![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
|
Where To Get Sets and Parts For discussions about swapmeets, rallies, NVCF and BVWS, car boot sales, antique and charity shops, dealers, newspaper adverts, the local tip and just about any other source of equipment (other than eBay). |
![]() |
|
Thread Tools |
![]() |
#1 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Newcastle, Tyne and Wear, UK.
Posts: 11,583
|
![]()
Not sure if this is the right spot, but -
In Aldi yesterday (1/12/18) I noticed one of the 'special buy' items for sale was the Canon IXUS 185 compact camera - obviously these are not this year's model but they are still sold for around £60-£100 or more by other retailers - Aldi price, ~£25, while stocks last of course. Comes with 1 NB-11 Lithium-Ion battery, separate mains charger and soft 'shell' case for the camera - buyer has to provide a memory card (SD/SDHC). I already have a couple of the higher end metal bodied IXUS compact series and I've always found them to be good little cameras. While this is not one of the very high end ones, I bought one anyway as my older ones are becoming hard to find batteries for. Manuals, etc are here:- https://www.canon.co.uk/support/cons.../ixus_185.aspx |
![]() |
![]() |
#2 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Staffordshire Moorlands, UK.
Posts: 5,274
|
![]()
I bought one (full going price) a few years ago. Nice little camera that slips in your pocket. Good optics but the flash isn't up to much and it's best used either outdoors or with a seperate photo flood; I've used it for 'scanning' book pages and diagrams this way using the tripod mount.
The best thing is the battery and charger, very neat and quick.
__________________
Kevin |
![]() |
![]() |
#3 |
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Oxford, UK
Posts: 27,968
|
![]()
You can't argue with the price. The market for compact point and shoot cameras has collapsed because so many smartphones now have good cameras, so these are probably overstocks of last year's model being disposed of. Personally I prefer to use a dedicated camera rather than a phone for anything that matters.
|
![]() |
![]() |
#4 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Oxford, UK.
Posts: 17,864
|
![]()
I've had excellent result with the Ixus compact cameras - the macro facility on most is damn good.
|
![]() |
![]() |
#5 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Newcastle, Tyne and Wear, UK.
Posts: 11,583
|
![]()
At this price you would essentially get a genuine spare Canon battery with a free camera and spare charger thrown in. I would imagine the stand-alone price for a genuine Canon NB-11 battery is more.
Haven't really had a chance to take it for a proper test drive yet (terrible weather / bad light) but I played with it for about 20 minutes - I did notice that the 'Macro' (Tulip) symbol is missing from the four way switch on the back but it does have macro, it just works out itself when it needs to use it and autoselects macro mode when the subject is inside macro range. I did also fear that it might not have any manual modes - My other IXUS cameras have a mode dial switch with 'Auto' and 'Manual' positions and this does not, but it does have a menu selectable 'Program' mode which allows picky people like me to override the camera's choice of exposure, ISO, etc. I prefer to have separate gadgets which do their one specific task really well, so I still have a separate alarm clock, satnav, computer and, of course, camera. |
![]() |
![]() |
#6 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Worksop, Nottinghamshire, UK.
Posts: 5,554
|
![]()
I bought one about a year ago in our local Aldi.
The macro appears to be automatic. You are right about the flash. It is just fixed power and is either too bright or gutless. It works well with a powerful LED lamp or out doors. I bought it because the focus had developed a lot of back lash on my old Fuji. |
![]() |
![]() |
#7 |
Octode
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Southport, Merseyside, UK.
Posts: 1,156
|
![]()
Just been to my local Aldi where they are reduced from £79.99 to £59.99, I asked about this and said they were a lot cheaper on line, they were £29.99 just before I went, and was told this was normal as the price varied with stock, got back home and checked on the web and they are now back to £79.99 in store only.
John |
![]() |
![]() |
#8 |
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Oxford, UK
Posts: 27,968
|
![]()
It's possible that there's been a pricing error, though the prices of the limited availability stuff do vary a lot week on week in Aldi and Lidl.
|
![]() |
![]() |
#9 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Newcastle, Tyne and Wear, UK.
