Jason Dunn
01-10-2008, 02:30 AM
Have you ever had one of those experiences buying a piece of technology where you thought you had a good plan going in, but in the end things just didn't work out? I've had just such an experience, and since it involves a camera lens, I figured I'd share it here. The short version of the story is that I bought a 2 GB SanDisk Sansa Clip for $59.99 and spent $84 on a cab fare getting there and back. The long version of this story is below.<br /><br /><img border="0" src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/500/dht/auto/1199925628.usr1.jpg" alt="" /><br /><br />I'd already purchased the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.nikon.ca/en/Product.aspx?m=14339">Nikkor 24-70mm lens</a> (hopefully it, along with the D300, will arrive tomorrow), but I wanted something with some serious zoom. My <a target="_blank" href="http://www.nikon.ca/en/Product.aspx?m=14332">Nikkor 18-200mm</a> is a great lens because with the 1.5x factor it gives me 300mm of zoom but still remains wide enough at 27mm to be used in relatively tight quarters. When I heard about the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.tamron.com/lenses/prod/28300_vc.asp">Tamron lens</a> that runs the huge gamut from 28mm to 300mm, I was quite interested. It's not a fast lens, starting at f/3.5 and dropping all the way down to f/6.3, but on my forthcoming D300 it would give me an impressive range of 42mm to 450mm - and since I tend to want extreme zoom outdoors in sunlight, the slower speed wouldn't be that much of an impediment. Also, because it has anti-shake, even if I was using it indoors, it would help smooth things out. <br /><br />The price of $399 USD also seemed extremely good. A local camera store wanted $660 CAD for the lens, which seemed quite ridiculous, so for a while I was planning on ordering it from <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ritzcamera.com/product/255112070.htm">Ritz Camera's online store</a>, which has an option for shipping to Canada - I could get the lens, including taxes and duty, for about $470 CAD. But I thought since I was going to be in Las Vegas for CES I'd pick up the lens while I was there, save the money on shipping, and be able to use it right away.<div style="page-break-after: always;"><span style="display: none;"> </span></div><br />When I arrived in Las Vegas, I started calling Ritz Camera stores looking for the lens, thinking one of the stores within 5 minutes of where I was would have it in stock - it turns out that the only Ritz camera store that had the lens was located in Henderson, a suburb of Las Vegas and about 15 miles away. This is where my gadget lust started to cloud my vision - I should have immediately deduced that the cost of such a far away a cab ride was more than I'd be saving by purchasing it locally. I didn't, and $40 later to get there (with a quick stop at Best Buy on the way) I left the cab waiting for me and ran into the store to get the lens. The clerk who told me they had the lens in stock looked confused as he pulled out two different Tamron 38-300mm boxes. You can probably see where this is going...<br /><br />Both boxes were for Canon cameras, but we were puzzled as to what the difference was. It turns out that Tamron has two versions of the same lens: <a target="_blank" href="http://www.tamron.com/lenses/prod/28300_vc.asp">one with Vibration Compensation</a> (VC), and <a target="_blank" href="http://www.tamron.com/lenses/prod/28300_di.asp">one without</a>. I didn't know that when I was called to ask if they had the lens in stock, and neither did the clerk who said they had the lens in stock (or he would have asked me which version I wanted). Once I realized there were two versions, the next question out of my mouth was whether they had the Nikon version of the lens with VC. They didn't, nor did they have a listing for the Nikon version of the lens with VC or a price. At this point I knew it was already costing me at least $60 in total to get back, so I thought "What the heck, I'll buy the non-VC version". I brought my D200 in the cab, so on the way back I snapped on the lens and shot a few frames. It had a heck of a lot of zoom, and was fine in terms of speed during the daylight. When I got back to my hotel ($85 cab fare total) and tried it under semi-dim lighting, the slow speed of the lens became apparent (although I still managed to get some sharp images, <a href="http://photos.jasondunn.com/gallery/4138455#241615769-X2-LB" target="_blank">right down to being able to count the pixels</a>). The bigger issue is, and I'm sure most of you reading this can relate to this, that if I settled for the lens I had every blurry shot I took with it I'd be thinking "If only I'd spent a little more, I could have had vibration control...".<br /><br />So yesterday, the day I left Las Vegas, I got in a cab and went to a nearby Ritz Camera to return the lens. I'd put the lens on only once, and snapped perhaps 30 frames in total with it, so I didn't think I'd have any trouble returning it for a refund. The guy behind the counter thought otherwise - he peered at the both ends of the lens intently, looking for scratches (which I expected him to do). They he started to complain about wear on the mount - I explained I had only put the lens on once, and he said my camera mount must be dirty. I wanted patiently as he then put the lens on another Nikon body and peered through it again, then got on the phone and called someone. Meanwhile my cab is still waiting outside, meter ticking away. Finally Mr. Picky seemed satisfied that I hadn't ground sand into the lens, and he gave me a refund. <br /><br />Total cost me of buying the lens, then returning it? About $40 more than if I had just ordered it online in the first place - but since I would have ended up with the non VC version of the lens, I consider that $40 well-spent if only to ensure that I'll get the lens I want at some point. Have any similar stories to share, where your desire for a new piece of technology drove you to be somewhat irrational? Please share - if only to make me feel a bit better...<br /><br /><em>Jason Dunn owns and operates <a target="_blank" href="http://www.thoughtsmedia.com">Thoughts Media Inc.</a>, a company dedicated to creating the best in online communities. He enjoys mobile devices, digital media content creation/editing, and pretty much all technology. He lives in Calgary, Alberta, Canada with his lovely wife, and his sometimes obedient dog. He's excited about his forthcoming Nikon D300!</em>