Shoul l I buy the Fujifilm - X-T10 on Best Buy or BnH and What Configurations

[tanya_palta1]

<p>Hi guys,<br>

to cut a long story short, I am going to order the Fujifilm X-T10 and since I don't live in the States a little confused about where to buy. A friend will get it for me from the States.</p>

<p>I have visited the BnH store in NYC and love their passion but is Best Buy as solid?</p>

<p>Secondly my intital plan was to buy the<br>

<a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1170184-REG/fujifilm_x_t10_mirrorless_digital_camera.html">Fujifilm X-T10 Mirrorless Digital Camera with 18-55mm Lens Basic Kit (Silver)</a> for $950 on BnH</p>

<p>but then I saw the</p>

<p>Fujifilm X-T10 16.3MP Mirrorless Camera with 16-50mm Lens and Extra 50-230mm Lens for about the same price on Best Buy</p>

<p>I have seen the 16-50 lens in person and found t plasticky. But today wehen I saw the Best Buy offer where they are throwing in the Fujinon XC 50-230mm f/4.5-6.7 OIS Zoom Lens, I got tempted. Since I think it is a good deal.<br>

Personally I love the 18-55 but I do want the best for my buck and wanted some suggestions?</p>

<p>Is it a quality vs quantity question at the end of the day?</p>

<h1> </h1>

[Ken Katz]

Its a quality vs quantity question and only you can determine the right answer. FYI, B&H has the same 2 lens

deal available, at the same price, on its website. I would go with the 18-55 and add the faster

(better) more expensive Fuji telezoom at a later date.

[Robin Smith]

<p>B&H are always excellent, but nothing wrong with Best Buy either - they are just not photo oriented. If you don't live in the States then buying from a US store (via someone else) seems less sensible than buying from your local store (assuming not much difference in price) in case you have to return it for whatever reason.</p>

[eric_arnold]

<p>i personally cannot stand Best Buy as they have terrible customer service and an asinine return policy -- only 15 days! if you are buying online and dont have to deal with them personally, that could be a somewhat mitigating factor. but for me it would take more than 2 weeks to fully evaluate a new camera, and that would be more problematic if i lived overseas.</p>

<p>in terms of the two kits, if the 2-lens kits are the same price at both locations i would go with B&H. if you have a problem, they will make it right. Best Buy really doesnt care about you. in terms of which kit to buy, that's more difficult. the 18-55 lens is really quite good optically for a kit lens and has a solid build. so you can't really go wrong there. but to get an additional lens for the same price is very tempting. i havent heard bad things about either the 16-50 or the 55-230, but Fuji XC lenses aren't built to the same standard as Fuji XF. whether it makes sense for you to go for one deal or the other depends on your usage pattern. it could also depend on your future purchase decisions -- if you want to get into the Fuji primes, then i would spend less on zoom lenses. if you're mainly a zoom shooter, it might make sense to get the best zooms for your system, which in this case would be the 18-55 and the 55-200 (or the 50-140/2.8). getting a tele lens at a later date will obviously result in more $$ outlay overall. and the 55-230 is f/6.7 on the long end which is fairly slow and could be field-relevant in less than perfect light. personally, i think the smaller Fuji bodies are best with compact primes, but then the 18-55 isn't any larger than the 14/2.8.</p>

[Aoresteen]

<p>Ditto what Eric said. I have been burned too many times by Best Buy. I've used B&H since the 80's - never an issue.</p>

<p>Go with B&H.</p>

[henryp]

<blockquote>

<p>I've used B&H since the 80's - never an issue.<br />Go with B&H.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Thank you. Very gratifying.</p>

<p>Henry Posner<br /><strong>B&H Photo-Video</strong></p>

[tanya_palta1]

<p>Thank You for all your great replies.</p>

<p>In my country the XT-10 is at least $300 dollars more expensive. Also between my husband and I we travel to New York at least 4 times in a year. So in that sense buying from the States is not such an issue (we end up buying all our electronics from the US).</p>

<p>I am not a Zoom user and my style of photography is more artistic and involves everyday scenes, objects. I have a Canon 7D as well with 3 diff lenses so that cares of my professional assignment. </p>

