need some opinions

[vincent_davis]

planning on purchasing one of these packages...need some advice on which would be the best all around lens

package.thanx...http://www.fotoconnection.com/search.html?OrderList=price&searchwords=canon+eos+digital

+rebel+xti&SubCatID=667&Brand=&price_from=&price_to=

[bryantan]

The reality is: don't buy it. http://www.resellerratings.com/store/FotoConnection_1

 

Fact trumps opinion, in this case.

[scott_mills]

buy from B&H (or Adorama) that's all there is to it.

[robertbody]

The above posts put it too midly... it is pretty much GUARANTEED that you will not be happy buying from that place. Many horrible stories prove that from that place and otehrs. There is a handful of places which are safe, and many many more which are not... and companies change names too... BHPhoto.com or Adorama.com are safe and a good, a few others are too, but look in Reseller Ratings on this website and on ResellerRatings.com too.

<br><br>

Now for the question.... 18-55mm is decent for a beginner, 70-30mm is decent too...... you do get what you pay for -- it's ok but not great. Another place to buy from other than the names above would be from CametaCamera which has Ebay listings for packages -- that's a trustworthy place.

<br><br>

So those lenses would give you a variety, but not a lot of quality, which could be ok...

[vincent_davis]

thanks

[david_amberson1]

DONT BUY FROM THERE! You better go with a reputable store...even if you pay more. Period. You WILL NOT be

happy. Dont let others misfortunes go ignored and you not benefit from their experiences.

 

Dont buy from Broadway either. They're even worse.

 

Bottom line, if its just a little more than B&H Photo or Adorama, go with your local store. If my purchase is $2,000 or

more, I go local only. Period. I bought my 1D3 and paid $4700 with tax. Yes, I could have gotten it cheaper probably.

But is $600-$700 worth the heartache when dealing with a bad deal of $3500. No. I can go back to my store in 15

minutes if i want and they treat me like gold. They know how much i've spent because I'm in there regular and

whatever i want, I get. You cant put a price on good old fashioned Customer Service. Especially when spending that

kind of bread. There's a comfort there if somethings not right, they are just around the corner. Just some thought

[alan_rockwood]

Two more good places to buy: Amazon and Costco.

 

With Amazon be sure it is a "real" Amazon listing. A lot of the products that Amazon lists are pass-through

marketing schemes. Some of these are OK, but generally not as good as real Amazon sales.

 

With Costco, their selection is very limited. However, if they have what you want they are the best. Their prices are

generally at or near the best you can find anywhere, and their customer service for problem resolution is superb and

absolutely amazing... well actually beyond amazing. At least that is my experience with Costco's problem resolution

process for photo and computuer equipment.

[J.W. Wall]

And especially for used, a good one is keh.com.