Canon Powershot SD1200 IS (other camera/camcorder deals too) - SD1200 is $100 or $105 AC and after $50 Gift card Rebate - OR as low as $80 for some

[mikeblikesdeals]

i didn't get a spectacular deal, but best buy has it for the same 179.99. i got them to take off the cost of the gift card and they gave me the camera for 129.99. i then of course had to add calif. tax and i got the 2 yr warrantee, which took me back to about original price. so i basically got the tax and warantee free.

[dreamexecution]

Quote from mikeblikesdeals : i didn't get a spectacular deal, but best buy has it for the same 179.99. i got them to take off the cost of the gift card and they gave me the camera for 129.99. i then of course had to add calif. tax and i got the 2 yr warrantee, which took me back to about original price. so i basically got the tax and warantee free.

what did they price match the staples $50 gc?

[nola]

I just got back from Best Buy. Took some pix with some Sonys, Nikons, and about 4 Canons-including the 120 and the SD780 IS. The last 2 did not have any internal memory-so could not store the picture, others could store a pic or 2-if only with some internal memory. Trying to keep the settings the same, the Canons were WORSE than than the other brands in terms of picture clarity. I got snaps of some in store posters and some some color shots too. I can only judge the 1200 and 780 buy the viewfinder screen on the camera, as the 18 yo at BB did not a way to add memory to the cameras to save pix. Blown up using the sony and nikon viewfinders, text was pretty clear, even on max zoom and max viewfinder blow up. But all 4 canons -1200, 780, ?960 and 1 other small one ($120) were clearly fuzzy - again, solely in the viewfinder and I could not zoom within the viewfinder on a saved image. The picture on the 1200 was clearer than the 780 for the text too. I was only comparing shots near the center of the field of view.

The 780 lens(es) are teeny-weenie, I mean very small, the 1200 was also small, the Sony had a big lens for a camera about 50% larger by volume than the Canons, though still pocket size. The Nikons' lenses were in between.

Despite the Canons getting great reviews, I was shocked by the "obvious" lack of quality compared to the others - again, based only on what was visible in the viewfinder.

Anybody have any other comments/suggestions?

[dirts mcgee]

Quote from nola : I just got back from Best Buy. Took some pix with some Sonys, Nikons, and about 4 Canons-including the 120 and the SD780 IS. The last 2 did not have any internal memory-so could not store the picture, others could store a pic or 2-if only with some internal memory. Trying to keep the settings the same, the Canons were WORSE than than the other brands in terms of picture clarity. I got snaps of some in store posters and some some color shots too. I can only judge the 1200 and 780 buy the viewfinder screen on the camera, as the 18 yo at BB did not a way to add memory to the cameras to save pix. Blown up using the sony and nikon viewfinders, text was pretty clear, even on max zoom and max viewfinder blow up. But all 4 canons -1200, 780, ?960 and 1 other small one ($120) were clearly fuzzy - again, solely in the viewfinder and I could not zoom within the viewfinder on a saved image. The picture on the 1200 was clearer than the 780 for the text too. I was only comparing shots near the center of the field of view. The 780 lens(es) are teeny-weenie, I mean very small, the 1200 was also small, the Sony had a big lens for a camera about 50% larger by volume than the Canons, though still pocket size. The Nikons' lenses were in between. Despite the Canons getting great reviews, I was shocked by the "obvious" lack of quality compared to the others - again, based only on what was visible in the viewfinder. Anybody have any other comments/suggestions?

I've made similar observations with Canon cameras, but the picture quality improves drastically when the actual photo gets downloaded and viewed on a computer. The image scaling that the camera has to do is extreme, and you definitely are not really looking at the photo that you took on that tiny viewfinder. I have to say so far that I'm really happy with my 780, I've managed to take it out and test it under many different conditions and am pretty pleased. It's definitely not an SLR, but for the price, & HD video, you can't go wrong. IMHO.

[erichazann]

lucky i saw this tonight. got the Kodak for $52 after CA tax.. plus BOA cashback of 4%.

I got it for my teenage nephew so the rugged design is more important than the slightly lower quality video than the Flip cameras.

FWIW. BOA started a promo tonight for 5% staples IN STORE cashback (up to $250) if you pay with your BOA debit card. You just log into your Add it Up account and opt-in to the promo. A few other merchants are included. YMMV, it may be for select customers only.

[dreamexecution]

Quote from dirts mcgee : I've made similar observations with Canon cameras, but the picture quality improves drastically when the actual photo gets downloaded and viewed on a computer. The image scaling that the camera has to do is extreme, and you definitely are not really looking at the photo that you took on that tiny viewfinder. I have to say so far that I'm really happy with my 780, I've managed to take it out and test it under many different conditions and am pretty pleased. It's definitely not an SLR, but for the price, & HD video, you can't go wrong. IMHO.

yup, the photos look better on the computer but it is true that the latest SD's haven't been taking good photos. Reason why I returned a 1200 few months ago

[gypsys]

Had the sd1200 my sd1000 was much better .

[jclyon41]

I sort of wish I had bought the SX120 with the 10x zoom instead of the SD1200. Anyone want to buy it for what I paid

[dreamexecution]

Quote from jclyon41 : I sort of wish I had bought the SX120 with the 10x zoom instead of the SD1200. Anyone want to buy it for what I paid

or you can just go and return it or have UPS pick it up because staples does not charge a restocking fee

[tester3000]

What would you guys recommend for a $100-$200 pocket sized camera. Here are some that i was looking at:
Canon A1100, Sony W220, Canon A2000, and SD1200.

Is the SD1200IS a decent camera or not? Thanks.

[dreamexecution]

Quote from tester3000 : What would you guys recommend for a $100-$200 pocket sized camera. Here are some that i was looking at: Canon A1100, Sony W220, Canon A2000, and SD1200. Is the SD1200IS a decent camera or not? Thanks.

for $100 the 1200 is a steal, for $180 not so much, photos are better when tweaking the settings, not so great using auto (somewhat grainy)

the sony is so-so

a2000 has the necessary zoom and takes great photos but it's on the slow side (slow performance)
a1100 also takes good photos but has less zoom than the a2000 (mixed performance)

if you want photo quality, I'd go with a2000 or a1100 but the zoom/performance trade off depends on you

[BeeEss]

ok folks, the OP says nothing about how we get the 50$ gift card.

The order confirmation from staples also doesnt mention if i need to fill out any SER.

sometimes staples sends an email reminder about SER but even that has not come for this deal.

Not just the OP but even the wiki is quiet on this..so i have to ask:

Is this 50$ GC going to be mailed automatically to us?

[dreamexecution]

Quote from BeeEss : ok folks, the OP says nothing about how we get the 50$ gift card. The order confirmation from staples also doesnt mention if i need to fill out any SER. sometimes staples sends an email reminder about SER but even that has not come for this deal. Not just the OP but even the wiki is quiet on this..so i have to ask: Is this 50$ GC going to be mailed automatically to us?

Won't automatically be sent to you
must send in a rebate request through staples easy rebates

rebate offer number: 09-11303

first offer on this page (for reference):
https://www.stapleseasyrebates.co...sku=790230