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Have been a fan of Wolf camera ever since using their local store on the Upper West Side in Manhattan. The sold me my Nikon N80 35mm camera set years ago and it was the best camera I have ever owned. They were great about educating me and were not sharks at all in the sales process. In addition their developing services were EXCELLENT and high quality. When I had a problem with some large poster size blow ups having been cropped incorrectly, they reproduced them without hassle or questions, at significant cost to them. When I moved from the Upper West Side to downtown, I used another highly reputable NYC "professional" photo processing place, but they're photos were never quite as perfect as Wolfs.

That said, I have long been a fan, so when I decided to upgrade my Sony digital camera to the new Nikon D70 SLR to take advantage of what will invariably be the best high-end amateur digital camera made to date, I was predisposed to looking at Wolf (Ritz). Of course, I used the various shopping engines to find the best prices. Wolf/Ritz prices were marginally higher than the cheapest suppliers, but I trust them, and in the camera business you have to be EXTREMELY CAREFUL and read reviews of companies, but there are a lot of scammers, both on and off line. (Never, ever, ever buy anything from any camera store on 42nd street in Manhattan!!!)

Anyway, I like that Wolf pays the tax and shipping, so ultimately the total cost is not significantly higher for most items than the lowest price online retailer. They have a great selection, though the Wolf site is a bit hard to navigate and use with the black background. Prices and offers are the same on Ritz camera so you can really use either.

The D70 I ordered was said to have been back-ordered and would take 2 to 4 weeks, which was extremely disappointing to me since I need immediate gratification, but I was delighted to receive a shipping notice 1.5 days after I ordered it, indicating it was en route. A couple of days later, I ordered a 2.2 GB Hitachi Microdrive for the camera which included a $30 instant rebate with purchase of camera. I couldn't get the rebate online because I had purchased the camera on a different ticket 2 days earlier. But when the agent called to verify my purchase due to shipping to a different address than my billing address (all the camera stores do this now), he was very pleasant and I mentioned the $30 rebate and whether he could give it to me. He put me on hold briefly, I assume to ask his supervisor, and was back quickly to say that he would deduct the $30 rebate from the order. I was very pleased and didn't expect it because I have dealt with similar situations with different companies' representatives who say it's against policy or whatever.

So, we shall see if everything arrives on time, but I have no worries that if there is a problem, Wolf will immediately and graciously take care of it.

That all said, I know that some people have not been entirely pleased with their local Wolf experiences. I think quality control is a problem with a company such as this with some many different outlets across the country and different people working at them. As with any retail outlet, you have to trust the people. On the UWS of NYC, the people who work there are very knowledgeable and love photography. They will investigate your needs and skill level and will point you in the right direction without taking advantage of your naivete.