Cyber Monday? Is it a good deal?

Frankly, not sure what the fuss is about Cyber Monday, as if you have Internet access, you can find great deals any time of the year, when you need them. It might be better to keep in mind which retailers offer good deals and service (important with electronics, which is probably the biggest engine for both Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping).

For instance, a couple of months ago, my cheapie Polaroid tanked on me--a plastic hinge chipped off, making it impossible to keep the battery door on without a rubber band. The Canon (a basic PowerShot AS1000), while a good camera in many ways, requires a two-finger trick maneuver to open the battery door, making it impractical for me to use--maybe it's meant for guys, so it's in reserve (maybe I could re-gift it?).

Anyway, I was in need of a decent camera, and knew that online was the best way to go, as retail stores tend to do a switch and bait with regard to digital cameras. (I assume that switch and bait occurs on a more massive scale with Black Friday sales, but I digress.) I perused some of the regular bargain sites, and knew that I wanted the basic Panasonic Lumix point and shoot available, whatever it was, as I've seen photos and video shot with the higher end Lumix cameras, which had me drooling. Anyway, saw the Lumix DMC-FH20 on the Costco website, and had to get it.

Not only because of the camera's features, such as being lightweight with a slim profile, image stabilization, 14.1 megapixels, an 8x optical zoom, and a 2.7 inch LCD screen (and more!) as explained in this video from B & H Photo Video Audio Pro (the New York superstore that's a knowledgeable source for digital, audio, and video equipment with decent prices, too)....

...I am also impressed by the bonuses that Costco throws in for the price of its Panasonic Lumix cameras, such as a camera case, a (long-life) lithium battery and recharger, and a 2GB SD card, as well as a 90-day return policy and free technical support, all of which makes the low Costco price frankly lower than other online outfits (including Amazon). Because many online Costco deals last for two weeks, it's best to check Costco's site (and others) periodically, so no waiting until Cyber Monday is necessary to get that deal!

Cyber Monday hint--the Polaroid i1035...

Oh, tomorrow is the annual non-event of Cyber Monday, the online holiday bargain chase. It's a non-event to me, because you can get great bargains online any time of year, probably better ones.

Case in point is the good, cheap (but no longer uber-cheap) Polaroid i1035 camera. I found out the hard way that it's best to search online for inexpensive digital cameras, because retailers love to pull the old bait and switch. (A Target employee actually admitted that they only had five bargain cameras in store, the day after they went on sale, which was the last straw for me.) I searched for a bargain camera because, being a photography newbie, didn't want to purchase too much camera for my abilities. I also didn't want to spend much because there are other useful camera-related items to get, such as rechargeable batteries and charger, SD card, and case (which I regret not purchasing earlier. But I digress).

So, earlier this year, I bought the i1035 at buy.com for $70, including shipping. (Unfortunately, not buying a camera case soon after meant that the camera got fried in the car a few months later, meaning that I ended up buying another i1035 for a total of $91 at Amazon, after putting up with a different, less cheap camera from another manufacturer.) Also unfortunate is that buy.com no longer sells this camera, although other sites do, such as Amazon. (Via Amazon, if you get the camera through Zeeland, you'll snag a great bargain, as it's the retailer that offered it at a great price earlier at buy.com.)

This Polaroid is lightweight, compact, yet has many features, at least ones that interest me, such as digital image stabilization (anti-shaking), and a nice large, 3 inch LCD screen:

In practical terms, the generous screen means that a viewfinder is not necessary (and not even particularly desirable). The camera is easy to open (this was an issue for me with a Canon Powershoot A series camera, which took a long time to open to insert the batteries), and the features are easonably easy to use.

If you're a long-suffering Vista user, you don't even have to download software to transfer the photos to your PC--just hook up the camera to the computer via the USB cable, and click on the appropriate folders.

The default resolution is quite high, so the camera eats batteries (but then, don't they all?), so please store batteries in the case when you're not about to use it. (The case I use has room for both camera and loose batteries.) The high resolution means that pictures tend to come out quite clear (at least if you don't bother with the digital zoom, which even the manual warns against).

Since another holiday is coming up, I'm sure I'll get around to using its fancy features, such as:

However, for the immediate future, it's sufficient that I can take nice pictures with the Polaroid i1035, like many of the ones in the slideshow on the right.