Canon and Nikon are probably giving bigger commissions than Pentax. If
the sales clerk is getting
a piece of the action she'll steer you to one of them. If not her
manager has told her to steer you to
Canon or Nikon. Most places where the staff are paid on commission
won't tell you that's how they
are paid, they usually have a policy against it, (except Radio Shack).
Scott Loveless wrote:
A few days ago I stopped by the local shopping mall (I hate shopping
malls) because I needed to get a Needle Point Precision Lubricator at
Radio Shack. I wandered into the Ritz Camera store just to see what
they stock these days. To my surprise they had a DS, a Nikon D50, and
a Canon Rebel XT in their display case. I asked the lady behind the
counter if I could take a look at the DS and D50. The exchange went
something like this:
Me: Can I see the DS and the D50?
Sales Lady: The what?
Me: The DS and the D50?
Her: What's a DS?
Me: The Pentax SLR you have in your case.
Her: Oh, OK.
She handed me both cameras. Both had an 18-55/3.5-5.6 attached.
Sales Girl: No one's ever asked me for the DS. Most people want the
XT or the D50.
Me: Yeah, I don't do Canon.
Her: I think you'll like the Nikon better. It has more features and
accessories are easier to find. Pentax is more of a niche
manufacturer. You really can't get many accessories for it.
Me: The viewfinder in the Pentax is bit nicer. Does the D50 have a
prism or a mirror?
Warm body behind the counter: All SLRs have mirrors.
Me: I'm not talking about the mirror that flips up when you press the
shutter release. What's underneath this big bump on the top of the
camera.
Warm body: Uhh. The Nikon has a Nikkor lens. The Nikkor lens is
better than the Pentax.
Me: Really? Why's that?
Her: Better images. And it's built better.
Me: The mount on the Pentax lens is metal. The Nikon is plastic.
Dip shit: Have you seen the Rebel XT. You might like that one better.
At this point I chuckled and walked out. The conversation was a quite
a bit longer, but I'm sure you get the picture. I still am not sure
why she was so insistent on steering me away from the Pentax. All
three kits were roughly the same price.
The lubricator from Radio Shack is really cool, though. Highly
recommended for those of you who work on your own cameras.
--
When you're worried or in doubt,
Run in circles, (scream and shout).
