Okay, so I’ve developed an interest in purchasing a digital camera. Normally, when shopping for such a device, I’d go online. After choosing a model, I’d use mysimon.com or some similar service to find a price which would almost certainly be lower than what I’d pay in any store. In this case, however, I don’t know what I want. And I can’t make a decision based solely on reviews and feature comparisons found online. I really want to get a feel for how the thing performs, how it feels, and what its pictures look like on a good monitor. I know Best Buy, Circuit City, and chains like those sell digital cameras, but IIRC the last time I was in one they just had the various demo units sitting out, chained to the counters, with no batteries in them. You could look at them, feel them in your hands, but that’s about it. I, however, would not feel ready to buy a digital camera unless I could actually take a few pictures with it and see how they look on a decent CRT display. I know camera stores sell them too, but all camera stores I’ve ever seen have been pretty small. Are there any brick-and-mortar establishments which have the facilities for customers to do this? Ideally, I’d like NOT to have a salesman talking a mile a minute at me the whole time I’m there, and asking “what do I have to do to get this camera in your hands TODAY?” ;), but I’ll take what I can get.
I don’t see how you can get much more detailed than www.dpreview.com with respect to perfromance information. With almost all digitals except the semi-pro 2000 - 3000 models you’re simply pushing a button on a little box, and in real terms for consumer use anything beyond 3 -4 megapixels is going to have more detail than you can see on even the most sophisticated color printer and 10X more detail than a monitor can display. The main issues are going to be size/weight, battery life and performance. You should be abe to get a good handle on all these parameters via reviews and being able to handle the cameras in store without shooting them.
Specs aren’t everything. For some of us it’s important to know how the buttons feel, how the camera balances in your hand, and even the material of the camera body. I’ve seen cameras that looked very good on the reviews but was almost painful to use. For example there was one Ricoh camera which I almost bought, but found out at the store that it’s difficult to press the shutter button halfway - an important feature for me. That was a definite deal breaker. Nikon’s split-body design didn’t appeal to me at all when I saw the photo but when I tried it at a store I fell in love with it.
Anyway Arcite, it would help if we knew where you are located. I don’t suppose you can go where I shop, i.e. Yodobashi Camera in downtown Tokyo. The only option I can suggest is to buy from a mail order house with a money-back guarantee and no restocking fee.
I just went through the same process as you are experiencing. The demos at the big box stores don’t let you get an accurate look and feel–I couldn’t determine whether a particular model actually fit into my shirt pocket for example.
Simple solution is to go to any counter at a real camera shop and play with various models for as long as you need to. I went to Kits (Ritz Camera sister firm) and learned a lot. Quite often their prices are competitive with the larger stores.
One piece of advice: the lighting at all retail stores is really bright and will hinder your ability to assess how well the camera viewfinder handles low lighting conditions. So aim at your coat lining or a case interior. The Fuji Finepix 3800 is wonderful except for low lighting.
Tip: Good Guys.com now has a 10percent off sale plus no tax and free shipping. Best deal that I have found. I ordered a Canon A70 by the way.
I’m not sure how moral this is, but when dig cameras first came out, I bought 3 different models from a local electronics store and tried them all out for a few weeks, then took them all back and bought the one I wanted online.
Wasn’t that expensive? Most places around here charge 15% restocking fee if you return something because you didn’t want it.