I was initially predisposed to buy the camera from JB HiFi due to the $100 gift voucher, and I guess because is one of my favourite shops. If I'd just walked in without doing any research I'm sure I'd have walked out with a camera that would have done the job. But as a now informed customer I knew they all had image quality issues compared to the latest cameras. So I had to decide which features I wanted and how much I was prepared to pay.
As far as the camera went the Canon IXX hit what I wanted at the right price point, albeit about hundred dollas more than I had originally intended. The Canon had a great zoom, had enough mega-pizels that for my purposes any more wouldn't matter anyway, and had wireless bult in. In addition it was also small and could easily fit in my pocket, some previous cameras didn't have this feature and it can be a real pain lugiing them around. It also did pretty much everything automatically, not much I could play with manaually, but in that was fine as I didn't want to become a professional photographer I just wanted to click and have it all done for me.
A number of online retailers sold the camera, I wouldn't need to see one in a shop because I'd read a lot of reviews about the camera. Cheapest was an Auckland retailer I had no history with, but very competitive was Ascent Technology who I have purchased a lot from over time. The clincher for buying from Ascent was the price, good track record of being "liberal" with returns, and the three year extended warranty they offer on everything they sell.
The camera it turns out is perfect for what I want, easy to use and to my eye takes good quality shots. So a happy customer buying a great product form a great suplier - everyone is a winner.
