Purchase Of Canon Camera

[bas7]

Good Morning,

 

I'm sailing on the Empress of the Seas, October 10th, 2005. I've always used disposeable cameras. On my last cruise, a picture was taken of me horseback riding in the water with my ship in the background. The picture came out beautiful. However, when I went to enlarge it, it was very blurry. Needless to say, I was disappointed.

 

I will be in St. Thomas, as well as Sint Maarten, and was wondering whether or not I should buy my camera at one of these ports, or on the Internet. If I buy on the Internet, I'll have to use disposeables again on this trip. Didn't really want to have to do this. I've seen prices on the Internet, but have no way of comparing those prices to those on the islands.

 

Was just wondering whether my CC'ers have any feedback on price comparison, between an Internet purchase as to the islands? Thanks for any feedback. BTY, I posted this on the Photo Gallery, but haven't received any suggestions as of yet, so I thought I would post here too.

 

Best,

 

Bruce

 

Holland America, Volendam, December 16th, 2004, Southern Carribean

Holland America, Zuiderdam, April 9th, 2005, Eastern Carribean

 

Soon To Cruise on RCCL, Empress of the Seas, October 10th, 2005, Eastern Carribean

[MJ25]

Hey Bruce,

 

I just returned from from my AOS cruise on the 22nd. While I was there I purchased a camera on St. Maarten. Bought it an electronics shop called "The Music Man".

 

I purchased a Pentax Optio S5i. The optio S5i is a very small, (fits in an Altoids box), 5 mega pixel digital with excellent 3x zoom. I priced it on the ship and then did an internet search on it. I am not sure if I got a greta buy or not, but I do feel that I got a good deal. The cheapest I found this camera on line was $279. That was for the camera package only. (camera, battery, charging stand & cables)

 

On St Maarten I got the camers, 256 memory card, extra battery, hard sided carrying case (very nice), & a cleaning kit for $325. Online they wanted $50 for the memory card, $25 for the battery and $20 for a soft sided case. Plus no tax or shipping of course.

 

It also has a waterproof case available, but the store was out of them when I was there.

 

Hope this helps you decide.

[bas7]

Good Morning MJ25,

 

Gosh, you're quick. Didn't expect a reply so fast.

 

Thanks for the important information. It will certainly help me in making my purchase.

 

It sounds like you got a really good deal. I hope you have many pleasureable picture experiences with your new found friend, and will look up the shop that you went to

 

Thanks again,

 

Best,

 

Bruce

_____________________________________________________

Holland America, Volendam, December 16th, 2004, Southern Carribean

Holland America, Zuiderdam, April 9th, 2005, Eastern Carribean

 

Soon To Cruise on RCCL, Empress of the Seas, October 10th, 2005, Eastern Carribean

[PelicanBill]

Be very, very careful about buying expensive cameras in cruise ports.

 

Many of the models sold are European or worldwide models not sold in the US. This means you cannot get warranty support in the US if you need it.

 

I would not trust the salespeople to be truthfull about this situation. Do some home work on the major makes and models so you have a list with you. Know the discount prices here in the US so you know what a good deal is!

[hdawson]

There are great prices right here on ebay. Careful not to buy grey market anything. Insist that the product has a US warranty. In buying a watch a couple of years before a cruise, I found I got a much, much better price from a dealer (Miami) than what I found on the ship or in the islands. And it came with a US warranty.

 

Know what camera you want and the price at home or on the internet.

Try this site for comparisons and reviews. http://www.dpreview.com/

[templed]

try this link

 

http://www.steves-digicams.com/default.htm

 

 

If I remember correctly... they'll have price comparison on all camera's that he reviews...

 

 

I have a high end Canon... a Powershot Pro 1... Best camera I've ever owned...

 

 

I'd just be leary of buying on the islands... I'd be too worried that I was getting the shaft.

[Desertbelle]

To check out comparable prices from many online stores check out www.computershopper.com

 

Looking up the above mentioned camera, the Pentax Optio S5i, on the above site I found that Abe's of Maine, an excellent online store, has it for $259.89, including shipping costs. Plus they are having a special if you purchase a camera today, you receive the accessory of your choice worth $40.

