My camera died, I have a warranty – now I need help!

I’m glad that Christmas is over. Don’t get me wrong, I love the holidays! This year the flu took the fun out of it for me though. We had some wonderful moments that I didn’t get to capture because my camera flash decided to die on me Christmas day at my mom’s party! I was, and still am, pretty upset about it. My Canon PowerShot A570IS was the first real digital camera we had owned, and besides it voracious appetite for batteries, I loved it. Fortunately for me I remembered a few days after Christmas that I had purchased a Square Trade Warranty on my camera when I bought it new off of eBay. I crossed my fingers and looked up the warranty information, YES! It’s still covered, barely! We bought the camera in March of 2008, the three year warranty expires this year. I guess that means I should consider myself  lucky that it decided to go now rather than waiting until the warranty had expired, that would not have been good.

Now, I have six warranties through Square Trade but I haven’t thought about them or used any of them… ever. In fact when I logged on to my account I was ashamed to see that I have an active warranty for a bagless Hoover I had bought in July of 2008 from Amazon. That isn’t even expired yet but guess where my vacuum is? Probably the landfill. Darn it! I will certainly be more careful from now on to check and make sure that I do or do not have a warranty!

Anyway, I clicked the little “File a Claim” button for my camera, and filled out the easy claim form explaining what had happened. I was hoping that it was going to be just a repair , after all how hard can a flash be to fix? After a couple of days (it was the holiday season!) I received a reply stating that I was eligible for a full payout. They sent me a prepaid UPS lable to send the camera in. When they receive it I can choose one of three payout options:

  • Instant PayPal payment
  • Amazon gift card (incudes an 5% bonus)
  • Mailed Check

I’m choosing PayPal. While I’m 95% sure I’ll be purchasing from Amazon, you never know if there will be a local sale to take advantage of.

Now at first I was pretty bummed because I am attached to my camera. I started to freak, Why can’t they just fix it blah blah blah! Then I realized I was being idiotic, they are going to give me back the full purchase price of my camera! That is awesomeness! I started shopping on Amazon. This is where I am stuck. I really have enjoyed my Canon but wonder if maybe there are other options.

Here are two camera’s I am considering. Keep in mind my payout is $194.95 so I would like my new camera to stay right around that price. Both of these are way better than my 7.1 MP was1 At the top of my list:

Canon Powershot SX130IS

Canon PowerShot SX130IS 12.1 MP Digital Camera with 12x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom with 3.0-Inch LCD

Like I said, I liked my PowerShot, so maybe I should stick with what I know?

Likes:

  • It’s a Canon, I like Canon
  • Price is good at $179.00. – I could also get a new 8gb SDHC memory card for it with the extra $14.96 I’ll have left
  • 12x wide-angle optical zoom
  • 12.1 mp is way better than what I had
  • smart flash
  • 28 auto shoot modes
  • optical image stabilization
  • a miniatures scene mode – fun but not very useful for me
  • 3.0 inch 230K dot LCD view screen
  • 720p HD video – useful but not necessary
  • can print up to 13 x 19-inch posters

Dislikes:


  • Manual Pop Up flash – I will realistically probably forget to pop the flash up most of the time, making me miss important shots

Nikon Coolpix L110

Nikon Coolpix L110 12.1MP Digital Camera with 15x Optical Vibration Reduction (VR) Zoom and 3.0-Inch LCD (Black)

This camera caught my eye, and when I browsed through the user submitted photos I really started to consider it.

Likes:

  • Still a good price at $199.95 – for a few more bucks out of my pocket I could still get a new SD card
  • 12.1 mp is way better than what I had
  • 15x wide-angle optical zoom glass lens looks way cool!
  • can shoot approx 840 still images using the supplied Energizer Ultimate Lithium AA batteries
  • 5-way VR Image Stabilization System
  • 15 auto scene modes
  • Sport continuous mode rapidly shoots up to 20 pics – would be great for daughter’s basketball games
  • Macro shooting from as close as 1 cm – ooh I love this feature!
  • In-Camera Red-Eye Fix auto corrects before saving to memory
  • Can auto detect up to 12 faces and automatically snaps picture when they smile. Has a blink detector too – how cool is that!
  • also has 720p HD video – useful but not necessary
  • 3.0 inch 460K dot LCD view screen
  • can print up to 16 x 20-inch posters

Dislikes:

  • again this has a manual lift flash – blah

Honestly I’m leaning towards the Nikon but I have no idea if they are a good camera or not. I’ve always looked at Canon’s. I need advice! Do any of you have experience with either, or even suggestions for a similar camera in this price range? Help!

And then…. I get this email with all these new Canon Powershots! I am horrible at making up my mind. Seriously, I once stood in the vacuum aisle at Walmart for over an hour trying to choose between three different vacuum cleaners! Too many choices! But what about this one:

*yes, I’ve used my Amazon affiliate links, Why not? lol!

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About the Author

Henrietta Newman is a self-loving empty-nester into smudging, nature, yoga, fitness, healthy living, hunting, camping, hiking, tech, video games, gadgets, recipes, reviews and more.
With a love for the outdoors and visiting local attractions in and around NW PA and Lake Erie, you never know what you'll find in my nest! Subscribe to A Hen's Nest so you don't miss the fun!

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Comments

  1. 1

    I would go with the Nikon. I think the pros outweigh the cons. Maybe it’s because I had a bad experience with a Canon Point and Shoot, and I really didn’t love it. Plus, if you are wanting to capture your daughter’s sports, the continuous mode would be great!

  2. 2

    I am in the market for a new camera too. I would like a nice camera with a lens as I have always owned just the basic camera.

  3. 3

    I don’t know about either brand but have heard more about Canon being good than anything good or bad about Nikon :-) Good luck in your search!

  4. 4

    I love my Cannon cameras so I would lean towards the Cannon too. But the wider zoom and macro shooting would really make me happy. I think if it is just between these two then I am going with the Nikon.

    One question…what kind of battery?

    • 5

      Good point! They both use AA batteries. the Canon uses 2 and the Nikon uses 4. One complaint I had about my older Canon was that it really ate the batteries, even good quality rechargeable ones.

      The Nikon uses 4 and some reviews I’ve read have said that the battery life is very good, which is also another Like!

  5. 6

    I have a Canon Rebel DSLR and a Canon PowerShot SD940IS Digital ELPH. Love BOTH. I can’t fault either camera, and have never had problems with Canon. A friend of mine has a Nikon, and I drool over it, too, though. Tough choice.

  6. 8
    april yedinak says

    I used to be a pro photographer for the Air Force and we used Nikon’s only and most of the pros I worked with preferred Nikon’s. Now, this has been a while, before digital, but one reason we all love them is that Nikon’s are workhorse’s that last.

  7. 10
    april yedinak says

    and I can’t believe I wrote workhorse as a possessive, I am a dork

  8. 12

    I have never heard anyone complain about their Nikon before, so if it were me…I would totally go for the Nikon! GL with your decision!

  9. 13

    We’ve owned two Canon Powershots and ♥ them so much :) I wouldn’t hesitate to buy another Canon again, when our current camera dies on us (or we upgrade, which usually happens first!)

Trackbacks

  1. […] for my week to be even better, all I need to do is just make a decision about which camera to buy so I can take pictures again. Pie is getting tired of me using her camera – geesh! Square […]

  2. […] G. Unfortunately it also made me realize I need to get over this inability to make a decision about which camera I should purchase. Mr.T.’s camera is okay but I couldn’t get any clear shots Pie could […]

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