<p>I just loved how the XT-10 felt in my hands and it made me happy. And Yes I know its expensive :)<br>

I think I will buy from BnH and just opt for the 18-55 since I wasnt aware that they are Fuji XC lenses.<br>

<br>

What are your thoughts on the OM-D E-M5 II?</p>

<h1 > </h1>

<p> <br>

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</p>

[andylynn]

The OMD is also a good camera. It doesn't really bring any advantage over the Fuji unless there's some M4/3 lens you

really want. The Fuji 18-55 kit lens is better than the comparable Olympus 14-42. I've owned both.

 

If you really want prime lenses, Fuji has discounts on most of them right now.

[eric_arnold]

<blockquote>

<p>I just loved how the XT-10 felt in my hands and it made me happy. </p>

</blockquote>

<p>how a camera feels has direct bearing on how you will use it or even whether you will use it, even more than how the specs line up on paper. so if it feels good, by all means, go for it.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>just opt for the 18-55 since I wasnt aware that they are Fuji XC lenses.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Fuji has two lens tiers; XF is their higher-end line and includes the 18-55 as well as all their nice but pricey primes, which should tickle your fancy for "Artistic" purposes. the 18-55 is actually a really impressive lens for its size, in actual usage. That's a pretty good choice if your plan is to fill out the rest of your selections with primes. I didnt mean to disparage Fuji's XC line--which at this point i believe only includes the 16-50 and 55-230 lenses--which are lower-cost alternatives intended for entry-level and casual users. They've actually gotten good reviews for optical quality but cut corners in some performance metrics as well as build quality. That's the trade-off for the lower cost. If you're not really a zoom user, i would forgo the 55-230 and save up for the 56/1.2 or 90/2 as the telephoto option, although both of those lenses will be a bit top-heavy on an XT10.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>What are your thoughts on the OM-D E-M5 II?</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Well, since you asked, m4/3 is the most mature mirrorless system around, with the widest selection of lenses available. E-M5 II is one of the best m4/3 bodies available, and a really capable one at that. the 5-axis stabilization has yet to come to Fuji X cameras, so that's possibly the biggest unique feature, and one which is particularly appealing to video shooters. That said, IMO m4/3 as a format has an inherent disadvantage compared to APS-C and full frame formats. being smaller, it will struggle more at higher ISOs and reach diffraction limits sooner. which may or may not be field relevant, depending on usage patterns. i personally feel that the APS-C sensor hits a sweet spot in terms of price/performance, but it's easy to build a complete system with m4/3, and the lenses are often smaller. To me it really would come down to lenses rather than bodies if deciding between Fuji X and M4/3. i dont know that i would go with the M5II right now if i did go M4/3 (the original M5 is only $400 new right now), and there are now models with next-gen 20mp sensors (which may be about as high as you can go on m4/3). if i was considering this system, i would take a hard look at available lenses, especially some of the primes. None of the M4/3 kit lenses get as favorable reviews as the Fuji 18-55, but lenses like the 12/2, 17/1.8, 45/1.8 and 75/1.8 are all known for superb optics. it's just that investing fully in an m4/3 system doesnt really offer any cost savings over systems with bigger sensors, and you also pay a penalty if you like shallow DoF shots, which can be mitigated, but only through super-costly f/0.95 lenses which are manual focus-only.</p>

[peter_roberts4]

<p>I had started purchasing photographic equipment from B&H since 1990. Their service was excellent at that time. But I will never buy from B&H again as I had a very bad experience when I tried to buy films last years.</p>

[eric_brody]

<p>I won't get into your choice of camera, you said what you wanted, just wondered about the best choice of from whom to purchase it. I have a Fuji X T-1 and have had great success with it. Sold my Oly, nice camera, Fuji has better image quality and superb lenses.<br>

Another vote for B&H. I've been purchasing from them since the 70's, before the internet and NEVER have had a problem. Best Buy has been a nightmare of non-availability and issues.<br>

