GREAT BUY ON A GREAT DIGITAL CAMERA - SONY DSC-S70 CYBERSHOT

[Seattle]

If you want to look like to take pictures on a digital camera that completely blow away people, take a look at the Sony DSC-S70 CyberShot.

Having been a professional photographer for 20 years, I can tell you that nothing is more important than the lens, and they just don't get any better than A Carl Zeiss® lens, which are found on such cameras as Hasselblad. They are made in Germany from the finest glass and engineering money can buy. This Sony has a 3x Carl Zeiss® lens, with 6x digital. You can't find a better camera than this in this price range. I would own it before the Nikon 990.

This camera is found at Staples for $799.98. I just purchased one with a pricematch from CAMERA

The pricematch is $635.00. The site would not reveal the cost of shipping, which I believe is in the range of $25, and the Staples CSR could not find the shipping cost at the site because they were closed (I called it in at 10 PM PST), and being the nice guy he was, he just let it slide.I bought the items separately and applied the $40 of $200 to the camera. Thus I got the camera for $595.00

I also pricematched the 64 MB Memory stick from the Staples price of $139.99 to the TechNetAmerica price of $99.99.

I applied a $30 of $100 to the memory stick, which has a $50 MIR from Sony if purchased with a Sony Camera and brought the price down to $26.

REBATE COUPON

An important thing to note when pricematching at Staples is that their policy regarding shipping of digital cameras calls for three days to ship, so very gently and warmly mention this to any CSR who attempts to charge you overnight shipping.

If you want great images, don't wait on this one, they are going to be cleaned out of stock right away, although you can take advantage of any more stock they bring in and get the $50 MIR until February 28, if Staples is cool enough to buy more.

Here is a better pricematch for the camera, $623 + $19.95 ground shipping. Use the one above as a back up. The above memory is the least expensive I've found so far.

PRICEMATCH

 

[KameLeon]

Good Deal. But I don't think I'm ready to spend $600 on a digital camera. I'm waiting for a deal on the Nikon Coolpix 950..

 

[yodayoda]

german optics can't be beat... got a zeiss microscope and it is quality stuff. btw kameleon, you should just settle for a nikon coolpix 950. got the nice zoom lens and lcd display. get a usb card reader and some nice 1600 mAh NiMH batteries, and you're better off. also, there is a $150 rebate on the 950 that was just extended until march. i picked up mine for $500 after rebate and just received the rebate check 4 weeks after submitting.

 

[jolottashakn]

DSC-S70 Review

Got the Side-by-side page to compare features 'twixt this cam and any other. Excellent dig cam review site.

 

[jolottashakn]

I just realized that ordering from staples requires me to pay sales tax, whereas ordering from an out of state vendor like buydig, where this cam is $634, more than makes up for the $40 off $200 coupon.

Of course, at buydig, the shipping is not free and their price for the memory is full price, $139.

So at staples the deal is PM camera 634 PM memory 99 less 40 less 30 + tax of 54.69 in my county (8.25%) less 50 MIR plus 0 ship (if one gets a considerate Staples CSR) = 667

At buydig the deal is 634 camera plus 139 memory plus shippint 24.95 less 50 MIR = 748

OK, $81 savings at staples on this deal. Might be able to improve the non-staples price by as much as $10 if one of the other price competitors had better shipping or memory prices.

 

[jolottashakn]

Index of 9 published reviews of this cam

 

[cmatthes1]

Sigh, I was hoping for $799.99 at Staples, Pricematch www.screweduptheprice.com at $500.00. Before I pricematch that send it in to American Express. $200 rebate, then They would send you $300 cash from Sony just for taking a picture. total price -$150... But no... I hate companies that are like hey we bought this camera for $500 so lets sell it for $700. They should just give it to us for free to be nice.

 

[hatexd]

HI, Cmatthes1, I do not understand why American Express will send you $300? Can you brief explain this or just give me a weblink, so that I can know why? Thx!

Email: yimab@yahoo.com

 

[Healey]

Cmatthes1,

Sounds like a good deal, I think. However I'm kinda slow today, could somebody translate Cmatthes1's post into english for me? Thanks.

 

[Monolithic]

No translation is necessary.. just use sarcasm filter ;P

 

[BigSmooth]

< snicker >

 

[Healey]

Opps, my stupid. Sarcasm filter now on.

Reading too fast, thinking too slow.

 

[Croton]

awesome deal man.

i got a nikon coolpix 950 for about $400.

