When is it OK to take something back to a store for a refund?

Well you have nothing to lose by giving it a go! Maybe be worth looking up what the act states about "unfit for purpose"

I would especially if assistant had advised on it. Would you want to swap it for another one which they have?

H bought a thingy from Currys so we could have Sky in the bedroom because the man told him it had a scart leads and it didn't. We managed to hook it up but it still didn't work so took it back and got a refund, did have the reciept though.

I'd take it back. He was mis-sold the item if they said it would work in low lighting but didn't.

Then again I am the person that was going to take some Braeburns back because they were supposed to be 'crunchy' and weren't. But before I could MrSun ate them lol!

?

Well, theres low light, and theres dark. no camera will work in dark conditions unless there is some light, and only then they really only do what theyre supposed to if you use them on full manual mode. what camera is it? and when you say "no pictures came out" what exactly do you mean? there must be something on the image, even if its a dark blur - unless of course it was so dark that the camera just thought sod this, i ll do what i can and thats that

I'd check the Argos t&c first.

However, in terms of "misselling", I'm surprised he got any advice from an Argos assistant other than reading what it said in the catalogue, so I probably wouldn't go on about that, maybe just say it doesn't work.

I think it would be different in a specialist camera shop.

Don't have the camera with me at the mo but it's a Hitatchi 10mp something...? Without looking at it I can't remember.

And it's just very blurry, very dark, can make out vague shapes but certainly no detail on them. Worked perfectly fine in daylight but that's no good if I can only take pictures before sunset? Plus the battery lasted 5 hours tops before giving up. I personally don't think that's acceptable.

Granted, it's only a point and press camera, but I don't think that's an excuse for a poor quality product.

I'd def consider using it as credit against a different purchase. I don't think H did a lot of research before buying it unfortunately, simply asked the sales assistant in the shop and took what he said as a given. But again, I don't think that's a good enough reason to accept a poor product.

I'm suprised too, but that's what he tells me ?

And I totally agree, had he got it from a specialist camera shop, I'd have no hesitation in taking it back for some advice/swop/refund. But because it's Argos, I'm not so sure of the rules.

Hubby buys all our point and shoot cameras from Argos, he makes sure he takes the extended warranty and then after 6 months or so if he is no longer happy with it he returns it for an exchange.

We recently did this and ended up with a Kodak camera, you know when they say the product might not be the same as listed in the catalogue? Well our new camera wasnt the same...it was the next model up, which was in the new catalogue..not yet released.

We later found out that we exchanged a £99 camera for a £250 camera!!!

We never have any problems with taking them back...Hubby just tells them the batteries dont last v long, which is normally the main problem anyway.

Ok, you have no grounds on which to take it back, none at all. its blurry because the cameras "brain" is leaving open the shutter for a long time to let light in. you cant hand hold it steady enough for say, 1-2 seconds for it to be sharp, so you get motion blur. this isnt the fault of the camera; cameras see images in gray. so when you push the button, it tries to turn everything an 18% shade of gray. in normal, even light, this is fine, but when the bulk of your frame is darkness, it will try to turn that darkness back to gray and thus overexpose the image, which means a long shutter time when on auto.

the only way around it is to shoot on manual. ie, you tell the camera what to do. at a gig for example, its mostly dark, but with flashing lights, coloured lights, spotlights, usually happening very quickly. you need to play around with manual settings, ie, put it on its highest ISO setting, using the widest shutter you can (eg f2.8), and a shutter speed of around a 60th, or fast enough to capture the action. if a 60th is not fast enough, then youre stuffed, and NO camera in the world can take sharp crips images (apart from pro cameras which reach very high isos, but even then there are limits due to camera and lenses)

so, in summary, you ve not been missold the camera at all. the reason the images came out like that is that you expected too much from the camera, it just cant do it.

btw, batteries on compacts dont last long esp with the live view mode working, you were lucky to get 5hrs tbh

I think you're right in that we expected too much from the camera... but when you've asked the question and been told "yes it can", you kinda expect it'll do those things... you know?