Posts: 11,583
|
![]()
!!!? I've just been on the Aldi website and it's true, the in-store price now seems to be £79.99. The branch I bought mine from was the new Skelton (North Yorkshire) branch at TS12 2ZL, and they still had about a dozen priced at £25 (or 24.95, something like that) on Saturday 1/12/18.
|
![]() |
![]() |
#10 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Newcastle, Tyne and Wear, UK.
Posts: 11,583
|
![]()
For the record, I've just dug out the receipt because I was beginning to wonder if I had read the wrong price tag myself and inadvertently paid £80 for mine, but it turns out I really did pay £24.95 for it.
John, M0GLN, I'm sorry you had a wasted journey on my account. I had no idea the pricing was so 'flexible'. |
![]() |
![]() |
#11 | |
Octode
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Southport, Merseyside, UK.
Posts: 1,156
|
![]() Quote:
John |
|
![]() |
![]() |
#12 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: W.Butterwick, near Doncaster UK.
Posts: 8,935
|
![]()
I still have my original Ixus 2.1Mb about £300plus at the time and I love it dearly despite I have a EOS5D pro job.
__________________
G8JET BVWS Archivist and Member V.M.A.R.S |
![]() |
![]() |
#13 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Oxford, UK.
Posts: 17,864
|
![]()
A lot of these are turning up in charity shops for £10 to £20, and if the battery is OK (or you can buy a cheap generic one that is), then they're a bargain if you need a good compact camera but don't have a smartphone.
|
![]() |
![]() |
#14 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Newcastle, Tyne and Wear, UK.
Posts: 11,583
|
![]()
SWMBO actually owned the first metal-bodied IXUS I ever saw, and it was the 'original' digital IXUS which didn't even have a model number, just the name: IXUS. A beautiful, solid, precision-machined little thing. I think she still has it.
Following that I had an IXUS 430 and IXUS 500, and still now use an IXUS 750 built from the best parts of three such cameras. Its predecessor failed when the plastic gear on the focus motor split from the shaft to the outside edge, leaving the camera unable to focus. Annoying. Nick, I wish I had your luck in charity shops. All I ever see there are old Minolta and Konica film cameras, along with the odd Polaroid instant 'Land' camera, the ones where you had to develop the photo by warming it in your armpit. Buying a second hand compact digital, you never know whether the CCD sensor and lens gears are going to be full of sand from someone's beach holiday, and the batteries... I would always assume that, if greater than two years old, they will be in decline. I would automatically factor the price of a new, probably third-party battery into any such purchase. |
![]() |
![]() |
#15 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Worksop, Nottinghamshire, UK.
Posts: 5,554
|
![]()
Our local Aldi had them on sale at £59.99 today.
|
![]() |
![]() |
#16 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: W.Butterwick, near Doncaster UK.
Posts: 8,935
|
![]()
My Cannon EOS20D which I bought a couple of spare batteries for, still has it s original 14 year old one and holds the charge as when new.
__________________
G8JET BVWS Archivist and Member V.M.A.R.S |
![]() |
![]() |
#17 |
Moderator
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Fife, Scotland, UK.
Posts: 22,901
|
![]()
The idiot in the back of my head has just supplied the image of someone trapped in Aldi's entirely automated head office, making prices jump around in S-O-S Morse patterns trying to get someone to come and rescue them.
David
__________________
Can't afford the volcanic island yet, but the plans for my monorail and the goons' uniforms are done |
![]() |
![]() |
#18 | |
Dekatron
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Newcastle, Tyne and Wear, UK.
Posts: 11,583
|
![]() Quote:
But the established 'doctrine' is that Li-Ion batteries basically start dying from the moment they are manufactured, whether they are used or not. I normally find they keep their as-new performance for about two years, which coincidentally(?) is exactly how long they tend to be warrantied for, and then after that the charge time / running time usually gets gradually shorter and shorter. |
|
![]() |
![]() |
#19 |
Octode
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: West Midlands, UK.
Posts: 1,571
|
![]() |
![]() |