Harry0 Loc: Gardena, Cal

This may be the wrong place - but it's close.
Most of us won't fall for this- but some well meaning friends and relatives might.
I (and nearby others) are being hit with ads for cameras maaybe too good to be true. They are.
I was curious, so I Googled. "16" and "20" megapixel cameras are really 5mp. Interpolated. A "24mp" camera was really 8mp. . Another "12 mp" camera, advertised as a "3 inch pro" (?) said it was an interpolated 5mp in the fine print. All nice looking compact cameras; one, with a little Sharpie help, might pass for a P900 at @ 10 feet.
I have a half dozen ads, varying @ $100 range for a "Andoer 4K 1080P 48MP WiFi" video camera- Amazon and Ali say it's 13mp, interpolated. Tho quite a few people like it for bright outdoor shots of slow moving objects. I've seen them sold in convention halls- with the light equiv of 3 Suns, stationary exhibits and slow/stopped people they kinda looked pretty good. Sorta.
There's a "stabilizer"- basically a stick with a 1/4-20 bolt. The "220 to 440 Zoom lens" which is just that little screw on adapter on the end of the large lens assembly on the camera in the ad- big lens hood shown not included. Last year Secret Santa bestowed upon me a "flash modifier" kit- a stretchy piece of velcro strip and what looks like 7 textured colored gel samples. The year before- a loose-fitting shedding-frog-skin camo-colored water-resistant flabby camera body cover.
*sigh* Be careful out there.

leftj Loc: Texas

Is this a joke?

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

Yes I have seen this stuff before.

lsaguy Loc: Udall, KS, USA

Caveat Emptor. Truer words....

george19

My first rule is to only buy what I want to buy. That means taking the time to do the research. If someone is hawking something too good to be true, it isn’t.

Some guy was walking down the street selling vacuum cleaners...started out at $3000 (yes, I could get a new D850 for that, and would be pretty sure it wouldn’t suck, on several levels), and by the time we tossed him out the price was down to 750. My internet search also showed 750...but I didn’t want a vacuum cleaner, and ALL trust was lost.

Harry0 Loc: Gardena, Cal

Umm, no. This is all real. This all comes up in various conversations.
It's Christmas. Fingerhut, Tomtop, Aliexpress, Wish, etc are after our folk. And their money.
Many people mean well, don't want to ask, and get angry (sometimes at us) for their ignorance.
There's 3 of us in the family into cameras *and* computers- why not talk to us first?
I've looked up many of these ads- AMAZING the misleading going on.
It's Christmas. "Wanna tripod?" NO! "Wanna flash?" NO! "Wanna lens?" NO! "Waduya want?"
~Get me a bucket of flash drives- I keep buying, filling, and handing them out.

"All you got is Nikons? Why the expensive stuff?"
~Except for my MF rigs, yeah almost all Nikon. Cheap disposable crap gets expensive quick.
"I have a new Karue DC-XJ05- that's a better deal!"
She never prints- all her snaps go directly to Facebook and friends' fones. Shot and forgot.
"My 5yr old fone has a camera, and it takes good pics. See!"
~Yeah, it looks kinda good at that size. Go get an 8x10 made and show it to me.
Thanksgiving a family member (Niece's husband's bro-in-law) shows up with a "Andoer Sportscam". Looks kinda GoPro. Brand new and he's proud of it. He doesn't know how to use it.
A "well meaning" relative tried to sell me a lens, with the red yard sale "$10" sticker on it, wanted $25. ?!?! I think it may be an old Minolta, it don't fit my camera, I ain't interested. Sadness.

*sigh* By definition, at least half the population is at or below average. We can't fix that.
We can help, advise, warn- and sometimes just walk away.

aellman Loc: Boston MA

Well said. Any camera with a brand name you don't recognize (or no brand name at all)
is a dead giveaway as a bogus product.

Harry0 Loc: Gardena, Cal

Actually, I wasn't ranting about "us" specifically. It was yet another /friend/neighbor/relative getting annoyed that I didn't bother to contact him telepathically to advise him on his future decisions.
A cousin who bought a nice shiny Mac laptop- a pretty G3 Wallstreet Powerbook. *sigh* I have nothing.
A niece with a new camera for Xmas. Mr Google and I determine that yes this is another "16mp" camera interpolated from a 5mp sensor. "Alibaba!" I have no idea what the instructions say- maybe it's Chinese?
Lastly, a friend who "won" a MacPro from an ebay "estate" auction. "Hey! It's like one of yours!" Single slot- yeah no it's not. Open the side door- it's a G4. It's missing the whole optical bay- drive and box. Missing the hard drives and sleds. Missing the memory. Ooh- missing the fans and power supply. That's a clue- whatever is left ain't gonna be right. "Suggestions?" Yeah- look up "thelaserhive". Get more money.
That's so far just this month.