 

I would highly recommend that you purchase a camera before leaving on your cruise. Then you will have time to use it a bit and get used to it before the cruise. Plus, I wouldn't want to deal with a broken item or returning an item from some store in the Caribbean. :)

 

I use www.computershopper.com for comparison shopping for all electronics.

[cherylandtk]

We found that the Caribbean shops did not have the new model that we wanted and had researched online. They were about a year behind in the models offered.

[TheBeachBears]

Bruce-

 

You did not indicate what model Canon camera you were looking for but since we have owned many cameras (mostly Canon) here is what I can offer you:

 

We have found the best prices lately on Canon to be at Dell (http://www.dell.com)

Yes the computer store. If you go to cheap.*****.com you can get online coupons for use at Dell. We just purchased a Canon ZR100 miniDV camcorder and saved $120 on it using the coupons.

 

We also have a Pentax Optio and a Canon Rebel Digital.

 

Abes of Maine as someone else suggested is a great dealer and we have used them a number of times.

 

DH has a BFA in photography (RIT '92) and knows a thing or two about cameras. He is completely sold on digital media and it will be a snowy day in Labadee before he returns to film media.

 

Do your research on the model first-then go looking.

As someone else mentioned, beware the grey market. Better to buy here and take it with you then worry about the purchase on the trip AND potentially have to pay duty on it upon your return.

 

Feel free to email if you need some advice or have any other questions:

 

vsnyder1@nycap.rr.com

 

 

Hope this helps

 

Veronica

[bas7]

MJ25, PelicanBill, hdawson, templed, Desertbelle, cherylandtk and TheBeachBears,

 

Thank you all so much for such informative responses, and the links you sent, and especially the information concerning warranties. Wasn't aware that if you purchased something abroad, the warranty would perhaps not be honored here. As I posted originally on the Photo Gallery, where I thought this post would be more appropriate, I have already decided to buy right here in the Good Old US of A. Camera question settled.

 

TheBigBears, I'm not sure what model yet, but it will certainly be digital. Was thinking of Canon SD2 or S20 or S200. I'm a little confused with the model numbers, but I do know it's a Powershot.

 

Hope I got everyone in.

 

Thanks again.

 

Best,

 

Bruce

 

Holland America, Volendam, December 16th, 2004, Southern Carribean

Holland America, Zuiderdam, April 9th, 2005, Eastern Carribean

 

Soon To Cruise on RCCL, Empress of the Seas, October 10th, 2005, Eastern Carribean

[dougp26364]

Don't forget that many of the large chain stores have interest free financing. CompuUSA has had the Cannon S1 for $349 and two years free financing available. That works out to about $15/month and the camera is in your hand now. BestBuy and Circuit City usually have 6-12 months free financing on most purchases above $199. It's not hard to get over $199 by the time you buy the camera, memory cards and accesories.

 

CompuUSA is having an in store special tonight from 6pm to midnight on serveral things. We'll be heading up there to pick up a 512mb flash drive for storage and two new memory cards, one 512mb and 1GB cards. The cost will be just over $120 for all of them combined.

 

Also, on the islands I found limited availability of manufacturors of camera's. Mostly what I rember seeing was Olympus but there were two other companies as well. I just don't recall who they were. Seems like one was Panasonic. At the time I was carrying a Nikon digital camera. Non of the stores we went into had anything Nikon.

[bas7]

dougp26364,

 

Thanks for the information. I don't understand why I was under the impression that everthing purchased on the islands were better deals. It seems like I was surely mistaken, about cameras anyway. Perhaps you can get better jewelry deals.

 

Wouldn't have know this if it weren't for all the great people on the CC board.

 

Good luck tonight. Hope you find what you want at a great price.

 

Best,

 

Bruce

 

 

Holland America, Volendam, December 16th, 2004, Southern Carribean

Holland America, Zuiderdam, April 9th, 2005, Eastern Carribean

 

Soon To Cruise on RCCL, Empress of the Seas, October 10th, 2005, Eastern Carribean

[hdawson]

You can still get some pretty good deals in the islands and a big plus is saving the sales tax from home of about 7%. You can usually save the sales tax when buying on ebay and other sites where the company doesn't have a retail business in your state, as well. But then you have to consider the shipping costs. Lots to consider.

