Camera
 

Is there a camera store in TV? Not Best Buy or any of the big box stores, I'm a beginner and I need to buy one from someone that can truly tell me exactly what I need for the photos I'll be taking.

Google is your friend.

LMGTFY - Let Me Google That For You (Hint: there are none locally)


Yelp is your buddy:

10 Top Best Camera Store in The Villages, FL - Yelp (Hint: seems there might be some in Orlando)


Best bet is to join a photo club either here or online. Since so few actual "amateur" cameras are sold these days because of cell phones you won't find many stores anymore. Best in the country if you are in NYC or want to buy online is B and H Photo and Electronics. Edited to add: The "old fashioned" camera stores have pretty much gone the way of local video stores and local book stores thanks to big box stores and "The Internet." Users at camera/ photo clubs would be your BEST point of contact then buy online. I remember many trips into NYC buying, selling and upgrading various cameras I owned. Today, my iPhone 13 Pro Max takes photos as good or better than most consumer cameras and photo editing software is better than ever and yes, you can add high quality external lenses to them as well. My uncle was a profession photog and he really got me into it when I was a kid. He always said "it's not the camera, it's the person behind it."

I did use my friend Google as I always do and yep, Orlando is it. I was hoping there was a obscure little shop somewhere within our area that isn't into the internet that someone on here would know about. I have a 13 which is part of the problem, it takes great photos but is not compatible with my computer and to get my computer up-graded I would have to go without it for a week which I cannot do therefore a decent quality camera with a SD card should do the trick, I looked at Lightning SD card readers but they apparently don't work on 13's.. I also used my friend Google to get camera reviews but not sure if I trust what I read but will most likely take their advice, order one and keep my fingers crossed..

How is your computer "not compatible with your iPhone 13" ? Is it 10+ yers old? What the heck would they have to do with it that would take a week even if it was not compatible to upgrade it? Why would you need a lightening SD card reader? Just connect your iPhone to your PC by USB and move the files r through iTunes. There are multitudes of other ways (iCloud, 3rd party software, wifi, USB, etc) to move files from/to your phone without the need for an SD card.

Check out this article for a possibility: Transfer photos and videos from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support

This guy gives honest and in depth reviews of a multitude of camera types, lenses, uses etc...

Ken Rockwell's Camera and Lens Reviews

Most old time camera stores have been put out of business by mail order. People buy a camera mail order and expect, no demand the camera store shows them how to use it.
An SD card. There is an inexpensive item called a card reader that hooks to your computer so you do not need to use your camera and batteries to input images into your computer. The big box stores. It is catch and catch can. Some of their personnel know and others are winging it. As far as what you read, often you do not know who is on that video. It can be a person who works for the company who is selling the product.
I would look at several different videos and compare what is said.

"I have a 13," not sure what you are saying 13 megapixels? Read the instructions with the camera, surely you can turn down the number of pixels and your images will load and transmit faster as well as store more images on the same size memory card.

Top notch site. Rockwell's been around since just before the "turn of the century." :)

iPhone 13.

Majority just use their IPhone, you can even get telephoto lens for you’re IPhone. I am surprised they are still making camera’s for novices?

I often just email my iPhone 13 photos to myself and then just save the attached photos to my PC.

There was a great old "mom and pop" camera store in my town in Upstate NY. Literally they were a mom and a pop. He sold Nikons for decades. One day he saw a model he handled, for sale at Walmart for less than Nikon charged him.
He called Nikon up and explained the situation. Nikon's reply was something along the lines of "Well, you by 5 a year, they by 50,000." My numbers are just made up in my head, but you get the idea.

I have read a lot of his stuff, even contributed a couple of nickels along the way. One wonderful nugget I got from him was something to the effect of "The best camera for your outing is the one you are willing to bring along with you that day. If you don't want to carry the Nikon, bring the 'point and shoot'. You never know what you'll come across."
This was before smartphones took such nice pictures.
More than once I got a shot with my old "point and shoot", or more recently my iPhone, that I would have missed otherwise, because I did not want to be encumbered with my heavy SLR.

