Samy's Camera - A dreadful experience

Unfortunately, I live in an area that is less than stellar when it comes to local camera stores and the nearest larger pro stores being at least an hours drive or more.  So when it comes times to make the journey to one of these stores, I always call to make sure they have what I want in stock.  Enter Samy's Camera...

For the last couple years, I have been a big fan of Calumet Photographic.  They have large, well laid out stores that have a huge assortment of gear and a very knowledgeable staff.  Biggest downside to them is that their closest stores are in downtown LA or Irvine, both of which are a 2+ hour drive in any sort of traffic.  Samy's camera has a Pasadena store which cuts at least a good 45 minutes off of that drive and since I have never been there, I figured it would be a good opportunity to check them out since I was needing a few pieces of gear.  I called them at noon and made sure they had the items I was looking for; A Black Rapid RS-5 strap and a roll of 9' wide pure white seamless paper.  The lady on the phone assured me they had plenty of both in stock so I loaded myself up and made the trip.

Upon arrival, I could not even find the place.  Its in a very busy area of downtown Pasadena and because I was so involved trying to keep up with traffic, I did not even notice as I passed by their store because it was well past dusk and they did not even have the store name on the front of the building lit up.  Strike one...  After getting frustrated, I called and they directed me where to go which and I eventually found it.  Upon finding the building, the next obstacle was finding parking.  There is a tiny lot to the left of the building that will park about 20 cars.  Mind you, this is downtown Pasadena so every spot was full and other than a couple of spots on the curb out front, that was the full extent of their parking.  I ended up parking across the street a couple blocks over.  Strike two...

After getting parking situated, I entered the store and was honestly shocked at how small it was.  Piles of gear strewn about, things laid on top of each other and a layout that was difficult to find what I was looking for.  After poking through their neck straps for nearly 10 minutes, I was finally greeted by a sales person which I asked where they kept their Black Rapid straps.  She informed me that they were kept behind the counter because of theft of small parts off of them.  No problem, so we ventured to the counter where she started digging through more piles of gear trying to locate what I was after.  She came back and informed me that they did not have the RS-5 in stock.  Strike three, your out of there!!  Should have cut my losses and walked...

At this point I was starting to become a bit annoyed.   It was already 4:30 and no way I would be able to make it to Calumet in time and I really had no desire to make the long drive again, so I settled on a lower model, RS-4 as it does the majority of what I wanted the strap for in the first place.  I also told her I needed a roll of white seamless paper and she said thats not her department and I needed to go to another counter for that.  Seriously?  The store is the size of a quickie mart and you can't walk over there and get me a roll of the paper?  Whatever.

As I was standing at the "other" counter waiting for my paper, I overheard a conversation that one of the sales people was having on the phone with a customer who was calling in asking questions about a Nikon camera.  The sales person was being incredibly curt, sarcastic and just plain rude to the person on the phone and I was very tempted to rip the receiver out of his hand and show him a thing or two about customer service because he obviously was lacking any sort of those skills.  I really have no idea what was happening on the other side of the line but regardless, that is no way to treat a customer.

On the long trek back to the truck, mind you wielding a 9 foot long cardboard box, I had plenty of time to reflect on and grumble in the back of my mind about my experiences at Samy's Camera.  Small, poorly stocked, terrible parking, bad location and horrible customer service sum this place up in a nutshell.  I will not be returning anytime soon and will gladly deal with the traffic and extended drive times it takes to get to Calumet.

Gear Wars: Im a Canon Man

Canon vs Nikon, Ford vs Chevy, Mac vs PC.

From the "Average Joes" to the Professionals Photographers and everyone in between, Canon vs Nikon is easily the most argued subject in the world of Photography.  Both makers have been around for decades and while both formats are excellent platforms, they aren't without their pros and cons.  However, I think its comical to see people bicker and fight about these two formats and get asked all the time why I shoot with Canon instead of (insert your favorite brand here).  Heres why...

A few years ago, I ventured into the world of professional photography.  I realized I could take a decent picture and people seemed to like what I produced so I decided to pursue it and started up a small business.  I flip-flopped between Canon and Nikon a few times over the years, even after building up a fairly impressive gear set in either particular format.  Glutton for punishment I guess and I didn't seem to learn after the first couple times and completely lost my butt on a lot of expensive gear when it came time to trade up.  Ill admit, up until a little over a year ago, I was a major "gear whore".  You know the type; the ones who must always have the latest and greatest or sit in internet forums and rant and rave about who has the cleanest high ISO lab figures and all sorts of ridiculous banter about pixel density and ultra fast focusing.  It took someone showing me how to take amazing photos with bottom of the barrel gear to give me an understanding and appreciation that it really is much more the Photographer than it is the gear.  

After I switched back to Canon again in 2008, I decided if I was going to finally settle on a format, I was going to "do it right" and purchased nothing but pro level gear since this was not only a hobby but also an investment into making a full on attempt at turning this into a career.  I picked up a couple of Canon L lenses and a second hand Canon 1D MKii because the pro grade stuff was undoubtedly better and more durable than the consumer or "pro-sumer" gear I was replacing, or so I mistakenly though...

Two days after I bought it, the shutter went out in less than 30K actuations.  Mind you this is a camera that is rated for at least 200K actuations, so 30K was a mere drop in the bucket.  

Broken Shutter

A bit irked that I had purchased a camera that had not even lasted me a couple days, I took a trip down to Canon of Irvine to have the camera fixed.  No warranty card, no receipt; brought in nothing but the camera and plopped it down on the receptionists desk and filled out my repair slip while telling the tale of how I ended up in their offices.  As I was filling out the slip, I grumbled something about what the charge would be to fix the camera and how long it would take.  She was unsure but took the camera into the back to have a technician look at it quickly to assess the damage.  Moments later she walks out and tells me my shutter is in fact toast and that the sensor had been damaged due to the leafs scratching the filter.  My heart sank and I could literally hear the sound of my bank account screaming for dear life as she told me the total of the work which was upwards of $600.  She then leaned in closely over the counter and said a small handful of words that sealed the deal on me being a loyal Canon shooter for the foreseeable future...

"We are going to replace your shutter, sensor and clean and adjust your camera as a courtesy.  This one's on us..."

I was completely floored!  Here I brought in a second hand camera that had been discontinued for at least a couple years with no receipt and no warranty card and they are fixing it, completely free of charge!  To make matters even better, they had quoted me 3-5 days to get it back and it was ready the next day.  Outstanding!  Any company that is going to stand behind their product like that, is a clear winner in my eyes.

I think in the rat race of who has the most megapixels, the sharpest sensors and the least ISO noise we often forget the little things like customer service and satisfaction.  While Canon certainly makes some outstanding gear, im not at all ashamed to say they are far from the best.  Nikon has come a long way in the last few years with their DSLR technology and is giving everyone else some major competition.  I welcome it though as it forces the brands to keep up and stay current with our ever evolving technology.  But in an age where everything is built as cheap as possible, its nice to see a company completely back their product 110% and do whatever it takes to make the customer happy.

This is why I am a "Canon Man".

Welcome!

If you have managed to wander into this blog, please let me say "Welcome".

My name is Jeff and I am a Photographer located in Hesperia, CA, currently working towards building and further establishing my business, Caught My Eye Photography.  I specialize in low-key portraits using dramatic, bold lighting and lots of contrasting light and colors.

With this blog, I want to keep things light and informal.  It will serve merely as a place to put simple gear reviews, tips and tricks related to photography and other various thoughts and ramblings.  This site will constantly be under construction and updated frequently so please bare with me... ; )

Enjoy