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Canon Day 2011

It’s time once again for Canon Days here at Roberts. If you haven’t checked, we have a bunch of highlighted products in the promos section over on our site (including a special starter accessory kit for just $99.97 with any Canon DSLR purchase).

But, if that’s not enough for you, and you can make it out to Indy or Carmel this Saturday, Nov 19th, you’ll find we have even more in store (get it? in store? oh, I slay me…) In both our brick-and-mortar stores this Saturday you’ll be able to meet the Canon reps, try all the cool toys, ask questions, get answers, and enter a few special promotional giveaways for prizes like a free PowerShot ELPH 300 HS (both stores), or a photo contest to win a Galaxy Tab Android tablet (made possible thanks to Canon’s new PIXMA Pro 1 inkjet printer, Carmel store only).

So, make sure to schedule some time this weekend to come out and see us, if you can. The festivities will happen from 10am-3pm at both stores here in Indiana. How about it? You going to come out and see us?

Are you coming out for Canon Day 2011?

  • You betcha! (73%, 8 Votes)
  • But... I don't shoot Canon! (27%, 3 Votes)
  • Sadly, I can't make it. (0%, 0 Votes)
  • I don't live close enough and wish the website had more specials instead. (0%, 0 Votes)
total voters: 11
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Roberts Online Photo Lab Now Powered By Life Pics

So, perhaps you’ve already noticed, but recently our Online Photo Lab switched service providers. Our online uploader and album service is now provided through a lovely company called Life Pics. Ddon’t worry, as always all the photos are printed by us, but thanks to a partnership with Life Pics we can offer you even more things, more on that in a bit.

So, this new service has a lot of exciting new things to offer, and a few nice changes in addition. How about a quick overview?

  1. Not Silverlight. It’s not that Microsoft’s Silverlight technology is bad, per se, but it’s still a new technology and very much a Windows-oriented one. Our new uploader and management system is powered by Java, which is much more universal, and means that Mac and Linux users should now get the same experience as everyone else.
  2. Apps. This is truly the age of apps, and we’re ready for you. Life Pics has apps for both iPhone and Android where you can log into your account, manage and add and share pictures, and order prints from us without ever booting up a computer. Prefer a computer? They provide plug-ins for Picasa, Lightroom, Kodak EasyShare, and Microsoft Photo Gallery (in Vista/7). Upload pictures direct to your account and order prints without having to leave your favorite photo manager. You can check out all those apps here: http://www.lifepics.com/apps/
  3. More Printable Things. Sure, pictures are excellent. They’re flat and easy to store. But, sometimes what you really need is a mug. Or a mousepad. Or a dog food bowl. Or a keychain. Or a gift bag. Or lots of things. We can now make that happen for you, and you’ll find there’s not a whole lot we can’t get your photos printed onto for you. There’s so many, in fact, we’ll just point you here to see them all: http://robertsimaging.lifepics.com/net/Gifts/
  4. Multiple Upload Speeds. Only ever intend to print 4x6s and don’t want to wait a jillion years while your full-size pictures upload? Our new system offers three upload speeds, and what sizes they’re good for, so you don’t have to wait around forever to get printing.
  5. Picture Editing. Picture need rotated? Cropped maybe? No worries, you can do all that once uploaded. You can also remove red eye, adjust gamma, brightness, contrast, saturation, hue, or even make it black-and-white or sepia toned. All online, no software needed.

So, as you can see, we’re still working hard to be the best online lab you can come to, and we hope you’ll all find our new system much more friendly and feature-packed. I believe the lab dudes mentioned that your accounts have been moved over (mine was) for you, so you should be able to just keep moving along. Just in case anything’s missing, we’re running the old service still until October 1st (and you can find that here).

Haven’t tried our lab before? Now’s a good time to start. Just hit the link below to get started.



Don’t Forget Our North Store’s Grand Opening!

