HOT! - Canon A60 2MP + $50 GC = $180 @ Target after Discount

[Mac]

Here's the deal, Target is advertising the Canon A60 for $200 which is a yawner...but they kick in a $50 Gift card. That was hot enough to get my attention to go to my local Target. As I was was waiting at the camera and electronics counter for service, a CSR asked me if would open a Target Visa card. Before I could get out a polite "No", she said I would receive a 10% discount on any purchases that I charged with the account for the day and it would only take 5 minutes to get approval. Because I was purchasing two of these as Xmas gifts for my sons, the additional $20 discount per camera, was inducement enough to have my privacy invaded (again).

$200 - 20 (10%) = $180 - $50 gift card = $130. I think I smell smoke. Is something burning in here?

BTW, these are probably one of the best 2MP cameras currently available. Same features, lens, everything as the highly rated A70 which my wife wouldn't part with. Uses compact flash and AA batteries, which is perfect. Resolution is a little less than ideal but more than adequate for snapshots. It works great as a P&S and has full manual controls, too!

Highly recommended.

 

[amdskip]

Thanks, nice deal here.

 

[RossMAN]

Is the Canon A40 or A60 a good digicam?

 

[publicPool]

hey can you get the giftcard with any other cam? im thinking of getting the sd 100

 

[JimBim]

Warm. But still a waste IMO.

 

[kyutip]

RossMAN,
A60 is the A40 replacement. Should be as good if not better than A40.
Sleeker design.
Don't be put off by the 2MP. This is one of the best 2MP (if not the best) out there.
Defnately good for prints.

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: kyutip
RossMAN,
A60 is the A40 replacement. Should be as good if not better than A40.
Sleeker design.
Don't be put off by the 2MP. This is one of the best 2MP (if not the best) out there.
Defnately good for prints.

Hehe I was just joking, I've been the premier Canon PowerShot A40/A60/A70/A80 fanboi for nearly 2 years.

 

[Mac]

hey can you get the giftcard with any other cam? im thinking of getting the sd 100

In my area, these cameras were offered with the GC:

Kodak CX6330 3.1MP w/3X Optical - $199.99
Fuji A210 3.2 MP w/ 3X Optical - 199.99
Olumpus 300 3.2MP w/3X Optical $349.99

My reason for going with the Canon, even though the only 2MP of the lot:

Picture Quality - I think Canon does it better than anyone else right now in the consumer digicam market..top end, too maybe but that is a much more detailed conversation. Canon has done their homework in understanding how to capture and process digital images using current technology. Don't get caught up in the more MP's is always better. It's much more complicated than that. The only restriction with 2MP is you can't get as large a photo. To get the same amount of detail, as say a 3MP, you will have to get closer and shoot a little tighter.

Features - Just about every useful feature you could ask for, including movie clip w/sound (although kind of a gimmick, imo, but hey, for "free", it's fabulous) and full manual controls. This is a camera you can grow with...and if you know what you are doing, almost always get the picture you want.

Media - Compact flash offers the best bang for the buck, highest capacities, etc.

Power - Uses AA batteries...what could be better. You can pick up a couple set of NiMH's w/charger for under $20 and in a pinch, you can pick up alkalines, anywhere. The only reason I see for proprietary batteries is for the ultra compact digicams, except for the irresistable profit margin they offer manufacturers.

Usability - Just about anyone can take this straight out of the box and get excellent results.

Bottom line, the A-Series offer tremondous value for the buck. Given all the tricks the A60 can do and quality it offers, I am delighted to give it as a gift to my teen age sons. At $130 net, I think I found a deal!

 

[Cullinaire]

Bah, if you're only getting one, this isn't as good. I was unsuccessful in getting the CSR to apply the gift card to the one A60 I was buying. Also, I would have gotten a memory card to go with it, but the largest one they have is the 64MB which is $34.95. Maybe I should also get some more batteries...
Still thanks OP, always good to see deals on these nice cams.

