Should I Buy This Camera?

[bobtheenchantedone]

My Kickstarter is officially funded (woo!) so I'm trying to plan where the money is going because we're going to have very little time once the KS is over.

I'm thinking of getting this Canon Powershot as the new company camera. At $250 it is the most I can afford (unless we get some new pledges in the next week), but is it worth it? I plan to eventually upgrade to a nice DSLR, so should I go for as high as I can afford now or get something cheap that will do the job until I can upgrade?

Thanks!

[Giovanni Schwartz]

How far out is your potential DSLR purchase? If it's a ways away, I think that looks like a pretty nice long-term camera. If it's close, I would get the cheapest one you could get away with. You might also check out ebay and craigslist. Sometimes if you're lucky you can find a DSLR for around that price.

[bobtheenchantedone]

That's one of the annoying things - if I manage to increase our sales and have a stellar Kickstarter in April then I might be able to afford the DSLR in the next few months. If our sales don't increase and our next Kickstarter fails, it'll be a couple of years at least.

I hadn't thought of checking ebay; in fact, pretty much the only site I've checked so far is Amazon. I'd better rectify that.

[Giovanni Schwartz]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Canon-EOS-Rebel ... 35cccd37d0

This one popped up for me. I don't know if you can squeeze $70 more out of your budget for it, but if you could, I don't think it would be a bad choice (Canon EOS Rebel is generally a good make. I'm not sure about this specific model, though.)

Estimated time of arrival: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Canon-EOS-10D-6 ... 4613eb184a

If you're here in the next 45 minutes, this one could be a GREAT option in your budget. I think it's a little older model, but it should be great.

[bobtheenchantedone]

I don't even have the money until later this month anyway.

The Rebel looks really nice. There's still a week left in the Kickstarter, it's possible that we could somehow raise another hundred or two...

[Violet]

General comments first: I second ebay. If you know anything about camera function, get one with manual controls because it will give you so many more options. Also, since you're planning on using it for your store, check for focal length. Close-ups of tiny things will still be blurry with 30x optical zoom if your focal length isn't what you want (there's math involved with aperture to calculate the depth of field that I don't remember at the moment).

More specific: I have a much earlier model of the one you posted and I quite like it. I don't like that it doesn't have a viewfinder for some things, but most of the time it's all I need. Check consumer reports and things like that. Usually I trust Canon for mid-level cameras and their manual settings are easy to figure out.

[Dragon Lady]

A friend of mine looked on KSL and found a nice DSLR on there sold by a pawn shop for about $250. Try KSL and Craigslist, too.

[Laser Jock]

You can try places like Ebay, but as always, buyer beware (and I've heard that things like cameras, specifically, can be iffy on Ebay). On the other hand, if you're looking at used, KEH has a stellar reputation, and usually some of the best prices, too. The condition they list for gear is pretty conservative, generally speaking, meaning their "Bgn" ("Bargain") is often comparable to others' "Good", etc. They're worth a look, anyway. (Oh, and they have a return policy.)

[bobtheenchantedone]

I thought it would be a good idea to do all my research now, but I didn't realize a side effect would be watching some great deals slip through my fingers because I don't have the funds yet. : /

But certainly thanks for all the suggestions, everyone! I'll keep an eye out on all these sites as the KS ends.

[Violet]

On the other hand, if you want new, Black Friday is just around the corner.

[Portia]

I just bought a Panasonic Lumix. Off Amazon, at list price. It's so prettttty. I know nothing about operating it beyond point and shoot, and it's a little on the high end of your price range, but one to consider.

[bobtheenchantedone]

On the other hand, if you want new, Black Friday is just around the corner.

I was just thinking about this yesterday! I'm trying to figure out if we can afford to wait that long - until I buy a camera I have to share my aunt's (and as she is also an online seller, she needs it frequently) plus the booklet will be published in January which would only give us about a month to shoot it. But there is a lot of work we can do on the project without shooting it, and if Black Friday would give me a DSLR within my price range, that might be worth it.

I wonder how early places announce what their sales will be? The worst would be to wait that long and then find out that nothing I want is on sale.

[Giovanni Schwartz]

I think they usually announce them the Sunday before (usually newspaper ads are the easiest to read/find deals, if you can find a newspaper.)

[Portia]

It's not fun until you trample an old lady.

[thatonemom]

I think a lot of Black Friday ad previews show up the end of October/beginning of November. If you have a few stores you're interested in they may already have a place where you can sign up to get notified when their ad goes up. Walmart has one. So does Target
I'd just google [whichever store name] 2013 Black Friday ad.