I have been thoroughly disappointed with the local camera stores in the Charlotte area. The largest chain store, Wolf/Ritz has a horrible selection and even worse prices, sometimes about 30% higher than they should be. And the best ‘mom and pop’ store, Charlotte Camera, has moved to the most distant reaches of Ballantyne. (I used to believe that I could get to about any part of Charlotte in no more than 35 minutes. Not anymore!)

So, most of my purchases have been online. The predominant vendor I’ve used is B&H Photo Video. They are, by sales volume, the largest camera equipment store in the world. They have a very large selection. They have very large warehouses so they have more in stock. Their web site is the best of any photography store.

That said, there are times I have had to use another vendor. I needed a set of barn doors for my lights and to this day, it is still not in stock at B&H. I finally broke down and ordered them from Adorama. One thing to watch out for with Adorama is that you can order directory through their web site, or sometimes you can order through Amazon from Adorama — and the prices may be different depending on which you do! So it pays to always check both to see which has the lower price.

Another caveat of online buying is to avoid being lured by the ‘too good to be true’ price. You’ve probably seen these prices. You might be surfing the web and some google adwords ad shows an incredible price on a camera. For example, I’ve seen 50% off the going rate on a Canon Rebel Xti.. There are dozens and dozens of places that are bait and switch scammers. Before doing business with any online retailer, check their ratings and feedback on Reseller Ratings.

[cb type="company"]Amazon[/cb]