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: Cullinaire
Bah, if you're only getting one, this isn't as good. I was unsuccessful in getting the CSR to apply the gift card to the one A60 I was buying. Also, I would have gotten a memory card to go with it, but the largest one they have is the 64MB which is $34.95. Maybe I should also get some more batteries...
Still thanks OP, always good to see deals on these nice cams.

When did you buy the digicam?

If you tried to buy a Canon A60 today (without applying for the credit card with 10% discount) it is 100% guaranteed to work since this is ON THE TARGET SALES FLYER FRONT PAGE AD in large print.

 

[agent2099]

Originally posted by: RossMAN

Originally posted by: Cullinaire
Bah, if you're only getting one, this isn't as good. I was unsuccessful in getting the CSR to apply the gift card to the one A60 I was buying. Also, I would have gotten a memory card to go with it, but the largest one they have is the 64MB which is $34.95. Maybe I should also get some more batteries...
Still thanks OP, always good to see deals on these nice cams.

When did you buy the digicam?

If you tried to buy a Canon A60 today (without applying for the credit card with 10% discount) it is 100% guaranteed to work since this is ON THE TARGET SALES FLYER FRONT PAGE AD in large print.

Rossman, I think he was trying to get the $50 giftcard to go towards the camera he was buying - meaning $150 out the door for the camera. A bit dishonest?


Anyway this is a pretty hot deal, essentially $150 for the best 2mp camera on the market. You won't get a better camera at this price.

 

[Cullinaire]

Dishonest, you say?

$200 - 20 (10%) = $180 - $50 gift card = $130. I think I smell smoke. Is something burning in here?

As quoted from OP.

True he was buying two. But that wasn't mentioned explicitly as necessary for the gift card to apply to the actual camera price.

Was I trying to trick the CSR? Everyone knows YMMV, and it's up to the CSR to determine whether it's appropriate enough or not. I didn't get it, and that's that. Just letting others know in case they had the same idea. (and being ATers, I'd be disappointed otherwise!)

I think I'll still go back and get the cam. I wish they had a bigger CF than 64MB that I could apply the GC to, though.

 

[Mac]

As a bit of advice, I wouldn't buy CF from most B&M stores right now, especially Target. Seems to me that prices have come up a bit over the last couple of weeks, probably due to new buyers coming into the digicam market and not knowing any better. Haven't checked lately but I have regularly picked up 256MB from Amazon and Dell for $45-55 delivered with a $10 rebate. You should be able to find 128MB anytime for $30. Again, that's why CF is preferable to other media.

If you are looking for NiMH batteries, go to (1) Sam's - Everready 8-1850 MaH w/charger = $20; (2) CostCo = Panasonic 6- AA and 2 or 3 AAA w/charger = $20; or (3) Big Lots - Panasonic 4 - 1950MaH w/charger = $10.

Check this out... 128MB CF for $15 after rebate!

128MB CF Offer

 

[kayatai]

This is a great camera by the way.

Even my 8x10 photos print out very crisply, there's tons of features to play around with, plus the point and shoot autoeverything works like a charm in most situations (so you can let other people play with it without teaching them very much).

 

[rwbelke]

Batteries, One smart charger and 12 AA 2000mah rechargable batteries for $26.99, or 24pc AA 2000mah rechargable batteries for $24.97. I told my friends about this site and took orders for Xmas and my order was over $250 so I got a free $49 super smart charger. What a deal, expecially with all the teenagers burning up the AA alkiline batteries. I can recharge these about a 1000 times. The free charger was like rewarding me for taking the orders from my friends.
www.batteryspace.com



i do not know how to underline the web address above or make it work, so I will try again. I am new at this and do not know much about computers. I did it below and it seems to work, but I think I did something wrong. After I hit the ok button,the word TEXT came up. What am I supose to do there? Can anyone help me. thanks, richard






aa nullbatteries and smart charger

 

[Cullinaire]

Hmmm...I guess it would be worth it to just keep the GC for now, then. Thanks for the heads up Mac.

