online or camera store??

[Ersa]

Hi everyone,
I'm looking at moving from a point and shoot (currently have canon ixus 500 which has served me well) to a dslr. I was wondering which ones would you recommend for a beginner like myself...interested in photographing people and landscapes when we go away on holidays.

I live in Melbourne, and was wondering would it be better to buy online or go into a camera store to purchase? if so which camera store would be best??

Thanks for all your help

Ersa

[Saralonde]

I'm not familar with stores in Melbourne so I can't help you there. When I look for camera equipment, I first do research on line to narrow my choices. Then I go to a store to try out the item and ask questions if the employee seems knowledgeable (often they are not). Decision made, I check out prices and seller ratings to find the best price from a reputable dealer. For me, this is generally online. There are few camera stores where I live and those that are usually are far more expensive than an online dealer. The key to shopping online is finding someone reputable. If the price is too good to be true, generally you will be sorry.

As for recommending a dslr, what is your budget? If you are looking for an entry level, the Canon Rebel series is good (350D and 400D). Nikon has the D40 and the D40x, and there are cameras from other companies as well. The more info you can tell us about what you are looking for, the better it can be narrowed down.

[topslakr]

Any camera equipment that I need I try to get at a local store if possible. I live in a rural area though so it's pretty hit or miss. I was able to buy my D40 at a competitive price locally but no one for 50 miles had a the zoom lens I bought recently.

One thing to bear is mind is when you order online you have to ship so if the local store is $10 more expensive it's probably still cheaper to buy it there then online. Also... you don't have to wait! I won't special order something from a store, that I'll get online.

I don't know why, but I like the help the local guys before the big guys, I'm the same with restaurants. Local non-chain first.

When buying a camera, I found it's important to keep in mind that the camera doesn't matter. (http://kenrockwell.com/tech/notcamera.htm) I find that rings true more every time I shoot. If you like the camera you will use it, if you don't like it you won't use it. It's much more important to like it then it is for the camera to be great. This site is a great example. When I'm reading posts with pictures people have posted there is often no way to tell if it was taken with a P&S versus a DSLR and I'm usually surprised to find out later in the posts that the shot was taken with a P&S. So, even if you don't buy the camera locally go to a local shop, any of them, find some nice people and hold some cameras, all the brands. Try the menus, try to do some of the things you want to use the camera for. I love my Nikon D40, Saralonde is a Canon fan, people on here use Pentax, or Sony.. whatever. Just get something you want to use. Image quality these days is very good across all brands, if it wasn't no one would carry them. If you bought a Pentax and it was unable to focus and the image sensor made everything look blue.. you would bring it back. So would everyone else and the stores would stop carrying them.

Get something you like, that's all I'm saying. :)

Robert

[velvet4269]

Having purchased my camera online, I can tell you - I really, really don't recommend it.

Online's great for research, narrowing down the cameras you want to look at. Then, go into a store - doesn't really matter which one ... for that matter, go into several - find the camera you want on display, and play with it. Feel how it is in your hands, how the grip is, are the buttons where you need them to be, are the menus usable? Ignore the sales person - they'll only push you into a sale. Pick up several models and brands, play with each one.

Once you've done that, then go back and do more research. Come up with a list of questions. Then go into a camera store where people are going to be considerably more helpful, ask your questions, play some more with the cameras you've narrowed down.

Then think on it.

If you have a friend who's willing to let you play with their camera, ask. Being able to take the camera out in the real world to play with can make a difference.

But when you're ready to make that final purchase, be wary of some of the online merchants, and some of the online store ratings sites. Look at several, and look at the dates on the reviews. Has their service gotten better, worse, or stayed consistant (good or bad)?

I think what I'm getting at is: don't make the same mistake I did ;) I know I'll be happy with the camera when I finally get it - but I wish I'd played with other models in the store first, and I truly wish I hadn't ordered from the place I ordered from.

[Saralonde]

Having purchased my camera online, I can tell you - I really, really don't recommend it.

Online's great for research, narrowing down the cameras you want to look at. Then, go into a store - doesn't really matter which one ... for that matter, go into several - find the camera you want on display, and play with it. Feel how it is in your hands, how the grip is, are the buttons where you need them to be, are the menus usable? Ignore the sales person - they'll only push you into a sale. Pick up several models and brands, play with each one.

Once you've done that, then go back and do more research. Come up with a list of questions. Then go into a camera store where people are going to be considerably more helpful, ask your questions, play some more with the cameras you've narrowed down.

Then think on it.

If you have a friend who's willing to let you play with their camera, ask. Being able to take the camera out in the real world to play with can make a difference.

But when you're ready to make that final purchase, be wary of some of the online merchants, and some of the online store ratings sites. Look at several, and look at the dates on the reviews. Has their service gotten better, worse, or stayed consistant (good or bad)?

I think what I'm getting at is: don't make the same mistake I did ;) I know I'll be happy with the camera when I finally get it - but I wish I'd played with other models in the store first, and I truly wish I hadn't ordered from the place I ordered from.

