How do I try a new camera before I buy?

[LordElrond]

Yes it sounds silly but I'm in the market for a new camera and I'm between the Canon EOS D60 and the Nikon d7000. I've looked in two stores so far, hhgregg and Best Buy and neither store was particularly helpful. Hhgregg didn't even have a battery in the cameras so I could turn them on? From research on Consumer Reports, it seems to be a neck and neck race between the two. Both get favorable ratings from their users, but it would be nice to take a few snaps with each one before just dropping close to 1K + on one. I must admit, my first camera was a gift from my wife and I loved it (Sony alpha 300) but I'm not of a mindset to start buying lenses for a camera that's been discontinued by the manufacturer. Any suggestions?

 

[480sparky43 42]

Try going to a camera store.

Join a local camera club.

 

[IByte]

Go to Best Buy try the bodies out, and buy them from Adorama.

 

[sm4him]

^What Sparky said. See if there are any local camera stores in your area. If you can't find a local (i.e. not chain) place that has both cameras, then at least use the BestBuy/HHGregg option to try out the "feel" of each camera. Honestly, I don't think you're going to be able to tell much about the picture quality of each by standing in a store and snapping pictures; they are both going to be so close to equal under those conditions that you won't really have a clear "winner" in the image quality category. But what you CAN do is see which one "feels" better in your hands--which one seems more intuitive to you with where the buttons and dials and menu settings are.

Another possibility: Check your local Craigslist ads. lf anyone near you has one of these cameras listed, meet up with them and test it out. You're under no obligation to buy it from them just because you meet them. Try it, then tell them you're not quite sure and decline the opportunity to purchase it.

 

[ronlane]

You could look at a place to rent each for a week or weekend to determine which you like better. There are a few sites that do that or your local camera store may be able to help you out.

 

[KmH]

It's not a neck and neck race if your compare image sensor performance based on Raw image quality:
DxOMark - Compare cameras side by side

Significant differences the low-light ISO performance and the dynamic range.

 

[sm4him]

It's not a neck and neck race if your compare image sensor performance based on Raw image quality:
DxOMark - Compare cameras side by side

Significant differences the low-light ISO performance and the dynamic range.

Agreed. But I'm just suggesting that the OP's plan to get his hands on one and take a few sample shots--I presume just viewing them on the camera screen--isn't really going to help him make any decisions. At least, it wouldn't help ME; if I took a D7000 and a Canon EOS D60 and stood in a store and took, say, 10 pictures with each one--I would be no closer to deciding which one was better, based simply on image quality, than when I'd started, because I wouldn't be able to tell any real difference, standing there in the store. I *might* however, know more about which one feels better to me.

OP: KmH posted a good link to check into. The point is--imo--do your research beforehand. If it was me, I'd go with the D7000. Because it's a Nikon. And because...well, because I *did* go with it.

EDIT: If you have a little money, and a little time, I think Ronlane's idea is a good one. Rent each one and try it out. Rent them for whatever the minimum period is you can get away with; that way, you can not just take some shots, but you can then transfer them to the computer, zoom in and compare them side-by-side.

 

[nycphotography]

Another possibility: Check your local Craigslist ads. lf anyone near you has one of these cameras listed, meet up with them and test it out. You're under no obligation to buy it from them just because you meet them. Try it, then tell them you're not quite sure and decline the opportunity to purchase it.

As someone who has sold things on Craigslist before, please do NOT use sellers as a free trial / demo service if you are not prepared to buy. You don't have to buy what they have, but at least at a point where you will buy it if it is as described and meets your needs. The seller is not running a retail store, and hasn't priced the cost of browsers into their selling price. To knowingly and intentionally waste their time is really a form of theft.

I'd say make a trip to the big city (Raleigh) and go to the camera store.

Or go to a "camera meetup" or a photoshoot meetup. there are some in Raleigh.

Photo Shoots Meetups near Raleigh, North Carolina - Photo Shoots Meetups - Raleigh

Photography Meetups near Raleigh, North Carolina - Photography Meetups - Raleigh

 

[Designer]

LordElrond; it seems to me that about the only thing you can determine from taking some pictures is the "feel" of each. You can get on-line reviews to measure performance parameters, etc., so what you want to do is hold them, and make a few clicks.

Go back to Best Buy, and ask to speak with the camera person. (call ahead?) The real camera person will be more than helpful in most cases. (Uhh.. you ARE wearing clean clothes, aren't you?)

If the BB store has both models, explain to the camera person that you intend to purchase one of those, but need to make a few actuations first. If they make you purchase an SD card, then swallow your pride and do that. WTH you're going to need some anyway.

 

[480sparky43 42]

......... If they make you purchase an SD card, then swallow your pride and do that. WTH you're going to need some anyway.

Take an SD card in with you..........

 

[sm4him]

Another possibility: Check your local Craigslist ads. lf anyone near you has one of these cameras listed, meet up with them and test it out. You're under no obligation to buy it from them just because you meet them. Try it, then tell them you're not quite sure and decline the opportunity to purchase it.

As someone who has sold things on Craigslist before, please do NOT use sellers as a free trial / demo service if you are not prepared to buy. You don't have to buy what they have, but at least at a point where you will buy it if it is as described and meets your needs. The seller is not running a retail store, and hasn't priced the cost of browsers into their selling price. To knowingly and intentionally waste their time is really a form of theft.

I'd say make a trip to the big city (Raleigh) and go to the camera store.

Or go to a "camera meetup" or a photoshoot meetup. there are some in Raleigh.

Photo Shoots Meetups near Raleigh, North Carolina - Photo Shoots Meetups - Raleigh

Photography Meetups near Raleigh, North Carolina - Photography Meetups - Raleigh

Point taken. I thought about that, even as I typed it--I have also sold things on CL, and bought many, MANY more things. ;-) I have never used it in the manner I suggested, and I tend to agree that it is probably pushing the envelope of what is okay. I guess I was thinking in terms of desperation, if there were simply NO other way to actually get your hands on these cameras. But the more I think about it, the more I think it was just bad advice. I retract the suggestion.

 

[emh]

I know the "hold them and buy the one that feels good" advice is very commonly given. So maybe I'm just the odd one out here, but I wonder if that aspect is overrated. I'm yet to see a DSLR that I would consider intuitive to a beginner. At the same time, I'm yet to see a camera that one could not get used to in a few days of use. And if the controls were so horrid that the average person couldn't get used to it in a reasonable amount of time, it probably wouldn't survive in the market anyway (unless it had other redeeming qualities like price or IQ, but you won't know that from holding the camera anyway).

Now, I can see the point if one was deciding between a smaller, lighter entry-level camera with few dedicated controls and a pro body or something of the sort. But the D7000 and 60D are very close in size, weight and the available controls.

So... what's so bad about looking at the specs, comparisons like the one KmH linked, sample pictures, expert reviews and user reviews all on the web and making a decision? Sure, by all means, hold one at a store and make sure you have no big objections (as the OP seems to have done already). But I don't see why the "feel" needs to be a huge deciding factor in the purchase decision.

 

[nycphotography]

sm4him, no worries, I imagined you just hadn't thought it through

emh, actually, you're spot on in that pretty much any camera will be fine between a Nikon and a Canon for a given price point.

But I'd take it further and say it's not even about the specs either (unless there's one specifc thing thats the decider in which case you wouldn't be on the fence in the first place)... the decider should probably be which can you get better support for where you live?

If your local dealer is stronger in Nikon or Canon, that should be a pretty important factor.

But not just the stores... having 3 or 4 buddies shooting the same gear means you can help each other out in a pinch, and share a lot of knowledge and technique.