What kind of photos will you be taking? Maybe if you told us how you will be using the camera we could offer advice.

kathy

It is 10 years old, I called two computer companies here in TV one told me 7/10 days and the other one week to upgrade it. I cannot use the USB hookup, that is what does not work on the iPhone 13, I spent over 4 hours talking with both Sprint and Apple trying to get it set up including iCloud and they could not do it. I wouldn't be wasting my time here if I could simply use my 13 and the USB.

I never mentioned megapixels, I have a new Apple iPhone 13 and it does not work with my computer or with card readers either, in my opinion its is a POS compared to the earlier Apple phones that I have had.

I will be taking still photos only of various collectible items all indoors and that is all it will be used for.

I love my iPhone 13 Pro Max.

connect iphone 13 pro max to pc - Google Search

I am no photographer, but when I packed up fly fishing I sold a lot of expensive equipment online.
I had an i-phone 6. and the picture quality was very good.
If you take the time to light the subject well and arrange article well, any modern cell camera will suffice.
No need for any posh cameras.
Practice makes perfect.
JMTC.

Don’t try to update your obsolete computer. Just buy a new Apple lap top computer. You can set the two of them to automatically sync, so the photos you take with your iPhone transfer to your lap top the next time they are both attached by WiFi. Also, don’t forget to delete all the photos on your phone that aren’t excellent. Keep only the very best.

You should turn to YouTube. Search the type of photos you wish to take and the best camera option. I’m sure you will find many videos on the subject. They will even teach you how to set the camera up and how to take proper photos.

I’m a licensed realtor and just purchased a Used body and lens from KEH. I watched several videos from different content creators about what I was looking for and found the perfect camera for me at a fraction of the cost.

Best of luck

The best advice was to join a camera club. The Villages Photography Club is a great way to start. Smart, patient, helpful people. If you are serious about photography, a cell phone won’t cut It for many situations. I’d be happy to help you as much as I can and point you in the right direction when I don’t know the answer. There are thousands of options out there. Your budget will narrow those choices.

Online store with tutorials and you can call for consulting.
 

Below is the link to the world famous B&H Photo in NYC. They have everything for photography and other media as well…even a used equipment page. Their tutorials are very informative. Each of their sales people are trained so well they are near experts on the specific device they sell.

I find them to be thorough and honest. Their return policy is great.

I hope you find what you are looking for. Good Luck

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I would suggest you find a Photography club and join. They can more than likely help you the most.Camera investment can be expensive and is long term. Canon & Nikon two of the largest and best on the market. Prices ranging for DSLR's from a several hundred to several thousand and lenses over a huge dollar span. One manufactures lenses are not compatable with the others. Important to know where you want to go in photography. Good Luck.

iPhone 13- USB to computer method
 

Does this help?
iPhone 13's: How to Transfer Photos & Videos to Windows Computer / Laptop via Cable (No iTunes) - YouTube

Why don’t you get in touch with somebody in the photo clubs

Give Flickr, Amazon Photos, Google Drive, or Google Photos to backup your photos to the cloud to get photos off your phone. Any of those could be installed on your iPhone. Then the browser on your Mac can be used to download your photos to your computer.

I assume you might be using a very old Mac but can't get iCloud to work. Unfortunately, Apple doesn't make it easy to use an old computer.

Local camera store
 

The only local camera store is in Orlando. Colonial Camera & Hobby on Colonial Drive.

The folks in B and H Photo in NYC are very knowledgeable and honest and will not oversell you . It is a fun store to visit but you can also purchase online or by phone

Try using the Simple Transfer app and website. You can transfer your photos from iPhone to PC and then save, edit,etc at will. It is excellent!
Http://simpletransfer.app/desktop for the free app on your PC. You can purchase the app for your phone at the App Store.

We are presently taking a great DSLR 101 class through the Enrichment Academy. The class of 12 all have different cameras, the point being the best camera is the one you know how to use. A great deal also has to do with the lenses. We have a Canon EOS Rebel T7 - it is an entry level camera and we love it! The best camera store in the world is B&H in Manhattan. They sell everything online at the best prices. Perhaps they do phone consultations? Our instructor from the Enrichment Academy also does personal 1:1 consultations for $65 for 90 minutes which might be valuable to you. He is a Villager. Check out swedephoto.com

No, none in or near The Villages. Closest good store is Colonial Camera in Orlando.

