Half Off on smallHD Focus 5 Wireless Monitors *Today Only/B&H Deal Zone*

One of my friends who is a shooter and has a small production company here in the Charlotte market, was in talks with smallHD in their early days(DP6) when you still could only purchase directly from them, to be a dealer, but that fell through when they started selling through some of the big boys like B&H, Abel, etc.

It is kind of funny that as far as big sales dealers, it's kind of always been a desert here(really just Barbizon and Platts), especially when you look at the amount of production, commercials and movies that used to be done in the area, plus all of the network TV. I mean, commercials and movies are largely rental house deals, but there were still huge numbers of camera people and internal corporate production units.
 
Run&Gun said:
One of my friends who is a shooter and has a small production company here in the Charlotte market, was in talks with smallHD in their early days(DP6) when you still could only purchase directly from them, to be a dealer, but that fell through when they started selling through some of the big boys like B&H, Abel, etc.

It is kind of funny that as far as big sales dealers, it's kind of always been a desert here(really just Barbizon and Platts), especially when you look at the amount of production, commercials and movies that used to be done in the area, plus all of the network TV. I mean, commercials and movies are largely rental house deals, but there were still huge numbers of camera people and internal corporate production units.
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I would have stayed in NC if they kept the film incentives. But after 'Banshee' shut down a main road preventing the Bank people from getting to work, those evil film maker's incentives went away. I thought about going to Georgia for the easy work, but I am fluent in Mandarin Chinese and decided LA would be a better choice in the long term. In hindsight, I would have gone Georgia to get on bigger shows and then go international from there. Hard to get international level stuff without haLA is just all or nothing. Feast or famine. A lot of the middle range stuff is just outside my scope.

Outside of this pandemic, some other areas may have faster shipping, or have the time to jump on a call. But cities like Charlotte are in that middle ground where a company like BH or Adorama kills local business, but at the same time, a local business would never have that catalogue or those return policies. USA return policies are just ridiculous. No where else in the world quite like it. Pretty amazing option.

However, just in these pandemic times, I wonder if nearby cities like Atlanta or Nashville have the gear available for non-sale items? I have had no delays talking with local companies. they pick up the phone right away. They have stock. And in my case, I can do exchanges if an item is defective. But LA and NY are different than most places.
 
ahalpert said:
Support local, but - B&H is not Amazon. They're a massive resource for our industry. And they're practically a family business - almost everyone you see working there is a Hasidic Jew
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That isn't what I said, but now that you mention it, it kind of is.... ;)
 
James0b57 said:
I thought about going to Georgia for the easy work, but I am fluent in Mandarin Chinese and decided LA would be a better choice in the long term.
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Is this true? I've heard China loves western DPs, at least at the commercial level. Can you go to beijing, shanghai etc?
 
rob norton said:
Is this true? I've heard China loves western DPs, at least at the commercial level. Can you go to beijing, shanghai etc?
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I've been thinking about going back to China for sometime. I studied art there, so a big part of my visual aesthetic comes from growing up there. But alas, Covid may prevent that for some time. As for Western DP's, yes, as long as the DP has some clout or name recognition. Doesn't have to be Roger Deakins or anything, but perhaps something bigger than me. Though if I lived there, I might be able to work my way up and stay busier than in LA.
 
rob norton said:
Are they practically a family business because almost everyone you see working there is from the same larger community?
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...yes? granted, that may just be a sign of exclusivist hiring practices... I guess I'm trying to say they're a local institution even though they serve such a broad market
 
James0b57 said:
I've been thinking about going back to China for sometime. I studied art there, so a big part of my visual aesthetic comes from growing up there. But alas, Covid may prevent that for some time. As for Western DP's, yes, as long as the DP has some clout or name recognition. Doesn't have to be Roger Deakins or anything, but perhaps something bigger than me. Though if I lived there, I might be able to work my way up and stay busier than in LA.
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That's awesome. Yeah ideally you'd make a semi name for yourself then move to China. I've heard of some ridiculous day rates there for Aussie DPs doing commercial work, something like $5-$15k USD.
 
ahalpert said:
...yes? granted, that may just be a sign of exclusivist hiring practices... I guess I'm trying to say they're a local institution even though they serve such a broad market
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Oh crap I've got two conversations going.

By people you don't see working there I'm referring to the huge number of Hispanic employees behind closed doors. So according to your terms are they no longer a family business?

I'm only joking but my point is even though they're the little guy compared to amazon, I think it's a stretch acting like there's more to it other than convenience/price.

Re institution, you're lucky to be in NYC and have access to their amazing store. But physically checking out items is nowhere near as important as it used to be. YT reviews have pretty much replaced that need for me (or you can just ask norbro about whether you should buy!). Broad market is right - here local retailers make it extremely difficult to buy from them. Years ago I overheard an employee in a shop in sydney say "if we don't have it just order it from B&H and add 15%". Or your wait time is based on the manufacturer's regular scheduled deliveries. Why wait 2-4 weeks locally when you can get it sent from the other side of the world and have it arrive in a week? I often email manufacturers and ask if I can purchase directly, which sometimes works.
 
rob norton said:
YT reviews have pretty much replaced that need for me (or you can just ask norbro about whether you should buy!).
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Although the entire building and every single dedicated product area is awesome (a technology nerd's dream), one of the coolest locations is when you walk in (there's only one entrance and the exit is on the other side) and see the camera island to the right.

