@Stormchaser not as crazy of a deal...but..https://www.massdrop.com/buy/nikon-d5300-24-2-mp-cmos-digital-slr-camera

@Stormchaser I purchased my 5200 here: http://m.ebay.com/sch/robertscamera/m.html?isRefine=true&_pgn=1&_nkw=seller%3Arobertscamera&_sasl=robertscamera&loadLocalAspects=true&_sacat=31388&cnm=Digital+Cameras++(450)&Brand=Nikon&Type=Digital%2520SLR

@Stormchaser just got myself a D5500 on massdrop last month for $680 with a lens

@askaboutasun

Yes, if you ask someone else to do it for you

@askaboutasun you just need a really big and heavy selfie stick, or a friend

@askaboutasun It can if you point it at a mirror.

@gsrivast that's an otherie

@boygenius1991 So the "genius" part is ironic.

@ericb But do they have witty customer service?

@ericb very very fishy site http://www.ripoffreport.com/r/Digital-Outlets//Digital-Outlets-DO-NOT-BUY-FROM-digitaloutletsnet-False-Advertisement-Price-Baiting--1186928

http://www.resellerratings.com/store/Digitaloutlets_net

@bretmkal meh.com customer service sucks too!

@ericb That "digital outlets" buy is a GRAY MARKET model. U.S. service centers will usually not touch these. The offer of "buy a battery and get another free" hints that this may be a "body-only" deal where you have to pay for some of the items that are supposed to be in the box...

@derzm Meh.com is not an authorized Nikon retailer... Will they warranty this?

@tcb4 Yes they will. We've spoken with our reps at Nikon and confirmed that everything will be taken care of should any issues arrive.

@einrad dpreview.com is handy, even since Amazon bought them.

@hollboll did you get a meh employees discount?

@communist Free shipping as long as it's to the office.

@communist Free VMP for employees!

@communist Nope, but I do get free VMP.

I'm super excited to upgrade my 5 year old D3000. My old camera did a great job and I loved it. Just made a photo book with some photos from it and it turned out great. :)

@paulgraham Yeah - me too. All I have is a 10+ year old point and shoot compact little thing and a great film camera and set of lenses.

@lazm I don't know canon from Nikon. Perhaps I shouldn't buy an SLR camera?

@kus a canon is for your enemy, a Nikon is a friend, and a RED is a sex fantasy.

@TheOneAlex You'll be fine. Photography is easier now than it's ever been, and there's plenty of great tutorial material on Youtube for when you want to move beyond the absolute basics. One thing I'd definitely recommend though would be to read the manual--photographers often discover settings and features after using their camera for years that would've made their lives easier. Oh, and don't be tempted to buy extra lenses and unnecessary accessories right away. The lens it comes with will be fine for everyday stuff.

@TheOneAlex @Starblind The only thing I'd disagree with is the extra lenses. I'd get one that has some telephoto capabilities UNLESS most of what you take is people up fairly close (eg snapshot style). OR the resolution is still good zooming in and cropping what you have taken. A polarizing lens filter adds depth to the color when you take landscape shots but is not a "necessary" item.

@Kidsandliz Sorry I'm with @starblind you can get some AWESOME shots with just the out of the box lens. Plus lenses tend not to be cheap so until you have a need just go with it.

@TheOneAlex I, too, agree w/ @Starblind. ~28 is 'normal' for this sensor size, so you have quite a bit of lens in either direction. Long enough for decent portraiture, wide enough for some nice landscapes. Play with this lens, you'll learn what you like to shoot and how you like to shoot it. Maybe you'll learn that you really do want a super long zoom; maybe you'll learn that you want something really wide. But I suspect you'll find a comfy place within this lens's range, and in the future a logical upgrade path would likely be a fast prime that matches your comfy place.

@TheOneAlex Hopefully it works out well for you. I learned how to shoot on a Nikon and picked it up pretty fast. As far as lenses go, I'd stick with the standard for a bit, 18-55 is a pretty solid range for standard shooting.

I've got a 55-200 at home but hardly ever use it. It might have to do with my camera bag though—can only fit one lens in there.

