Purchasing Digital Camera in Canary Islands

thejuggler

Anyone who has been to the canary islands particiularly lanzarote or tenerife will be familiar with the electronics shops which sell camcorders and cameras at very reasonable prices. (the canaries are a duty free zone) .

I am going to tenerife in May and am considering purchasing a digital camera while I'm there. Has anyone purchased cameras in tenerife and what type camera would they recommend?

I've had a 2.1 Megapixel nikon coolpix 2000 for a year or two and find the results of indoor photographs to be very poor and yellowish. Also the resolution is too small to be practical for editing in photoshop etc so I know I need to upgrade.

I'm thinking of a five or 6 megapixel prosumer camera. What would people recommend?

I would like to take portraits indoors so would it be necessary to buy a separate flash unit or would I be better off buying some studio lights.

Maybe I would be better off buying a good film camera instead and scanning my photographs into photoshop.

What would you advise?

rymus

My choice of a new digital camera would be either of the following

a Canon 300D

or

a Canon 10D, if youre feeling rather rich.

Had I the money at my instant disposal, I'd get the 10D and a nice 17-40mm lens. They're both DSLR's btw. Happy shopping

comet

Shouldn't be a problem buying in the Canaries and you will save a lot of money than walking into a shop here. Manuals might be in spanish so you may have to print the English version either from the accompanying cd-rom or from the web.
Remember whatever you buy today digital, next year it will be much cheaper and there will be much better products on the market. If you go with film that won't happen.

Mr Grumpy

Read this first - it's related to Gran Canaria but applies to the whole of the Canaries.

http://www.canaryforum.com/gc/electricals.html

From my experience, it's not worth the hassle or time trying to save a few quid with these shysters. Most of the shops are run by a large extended family and price fixing is rife. If you do plan to buy something out there then do plenty of research before you go. Decide what gear you're interested in and price it up on the web and in the trade mags. Bring the details with you. You should also check the guarantees (and the manuals to see if they have any English instructions) that they give you as a lot of their stock are grey imports and should it become faulty and try to get if fixed at home under warranty you could come unstuck.

My advice would be to buy off the web from a reputable retailer. Works out cheaper in the long run. YMMV

Burago

I bought a digital when I was in Gran Canaria last summer. I got a great deal compared to dublin prices but could of done slightly better online. I ended up buying it in an electronics superstore, they listed their price on every product and would not budge, it made a refreshing change from the annoying conmen in most other shops there. I'll try and find the receipt and post the name, I think thay had stores in a few or the Canary Islands.

rymus

Actually.. Go to San Francisco! The shops along the waterfront/piers are great. There was some gob****e in one of them selling an $800 lens for my sony camcorder and by the time I was dragged out of the shop he was screaming $250 at me. didnt even buy it in the end... oh Im such a tease

joseph brand

Mr Grumpy is right.

Them guys over there are scum bags.

My father and I got barred from a shop after a guy tried to sell us a 'TEKNICS' discman. I told my dad that that was not the correct way to spell Technics. I said we would be back, (YEAH RIGHT!!), that we were just looking around.

He said, "you leave now, you no come back my shop", we said fine, .. . . . ye creep!


some discmen were HOLLOW???? No parts???


Gangsters, . . . .sad lonely pathetic men and I hate evryone of them.

ballooba

Visanta are a decent chain of shops in Tenerife.

They have good prices and are helpful.

When i asked them about the Indian run shops they showed me a big folder of newspaper clippings and the details of a BBC Watchdog documentary on the fúckers.

The stuff they are selling is reconditioned returns, obviously they never tell you this.

Hobbes

If you do go to buy it, don't tell them your flying back tomorrow.