I think I'll give it a go in taking it back anyway. As someone earlier said, the battery life is pants anyway so enough of a reason for a return I think.

I posted the other day about SLR cameras which I believe would work much better in more complex locations?

I had to do this at a recent concert, the photos didnt come out that well but I put that down to the fact I only had 5x zoom.

Well, if the guy said it would work in the dark then you should take it back without question. but "low light" does not mean "dark in the main, but with the odd spotlight" ?

they may take it back anyway, but be warned, only pro cameras will yield good results in such poor light, and even then, only on manual. anything else just wont work. you need to develop a greater level of understanding about how cameras work, and their limitations before you buy another.

and i say again that a 5hr battery life on a compact isnt at all bad, esp if you have live view on all the time. you can more than triple the battery life if you turn it off a nd look through the viewfinder.

You added that 5hr battery bit to your last post after I'd posted a reply, which is why I hadn't replied to that bit. And I agree you need to research a camera first, but as this was a gift I didn't have that option.

I have been researching cameras since though... I'm gathering you know a fair bit? Is a Canon IXUS 980 IS any good? I'd ideally like to get myself an SLR camera but know nothing about them and don't really know what I'd need to look for anyway if I'm honest.

I do know a "fair bit" yes ?

nothing wrong with a canon ixus. a G10 is better though.

the best thing you could do before you buy another one is to get a book about how cameras work, and develop an understanding of shutter speed, aperture, depth of field, contrast, ISO speed. without a good knoledge of those things, and how a camera actually works, no camera is going to give you what you want, no matter how much money you spend. i have friends who ve won awards with images taken on 40 year old plastic cameras, tiny compacts and all manner of cameras. its not the camera that makes the shot. YOU make the shot, and to make a good shot, you have to have an understanding of how they work, and the limitations they have. NO camera is particularly clever, whether its an 80 quid compact, or a 20 grand hasselblad H3D.

Hubby has a SLR, a Samsung i think..but we still have a compact as the SLR is too big to take certain places....like concerts, lol

G10... off to google.

That's the thing.... a compact, although limited, is easier to use on nights out....... or concerts ?. So i want to go for the best one I can in a compact.

The SLR... I'd like to get for myself to take on day trips, family events, weddings... places where I'm not going to get drinks thrown over it by drunkeds ?. For this I think I'll probably do a lot more research into what's what, before I buy.

Tbh i d start with a decent compact, learn how to use it, and only then if you like it get a dslr. remember that at events such as weddings, a dslr is going to be a massive pain to have around. theyre heavy, large and cumbersome.

Cheers Nick, and everyone else for their comments. I'll take my current one back to Argos and see if there's anything they can do in the way of letting me put it towards another camera in the way of credit. Just googled the G10 and it looks like a good one actually. Cheers for the tip.

Was it the NKOTB concert btw? I saw them last night, the dance moves were the same as when I saw them years ago!!!!!!!!!!!

Certainly was! Saw them on 24th at the O2 arena. They were amazing!

Thanks for the rec. Happened to be reading H's Computer Shopper magazine last night actually and they had a review of the G10 camera that NickJ recommended. Said it didn't work that well in low light so I'm guessing I'll have the same problem again?

I think I might stick with the IXUS (as it's considerably cheaper than the G10), work out how to use it, and then in a year or two if I want to upgrade I can. I think the IXUS is going to be more than enough functionality for what I need it for anyway. At least for the time being.

Minx I have the Ixus 850 and I take all my gig shots with it. You need to twiddle with the ISO and turn the flash off, I've got some pretty cool shots with it. No good if you're stood right at the back though! I second what Nick says re learning how to use a camera and photography techniques before diving in to buy a DSLR.

Here's a link to my gig set on Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/flumpster/sets/72157610930459650/

Minx, it works fine in low light - its the top of the range canon compact. please pay attention - low light does not equal dark! yes, you get digital noise in low light at high ISOs but you get that on any compact. please learn more about it before buying another ?

no.camera.will.work.in.the.dark.

