posted on August 6, 2003 10:35:20 AM new
I thought the hard part would be WHAT camera to buy, but now it seems to be WHERE!
I narrowed my choice down to the Sony Mavica MVC-CD350, retails for $499. Checked online and ebay and both reviews and feedback reflect cumbersome ordering, telephone verification and stiff shipping charges.
What most concerns me is having to go through a credit "verification" via telephone both after the online order and auction is complete. This apparently is not just to verify your credit card info, but a sales pitch for a service contract and accessories. With the online stores, if you say no thanks, your camera suddenly becomes out of stock. I'm not sure of the ebay auctions as I have not completed one. Trying to push products on me after the auction is done would be fee avoidance and I would think by now someone would have reported these Titanium Power Sellers if that is what they were up to.
I just don't like the idea of having to call some 800 number, deal with their phone maze, listen to the sales pitch and give out my Credit Card info when the item was bought on-line and I could have PayPal'd the funds.
Does anyone have experience with this? I don't buy many electronic items on line and have never come up against this before. My local B&M office stores don't carry this Sony model and I REFUSE to give Walmart any of my money.
posted on August 6, 2003 11:37:44 AM new
You might want to shop around locally rather than buy off ebay on an expensive digital camera. The deal with buying on ebay is to save money over local store purchases but the local store purchases have a lot of advantages that can easily be worth the extra money. ( easy return, no shipping, you can hold the damn thing in your hand, talk to a knowledge salesman, etc )
-------------- sig file ----------- He who angers you controls you
posted on August 6, 2003 04:02:45 PM new
jordan0311,
I bought my most recent Dig camera from newegg.com and was very satisfied with the price, shipping, and fast service. Less than a week form order to in my hand.
Don
posted on August 6, 2003 05:25:00 PM new
Is there a Best Buy or Circuit City Store in your area. I know that Best Buy handles Sony's. I personnaly don't like the Mavica, too bulky for me. I have an Olympus 540 Zoom which is great.
posted on August 6, 2003 07:01:33 PM new
The Sony is a little bulky, but I take all my pics for the week in one day. It is very convenient (and fast) to have that nice little stack of floppies all ready to carry over to the computer for editing.
posted on August 6, 2003 09:08:03 PM new
The Mavica is a great choice. I bought mine at Office Depot Right after Christmas. I paid $210 with the tax. Now the 350 is an upgrade from the one I have, but I would bet it would be cheaper than $499.00.
posted on August 7, 2003 12:55:28 AM new
bigpeepa, same here & I'm still using the original battery.
It doesn't hold a charge as long as it used to, but long enough for me.
I have the FD-73
posted on August 7, 2003 04:55:07 AM new
I use an old Mavica FD73 and it suits my ebay needs, as well as general picture-taking, and has been very reliable. Yes, it's bulky (so am I) but that 10x optical zoom is very nice to have. Best of all, the Mavica FD models use floppy disks, of which we all have thousands filling up the drawers of our computer desks. But before you buy a Mavica CD model, check the "hidden cost" of those little CDs it uses.
posted on August 7, 2003 05:58:13 AM new
mcjane, my Sony is a FD7, original battery and all. I bought a Sony FD75 on a closeout just to have it in case my FD7 fails. I wouldn't buy a Sony unless it used a floppy and has a Zoom lens.
posted on August 7, 2003 06:02:57 AM new
Checkout www.dealcam.com
"For I know the plans I have for you." says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." - Jeremiah 29:11
posted on August 7, 2003 10:56:50 PM new
Hi All,
I have a Sony DSC-F717 it is fantastic! Got it with an accessory package through 47stPhoto on ebay. Great service even shipping to Australia. Good price too!
Regards,
Adrian
posted on August 8, 2003 12:27:27 AM new
bigpeepa:
Original battery, trouble free, so easy to use. It's everything you could want in a camera & I'll bet you never ever wanted to upgrade.
