Hello - this is a message to anyone who has experience buying digital cameras in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, or Germany. If I am looking to buy a digital camera for my trip to France this summer, would I save money by buying it here in the US before going?

I have heard that electronics in Europe are more expensive than in the US. I am wondering if I should invest in one before I leave.

Thanks!

Oh, and what I meant by "save money" is,

Would I save money if I buy an average digital camera (not too cheap, but not high-end) here in the US instead of buying the same camera model (or comparable) in France or Germany (or nearby countries).

I've looked at prices in windows just out of curiosity and they seemed much higher in Europe than in the US. But more importantly, if you live in the US you want to buy one here. The warranties are different and if you need service you'll want a US warranty. You'll also want the plug for the battery charger to work at home. You will need a plug adapter for Europe (only a few bucks, available in any travel section) but won't need a converter as most modern battery chargers that come with camera are dual voltage. And also, you should buy any camera at least a few weeks before a trip so you can learn how all the features work. Is this your first digital camera. If so it's even more impportant to learn how to use it while at home, where you can download the images to your computer and see how they are.

Buy it in the U.S. We live in Europe and prices are higher here. We paid more for our digital cameras bought in Belgium and Germany than we would have had for the same quality/brand bought online in the U.S.

i would think that the default would be to buy one at home so i'm not sure why you are talking like it would be the natural thing to buy one whilst on holiday. not being rude...just making sure i understand your situation.

i agree with the others...almost everything is cheaper in the US. in addition to the good advice from isabel, i would add that you need to make sure it all works first. i took a brand new memory card to asia (the best sandisk made) and it failed. luckily, it failed right after i downloaded all my pictures after the first use. most electronics fail very soon if they are going to fail. you should put the whole kit through 2 or 3 cycles of picture taking and downloading before you take really important pics.

Buy it here, for heavens' sake. In addition to price and making sure it works, you need to have some experience with actually taking pictures with it prior to a trip.

Buy it in the USA as all above have suggested. Another point to consider is that the operating instructions will be in English.

There is such a wide variety of digital cameras that it is a daunting task to decide what to buy. I ended up buying a cheap Olympus point and shoot FE-100 just a week before I left. Unfortunately that did not give me enough time to learn how to use it and I wasted some shots after getting to Europe.

Search amazon.com for user reviews and good prices.

If you buy one which uses AA batteries get extra batteries before you go. I have had the longest lasting performance from "Energizer" brand lithium batteries, available at K-Mart in the USA but hard to find anywhere else.

I found that this model camera was comparably priced in Europe, though a little higher.

My biggest annoyance with this digital camera was that it has a one or two second delay after I press the shutter release. By then someone could walk in front of me or the subject moved. I used my trusty old SLR as a backup and took half of my pictures with it.

I totally agree with all the above. Great deals are to be had if you shop around, especially on-line. Besides, there is a limit to how much ($$ wise) you can bring back into the states without paying duty. Perhaps you aren't a shopper, and don't care, but I would rather spend my holiday shopping $$ on something that is representative of the places I'm visiting.

And to repeat above, I wouldn't want to spend hours per day for the first part of my trip trying to figure out how a new camera works. You need to buy one and "play" with it before you go so you aren't fiddling with it and losing pictures when you get to Europe.

To cut down on the lag time on a digital, depress the shutter part way to compose your shot and then press down to take the picture. Fresh batteries are also a plus. Use rechargeables.

Typically electronics of all types are much cheaper in the US - since we have a larger market and a huge number of discounters - which are rare in europe.

(Many european visitors to New York have buying new electronics at the top of their list - if they buy a lot it can save most of the cost of the trip.)

Buy it in the US and take a lot of pictures to practice with it before you go.
Gretchen is right, buy some rechargeables and a charger that works on 120/240. Some digitals eat batteries quickly, and in Italy you'll have the camera on a lot and be taking a lot of pictures. With 3 sets of rechargeables, you can have one on charging, one in your camera, and an extra set with you.

Thanks to all who have replied to my question. Very good points!

Now, it's time for me to do some online research on digital cameras *before* my trip.

I am really looking forward to my trip this summer!

We bought a Kodak DX7590 (There is a newer model) from Wal-Mart. Later we learned it was less at Sam's. Small problem. Kodak has designed their digital line to be more than 'user friendly'. After a day with the camera I still had questions. Back to Wal-Mart, I got a 30 minute tutorial. The clerk used a new camera to show me and let me take pictures! Use some of the travel time with the camera and instruction book. Buy a rechargeable battery. Using AAs is expensive and tedious. Buy a memory card. You can download pictures to CDs. Learn to operate without the screen on. Use a zip-lock bag to store all the camera gear: recharger, cards, batteries, cords, adapter plugs and the instruction manual. Always check to see that you have unplugged the recharger in your hotel room! Be sure to get plug adapters...USA to each country. Samsonite.

Thank you GSteed for the very valuable information!

www.neocamera.com

Great place to sort out the different cameras. First decide upon the size you want and they they will be ranked in order of favorable reviews. Then there are links to the reviews for each camera.

I just went digital and bought my first camera. I was SO glad I had time with it at home before our trip to Paris. The camera I chose has a lot of different features that take quite a while to learn, so i never would have wanted to do it on trip. A suggestion: for the type of travel photography you will be doing a 28mm equivalent on the wide angle end is going to be prefereable to a camera with a super zoom.

GSteed, you managed to get a 30 minute tutorial at WalMart? From someone who knew what he was talking about? That is indeed impressive. May I touch you?