I know I’ve made you wait forever for this post, but I really wanted to actually use the camera before I went telling you all about it. You may remember my original comparison shopping post awhile back. And then I clued you in that I had bought a new camera, and if you were in my flickr profile at all you’ve probably already seen that I didn’t buy any of the cameras that I had picked out in my comparison shop.

Instead after much shopping around, talking to other picture snappers and browing some camera reviews online I chose the Canon S5! Isn’t it pretty? I toyed around with the idea of getting a digital SLR camera, but I weighed the pros and cons, and let’s face it I’m not a professional photographer and should not try to convince myself otherwise. I think the Canon PowerShot Pro Series S5 IS 8.0MP Digital Camera with 12x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom is as close as you can get to SLR features with a point and shoot digital camera. I have lots of on screen goodies, and the zoom is pretty amazing.

There is an image stabilizer feature, which I love because I am a clumsy shaky clutzoid. Even with image stabilizer I’ve had to snap a few things twice because of blur. I’ve also got night scene, portrait, foliage, macro, and all sorts of other little setting things I can use.

The flash is quite bright, sometimes too bright. My friend Alli recommended grabbing a white ping pong ball and cutting hole in that and placing it over the flash as a diffuser. And also, photojojo recommends getting an old white or clearish 35 mm film canister and cutting a slit in it in sliding it over the flash, it’s just the right size. I don’t have any film canisters, I haven’t had to buy film in …. centuries!! LOL so I’ll have to keep an eye out for a ping pong ball or something similar in size that will fit over the flash to diffuse with. I tried it with a tissue, that worked okay, but not great.

A few pictures with my Canon PowerShot Pro Series S5

There was a bit of a grey market incident that I encountered when trying to buy my camera. After I decided what I wanted I went looking for the best deal. Starting off at coupon code sites and looking around. I saw what looked like a good deal and it led me to:
http://www.bwayphoto.com/ Broadway Photo. <=== do not buy anything from this shop
I put the Canon S5 in my cart and went through the checkout process. I then received an email telling me that I needed to call their phone number to verify my purchase etc. I figured no big deal, it was a large purchase and they’d probably just be trying to up sell me some other stuff.

I was partially right. First the man on the other end of the phone asked me if a I had a special card reader because this camera did not use a regular SD card. I knew from reading the reviews and product information that it did in fact use an SD card and that it also came with a connector wire to connect to your PC and upload your photos so I corrected him. He insisted I needed this special type of card and card reader. I should have known something was wrong at this point but I said, “No thank you, just the camera.” and let him continue.

Next he tried to sell me some insurance, as is typical of any electronics purchase you make just about anywhere. Again I replied with, “no thank you.” And he moved on to the next thing on his list. And he just kept going, we were on the third or fourth thing and I said, “really I just would like the camera at this time please, I already have the other things that I need here.”

This is when things went downhill.
bwphoto guy: Okay, no problem! Would you like the English US version or the Japan version?
me: The English version of course, I didn’t even know it came in Japanese.
bwphoto guy: Okay, I’ll change that for you. You have the Japanese version in your shopping cart.
me: There was nothing about that on the website. The price is the same of course right?
bwphoto guy: No, they are priced differently.
me: What happened to the camera I ordered off the site? It was a Canon S5, it said nothing about being a foreign version.
bwphoto guy: Do you speak Japanese?
me: No.
bwphoto guy: Then you’ll want the US version, otherwise all your on screen options and directions and manuals will be in Japanese.
me: I think I’ll just be cancelling my order with you and going to Circuit City or something, this is ridiculous.
bwphoto guy: Are you sure?
me: I’m very sure.

At which point the conversation ended because HE hung up on ME. I was not rude, I was calm, I was patient. Urgh.

Then I go poking around the web and see similar stores for electronics purchases. I spent so much time looking at reviews of WHAT I was buying that I forgot to look at reviews and information about WHERE I was buying. A big mistake on my part, and I’m embarrassed to admit that I even did that after all my years of internet shopping and always researching before buying. I slipped, I’m ashamed, but I also wanted to share the experience as a reminder that even the most seasoned internet shopper can make a shopping mistake from time to time. I waited to make sure they didn’t try to charge my card, and then I did exactly what I told the guy I was going to do. A few days later I walked into Circuit City and bought a Canon S5 without a single problem.

Also, I mentioned reviews… they were a big huge influence on my camera selection. If you’re looking for some great reviews you can check out directbuy articles and similar sites before making your final product buying decisions.

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