 

[kcobra]

Croton: I was wondering where you got the Nikon 950 for ~$400? This is after the $150 MIR, correct?

 

[docblayze]

I'm sorry if the answer to this question is common information, but I'm new so please bear with me...

What do you tell the Staples sales people on the phone when they ask you how you got the coupons? I've tried a few things and nothing seems to work. I'm trying to get this deal!

Thanks....

 

[docblayze]

I just got mine...GREAT deal. I did it a little differently tho...

They were gonna charge me $59 S/H for overnight since Staples.com has free overnight, so I went to store and used online ordering system and payed in-store. The manager charged me only for ground shipping.

Total for camera, 64 mb mem stick was ~$650, including all rebates.

Thanks for the deal!

 

[1gemini1]

 

[Ribbet]

docblayze ...

Congratulations. That's a great deal on a great camera. (Just a thought: perhaps you could PM Seattle with a &quot;thanks for a good deal.&quot; He's taken some flak in the last day or so, so your gesture might be well-received.)


kcobra ...

Croton didn't answer, but we got our Nikon 950 about 1 year ago for $500 (Accompany/MobShop), then recently got a $100 rebate from Nikon (which rebate is now $150). Given the $150 rebate, vendors seem to have jacked up 950 prices accordingly. About 1 week ago, PhotoAlley.Com was offering $100 off (??) $600 (don't see that deal now; it was $150 off ~$750 earlier -- look around, you might find it). PhotoAlley.Com offers the 950 for $730 (with free shipping). If you can find the $100-off coupon: $730 - $100 = $630. $630 - $150 = $480. Not $400, but not bad for a great camera.

 

[Ribbet]

1gemini1 ...

The rebate you mention **requires** that you buy a Sony VAIO PC ***AND*** a digi-cam/camcorder/display. To quote:

&quot;Receive up to a $350 mail-in rebate when you purchase ***any VAIO PC*** and any eligible Handycam® Camcorder, Cyber-shot® Digital Camera or VAIO Display.&quot;

This seems a bundled offer -- **not** a $100 rebate on the camera itself (wanna buy a new Sony PC/Notebook ???) -- or are you seeing something we can't read in that miniscule text in the .PDF?


[edit] bad spelling [/edit]

 

[1gemini1]

Your right, my bad

 

[Seattle]

Muchas gracias for the positive ennergy Ribbet.

 

[hychka]

docblayze,

Tell them your brother, father, sister, aunt, uncle, mother, employer (whatever) buys a lot of stuff at staples and he/she/it gave you a postcard with a coupon on it.

Worked for my kids.

 

Great camera !
I just purchased an Olympus 3000Z for a little under $600
Not as sharp as the sony but fast !

 

[Ribbet]

kcobra (since you asked)...

Nikon Coolpix 950 **plus** a Sandisk USB CF Reader: about $500, after Nikon's $150 MIR (through Feb 12th).

Until February 12th, PhotoAlley.Com is offering $100 off purchases over $750. They also offer free UPS ground shipping and charge tax only in CA, NJ, &amp; UT.

1. Search for Coolpix 950. Add it to your shopping cart: $730. (You'll now see $50 off, since they offer $50 off orders over $500).

2. Click &quot;Continue Shopping&quot; and on the left side of the screen, click on &quot;Digital Storage.&quot; On the next page click on &quot;Memory Card Adapters.&quot; Scroll down and add to your shopping cart the &quot;SanDisk ImageMate CompactFlash Card Reader (USB)&quot; -- $29.99.

By adding the $30 CF reader, your total went over $750, so you should now see a discount of $100, bringing your grand total to $656.

After Nikon's $150 rebate, you've paid about $500 for **both** the 950 and the CF reader (which you'll need since the 950 has **no** USB port for transferring pix, just an agonizingly-slow, battery-eating serial port).

====

Obviously you could use PhotoAlley's &quot;discounts&quot; for other things. But, Nikon's rebate is tempting. And while the 950 ain't the Sony that Seattle mentioned, and it's getting old, it's a great camera. Others chime in if you found better deals or other recommendations/comments.


[edit]Just checked Pricegrabber.Com for 950 prices. Prices range from $399 - $460 for **refurbished** models, to ~$500 - $600 (may not be in stock; sometimes **after** rebate, although that may not be immediately clear), and on up. You may save some $$ elsewhere, but factor in the CF reader, free shipping and, possibly, no tax. [/edit]

 

[TuOni]

Great deal for a great camera