Quick reminder everybody: our north store is celebrating it’s grand opening tomorrow and Saturday. That’d be August 6th and 7th, for those in THE FUTURE reading this in the archives (ha! you missed it!). For those of you reading it live, in the present, we hope to see you tomorrow or Saturday. It’s being catered by MBP Catering, and there’ll be prizes. We mentioned those before, yeah?

So, don’t forget to swing out and see us. What’s that? You need the address? Why, sure!

Roberts North Store
12761 Old Meridian
Carmel, IN 46032
317-818-9800

Alright, so, you got the address, you know we’re giving away free things (including one of those hot Kodak Zi8 Pocket Camcorders we’ve been talking about, and a Nikon D3000 kit), so, there’s no reason for us to not see you there, right?



Roberts’ New North Store Grand Opening

You still got your calendars marked for August 6th and 7th to come see us in Carmel, Indiana for the grand opening of our new north store? Good! Great, even! Perhaps, dare we say (dare! dare!)… fabulous?

Wait, you didn’t mark your calendar? Tch. That’ll never do. Let’s see if we can motivate you to do so. Did we mention there’ll be prizes? You know, nifty things for free?

Ah, I see you perking up now. So, let’s see what’s in the bag, yes?

Nikon D3000 with 18-55mm VR

GRAND PRIZES:

Nikon D3000 with 18-55mm VR
Canon SX120 IS

DOOR PRIZES:

AUGUST 6
  • 12pm • TAMRAC Zip Shot Tripod
  • 2pm • KODAK Zi8 Video Camera
  • 4pm • WESTCOTT 417 Green Screen Kit
  • 6pm • SLIK 700DX Tripod
  • 7pm •  TOKINA 35mm Macro Lens

Kodak Zi8 Pocket Camcorder

AUGUST 7

  • 12pm • TAMRON 70-300mm Zoom Lens
  • 2pm • CANON PowerShot SD1300 IS Digital Camera
  • 4pm • LOWEPRO Pro Runner 400AW Back Pack
  • 6pm • TAMRAC Evolution 6 Back Pack
  • 7pm •  CANON PowerShot SX210 IS

Now are you marking your calendar? We bet you are, and we look forward to celebrating this momentous occasion in our company’s history with the people who matter most: you all.



New Carmel Store: Grand Opening August 6 – 7

Hey everyone! Roberts wants to welcome you all to the grand opening of our gorgeous new store in Carmel. What’ll be going on, you may ask? Well, we’ll have more details about all the festivities in the weeks to come (just keep your eyes peeled for posts adorned with that good-looking logo up there), but for now, why not just go ahead and pencil that into your calendar. And, if you haven’t been out to it yet, take a look at our new building in the gallery below.



Indianapolis Business Journal (IBJ) Luffles on Roberts

ibj IBJ (The Indianapolis Business Journal) recently published an article about us kooky kids over at Roberts, since we’re getting to work on opening a new store in Carmel (a ‘burb town to the north of Indy). It was actually pretty good, we dug up the link here: http://www.ibj.com/camera-retailer-roberts-adjusts-to-the-times-plans-new-store/PARAMS/article/7388

What, you want a highlight? Fine, how about this quote from industry professional Gary Pageau?

“Best Buy can carry some basics, but not everything,” Pageau said. “The most successful small retailers have been the ones that have the finger on the pulse of the local market and have adapted to that. Some stores are getting into the portrait or rental market, serving professional customers or the mom market.”

Now shoo, you’ve got an article to read, don’t ya?



What do you want your camera to do?

What do you want your camera to do?

I’ve asked this question thousands of times. The answers back are interesting as are the answerers. Some people know exactly what the want when they come into a camera shop, some act as if mystical forces drew them in and they are unwitting participants in the experience.

My least favorite answer to that question is the one most often replied. “Take pictures.”