[Desertbelle]

I have a Canon Powershot S45 and I love it. I know there are newer models since I bought mine, with more megapixels...and in the next year or so I will want to upgrade to one of them. I bought the underwater case for it, and we have had a great time taking underwater shots with it also.

 

Here is the link to my webshots gallery, all the pictures from these cruises are taken with the Canon....including the underwater ones. http://community.webshots.com/user/desertbelle

[bas7]

Hi Margie,

 

Really enjoyed looking at your pictures. If you got such nice quality shots with an older model Canon, I can't imagine how much improvement there could be with a newer model.

 

From a previous post, it was suggested to me to get somewhere around 5 megapixels, but some even said that 3 megapixels for my needs and purposes, would be just fine. I have my homework to do, and so many new sites that CCers have sent me, including yourself. When I get back from my cruise, I'm going to post my pic's like so many do. Can't wait. Actually, once I buy, I'll post to let all know what I finally chose

 

Thanks again,

 

Best,

 

Bruce

 

Holland America, Volendam, December 16th, 2004, Southern Carribean

Holland America, Zuiderdam, April 9th, 2005, Eastern Carribean

 

Soon To Cruise on RCCL, Empress of the Seas, October 10th, 2005, Eastern Carribean

[bas7]

hdawson,

 

True. Lots to consider. But after reading these posts, I feel that buying the camera in advance, learning its capabilities,will better suit my needs. This way I don't have to worry about sales tax, just have to pay it, and hopefully if I spend enough, maybe they will include the shipping as a courtesy to me

 

Thanks again for your input.

 

Best,

 

Bruce

 

Holland America, Volendam, December 16th, 2004, Southern Carribean

Holland America, Zuiderdam, April 9th, 2005, Eastern Carribean

 

Soon To Cruise on RCCL, Empress of the Seas, October 10th, 2005, Eastern Carribean

[hermang]

If you are going to St Thomas - Check out the Royal Caribbean ( no relation to the cruise line) shop either at Havensite Mall or down town. We have bought many camera/binoculars from these folks and they stand behind their merchandise. Boolchands which also has a store on St,Maarten but prices are different than St. Thomas is also ok but I don't remember if the St. Thomas store got pulled off the preferred list.

 

I bought a 8mm Video camera, my first Digital camera and a pair of Binoculars from Royal Caribbean - and a friend bought 35 mm camera.

[dougp26364]

dougp26364,

 

.

 

Good luck tonight. Hope you find what you want at a great price.

 

Best,

 

Bruce

 

 

 

We got everything we went to the store for. A 1GB Compact flash memory card for $49, a 1GB SD memory card for $69 and a 512mb jump drive for $29 plus a $15 rebate to send in bringing the total price on the jump drive down to $14, which is the best price I've ever found on a jump drive of any size.

 

I know have expanded my photo storage capacity to 1,700 pictures for my Nikon and 2,200 pictures for my Cannon camera. Eventually I'll own enough memory cards that I won't feel the need to take the computer everywhere we go. Both my wife and I take a LOT of pictures since getting the digital camera's.

[dougp26364]

Hi Margie,

 

Really enjoyed looking at your pictures. If you got such nice quality shots with an older model Canon, I can't imagine how much improvement there could be with a newer model.

 

From a previous post, it was suggested to me to get somewhere around 5 megapixels, but some even said that 3 megapixels for my needs and purposes, would be just fine. I have my homework to do, and so many new sites that CCers have sent me, including yourself. When I get back from my cruise, I'm going to post my pic's like so many do. Can't wait. Actually, once I buy, I'll post to let all know what I finally chose

 

Thanks again,

 

Best,

 

Bruce

 

Holland America, Volendam, December 16th, 2004, Southern Carribean

Holland America, Zuiderdam, April 9th, 2005, Eastern Carribean

 

Soon To Cruise on RCCL, Empress of the Seas, October 10th, 2005, Eastern Carribean

 

For most casual users, 3.2 megapixels will produce wonderful snapshots. If you're wanting to enlarge pictures to 5X7 or larger, then 3.2 megapixel is the minimum IMO and 5 megapixels or greater would be preferable.

