Shop space and marketing

[Harley]

Hi Doug,Now for a gripe from my side.In my opinion, the OP has raised issues with the brand he uses in other threads, and others decided to carry that conversation here. Since it has spilled over i'm going to add my say.

I find it very disturbing to see how quickly and eagerly some members tell another user (not only Doug) of the same brand to simply switch if he doesn't like it. Sorry guys and girls but it is the same mentality as somebody telling me to leave the country if i complain about my tax money being wasted after I've bought a house and have all my family here (read investment).

As somebody that has paid his hard earned money for the equipment (read made an investment) i believe he is entitled to do so.

My guess is that by the time you're done reading this post half of you will be checking the exif info in my gallery to see which brand I use...just so you can tell me to shut up because I don't use 'your' brand. I'll save you the trouble, I shoot Nikon... Ironic isn't it. I don't use Canon so I'd better shut up, he does use Canon so he'd better shut up.

You're a bunch of hypocrites. I've lost count of how many times I was openly and not always kindly laughed at for my choice of brand. From the day I walked into a store to check out a camera and was told how piss poor Nikon was (by a sales guy wearing a Canon shirt) right through to being singled out and picked on in photography classes and workshops. I've even had bitingly negative comments on a picture on ODP - a picture of a guy with a Nikon neck strap. How bloody silly and childish is that?

The guys i respect the most are the likes of John D and Elsa H for switching, and Ian W and the like for not. They have very good, rational and objective reasons for making the choices they did and i can bet you that brand and user hype was not one of them.

There's another thread around here somewhere asking what people want for Christmas. I'd like to add to my original wish. I wish you'd all be more like Ian, Elsa and John.

Merry Christmas Everybody.

Etienne my man I appreciate the soap box speech, but do yourself a favour and search a few of Doug's posts, he just bitches and moans all the time and that is where the "attitude" of the members come from, not from the topic at hand.

Now have yourself a Merry Christmas and don't be so serious!! I know I'm trying!

[sterretje]

Thanks for pointing out a shop in Fourways. Went there yesterday and ordered a Pentax FA31/1.8 LTD today. Price was below what I expected.

[kay]

Wow, congrats on that 31mm! I never shot one but all the samples I've seen have a certain magic about them that's missing in the majority of lenses.

I'm glad Pentax is getting some major retail presense in SA, they really deserve it.

It all depends on what kind of deal a particular shop is getting, I suspect. Two of the three camera stores in Sandton City openly push Nikon and cite a variety of reasons why (support being big on the list). Is it really better? I don't think so, not really, but the sales people clearly have a preference. (Which I much prefer over them being ambivalent!)