I never did & took pictures like a pro within the first 10 minutes. I wouldn't be without the floppy disk either. I hear they are doing away with floppies on computers, so what do we do then, will it be an option.
maybe you can help with this one & only problem I have. If I use a white background inside it always comes out pink or peach according to how much light I use. Outside it comes out blue. I have the ArcSoft program, comes with the camera, is there a way to get a white the BG with the program without losing too much detail.
I really don't want to spend 100.00 plus on MS PhotoDraw which does a great job with this problem.
posted on August 8, 2003 04:35:00 AM new
mcjane, I have the same problem with a white background. My fix was to not use a white background. HA HA. I have heard to use indirect light helps. I hope other people that are better with cameras will help you out with this problem.
posted on August 8, 2003 08:56:13 AM new
Regarding the different tints to your pictures with a white background. You can correct them by using the correct filters for particular lighting situations.
Go to your local CAMERA STORE with your camera, and they will sell you the correct color and size filter for your situation. (Walmart, Kmart, Target, Bestbuy, Circuit City etc PROBABLY can't help you)
There is a fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."
posted on August 8, 2003 01:07:09 PM new
Still using my Sony FD71 which I bought new when it first came out. Bought a 2nd backup battery on ebay last year for $21.00 since my first only holds about 110 min. now. Have question about Arc Soft software however. About 1yr ago images showed about 30% lighter in brightness than when viewed when clicking on My computer or another software program. Bought new computer last month and programmed Arc Soft in. Still have the same problem. Any suggestions?
buyhigh
posted on August 8, 2003 02:15:23 PM new
If your picture is lighter when viewed off the back of the camera, darker when viewed on computer screen or printed, your LCD Backlight on camera is set too bright. Switch is in the left backside of camera.
There is a fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."
posted on August 8, 2003 02:24:58 PM new
bigpeepa, I do too, that is use a colored BG when I can. Here is a wood backed rubber stamp, black BG, very easy to photograph.
But, my problem is I also have a few thousand clear acrylic stamps, I cannot use a dark BG, they wouldn't show up & they don't photograph very well anyway because they are clear.
What I want to do is show the stamp & then an example of it stamped & colored in, but the pink BG washes out colors, looks terrible.
I have a friend that has "MS Picture It" & she is going to let me try it & if it works I will buy one, much. much cheaper than PhotoDraw. I will let you know about this if it works.
Here is a clear stamp & the BG was ivory, can you believe how pink it came out under bright light!
posted on August 8, 2003 02:50:17 PM new
adobe elements...........
almost one click with the correct color button, but then I juiced it up a little whiter with the hue and saturation button.
posted on August 8, 2003 03:24:58 PM new
glassgrl, wow, you really took the pink out, looks great & is light enough for what I want to do.
Here are two pictures that I practice with on ArcSoft to try for a white BG, but need to keep the colors in the tulips. So far, no luck at all. I don't know if I can lighten up just certain areas, but that's what I need to do.
Could you see what you could do with them, when you have time.
The pink was taken inside, the purple, outside. You can see how bad they would look if I posted them in an auction to display how the stamp looks in color.
posted on August 8, 2003 03:40:51 PM new
easy peasy
didn't even have to go into the hue, but just used the Auto Levels, Auto Contrast and Auto color correction buttons.
Oh my favorite part of Adobe Elemnents is the "one click" paint bucket which takes out the backgrounds, or colors them whatever color you want, as long as you have a sharp edge and there's a little contrast to the picture. If there is white close to the edge though, (like in my golf clubs) I might have to hand outline it so the white won't bleed over into the club.
posted on August 8, 2003 06:23:04 PM new
That's wonderful glasgrl. I can't believe what I'm seeing. I think I like the first two pictures even better that the white BG.
And you did that with Adobe Elements. That settles it, have to get one, but first will try MS Picture It which just arrived in the mail today, on loan.
Your golf club pics are superb & look as good as a picture from a magazine ad, so tell me, what camera are you using.
I can't thank you enough for your help, you have solved a major problem for me, now I know it can be done, hope bigpeepa sees this.