 

The trend is for everyone to want bigger and better, which works fine for me as I can live with fewer megapixels but better camera capabilities.

[bas7]

hermang,

 

Thanks much for your reply to my post. It sounds like you had good luck with your camera purchases on the islands, and with Royal Carribean too.

 

I've decided to buy my camera in the US of A, before I leave. This way I'll have the chance to study up on the buttons, the zoom, and whatever else I'll need to know to take quality pictures.

 

And when I'm on my cruise, I'll hopefully feel comfortable with the dynamics of the camera.

 

Thanks again for your feedback.

 

Best,

 

Bruce

 

Holland America, Volendam, December 16th, 2004, Southern Carribean

Holland America, Zuiderdam, April 9th, 2005, Eastern Carribean

 

Soon To Cruise on RCCL, Empress of the Seas, October 10th, 2005, Eastern Carribean

[bas7]

dougp26364,

 

Glad to hear that you walked into a store to shop, and that you were able to get everything you wanted , and at great prices too. To me that's an accomplishment. I hope both you, and your wife get much pleasure from your new equipment

 

I'm going to do my research daily, and will probably go with a Canon Poweshot 5 megapixel camera. However I don't know the Model number yet. I've heard good things about Abe's of Maine, and Margie of Desertbelle in an earlier post on this thread gave it a thumbs up, and I plan to contact them over the weekend. Hopefully they're open. As I said in my original post, when I was on Half Moon Cay, I took a horseback riding excursion, took a picture with a disposeable camera ,which really came out fine, but when I went to enlarge it, it was very blurry. That's when I decided it was time to get a good camera. I don't plan to enlarge all the pictures I take, but when I do, I want a clean, crisp picture.

 

I really enjoyed your pictures posted on Webshots, I especially liked the one of a Celebrity Cruise Ship, don't know the name of the ship, but I found it striking, taken in Alaska, your Sunny Day From Balcony, I think it was a view from the VOS. Even your shot of the library on the Monarch, looked like it was shot in low light, but very clear. And I particularly enjoyed looking at that awesome shot of frozen grass. Seems like you had quite a storm in Wichita. Hope there wasn't too much damage, and no one hurt..

 

So I have my work cut out for me, but I no longer feel like I'm starting from scratch..

 

Thanks again for your assistance. It will sure make it easier to make a more well informed consumer decision.

 

Best,

 

Bruce

 

Holland America, ms Volendam, December 16th, 2004, Southern Carribean

Holland America, ms Zuiderdam, April 9th, 2005, Eastern Carribean

 

Soon To Cruise on RCCL, Empress of the Seas, October 19th, 2005

[Wennfred]

I did my research online first, then I went to St. Thomas and St. Marteen, St. Marteen was suppose to have the better deals, but They were way over priced,

but I did find some items like wide angle adaptors that were cheaper in St. Marteen, go online you will save tons. go to www.dpreview.com first to research the camera you want, then go to www.mysimon.com to do a comparason shopping, this looks at all online stores and you can view for the best price of that camera.

As for what camera? I love Canon, they also have the best Bundle software, its even used by other OEM users. Good Luck.

[bas7]

Good Morning Wennfred,

 

Thank you for you suggestions. It seems you used a solid approach. And intesteing that the prices on the islands were higher than here, except for some of the products you mentioned.

 

I have a lot of research to do, but when I'm done, I'll have the camera I want. Will go the the sites that you recommended and see what they are offering.

 

Thanks again,

 

Best,

 

Bruce

 

Holland America, Volendam, December 16th, 2004, Southern Carribean

Holland America, Zuiderdam, April 9th, 2005, Eastern Carribean

 

Soon To Cruise on RCCL, Empress of the Seas, October 10th, 2005, Eastern Carribean

[dougp26364]

The photo's from Alaska were all taken with an older Olympus 1.3 megapixel camera. The pictures from Monarch and Explorer were taken with a Nikon Coolpix 3.2, which is a nice camera but tends to have problems with night time shots, thus some disatisfaction with it. I've spent a lot of time working with the Nikon and it's different settings and it just doesn't come close to what the Cannon I bought for my wife does.