 

[daveymark]

Link

 

[HarryK]

I was looking at the A70 but there are a bunch of reviews that complain about hardware/warranty issues. Does the A60 have these same problems?

What about the FujiFilm FinePix A210 3.2MP Digital Camera w/ 3x Optical Zoom? Anybody have it? It's at Amazon for $179

 

[Aztech]

That one (A210) is $199 at Target and you get a $50 Target GC (same deal as the A60). So, which one is better?

 

[ZloyChuvak]

fuji blows... you get those fuzzy matrix pictures all the time.

canon is a good solid camera, one of the best like stated before.

I wass gonna get 2 but i didnt get approved for the visa cause i just cancelled it.

 

[wsmith5]

I got the target card about a year ago and never used it after the initial purchase , will it "approve me" for a card to get the discount?

 

[HarryK]

Originally posted by: ZloyChuvak
fuji blows
canon is a good solid camera, one of the best like stated before.

While I appreciate your willingness to answer my question, I'm not sure I can put much stock in generalizations like "fuji blows" and "canon is a good solid camera" when there are obviously many examples of canons NOT all being "good solid cameras"

From Usenet:

1. - My Canon had both amisaligned viewfinder and a defective CCD.
   
   If you read the vaious internet digicam forums, you will see MORE reports of defective A70's than any other camera."
   
   - "I had a quality problem with my Canon A70.... and I ended up returning it. With my first A70, portions of the image were out of focus. "
   
   - "soon after turning it on the A70 started to malfunction -- error E18. I could be simply reviewing my images when suddenly the screen would go blank, it would beep 4 times and say E18 on the bottom left hand corner. "
   
   - "I had a Canon PowerShot A40 that I loved, but it was stolen. I replaced it with an A60. I returned it because the viewfinder was out of focus. The replacement has the E18 error all the time. I tried various fixes, but it still happens. I am going to return it, too."
   
   - "I've had my camera (Canon A70) for just over a month now, and sometimes it freezes with a "E18" error and three beeps. "

From DPReview, all posted within the last week:

1. - "After taking a picture with a slow shutter speed (>1/2 sec) in manual or Tv mode my Canon A70 freezes and does not respond to anything. I waited for 5 min. Nothing. LCD stays black. Cannot even turn it off: have to take the batteries out"
   
   - "A new a70 .... recently started powering down/ freezing up for no apparent reason .... It can only be re-started by opening the battery compartment or doing a series of on/off switches alternating between replay and camera modes. "
   
   - "I recently bought a A70.... The autocus seems to have a problem when taking pictures indoors, especially in the evenings/night. The focus is messed up. "

Amazon Reviews from the last 2 months:

1. - My A70 has quality problems...even after Canon repaired it under warrantly I continue to have the problems. When the mode switch is flipped to viewing, the camera remains in the mode to shoot the picture.
   
   From reviewing the usenet groups, it appears I am not alone. "
   
   - "...by the second day, when we brought the baby home, it had a hard failure. This is the "e18" failure, which I later found via a web search.
   
   - Since June the camera has been in to the factory three separate occasions for warranty-covered issues that were all unrelated to one another. I got the camera back for the third time a week ago, and it has another problem.
   
   - About a week after I purchased the camera BRAND NEW, the LCD screen went dark for no reason and went on and off with no pattern at all.

 

[bbkat]

Originally posted by: RossMAN
Is the Canon A40 or A60 a good digicam?

 

[agent2099]

Harryk, in this case, the Canon blows away the fuji. There are some good Fuji cameras but generally for cameras within the same price range, the Canon will be better. That is certainly the case here.

 

[rudeguy]

this is nice for me. My sister wants a new digicam for christmas, and I want one as well. I am going to buy one for her, and one for me.

Just have to figure out how to use the 2nd gift card towards my own camera purchase.