2006 promises to be a landmark year for digital photography. It is the year of the DSLR, affordable external storage, cheap memory, inexpensive computers, tons of other great deals.

Before you go shopping though, here are a few tips and suggestions that may point you in the right direction.

SHOPPING FOR A NEW CAMERA:

It is important to get a great deal, but make sure that you don't let price alone be your guide. There are many bad deals out there that may look too appealing to pass up. Here's what to watch out for:

Gray Market Merchandise -

Gray Market refers to a method that retailers use to sell you a popular camera, lens or other device at a price that is too good to be true.

Typically Gray Market cameras are shipped over seas or in bulk without warranties, retail packaging and in many cases manuals and accessories. Often the price of gray market cameras is as much as 50 percent less than the retail version.

While the camera is usually identical in quality to the retail version, the lack of warranty, manuals and accessories must be taken into account. The device may last many years without any problems or it may die tomorrow. The gamble is up to you.

Extended Warranty Trickery -

Sometimes the camera will be the full retail version with full warranty, accessories and manuals, but it will still be advertised at a price 50 percent lower. Be very careful here, especially if you are on a schedule.

Many camera retailers will let you order a $900 camera for $400 on their website or over the phone. Then, a few days later, they will call to confirm your order. Typically this call takes place a few days after you thought the item was being shipped. They are hoping that you are anxious to get the camera.

During the confirmation call they will often apologize for the delay and tell you that they will be refunding your shipping. They may even promote the shipping as to make you think it will be there even sooner. Then they ask if you want to buy the $500 extended warranty that covers "everything."

Do some math at this point and realize that the price of the extended warranty is essentially the difference in the price of the camera.

If you say you aren't interested in the warranty, they will try to sell over priced batteries and accessories. If you still say no, they will often discover that the camera is out of stock until after the holiday or they won't have any more in for three months.

Finding a Legitimate Deal -

Use a site like PriceGrabber [1] or ShopZilla [2] to find a good price that includes the shipping cost. These sites also post reviews of the various merchants so you can gauge the seller's reputation.

Contact the seller and don't be afraid to ask questions like, "Is this the full USA retail version of this camera?" or "Does this come with the full manufacturer warranty, battery, charger, manuals, etc?"

You can use sites like DPReview [3] to see what should come in the retail box.

If buying on the web, the seller should have a toll free phone number that is easy to find if you have questions, call that number and make sure that they are in stock before you place an order.

Make sure that you can calculate the shipping costs prior to entering your credit card number.

Test the support line by calling and saying that your package hasn't arrived yet. No, you haven't ordered it yet, but doing this will help you find out how helpful the folks are on the other end.

Now that you know how to go shopping, here are a few items that I think would make great gifts this year.

LET'S GO SHOPPING:

[4]	Rating: asin: B000I1ZWRC binding: Electronics list price: $1,400.00 USD amazon price: $784.94	[5]	rating: asin: B000IF4TPY binding: Electronics list price: $299.99 USD amazon price: $299.99 USD
[6]	rating: asin: B000HAOVC6 binding: Electronics list price: $299.99 USD amazon price:   $222.99	[7]	rating: asin: B000FXT90E binding: Misc. amazon price: $21.95 USD
[8]	rating: asin: B000HGIWN4 binding: Electronics list price: $1,299.99 USD amazon price: $1,279.79 USD	[9]	rating: asin: B000FVXY2U binding: Electronics list price: $9.99 USD amazon price: $1.99 USD
[10]	rating: asin: B000EMWBV0 binding: Electronics list price: $399.99 USD amazon price: $489.95 USD	[11]	rating: asin: B000JE7YW4 binding: Electronics list price: $1,199.95 USD amazon price: $1,299.89 USD
[12]	rating: asin: B000AQOD2U binding: Electronics list price: $185.00 USD amazon price: $151.00 USD

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