Internet purchase Digital camera

milkman · Mar 9, 2005

Since my new camera is no longer with me, I have been looking at cameras and prices on the net. I have decided on the camera and model, and have found some good prices. With places like "pricescan and others, I have read some of the reviews from some of the camera sellers and now I'm kinda scared to go that route. I have bought a lot of items online and had good luck, but some of the review horror stories have made me apprehensive, and although some of the reviews are positive, some of them sound phony. Anyone here bought from these places, what are my chances of avoiding a scam. A lot of the places try to sell overpriced accessories and if turned down, all of a sudden the item you order is on backorder. I seems that most of these places are the NY photo shops and I need feedback from some of you that have made such purchases.

Bob_Skurka · Mar 9, 2005

I've purchased several digital cameras and a few digital video cameras from Beach Camera with good luck. Each time I just ordered only the parts I wanted, not being pressured to buy over priced battery chargers, etc. They always had very good prices, not always the absolute lowest, but usually very near the bottom. Beach Camera website

Dargo · Mar 9, 2005

I tried once to make a camera purchase from a camera shop in NY. They had the best price for the camera and their website looked nice. After 3 weeks from paying I still had no camera. I called them and they told me that they were out of that model and they expected to receive more in during the following weeks. I explained that I didn't plan to wait the 3 weeks I already had waited and that I was not at all pleased or interested in waiting further. The short version was that they then implied that I was overly impatient and refunded my money.

I've since bought other digital camera items online, but not from companies located in NY. I've actually purchased several items from a camera shop when visiting St. Thomas, USVI, and have since bought from them online without issue. If you're interested, I can provide you their website. Their prices in general seem pretty fair after comparing, but generally not the absolute lowest. Thus, my lukewarm endorsement. I cannot fault them on service and that is the only reason I mention them. I had an issue with one item, and they immediately sent a replacement and asked me to mail them the defective item. I didn't have to play the mail game and wait for shipping each way.

milkman · Mar 9, 2005

Thanks Bob,
That's reassureing, and Beach was one of the places that I checked, and you're right, they were only a few $'s more than the lowest. I've decided on the Fuji S5100 for several reasons, the 10X optical zoom, I can use rechargeable AA batteries which I have from my previous camera and also the XD card from the other camera will work with the Fuji. Glad to hear that you like them, that's a relief.

milkman · Mar 9, 2005

Yes, I'd like to have the website, I'll check it out. If I'd known this earlier I could have had my daughter pick one up, she was there right after Christmas, no that wouldn't work, still had my camera then.

Dargo · Mar 9, 2005

I guess I could have just put in the link, sorry, I wasn't thinking. Here is their site http://www.boolchand.com/index.php Good luck!

BillG_in_TX · Mar 9, 2005

As Bob suggested, Beach Camera is a good option. I have bought from them with zero problems in the past.

Whenever I consider an internet purchase, I always check ResellerRatings.com for information. They are a great resource for identifying bad sellers. For example, Beach has a six month rating of 9.15 (out of 10). Compare that to A&M Photo World with a six-month rating of 0.68! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

Gatorboy · Mar 9, 2005

You should have no problems if you use B&H Photo

milkman · Mar 9, 2005

Tried thr Beach Photo again and they don't even list the camera now, although they said they were upgrading their inventory on the site, maybe later.

Dargo,
Struck out there also, not listed.

Anybody know about Butterfly Photo, had some good reviews although I didn't read all 2000+ reviews.

_RaT_ · Mar 9, 2005

Just in case you have not used this site, you can get quite a bit of information on selected cameras. Here is the Fuji... Fuji S5100

Durbob · Mar 9, 2005

Here is another place to check out the camera and then he lists some places it can be bought and prices.
Steves digicams

Dur

BillG_in_TX · Mar 9, 2005

C/Net has a good combination of reviews, seller ratings and price/availability.
Here's their page on the S5100, sorted by price.

MadReferee · Mar 9, 2005

Back in December I bought a new Canon PowerShot A85 along with a few accessories from B&H Photo over the internet. Items were shipped promptly with no other problems. I would definitely do business with them again. Prices were either the lowest or very close to the lowest I could find.

Durbob · Mar 9, 2005

Here is the camera i will be getting when i decide to buy again. It is 3.2 megapixels which is plenty good for 8 by 10 pictures. It has a image stabilizer built in also. It is one of the highest rated cameras in its class.

Canon

ronjhall · Mar 9, 2005

I purchased my new camera from Adorama Camera through Amazon.com. Price was competitive and delivery was in less than a week.

Dargo · Mar 9, 2005

Durbob, I bought a Minolta Dimage Z1 a year or so ago that looks a lot like that Cannon camera. You're right about the 3 megapixel range being fine for 8X10's. If the Cannon is like the Minolta Z1, they are hard to beat it for the price range. There is a lot of bang for the buck! The 30fps full motion video is great as well. With a 1 gig SD card, I practically use the little Z1 for a camcorder as well.

milkman · Mar 9, 2005

I read the dpreview on the Canon and then read there about the Fuji, I'll have to go to Steve's site and do some reading there, looks a lot like the dpreview format so it will be interesting. If I didn't have all the accessories that will work with the Fuji, the Canon with the image stabilization would certainly be in the running, it looks impressive. Thanks

EddieWalker · Mar 9, 2005

I bought mine on Amazon with no problems. I priced around and found it very hard to beat their prices.

Don't forget to include the shipping and handleing charges when priceing. It's amazing how much some retailers will add onto an order after giving a really low purchase price.

fishman · Mar 9, 2005

Another guy in my office ordered a digital from Ritz Camera about a month ago and was pleased with the price and service.

I bought mine from Best Buy during a sale and it was actually very close in cost to the best deal I could find online. Plus I got 6 months same as cash.

duber34 · Mar 9, 2005

I've had my eye on the Fuji S5100 for about a year now. I like the 10X optical zoom. I currently have the Fuji S3800 and unfortunately it works fine so I have no need for the S5100. Maybe I can drop it accidently. /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif Have you looked at Tiger Direct for prices? I don't know how they compare on cameras but their prices on PC's and parts is very reasonable. I have purchased a ton of equipment from them with never an issue.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/

Regards,
Duber