Round Up: Get your next DSLR at...Home Depot?

Tag : Zinc Coated

With all of the odd camera news that's come floating across my deskin the last few days, it's felt a bit like "cameras in strangeplaces" week at DCR. Here are my podium picks from among the pileof news item this week that left me saying "what?".
Runner Up: Fuji launches yet another networking site for Z-camerausers
If you're a "Fujifan" who loves spending time at offzhook.com , you'll soon have another online location to connect with otherlike-minded Z20fd users. Fujfilm has launched the second socialnetworking website in support of its Finepix Z cameras: zspotnow.com .

I have no idea how Fuji's first such site has done in terms ofattracting visitors (clearly well enough to earn a sequel, thoughthe world of big-budget action movies teaches us that this can be apretty low bar to clear). But the company's repeated attempts tosynthesize hipster culture around the Z models still seems like anodd use of marketing resources to us.
Want to make some new friends? Apparently buying a Z20fd's the wayto do it. As before, the primary focus of the latest site appearsto be the promotion of events that have nothing to do with takingpictures (reminder: the purpose of a camera is, in fact, to takepictures).
Forgive me for sounding old-fashion, but social arrangementspredicated on the ownership of a particular camera strike me assomething from a bizarre alternate universe. If Fuji were buildingwebsites about how to take better pictures with your Z20fd, Iwouldn't get it a second thought, but advertising concerts andfashion shows targeted to FinePix owners? I don't get it.
For all its fresh tribal pattern backgrounds, the latest site feelsa lot like the old site: like something envisioned by people whouse verbs like "synergize" and "leverage." We thought the painfullyforced concept that was offzhook.com would lose momentum prettyquickly, but apparently here we go again.
Winner: Home Depot now selling digital cameras for no apparentreason
I'm not sure if this is a recent development, butNotebookReview.com editor and DCR regular Jerry Jackson stumbledour new favorite online digital camera retailer yesterday: The HomeDepot.

That's right – the home improvement giant is now sellingDSLRs and a handful of point-and-shoots alongside circular saws andnailguns in its online store. Again, it's not clear if this is anew development, but it's the first time Home Depot has popped upin our online pricing searches.
In Home Depot's defense, they also sell a range of morehome-focused (naturally...) electronics on the web, and I'm surethat moving into the lucrative camera market seemed like thelogical outgrowth of this business.
But you have to admit that the potential shopping lists that couldbe built from this inventory decision have the potential to bepretty bizarre: one (1) Makita belt sander; one (1) large box,1.5-inch zinc coated self-tapping screws; one (1) Nikon D300 . As they say on Sesame Street, one (1) of these things is not likethe others.
In truth, Home Depot's not exactly plying uncharted waters here.The "we sell it all" retailers – Wal-Mart, Target, and thelike – infringed on the territory of home improvement storesfirst by branching out into power tools. The decision to offerconsumer electronics at the same place you buy your lumber isreally nothing more than retaliation in kind.
Look for integrated cellphone-style cameras coming to a cordlessdrill near you in the near term...