@TheOneAlex @Kidsandliz is right -- you'll want a longer lens than 55mm eventually. Sure, it isn't an emergency, but if you spot a deal on a 70-200 or 70-300, it's worth getting. The included 18-55 is a good landscape and snapshot lens, but if you've got friends or family who play sports, if you like to shoot street scenes or nature, if you find yourself shooting from more than 10-15 feet away, a longer lens is the solution.

Also it doesn't hurt to find a decent monopod. A lot of places (even public) won't let you use a tripod for a variety of contrived reasons, but generally monopods are considered OK and will give you stability if it's darker or a less steady situation.

@editorkid @TheOneAlex I was reading the reviews and the camera is a bit slow in "snapping" (auto focus maybe? can't remember if it is manual or autofocus - so autofocus might be slower) when it comes to action shots so I'd guess this would not be the camera if your primary purpose was taking photos of sports, animals on the run...

@Kidsandliz I see your point, but someone who has this camera for family pictures will still want to take those photos and need a lens to do it with. According to the brochure that's linked from the description, the camera has quick settings for sports and for freezing motion, and those probably nudge up the ISO and close down the aperture to make autofocusing faster and easier.

@editorkid I was just going by what the reviews said... that was a complaint (although at 4.5 stars or whatever it was that must not be much of a problem)

@ceagee Yes me too. I have an olympus OM 1 and several lenses. That camera has served me well.

@Kidsandliz +1 I still own my OM-1 – can't bear to part with it, even though I have a Nikon digital.

@ceagee Me too. I still dream of having my own darkroom some day.

@hollboll A great way to ease into that is by developing your own film, then scanning the negatives and doing the steps you'd ordinarily do while printing digitally. Don't need a darkroom to process film.

@brhfl Tempting! Did you ever have to use one of these?

@ceagee It's around. What's stopping you?

@hollboll If you want to buy an olympus OM 1, 3 lenses, flash, some filters, leather case, etc. I am selling mine - just haven't decided if I was going to part it out on ebay as people are buying these fairly regularly or sell the entire thing as a unit. I'd sell it to you and not mess with ebay if you are interested. Obviously you know how to get hold of me privately. LOL

@hollboll Yup! If you don't have a darkroom, or at the very least a dark room, you need a changing bag. Generally speaking I load 35mm and medium format roll film into tanks in the changing bag. It's a little awkward but you get used to it.

@ceagee OMG sameeee! I love the smell of the dark room.

@Kidsandliz Thanks for the offer! Other than my iPhone I'm pretty much exclusively a Nikon girl. Good luck though!

@editorkid Couple reasons:
My Nikon is sick : ( I sent it to Nikon to get it serviced and it came back worse. I actually sent it for a lens problem, and they did something funky to the camera and the motor grinds now.

I can't develop b/c I don't get along w/ the chemicals. And it's so hard to find good development otherwise.
We used to have the best local camera shop that did developing. Long gone.
Any where you take it, it comes back on flimsy crappy paper. The color saturation is not the same.
And B&W ? A lot of places just won't touch it. And if they do it's still crap paper.

I guess I need to get online and see if I can find a custom developer. Do they even exist anymore ?

@ceagee Dev(/print):
http://www.ilfordlab-us.com/
http://dwaynesphoto.com/newsite2006/info-film-processing.html
http://www.bluemooncamera.com/index.php
Print:
http://www.digitalsilverimaging.com/
http://www.mpixpro.com/PrintPapers.aspx

@Kidsandliz May want to consider getting quotes from used dealers like KEH, Adorama, B&H before eBay… Less hassle, and though I haven't sold in quite a while, quotes always seemed fair to me (I mainly sold to KEH).

@brhfl thanks !

@ceagee I've used mpix for digital and, assuming mpix pro is related and does as well with film as I've gotten with pixels, I'll echo @brhfl's recommendation. Also, if you can get your film to Lomography, I've been thrilled with my prints from them -- I'm giving them pretty challenging stuff (Tri-X and Velvia exposed in a wooden panoramic pinhole camera) and they kick ass with the prints I get back.

@ojohn ritzcamera is ok. They used to have a lot of brick and mortar stores. Not sure how discounted they are, but back in the day of film, they had knowledgeable employees and ok prices.

@ceagee I agree with you, the current ritzcamera is OK. Also, I left out target. All of these are places to check prices and are safe to deal with for a good camera and decent service.

@ojohn If you're buying used, KEH is legit.

@coverband new

@MrPinkFloyd Me too!!!!