That's why I recommend checking seller ratings. Of course, I'm in the U.S. so brick and mortar store v. online stores may be different. With the exception of Costco (because of their excellent return policy), I have bought everything online and never had a problem. I usually check Rsellerratings.com (http://www.resellerratings.com/). Locally, the only store is Ritz Camera and Best Buy. Employees are not very knowledgeable at either local store and their prices were much higher (approx. $150 more for my camera). But it can be very different in other areas. If you have a great local store like Topslakr, that might be the place to go. Unfortunately, not the case for me.

[velvet4269]

Yeah, I remembered about Epinions (http://www.epinions.com) far too long after the fact - and at that point, I'd already been reasearching & playing with cameras for about a month and a half before I decided to purchase.

I've been kicking myself ever since.

Of course, if I'd followed my own advice about playing with the camera in the store first, I'd have probably purchased the Nikon D40x (it was the manual focus that grabbed my attention) - but I think I dismissed it as "too expensive" right up front. That said, again, I know I'll be happy with what I got - it's going to be enough to keep me (mostly) out of trouble for a while, and I've definitely enjoyed using a DSLR over my poor old P&S.

Fingers x'd that my Olympus shows up today.

[Sime™]

I have been buying camera gear online for years - bought my first ixus online at digitalrev (they have eBay and real stores.. and people you can talk to) The service australia and have a good returns policy etc... I goto shops, check out the kit, work out what I want and then find it online...

Complete fan of online... S

[ELAY]

I have done it myself, but I have to say that I feel guilty when I impose on the time and resources of local retailers, only to then go buy online. The reason online stores are cheaper is because they don't rent storefronts, carry inventory, or pay sales staff, so it seems kind of mean to consume these resources from the local store and then not follow through with the buy.

There are lots of good reasons to use a local store beyond the obvious warranty/returns convenience, even if it does mean a slight premium. It is nice to have a good local shop, with knowledgeable and easygoing staff -- if everybody buys online, that resource will disappear.

At the very least, if you spend an hour in your local trying everything in sight, give them a chance to try to meet the online price you are looking at. I think if you asked most of them, they would much rather have you tell them that you are thinking of going online and giving them a chance to get your business, rather than have you smile, say you'll consider the purchase, walk out and make the online order.

EL

[ryan s]

I agree with EL completely. It feels bad to spend hours talking to the local folks, only to go online and save a few dollars. They need income to have an income.

There are some perks to buying locally...one mentioned was the warranty. Say your battery malfunctions. You could wait on an RMA, shipping to the company, then shipping back to you. Or, you could walk into the store, they take a battery off the shelf, and you trade. Done :)

Another is trying stuff out. Do all the reading you can stand, but no one's opinion matters but yours. I like the feel of the smaller Rebel series even though I have big hands. Do you like it?

[Ersa]

I'd like to thank everyone for their advice :) After reading all your posts, I've decided to look at buying from a camera store rather than online. Mainly for warranty purposes.


Saralonde, you mentioned what budget i'm looking at, I'm thinking $1500 aussie dollars that is...how are the kit lenses that come with the cameras?? I don't intend to do any professional photography, however, i might want to enlarge my photos. I would mainly be photographing family and friends (indoors and outdoors), and landscape when we go away on holidays (during summer time).

Does this help on which camera I should be looking at?

Also, does anyone know a good photography course to do in melbourne??

Thanks for all your help
Ersa

[Saralonde]

Check out the cameras I mentioned above for a start. Kit lenses get a bad rap. They're not professional type but they are good to start with while you are learning how to use your camera. They also give you a chance to see what you like to shoot so that you can make a better decision when you decide to buy another lens. Generally they don't add much cost to the price of a camera body alone. They should also pretty much cover everything you plan on shooting. If you need a low light and/or portrait lens, you can always add a 50mm f1.8 (http://digital-photography-school.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1400) for very little extra money.

Again, can't help with Melbourne, but there is a huge amount of info on the web. Check out this (http://digital-photography-school.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2581&highlight=photography+classes) and this. (http://digital-photography-school.com/forum/showthread.php?t=44&highlight=photography+classes)

And don't forget the blog (http://digital-photography-school.com/blog/)!

[rikkersc]

I have purchased my cameras and equipment online and locally, and have had good luck both ways. I tend to do research online, then go to the stores to check them out and get a feel for how it works in "real life" then I comparison shop between the stores and online. I take into consideration the price, the reputation of the seller, and the warranty. I have bought things online from stores that have a warranty and they seem to be able to provide the same service as local stores.

As for what you should buy, look at all the features available, determine what you want you camera to do, then rank the features in order of importance to you (putting the most important one at #1 then going down the list.) You will want to find a camera that has the most features at the top of your list to be really happy with it.
Then, once you have done that, look at your budget and see what is available with what you want, or what you are willing to compromise on.

If you start with only cameras in your budget (not looking at features) you might miss out on the "perfect" camera for you that might have been just slightly out of your range, but would be one worth saving the little extra to become a "lifetime" camera.

Good luck!