They're huge and if you deal with enough people, someone will be unhappy. Sometimes the purchaser has unrealistic expectations (do a photonet search and you'll find the occasional rant by an unreasonable person) sometimes B&H makes an error. What matters is how it's handled, and it appears usually to be handled well.<br>

Henry, if you see this, you run a great operation.</p>

[Allen Herbert]

<p>I thought about buying a Fuji XT-1 but it looked ugly to me like those Russian cameras from past times. I bought a Fuji Pro 1 for relatively peanuts and it works really well for me...<br>

Buy from a decent honest supplier even if it cost you a bit more...if things go wrong you will thank your wisdom.</p>

 

[peter_roberts4]

<p>Well, my unrealistic expectation of B&H was to have my films ordered sent to an address outside USA. <br>

Last year, B&H said they could not send to an address without zip code although B&H had sent to my address without zip code hundred times in the past 20 years. The fact was B&H notified me their inability to mail the films after my order placed for two weeks and my repeated e-mails to ask for delivery. I had explained to them that there was no zip code in my country and they could not expect that everything outside USA should be same as that in the USA.<br>

The problem was I ran out of time to order films from other dealers in the USA as I always relied on B&H for 20 years!</p>

 

[eric_arnold]

<p>so you had 20 years of great service from B&H and one bad experience and now you're badmouthing them? tsk. i would imagine on a customer service scale, they are a 9 or 10, while best buy is a 2 or 3. stuff happens as they say, but i would never buy anything from a best buy store again as they represent the worst of a corporate big box mentality and dont really have knowledgeable or helpful staff. as stated earlier, they only have a 15-day return policy which is worse than any of the credible online retailers. </p>

[Robin Smith]

<blockquote>

<p>the worst of a corporate big box mentality</p>

</blockquote>

<p>I think you exaggerate. Presumably they are destroying the planet too?<br>

I still maintain there is nothing wrong with Best Buy, but indeed they are not B&H, but equally B&H are not actually in my neighborhood, whereas BB are.</p>

[peter_roberts4]

<p>Very funny! Telling the truth = Bad badmouthing!</p>

<p>This forum is a holy ground that people share their experience and truth. If you think "Telling the truth = Bad badmouthing", then yes, I am badmouthing them!</p>

[andylynn]

<p>Peter: But surely one instance of not being able to make an international shipment doesn't really concern somebody who's talking about having somebody pick the thing up in person.</p>

<p>Robin: Best Buy is probably my least favorite chain store, mostly for the sheer volume of BS I've been given there by salesmen trying to upsell me expensive HDMI cables any time I bought anything video related. I actually got a spiel, which I listened to for a few minutes because it was entertaining, on how if I used the HDMI cable supplied by my cable company instead of Monster's $150 cable, my video and audio would be out of sync, because the regular (not low oxygen) copper of the HDMI cable carrying my video would transmit the signal more slowly than the audio cables hooked up to my receiver. I bet they've scammed literally millions of customers this way.</p>

[eric_arnold]

<blockquote>

<p>I think you exaggerate. Presumably they are destroying the planet too?</p>

</blockquote>

<p>no, unfortunately, i'm not exaggerating, although i can't speak on their environmental sustainability practices. i had so many awful customer service experiences at BB, i eventually just stopped giving them my money altogether. i also figured out that HDMI cables are pretty cheap on Amazon (under $10), instead of $40-$60 at Radio Shack. At this point, i would only go into a BB store if i needed something right away and couldnt wait for two-day shipping. i dont even like buying gifts for other people there, because of that extra-short return policy (it used to be 30 days). what is the point of shortening a return policy, unless you are trying to decrease your level of customer service? At least at a dedicated camera store like Calumet, Samy's, Adorama or B&H, you have a chance of salespeople who are actually knowledgeable about the product they are selling. Not only is that not the case at BB, but often you can't even find a clerk to help you. They really are the worst. </p>

[peter_roberts4]

<p>Andy : I don't really care about my bad experience with B&H concerned anyone in the forum. Fact is fact.</p>

[andylynn]

In light of recent news - see http://www.photo.net/casual-conversations-forum/00dldu - I'm going to suggest you use Adorama

(the other major pro shop in NYC) instead of B&H.