Canon Equipment in Washington

[ulrich_brandl]

I apologize for posting such a low level question. I will be at

Washington D.C. in the next few days and would like to buy there some

equipment. The differences between EU ans US prices are pretty high,

except for Canon's latest products (5D, 24-105). Is there a

recommendable shop with price levels close to B&H ? I didn't find

such a shop via the internet.

 

Ulrich

[beauh44]

Hi Ulrich, Unfortunately I don't know of a place in DC that has the prices that B&H does, but if you know where you'll be staying I don't see why you couldn't order online or over the phone from B&H and have it shipped to where you'll be staying in DC. If necessary it can be overnighted... yes, that'll cost a bit but it still might work out. Good luck!

[jerry s]

Penn Camera (www.penncamera.com). Several locations in the Washingtonk, DC area. Professional, reputable, and will likely have what you want in stock.

[sloopjohne]

Check out Ace Camera, a very large pro-oriented store in Sterling, VA in the western 'burbs outside DC.

 

The owner will often price-match B&H.

[loren_cain]

I buy quite a bit from Ace. While Penn Camera (at least the one in Tyson's Corner) looks like a bright, shiny showroom, Ace is a "mom&pop" type store with stuff squeezed in wherever it'll fit. They probably have what you are looking for, but you may not find it unassisted...

 

For me at least, they usually get reasonably close to the B&H price, but sometimes you have to do a little haggling to get there. When I already knew what I wanted, I would occasionally print the B&H page for that item and ask the guys at Ace, "Do you have this?" That way they knew exactly what I wanted and they also knew where my next stop would be. Made for a quicker transaction.

[w_t1]

to add to what John E said, I'm not in DC, but I would recommend printing out the products with pricing from B&H's web site to take into the stores with you. I've done that here in Seattle at local stores, and the professional store will usually price match

[w_t1]

i didnt take the time to read Loren's post...

[yuri_huta]

Hi Ulrich,

 

I have purchased several higher priced items from Pro Photo in Washington, DC. Their

address is 1902 I Street, NW. Their phone number is (202) 223-1292. Their web presence

is very limited (http://www.prophotodc.com/), but don't let that influence your opinion.

They are a small shop, but have a nice selction of used equipment as well as new.

 

Penn Camera is also a good place to look, although I am usually able to negotiate more

with the folks at Pro Photo.

 

Yuri

[sloopjohne]

...on Broad Street in Falls Church, VA just a few miles from DC is another good "mom & pop" store like Ace Camera, and looks like it's been there forever.

 

Dominion isn't as large as Ace but they too have lots of stuff crammed wherever they find space for it. The folks there are photo enthusiasts themselves and very knowledgable, plus the owner will sometimes price-match B&H.

 

I've also found some hard-to-find and discontinued items at a discount, such as a rare Olympus underwater housing for my Olympus C5050Z P&S, which Dominion sold to me at cost (they wanted to get rid of it to make space for newer gear).