I spent weeks, months over there looking at every single system throughout the years, going in the menus, pressing buttons.

Then behind that is where the big boys and girls play, the "BH Studio" with ARRIs, and REDs, and Varicams, and sports cameras with those insane zoom lenses...usually appointment-only unless it's not busy, or you came with a briefcase filled with money.

One day years ago, I noticed they covered the glass windows of the studio (you used to be able to see inside) probably after realizing thousands of people casually walk by each day and see millions of dollars in equipment (even though I'm sure security is great).
 
NorBro said:
Although the entire building and every single dedicated product area is awesome (a technology nerd's dream), one of the coolest locations is when you walk in (there's only one entrance and the exit is on the other side) and see the camera island to the right.

I spent weeks, months over there looking at every single system throughout the years, going in the menus, pressing buttons.

Then behind that is where the big boys and girls play, the "BH Studio" with ARRIs, and REDs, and Varicams, and sports cameras with those insane zoom lenses...usually appointment-only unless it's not busy, or you came with a briefcase filled with money.

One day years ago, I noticed they covered the glass windows of the studio (you used to be able to see inside) probably after realizing thousands of people casually walk by each day and see millions of dollars in equipment (even though I'm sure security is great).
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That sounds crazy. You probably know more than any sales people, do you just ask to be left alone lol? It'd also be nice not worrying for an item to arrive the day before a shoot.
 
It's a fun store to visit. Definitely has a lot of things going on. What do they call that track on the ceiling that moves gear real fast between departments? It's like a Santa's work shop.
 
I think the track is there to prevent theft. You can't carry your product to the front. They convey it there and you pay and them receive it on your way out the door. That's how come they're still in business
 
Preventing theft may be a result of the system, but the conveyor's main purpose is to move objects around from different parts of the building.

All factories in the world have them (whether rudimentary or complex), but it's just not everyday you see them above your head.

 
That video is amazing. Love the music.

Re:theft - they won't let you carry your product from the department desk to the cashiers. It must go by conveyor
 
You probably can't carry over more than 50% of the inventory anyway because it's not available where you are looking at it. Meaning they aren't pulling out a brand new $10,000 cinema camera from under the desk for you to bear hug the box while you continue to walk around and shop.

I guess if you were thinking about stealing an iPhone case or a charger - brand new things like that on display - then it's a great theft-prevention system too.
 
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ahalpert said:
Support local, but - B&H is not Amazon. They're a massive resource for our industry. And they're practically a family business - almost everyone you see working there is a Hasidic Jew
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I'm not sure they are squeaky clean...there's been at least three seperate legal actions just involving both gender and racial discrimination since 2007...as well as tax avoidance....

https://www.wnyc.org/story/92977-bh-photo-employees-say-not-everything-picture-perfect/

https://www.thedailybeast.com/americas-largest-indie-photo-store-bandh-sued-for-segregated-bathrooms

https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/b-h-discriminated-hispanic-workers-suit-article-1.2544262

https://www.theverge.com/2019/11/14/20964980/b-h-photo-taxes-lawsuit-new-york-state

And speaking as someone who doesn't live local in NY, they're not you know....local.

They also have some pretty terrible cartel like practices with small manufacturers as well.

I know that they dictate the prices on some items to the very ones that manufacturer them....with the threat of not stocking them. The manufacturer then has to choose to comply and screw up the rest of their worldwide distro relationships for everywhere else that doesn't buy from BH photo or not comply and loose one of their biggest individual re-sellers. It's good for the consumer I guess, the all American way, but it's not great for encouraging competition or innovation.

I have bought from them over the years, but you should really buy from them with eyes wide open and understanding they aren't really what I'd think of as a local or a family buisiness with all that goes with those feel-good notions....


JB
 
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John Brawley said:
I'm not sure they are squeaky clean...there's been at least three seperate legal actions just involving both gender and racial discrimination since 2007...as well as tax avoidance....
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These are all good points, although I think the sales tax avoidance was a bit technical - they only charged tax on the discount price and not the full price of an item before discount. So, the customers didn't pay the tax and they enabled us to dodge it. I'll give them a bit of a pass since they were competing with internet companies like Amazon who, until recently, weren't required to collect any sales tax ever. (Part of their unfair competitive advantage that put loads of locals out of business everywhere in every industry. Probably why B&H introduced the PayBoo card.)

And at the risk of sounding too cynical, many companies have skeletons in their closet. Olympus had a huge loss-hiding scandal a few years back, although I'm not sure who was hurt by that deception (investors?).

I look at B&H like Barnes & Noble. Barnes & Noble was a local bookstore-killing behemoth for years and years. Until Amazon put them out of business. The book buyers are worse off for losing their industry-specific sales company, just as camera-buyers would be worse off without B&H.

I didn't know about the discrimination issues. That makes me angry.
 
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