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D800 - Dealer sales prevention


prendy

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<p>Surprised at seeing a D800 in my local Dealer's window I went in and asked for a look. He gave it to me but what do you do with a battery less, lensless body? I started asking a few questions;<br>

"No this is only for studio work." he said while I looked puzzled. "I'm interested to upgrade my D700." I responded. <br>

"No, this is completely different from the D700. They do completely different jobs. The D800 is only for studio work." he stated.<br>

"Well I shoot events, landscapes, streetscapes (not street photography)." I explained.<br>

"Then you are fine with the D700."<br>

"I know it's fine but for example the ability to crop that the D800 provides would be extremely useful for some of my event shots. Could I bring in one of my lenses and a card to test it?" I further explained.<br>

"No you are better off with the D700. Besides you need a good Apple computer."<br>

Still mystified I told him that I had the latest and most powerful iMac, Aperture, Nik and everything needed in PP. I then said "You are doing a good job of talking yourself out of a sale."<br>

It seems to me that he is concentrating on one aspect of the D800's capabilities but I would be fairly sure that Nikon did not produce this camera for such a relatively narrow field and that they have also not briefed their dealers this way. Anybody else have this type of experience?<br>

Robert</p>

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<blockquote>

<p><strong>“If you argue with an idiot, there are two idiots” – Robert Kiyosaki</strong></p>

</blockquote>

<blockquote>

<p><strong>“Never argue with a fool, onlookers may not be able to tell the difference.” – Mark Twain</strong></p>

</blockquote>

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<p>When I wanted to purchase long lens to take "compressed perspective"pictures, a dealer explained that I only need a normal lens and know how to operate my camera since seemingly I did not now how to use it. Since perspective does not depend on focal lengh therefore long lens purchase he found not necessary. </p>

<p>Instead he proposed to purchase a used camera that was used carefully by a doctor...</p>

<p>... and we wonder why so many photography stores go out of business?</p>

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<p>He went on to say and it almost seemed like a complaint "I have ten to fifteen people come in every day and ask the same questions." I think I said something like "Business is good then" but I was already feeling like the idiot Dan Brown describes. <br /> He also had a Canon 5DIII with lens and I asked if I could see that, out of interest. I have to paraphrase as I can't remember his exact answer but it was along the lines of, as a Nikon user, I had to stick with Nikon and I didn't get to see it.<br /> When I went in the shop I actually had the cash in my pocket, which I had just withdrawn for another reason, and I was prepared to hand it over to get the D800 and make the other reason wait. In the end I was unprepared to even leave a deposit to get on the list. There is another dealer on the edge of town whom I will try to visit later today.</p>
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<p>This sounds like a bad store and something fishy is going on.<br>

Camera is probably already used/registered/damaged or something and He figured you are probably not a 'stupid' enough buyer to go for that. He is looking for someone with money that doesn't really know what to check. I would run away from the store.</p>

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<blockquote>

<p> Since perspective does not depend on focal lengh therefore long lens purchase he found not necessary. </p>

</blockquote>

<p>Well, the guy may not be too well informed about the properties of a long lens, but at least his remark about perspective and focal length is correct.</p>

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<p>Ron, Victor, sorry, I wasn't serious but trying to underline the silliness of what this dealer said. ;-)</p>

<p>In fact, to test and see the quality, I downloaded a 42MB ISO1600 RAW file from DPReview, and opened it on my ~4 year old desktop PC (C2 Duo E6420, 4GB RAM, Vista 32-bits) in Capture NX 2.3. I expected it to be horribly slow, but funny enough, it opened the file about as fast as it opens my D300 files. Zooming in and out, and rendering that was about as fast too; global corrections on sharpening and noise however did take considerably longer.<br>

All in all, I was surprised how well my relatively aging machine handled this. It would work well enough for occassional editing.</p>

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<p>I am not religious about Apple vs PC or even Nikon vs Canon but I guess when I responded to him I was doing the daft thing of trying to prove that I was a worthy potential customer.<br>

But later today, after a nice lunch with a good old friend, I went to see the dealer on the edge of town. My approach was circuitous, talking about different lenses and the possibility of renting them. "It's really" I said "for those occasions when I haven't got the right lens and on and I have to crop."<br>

"Well then" he said "the D800 should be considered." After that we had a photographic love-in. He had time, patience and lots of knowledge. Besides wanting to sell cameras he was just happy to chat. So I placed my order.</p>

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<p>Stupid, arrogant dealer stories, part 2 --</p>

<p>When the D700 was released, I thought I wanted one and decided to heed the call of those who urge us to buy locally.</p>

<p>I went to my local camera dealer and asked to hold a D700.</p>

<p>I was told I could not hold one because the dealer did not regard me as a serious photographer and these were only for serious photographers.</p>

<p>Needless to say, I bought my D700 from B&H and the only reason I now shop locally is when I need something today rather than tomorrow.</p>

 

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<p>I believe we should all try to buy locally, unless faced by the idiocy of the op. There's much to be said for having the ability to touch and hold a piece of equipment prior to purchase. Having a knowledgeable salesperson is a major plus as well. Usually I pay no more than from a reputable mail order firm. I have nothing against the major mail order places, I've spent lots of money at B&H, but knowing people and having a trusted relationship is worth a lot as well.</p>
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<p>Robert, what a great opportunity to buy a D800 if you want one. The store owner probably has already talked his other customers out of purchasing one. I bought mine last Saturday from a dealer in Torrance, CA. If your local dealer's price is the same as that of other sellers, why not? The D800 has only been on the market a few days. Turn his other customers loss into your gain. The D800 will be in short supply for a long time.</p>
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<p>A much weirder thing happened to me once. I walked into a bank to get a new account for a specific purpose (they've offered foreign ATM withdrawals for a good price). I walked out without one, because the clerk CONVINCED ME I don't need it.</p>

<p>Seriously. She even drew a chart and used the calculator to compute exactly how much less is their product suited for me than the other bank I've used. Well, you can't dispute logic I guess.</p>

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<p>Robert, I suggest you go back to that dealer and ask if they've got a pistol grip for a 5x4 Sinar monorail. Or a hotshoe flash adapter for it. Maybe a Cambo studio stand for your Minox, or a leaf-shutter lens for your 4/3rds camera.</p>

<p>Light the blue touch paper, and when the guy goes purple in the face - run!</p>

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<p>Try the<strong> MORE LOGICAL approach</strong>: ask for someone else at the shop, someone who KNOWS something.</p>

<p>I did that the other day (Saturday) -- I wanted a nice bike (bicycle) that costs more than double a 5D3 or a D800. I got the right guy and we did the deal. The first guy I had barely knew millimeters from inches.</p>

<p>Same thing. If YOU are confident and know your shi+ then why complain about incompetent sales drones? They are a dime a dozen.</p>

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