Any good New York stores?

I'd say B&H first, Adorama second. Anybody else, check them out at www.resellerratings.com before doing business....

By all means...go to B&H. You can check their web pricing before you shop. If you need help at the store, best to go on weekday mornings when they are less crowded.

The choice is easy -- go to B&H! They are reputable, and their prices are exactly what it should cost (ie. low, but not too low that the service suffers). The store is a sight to see, if a bit chaotic.. they are VERY busy. At least when I tend to go.

Your headline is funny -- it's like, "any good pasta in Italy?"

B&H is your best bet. Right by the Penn Station / 34th St. station. Keep in mind, they and many other photo retailers in NYC are closed on Saturdays. New Yorkers are familiar with the sight of bewildered foreign tourists milling around outside B&H on Saturdays.

B&H

Just remember to add on the NYC sales tax (8.375% I think)

I wouldn't shop anywhere else in NYC, except maybe Adorama if B&H are out of stock. The rest of the good stores are higher priced and probably don't carry as much stock.

To get the best deals, you should buy the "imported" version of the item where offered since you won't have the benefit of Canon USA warranty cover anyway when you return home, and ignore rebates (you'd need a US address and bank account good for several months to benefit). Bear in mind that Customs will charge VAT on the price including NY sales tax for items above your duty free allowance when planning your shopping.

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B&H, Adorama, of course. If you can't find what you want then try Abes of Maine.I've done business with them and found them very acommdating.

Hello I hope you enjoy your time up there in New York. I Grew up in new your now in Los angeles but it is one place that is amazing your bottom jaw will hit the ground if you never been there. The buildings and the traffic is Fantastic, well to answer your question likr the above mentioned Adorama and B&H are about the two biggest around but yes they are closed on saturdays. you also have 42nd & 47th Street photo & 17th Street photo. And you also have New yorks oldest camera store willougbys started in 1898 and still going store.Make sure you deal with reputable places that you dont end up with grey market products.ask about the warrantties. all i can say is stay clear of broadway photo they go by several different names and have over 600 complaints lodged with the BBB. and also ritz camera they are all over the united stated. all of this below is from the BBB this is just some of the names broadway photo does business A&M Photo World / Cameratopia / Digital Liquidators LLC / Ghu, LLC / Preferred Photo / Prestige Camera / Regal Camera / Tronicity this is just some of them.

Based on BBB files, this business has an unsatisfactory record with the Bureau, because there is a pattern of complaints, and the business has not corrected the underlying reason for the complaints. about a week ago[10/01/06]they had 600 complaints as 10/12/06 they have 625 complaints and growing fast. sorry about how long this is but just beware.

Thanks for all the quick replies. I really appreciate it. Seems like I will pay B&H and Adorama a visit towards the end of November. Hopefully I will not have the experience I've read from some online order customers.

Thanks for reminding me about the sales tax. Very easy to forget to add that on. Here in London (and elsewhere within the EU) it's always included, or highligted that it's not.

The VAT I'm not sure about. I should be able to claim back the NY sales tax when I leave the US, shouldn't I, provided I then pay UK VAT when I return to the UK? The other option, which is a lot more attractive, since UK VAT it 17.5%, is to not claim back the sales tax and to bring the gear into the UK as used, which it will be after a 4-5 month trip around the world. That way I shouldn't have to pay VAT in the UK?

Great tip on the imported items. That saves me $50 or so per item. One quick follow up. When I check their web sites Adorama lists some items as "grey market" and some as "USA", whilst B&H lists some as "imported" and some as "USA". In this case does imported=grey market, i.e. grey market doesn't come with a USA warranty, but with a global warranty?

Check the Canon site for officially authorized dealers -- all in all I seem to remember that there are about a dozen of them for the major brands in NYC between standalone stores like B&H and chains like Calumet. In addition to B&H and Adorama, I know there's J&R, Alkit, Calumet and 17th Street Photo in the trustworthy category in Manhattan. I know with regard to Nikon that the Brooklyn bait-and-switch shops are NOT Nikon authorized dealers and I honestly don't know of any Brooklyn or Queens authorized dealers unless I'm missing a Ritz Camera location or two (of course I must also admit that I know very little about Brooklyn and Queens at all other than how to get from LaGuardia to Manhattan). I assume it is the same for Canon and other major brands.

Missed one other point -- with Canon, the distinction between grey market and USA warranty is fairly benign (unlike with Nikon where there is an overwhelming advantage to buying the officially imported, in this case USA, product). Still, stick to Manhattan and to official dealers even if you do buy "grey market".

I value a good warrenty and doubt if I would buy anything other than accessories in another country from where I live. You could quickly make up the difference in prices with freighting camera across the ditch for service. It is bad enough internally :-)

Photo Village is supposed to be good as well.

Maybe you can order with B&H or Adorama placing a regular order but specifying store pickup? This way you can know ahead of time what will be or not be present and not have any unexpected "out of stock" situations. For a visitor from far away I would stick with the safe stores (I have lived in NYC for 46 years) and B&H would top my list. There are also reputable pro oriented shops (Fotocare, Calumet, Lens & Repro etc) that are reputable but may not be as aggressively priced. Lastly, don't leave Manhattan to shop for camera equipment. There are many nice things to see in the boroughs (i.e. the Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, the Bronx Zoo etc) but I would not recommend you stray too far from what is recommended here for where to go to buy phtographic equipment.

B&H is the great temple of photography. I journey there twice a year from Boston to worship. Be prepared to stand in line and remember that it is closed on saturdays.

"The disinction between grey market and USA warranty is fairly benign"

Not so for those whose homes are not in the USA. You would have difficulty getting warranty service in the UK for cameras bought in the US regardless of whether they are "Canon USA" or import/grey market, although in theory lens warranties are international. Canon UK will only honour EU based camera purchases for warranty, so you would have to ship back to the US for service (with complications on customs handling).

NY sales tax on local shopping is not refundable (although UN diplomats are exempt from it - they get special ID cards that state their exemption). If you shop by mail order with delivery to a different state, you can avoid sales tax - but you will incur shipping charges. However, you need to be sure that the no tax rule applies to the state you'd be shipping to, and their are several other hurdles to doing that successfully as a visitor to the US. On balance, it's probably best to shop in person and swallow the tax unless you are planning to spend a very large sum.

So far as customs rules on importing used or second hand goods are concerned, I think you will find that VAT (and in the case of lenses, duty as well) is applied to the second hand value, unless you fit into an exempt category (moving domicile, for instance). However, even then there is a minimum ownership period before goods are considered second hand.

Another vote for B&H (a spectacle), Adorama and, after buying some big ticket items from them, 17th St. Photo.

My answer is the same as Brian above! B&H, Adorama and 17th Street Photo. Any of these stores will have the equipment and treat you right.