Usually the answerer is not being intentionally obtuse, they just want guidance, and information and don’t know the options or how to express their needs.. The next few questions the salesperson asks are supposed to narrow down the buyers desires, and intentions. “What do you like to take pictures of?” or “Do you have kids or pets?” “Do they play sports?” “Do you already have (or, did you have) a camera?” Is this your first camera?” Your first digital camera?

I’m reminded of an old joke.

A man walks into a Doctor’s office and says, “Somethings wrong with me Doc. I hurt all over.”The Doctor asks a few questions to narrow down the information, but the patient doesn’t know what may have happened to him. Eventually the patient demonstrates by touching his forehead and immediately grimaces in pain, then he touches his knee to the same results, then his chest again the terrible pain. “The Doctor says that’s enough I know how to treat you.” “Whats wrong with me Doc?” says the patient. The Doctor answers, “You have a broken finger.”

The process of narrowing down a persons needs versus their preconceptions can be an enlightening experience for both seller and buyer. Because we listen and have experience here at Roberts they almost always leave with the camera that best suits their needs. If you are new to the process remember the we offer a free class with nearly every camera we sell.

Remember, if it hurts to push your shutter button you may have a broken finger.



Caught In The Act!

You can’t hide what you’ve been doing. It’s not a secret, everybody knows. You can try to fix it in photo-shop, you can deny it, or you can try to just live with it. But your friends know. Your family knows too. You’ve been taking dirty pictures with your digital SLR! Well stop it. Nobody wants to see your dirty pictures, and you know it. Clean up your act. It only takes a few tools to get those pesky spots off your sensor. Here at Roberts we have at least nine different brands of sensor spot removal products to help get rid of your dirty little problem. We have illuminated sensor scopes from Visible Dust and Delkin Devices to spotlight those nasty image irritations. We’ve got Arctic Butterfly brushes, swabs paddles and solutions from Visual Dust, Photographic Solutions Inc, Dust-Aid, and Green Clean. We’ve also got vacuums and air blowers from Delkin Devices and Green Clean and Visible Dust. We’ve got speck grabbers from Lens Pen and kinetronics. Trust me you don’t have to live with your dirty problem. We’ve got you covered. A reasonable self help kit would include swabs, solutions and an squeeze air pump at around $75 dollars. The sensor scopes to light your little inner-camera world go for around $90 to $100. Arctic Butterfly brushes are also around the $100 mark.

Tools of the Sensor Cleaning Trade

Tools of the Sensor Cleaning Trade

If you won’t do something about it I will. If you are afraid to do it yourself bring the camera to Roberts and I will clean your sensor for you. It’s that simple if you won’t help yourself we can, so don’t sit there with your dirty pictures trying to explain yourself to your friends. Get help or help yourself. A basic sensor cleaning at Roberts Imaging is only $35.00, if your stuff is really nasty, if I have to go in with solvents and “smear away” and spend a lot of time then it goes to $75.00.



Changes

Well I can’t be the first to tell you that the Roberts Blog has changed. But I can be the third.

These changes should be seamless to the intrepid reader. There should be no drop in the quality of information dispersed from any of your bloggers, and there are new contributors. It should be fun, educational and informative as always. So continue to drop by and read our wits and quips and find out about your favorite manufactures, accessories and the events hosted by both Roberts Distributors local stores.

I will be posting the new Sony Cybershot entries that have been arriving all week in my subsequent posts. So hurry back.



Black Friday Deals!

The unofficial kickoff to the holiday selling season is coming up this Friday.  We have some really cool stuff in our Thursday Thanksgiving ad.  Check it out in the Indianapolis Star this week.  We have a very popular digital camera brand in an 8 MP, 3x optical zoom, 3 inch screen, for under $99!  Need a GPS unit?  We have a killer deal on those too.  Digital camera accessories will be on special.  Need SD memory cards or CF cards?  We will have them at the lowest prices that I have ever seen.  8GB cards will be under $39, and they will be a big name brand.  So check out the Roberts Imaging add this week.  The deals are here!  Come in and see us on Friday!




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