The best way to get some good advice is to attend a meeting or two of The Villages Photography Club. Second and fourth Wednesdays of each month, noon, at Rohan Rec Center. Just ask at the check-in desk at the back of the room and I’m quite sure you’ll be directed to an experienced member who will be glad to help you.

Be sure to have a pretty good idea of your budget, your computer literacy, and the types of pictures you want to take. There are dozens of good cameras at every price point, all available at the big box stores or Amazon. You may already own the most popular camera in the world—your cell phone. The more recent cell phones, either iPhones or Android, have terrific built-in cameras, every bit as capable and full-featured as almost all the entry-level cameras you might consider.

You said you have an iPhone 13. It has a great built-in camera, better than most you might pay $200 for. Call Apple Support and they’ll help you out with getting your phone and computer to communicate. They won’t be of help if you don’t have an Apple computer though. But if yours is of an age that it needs to be replaced, I’d suggest that you upgrade to a new MacBook with their new M1 chip. They are quite attractively priced right now (Black Friday coming up) and will pair and synch with your new phone beautifully.

If you’re ready to upgrade your computer, Best Buy is a perfectly good place to both get advice and buy.

Your best bet is Colonial photo and Hobby in Orlando. They were in business in the 60's when I lived in Orlando and there still there. Have fun!

Thank you. When I received my 13 the first thing I tried was to transfer some photos and it did not work. I called Apple support and spent 2 hours on the phone with them trying various things that they kept suggesting, at the end they asked for the operating system and it's a OSX 10.9.5, they looked it up and said that the phone is not compatible with it and they can no longer download updates to the computer, that's right from the horses mouth. I work right across the street from a long time computer store and he can upgrade it for under $200.00 but needs the computer for one week explaining that he cannot spend one entire day on it so he breaks it down into a little a day. As of today I contacted 4 companies and they are all out as far as 4 weeks. Since my desktop has no other problems I'm not going to replace it, I'll get in touch with one of the camera stores mentioned here and order whatever they feel will work best for me. Thanks for all of the advice.

No.

If you want a true camera shop Orlando has a few. As a professional photographer I use a couple of places online and you can always call and talk to someone knowledgeable.

Samy's Camera, they're based in CA mostly in LA area. I've spent probably close to $100,000 there and they're my go to. Samy's Camera (800)321-4726.

I also use B&H Photo Video out of NYC. Also great helpful stuff and I've spent some serious money there as well. There is one quirk with them, they are Orthodox Jews and the store is closed on Saturday's and Jewish Holidays and some days their hours may be limited. B&H Photo Sales: (800)606-6969 or (212) 444-6615. Customer Service: (800)221-5743 or (212)239-7765.

Both will treat you well, answer your questions and get you your order ASAP.

Good luck

Websites
 

Here are two excellent websites. The first being the best for equipment reviews and updates. The second more technical.

Dpreview

Luminous Landscape.

No offense but your computer is an antique. You are going to find more and more apps that won't run on it. You won't be able to get security updates for it. It is also probably dog slow compared to modern devices. Personally, I would NEVER spend $$$ to upgrade such an old computer. I would buy a new entry-level laptop before I would buy a new camera and then spend time trying to learn how to use it, especially if I already had an iPhone 13 which takes such wonderful pictures.

Good luck, whatever you decide.

k.

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B&H in NYC is a good place to buy online. Their experts will help you zero in a camera. The have recently added a video chat service you can use to talk to their experts.

Their experts a quite knowledge. No one at B&H gets a commission on a sale.

Over the last 20 years I've had good service, help in selection, and making returns... even for things that were way beyond the return period.., from B&H


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As said, no offense intended, but this is the right answer. Your iPhone 13 is a fantastic camera and the least expensive MacBook or Mac mini that you should be able to pick up at Best Buy will solve your problem and position you well for many years.

Get a new Mac
 

If you are using an Apple computer, I agree with the other responses that suggest getting a new Mac instead of a camera. Your iPhone 13 is capable of taking great photos, and should work seamlessly with more recent Macs. I am typing this on a 2013 model MacBook Pro, and it works fine, however it won't support the latest OSX Monterrey. There are several Mac models available, starting with the Mac Mini at $699. I have no association with Apple, other than being a satisfied user for many years. I think your money would be better spent on a new computer than a camera. I don't know if this site allows private messages, but if you want to contact me, I think I could offer some valuable advice. Good luck.