@jml326 Nah, brah. I got the same package you did. The 3300 has an upgraded sensor and processor and vastly improved and sexy monocoque body. Plus we got the 55-200 lens (both with the improved VRII technology), wifi adapter, SD card and bag.

We did alright with that deal.

@shaunk82 Lens is VR I from the looks of the picture.

@Pantheist Nah, but an MX or LX might be! :)

@PanicSwitch Nice work! I'm at 500px.com/bobinchicago ... I'll try to remember to follow you there once I get home.

@editorkid Cool, I will follow you on there too.

@Mandamm we've been getting our meh stuff within a week.

@Mandamm If they do, you'll have to buy two of them.

@Mandamm I'm hoping for a point and shoot Underwater camera like my old Cannon Powershot D10

@Foxborn I want one of those too!

@brhfl I know I love it I've been using it for many years through many trips, drops, pools, beaches. the only problem is every now and then the something gets a little out of place and the lends won't open. the fix is the fun part. just smack it in your hand a few times, and it's back

@brhfl here are some of my favorites

@Foxborn Nice, thanks for sharing! I'm heading to the beach some time in Sept. and thought such a thing would be fun. Looking at the Fuji XP80, if for no other reason than I can control it with the Fuji app I already have… Plus the lens appears to have a hydrophobic coating?

@jmendenhall gray market had it at that lower price

@ryanc2 Ya i was looking as well. Was interested in the Canon T3i or T4i. But this price and 60FPS video sealed the deal for me.

@aknapp right?! complete steal and couldnt pass it up. I tried to do as much research on this "Meh" website but seems legit. Fingers crossed!

@ryanc2 @aknapp we're pretty legit. You could always check out https://mediocre.com for more info about us.

@ryanc2 Don't worry bought stuff from here before. From my understanding it is the same guy who founded woot.com back in the day.

@ryanc2 i bought things on here before and one of them didn't work got a refund all good

@sriharsha VR

@geezfools Thanks for the response..in some forums it is being said these are non VR lenses..

@sriharsha VR means "Very Rad", right? If not, I think I've made a terrible mistake.

@sriharsha Meh's product description for this item indicates "1x 18-55 VR lens" is included in the box. Great deal.

@sriharsha the picture has a VR lens on it and the product description mentions it being a VR lens as well. If anything but a VR lens is sent, well, that would be frustrating, heh

@geezfools Yeah, that would be a real shakedown by Meh.

@aknapp ....my order is still processing :-(

@MEHcus Right on! Sounds picture perfect.....now I can focus on tracking ;-)

@MEHcus Nice, just got my shipping notification; arriving tomorrow! Been wanting a DSLR forever but didn't want to drop the money on one. This was too good of a deal to pass up though :)

@eric1024 im still waiting to received my tracking number

@puga24 See @MEHcus's post above

@mhuyck Not the greatest shot in the world, but here are a couple of blueberries that I picked a moment after the photo was taken:

@mhuyck Two more:

@mhuyck Beautiful!

@KDemo Thank you. Tasty, too!

@Foxborn - Apparently it works, too! Great shot.
Wait, you took this picture?

@KDemo I might have cheated on this one. I did use it for for my exchange boxes. I just needed a cute happy picture

@Foxborn It's not cheating - it is cute and happy. Just wondered if the camera was that good.

@KDemo don't know if it's Imager or just high data in the pictures but this took longer than I'm used too.

This is the best of the first shots I took. I've really never tried to learn a DSLR before but I will learn this one

@Foxborn - Really nice! You can see the leaves on the trees. This will be a good example if they sell it again.

@KDemo THANKS!

@hollboll Time for more cat pics?

@dashcloud YUP. I'm getting out the fluffy white blanket as soon as I get home.

@hollboll - Wait, you have your meh purchases delivered to your workplace?

@KDemo I did for this one. I live in an apartment complex and don't trust my neighbors.

@hollboll - Ha! I hope the shippers appreciate you.

@KDemo ;)

@SanjivG Hi, it doesn't include the SD card but you can get them pretty much anywhere. idealy you's want to pay about 50 cents per gig but that not a perfect estimate.

@Foxborn @SanjivG
I got this one:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PLENZX4

Was cheaper when I got it, however (~$38, as of this posting it's $44).