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Advice on buying a new camera So my prized possession, my Canon Powershot with which I have taken over 7,000 pictures in the 3 years that I've owned it...is dead.
The lens won't open, and I've tried numerous tips found online to no avail.
I don't want to take it in for repair, because it'll probably cost me nearly as much as a replacement.
So, I want to spend around $400 for a decent camera. I love taking pictures, but I'm definitely no pro. I mostly take pics of the kids, and the one complaint I had about the Powershot was that low-light pics (such as the school auditorium) were bad. Either they were too dark, or I needed a tripod for the "indoor" setting.
So...Canon, Nikon, Sony, Olympus? Point-&-Shoot? SLR?
What's a good choice for an amateur who wants good pics of the kids?
Any & all advice would be greatly appreciated.
By St. Boogar and all the saints at the backside door of Purgatory! | |
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i have no advice but i'm sorry for your loss that must be like when a keyboard dies | |
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I really, really loved my camera. Part of me wants to fix it, but most places charge $50 just to bench test it, so I can't see this type of repair (probably needs a new motor for the lens) being less than $200.
By St. Boogar and all the saints at the backside door of Purgatory! | |
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how much is a new canon powershot? | |
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$400+ But I can't justify a $200 repair on a $400 camera. I already once fixed the flash for $125.00. That would make it an almost $800 camera!!! For 8megapixels? By St. Boogar and all the saints at the backside door of Purgatory! | |
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so you couldn't afford a new one at all?
I wouldn't recommend fixing it, these things have a short lifespan, something else will break next. | |
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http://www.getprice.com.a...Camera.htm
what about this one? it retails here at $600, but many online stores have it for half that.
http://www.bhphotovideo.c...Search=yes
I've bought from B&H before twice and found it very competitive price wise, and delivery superfast! | |
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This is what I find baffling;
My old 8megapixel camera still shows up priced at over $400.00 (Powershot SX100IS) BUT, what appears to be its replacement - a 12megapixel version of the powershot (SX130IS), is on Amazon for $200!!! By St. Boogar and all the saints at the backside door of Purgatory! | |
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Spend a lot of time researching what's available at Best Buy, Wal-Mart and Target. As much as I hate those stores most of the time, they occasionally have ridiculous deals on cameras. My sister bought my niece one at Wal-Mart for her high school photography class for around $300 that was selling for as much as $650 at other places.
Other than that, not real advice. Good luck, though. I hate being without a camera (which will make some people laugh ). | |
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Oh, and my niece's cam is a digital Canon body that came with the basic lense, a case and a book. You can get tricky with it, or set it to auto-focus and let it figure things out for you. I think she had to buy a flash - not sure on that, though. I also got her digital photography for dummies and she's been snappin' away ever since. So, ya know, you can probably get a point and shoot good pics of the kids camera for even less these days. | |
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I feel ya. In August I went on vacation and on the last day, my digital camera (Fuji) fell off the bed and broke -- the lens cover was stuck open, and the retractable lens wouldn't retract; and the viewer and any pictures I took were just all white light.
I took it to Phototech just south of Union Square to see how much it would be to fix. They charge $15 + tax for an estimate and then if you decide you want to have it fixed they apply that amount to the cost of the repair. I was expecting it to cost $150-$200 to get it fixed, at which time I was just going to buy a new one. (Since I think I paid $180 for it 5 years ago.) But it was only $75 - the $15 plus tax, so it ended up costing me $62 and includes a 6 month warranty. I hardly ever take photos and I hate the idea of just throwing something away when it could be repaired so I was happy with that. Maybe you see what Phototech says.
Here's their website: http://www.phototech.com/demo/index.php The check. The string he dropped. The Mona Lisa. The musical notes taken out of a hat. The glass. The toy shotgun painting. The things he found. Therefore, everything seen–every object, that is, plus the process of looking at it–is a Duchamp. | |
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I remember reading about a camera that ZombieKitten bought for about $100 and she raved about it. That one sounded pretty good to me.
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[Edited 11/17/10 23:44pm] | |
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$75???
Perhaps I was making an unjustified assumption. Will take mine in for an estimate.
I'll try my local camera shop first, but thanks for the link! By St. Boogar and all the saints at the backside door of Purgatory! | |
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My 2 boys want a camera, and I was thinking about getting one of those waterproof/shockproof babies. By St. Boogar and all the saints at the backside door of Purgatory! | |
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I don't have a fancy camera, and it's at least 6 years old. It's a Fuji A303. Like I said, I hardly every take photos so it was worth it to me to pay less and keep my old camera than to spend $200+ on a new camera that I won't use that much. My repair included fixing/realigning the shutter and lens mechanisms, cleaning it, and something else I can't remember. Plus the 6 month warranty. Your camera sounds much fancier than mine, so it may cost more to repair; but for $15 (estimate) it may be worth it to see. I think they also sell refurbished/used cameras there, which may be an option. The check. The string he dropped. The Mona Lisa. The musical notes taken out of a hat. The glass. The toy shotgun painting. The things he found. Therefore, everything seen–every object, that is, plus the process of looking at it–is a Duchamp. | |
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