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Meta What is on topic for gear recommendations?

I'm a moderator for Hardware Recommendations on SE, so I have some experience (and some strong opinions...) on this one. Let's go through your suggestions. Where can I buy this particular camera?...

posted 4y ago by ArtOfCode‭

Answer
#1: Initial revision by user avatar ArtOfCode‭ · 2020-05-12T11:33:27Z (over 4 years ago)
I'm a moderator for Hardware Recommendations on SE, so I have some experience (and some strong opinions...) on this one. Let's go through your suggestions.

1. **Where can I buy this particular camera?**  
   **Off-topic**. The only valid answer to this can be "Google it". It's on sale at X shop or on Y website on one day, but when someone else has the same question a month later, it will have changed; unless we want the same question to be asked again two months later and have a new version of every one of these questions every month or two... this is off-topic.

2. **Is this particular model a good camera?**  
   **Off-topic** as stated. The only answer to this _as stated_ is "almost certainly yes". There are lots of good cameras and few bad cameras; what this is really wanting to ask is "is this a good camera _for me_?", for which we need more information. See 6.

3. **Is this camera at this price a good deal?**  
   **Off-topic**. The answer to this is "do your market research". If you can't find it cheaper, it probably is, or it's very new and you should wait a few months for the price to drop. Might be worth having a canonical/FAQ on these lines, though.

4. **Is this camera selling company reputable or am I going to end up being scammed?**  
   Ambivalent, but maybe a tentative **on-topic**? This isn't something that'd work on SE, but perhaps sharing personal experience of companies like this could work here.

5. **Should I buy camera X or camera Y?**  
   **Off-topic**. See 2; see 6. This is way too subject to fanboyism as-is: we need more information about what you want a camera for, what you're going to do with it, and how much you want to pay.

6. **These are the features I am looking for and this is my budget, can you recommend a camera for me?**  
   **On-topic**. These are the unicorn questions that we should be looking for; the more details, the better. When a question is qualified like this, it becomes easy for those acquainted with the world of cameras to look through the catalogues and figure out what matches.

7. **I am selling this type of camera, how much is it worth and where should I sell it?**  
   **Off-topic**. See 3: "do your market research". Likewise, probably worth having an FAQ on "how do I sell a camera", though.