Or you could do what I did, which is to buy the most expensive, whizzy camera you can afford (D60 last year), be too scared to take it out of auto-settings and then beg various family members to buy you the 'Dummies' guide as a Christmas present ? I've never had a 'Dummies' guide before, and I feel proper fick now!

Minx, here is an explanation as to why a compact left on auto will not work well at a gig

say youre 15 rows back, so about 30 ish feet from the stage. the stage is mainly dark, but there are spotlights. you aim your camera at the lead singer and press the shutter. at the half press stage, the focus locks on to him (if he s standing in light, if its dark it wont) then when you press all the way the shutter opens, the flash fires, the shutter closes. the thing is, the camera thinks that the flash will illuminte him, thereby providing light to the camera chip which captures the image. remember that what the camera wants to see is light REFLECTED back from the singer, it is that which the chip captures. the camera thinks its clever, so it thinks that if it gives a big blast of flash, that ll do it, so it doesnt worry too much about its sutter speed (ie in the dark, the amount of light it lets in, because the duration of the flash is very fast, so it doesnt allow in any of the spotlight-light).

BUT, you are thirty feet away. your compact flash has the power of two small batteries. think about it - the light from the flash will not reach the singer. so, what happens? you get a black image, or only a tiny amount of light on it, and youre disappointed. this is not the fault of the camera, its your fault. you need to turn off your flash, put ISO to maximum, set the camera on its widest aperture (the smallest number) and play around with shutter speed until you reach a balance of speed high enough to freeze the action, but low enough to let in the right amount of light from the spotlights. too slow and its blurred, too fast and its too dark. once you understand the relationships between the settings, then you can play around. your ideal setting is the one which allows you to shoot on the lowest iso which can enable you to freeze the action, yet let in enough light.

get a book!

No need to be patronising Nick. You told me to research, that's what I've been doing. Every article so far I've come across on the G10 said it's poor in low lighting. And so far the Canon IXUS is coming out better in low lighting. And yes I realise low lighting is not "dark". I'm simply going on the articles wording.

You say "learn more", but surely reading up on different cameras is learning more? Not quite sure what you expect me to do. Read every single book on photography before I'm qualified to buy a camera? You can only go on advice from others (which I've been extremely grateful for, from yourself and others on this thread), coupled with your own choices.

I really appreciate your advice on this thread Nick, it's been unbelieveabley helpful so far. No need to be patronising though. I AM taking your comments on board but that doesn't mean I have to discount any other advice on the thread either.

I certainly dont mean to be patronising. i m trying to hammer the point home, thats all. and read my post at the bottom of the previous page.

camera reviews are going to teach you nothing about how cameras work. you just need one decent book or go on a course, or both

i suggested the g10 because its the flagship canon compact. its better than an ixus. its a "bridge" camera - ie, its a consumer camera, but its got professional features, probably the most useful one for you being the fact that you can see a live view of any changes you make to aperture and shutter settings when in manual mode.

I have a panasonic lumix p&s camera. I got the best results by turning it onto the sports setting, turning the ISO up to the highest setting and the flash off. I had this camera for about 18 months and only got a DSLR when I'd outgrown the p&s. I've not learned how to use my lens properly yet, so I am going to learn how to use my kit lens, and when I outgrow that, set about getting a different one.

Apologises as I'd posted that before I'd seen that post on the previous page. I do appreciate your comments and I will get a book at the weekend I promise. Just tossnig over ideas on here beforehand really. It's good to get several 'candiates' to research though. I guess I want to get a camera so i can learn alongside reading the book. I realise that's probably not the wisest way to do it though.

At the moment, I think I need to go into a specialist camera shop and have a play with the IXUS and the G10. I know you say the G10 is better (and I fully take that on board, I did ask for advice afterall) but I'd def like to try both out and have a play to see which one suits me better. I'm not discounting either yet.

Appreciate all comments x