 

The Cannon my wife has is a Cannon SL1 with 3.2 megapixels of resolution and a 10X optical zoom plus image stabilization. This camera is amazing in the clarity of pictures it takes and surpases the Nikon Coolpix by miles. She can took pictures in Mt. Charleston NV from the moving car and they came out flawlessly.

 

Cannon is coming out with a new model of this camera called the SL2. It will be a 5 megapixel camera with 12X optical zoom and image stablization. I have not seen it on the shelf yet and it is supposed to be priced somewhere between $399 and $450. While it's a little more expensive than most camera's, I don't think there is any way that you could be disappointed with the pictures it will take.

 

The one drawback is that it's large enough that it wouldn't fit easily in your pocket. Some of the newer camera's, mostly with only 3X opticla zoom, have 5 magepixels and will fit in your pocket. I'm seriously comtemplating purchasing one of these thinner camera's along with a waterproof case for taking photo's underwater. The cheap film camera I used the first time was somewhat of a disappointment. But I went cheap the first time because I wanted to figure out how things worked without risking between $300 and $500.

 

Over the years we've owned 4 digital camera's. The first was the Olympus D-340 1.3 megapixel. I actually paid $350 for this camera way back when. It takes nice photo's but has very few options. As I said, the photo's in Alaska were all taken with this camera. It also does very well in low light situations and many of my nighttime photo's have been taken with this camera, even though I have newer camera's to work with.

 

I had purchased for my wife an HP camera a couple of years ago. It was 3.2 megapixel and took very nice photo's. It had a night time setting that worked great in low light situations if you wanted the picture to look like it was taken with lights on or during the day. Unfortunately, it was a heavy camera and tended to eat batteries like it was going out of style. My wife could go through 16 batteries in one day. We still have the camera around the house but have given it to our daughter to use until she can afford to get a camera she wants (she's still in college).

 

I've mentioned the Nikon Coolpix that I use. It's 3.2 megapixel and has 3X optical zoom. The one thing I really like about it is that it takes great pictures in decent to good light and fits easily in my pocket. It's one drawback is night time photography, such as christmas lights. I've tried almost every setting yet if there is the slightest movement, the pictures blur horribly. So far I've never been able to hold the camera still enough, even on a tripod, to eleminate the blur. If you're subject is moving just a little bit that will also cause blurring.

 

The last camera we bought is the Cannon SL1. This is by far the best digital camera we've owned. It has taken flawless pictures in every light setting and situation we've used it in. It has also been a very forgiving camera as my wife had difficulty trying to figure out which setting would be best for which situation. The image stablization is nothing more than amazing, allowing her to use the 10X optical zoom without the need for a tripod. All of her pictures have come out with clean edges and sharp resolution. It has been the most impressive of camera's I've ever seen. So much so that when the SL2 does hit the stores, at least one has already been sold. This one camera has impressed us so much that Cannon has become our first choice in digital photography.

 

I think that buying the camera before you leave is a wise decision. There are so many settings involved for different situations that you'll want some practice to see what works best.

[bas7]

Good Morning dougp26364,

 

Wow, what a plethera of information. Thanks for passing it on to me. You've sold me. I think it's going to be either the SL1, if it's still available, or the the SL2. I can't remember where I read it, and I'm not sure whether it was the SL1, but there was one reveiw I read where it said the lens cap was flimsy and was falling off the of the camera. Other than that the reviews were really good. Wonder if something like that could be fixed in some way. Anyway, today I'm going to read reviews on the both the SL1 and SL2. If it's the SL2, guess I'll just have to hang it around my neck. One previous poster said he bought a camera that was small enough to fit into an Altoids box. Wish I could find a piece of equipment like that,and still get quality pics. It's going to be my first camera, so I don't want to rush into buying, and yet at the same time, want to be prepared for my October cruise

 

Thanks again, and hope you and yours have a great Memorial Day Weekend.

 

Best,

 

Bruce

 

Holland America, Volendam, December 16th, 2004, Eastern Carribean

Holland America, Zuiderdam, April 9th, 2005, Eastern Carribean

 

Soon To Cruise on RCCL, Empress of the Seas, October 10th, 2005, Eastern Carribean