be very expensive. When my D70 went down, they were prepared to send it back to Nikon for me for a $45 fee. When I called Nikon direct, they gave me a FedEx control number - the camera was picked up, returned to Nikon, then delivered to me after repair - no charge.

Hello all, thanks for the overwhelming reply<br>

I live in Hamilton Ontario.<br>

I had no idea of these other stores. I'm glad I asked. <br>

I just picked up D200 for 1899 and a Nikkor AF-S DX 17-55mm F2.8 G IF-ED for 1699.<br><br>

 

I purchased the 2 from Henrys but did some research and found a better prices, Henrys matched it with no hassle. I saved $200. Not to shabby I thought.<br><br>

 

Now I'm just looking for accessories as I go (memory, batteries, filters, rechargeable batteries for flash), in time maybe another D200 depending on how big I go with weddings.<br><br>

 

I have the SB-800, Stroboframe 360 bracket and SC-29 cable already that I used with my D70s.

www.thecamerastore.com

 

403 234-9935 or 888 539-9397

 

THE CAMERA STORE, best prices, most knowledgable SENIOR STAFF, best of all no PST.

The young guys are a bit lacking (Green), but Manager (Rob) and the Two Owners (Peter &

Julian) and Senior Staff Peter S are fanstatic. Over 60 years experience between those four.

Lots of equipment and amazing prices. If you want it, they will have it, if they don't, they'll

work hard to get it. Stock like Nikon, Canon, Pentax, Olympus, Hasselblad, Leica, Imacon,

Panasonic, Manfrotto, Gitzo, Wimberley, LowePro, Crumpler, Profoto, Aurora, Photoflex,

Quantum, Fuji & Kodak. Amazing STOCK LEVELS!! Great Guys to deal with!!

Great shill--I think. "Best prices?" Really? Prove it.

<p>I know this is an old thread, but just for those that search previous threads for information I'll offer my two cents:</p>

<blockquote>

<p>I found the staff to be a little "too cool" for my liking, a bit over-impressed at themselves.<br>

"couldn't-give-a-$hit" attitude<br>

Saneal I didn't really like much. The staff were a bit weird and they won't let you return anything, except for an exchange, and only within ten days of purchase.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>These previous statements are all spot on from my experience with the Calgary stores I've shopped. A typical Vistek experience is that I arrive to an empty store with 2 - 3 staff and one manager all playing solitaire on their computers trying to look busy, will not even raise their head to look at a customer entering the store, and if one of them eventually saunters over to offer you a hand it'll be without a smile or anything inviting or genuinely helpful. In fact they make you feel like you're a pee-on amateur wasting their valuable time. I'd almost like to see if their expression would change at all if I said I'm here to order a D3X and the trio of 2.8 zooms....</p>

<p>Saneal- I experienced the no return thing last night and it nearly turned ugly but luckily compromise prevailed. I had bought a Lowepro photo backpack and then learned it was significantly cheaper at Vistek. I HAD done some research and going into Saneal most of the products I had checked were less at Saneal so I AS$umed this was the overall trend. But once at the store looking at the different packs I ended up choosing one that I didn't expect to. Vistek was closed anyway. But I got home and seen that I chose probably the only model that was significantly cheaper at Vistek. Bleh. If it was only $10 I wouldn't even worry about it.</p>

<p>So I went back the very next day with the backpack untouched, all tags still on it, the air pillow still in the main compartment, receipt in hand, even in the Saneal bag, and asked them to either price match or I'll return and they gave me the no refund line. If they didn't make up the difference with a store credit, I would have tried a maneuver I never tried before- and I am wondering if it would have worked. I had paid with credit card. So if push came to shove I would have kept my receipt and walked out without the pack, just saying I'm going to call the credit card company and have the charge reversed- using my purchase protection. See what they say then.</p>

<p>Some might say that we're a bunch of spoiled, indecisive, selfish consumers but c'mon, under reasonable circumstances returns, price matching, customer service are all fundamentals of remaining competitive in today's marketplace and I just can't feel sorry for these putzes when their shops suffer as more and more of us flock to eBay, Amazon, or even other brick n mortars that actually give a damn.</p>