Buying a camera in Italy

Dean, Hopefully Ron In Rome will spot this post, as he'd be the best source of information on the subject. One possibility you could try is to visit the shopping mall underneath Roma Termini station. There are a lot of different shops there, so I suspect that may include a photo store. You could also try Fotoforniture Guido Sabatini, which is located at Via Germanico, 168/A – 00192, TEL. 06.3207278 – FAX. 06.3212304, Open Monday-Friday 9.00-13.00 / 15.00-19.00 and Saturday 9.00-13:00. Closest Metro stop appears to be Ottaviano San Pietro - Musei Vaticani. I can very much relate to your situation, as I experienced something similar on my last visit to Athens. Unfortunately, that involved an expensive DSLR but I did end up buying another Camera. That proved to be a wise decision as my original Camera had been damaged, so I probably would have ended up with a lot of "out of focus" photos. Good luck!

I'm sorry to hear of your accident. A couple of weeks ago in Venice I managed to knock my netbook hard onto the unpadded floor of my hotel room but I was lucky. I'm typing on it now. Some folks may point you in the direction of a specialist camera store. That's not what I would do in your situation. I'd go to a good shopping mall. There is such a one not too far from the centre of Rome. The Galleria Porta di Roma (click the Union Jack in lower right corner) has many places you could shop for a reasonably priced replacement. The reason I found it is that I was looking for a convenient Media World, the Italian branch of MediaMarkt. They have one of those, and an Auchun hyoermarket (my first or second choice) and a Coin department store and a Leroy Merlin so you should have plenty of choice. You can see easy to follow travel instructions for either driving or bus number 38 every 10 minutes from Termini, direction Baseggio to stop Baseggio - Porta di Roma. Its about 12 km from the centre, near the GRA. If you are driving there is both that one and another Media World near the A1.

Thank you both. I'll check out the recommended places as soon as we get situated.

Dean, Let us know if you're able to buy a new Camera, and which shop you use. I'm sure the information will be helpful for others here.

Something similar happened to me in Verona and I got what I needed in the store called Fnac, which seems to be a nation wide chain. They had a huge photography section.
they have an outlet in Rome, here's the link: http://www.fnac.it/

Try, this www.laplaca.it While in Italian
Select Canon and a powershot appears hope this helps

Sorry I've taken so long to post. I found cameras in the large drugstore (the name I can't remember) in Termini Station. The costs were from 99euro to 200 euro. Our B&B is at the Manzoni Metro stop. There are two little shops that have cameras in the windows for about the same prices. My wife brought her iPad along on the trip, so we decided to use it for photos, rather than deal with purchasing a new camera.
Thanks for all of your help!

Dean I feel your pain. My Canon Power Shot S2 'died' on our second day in Amsterdam. It had been chronically ill for some time. Purchased a Ricoh point and shoot which I'm really happy with. Filled out the tax exempt forms etc. to claim the sales tax when departing Europe. Only problem was, we flew out of Zurich, which is not part of the European Union!! I also found when reading the instruction manul and the relevant fine print, that the warranty is void outside of Europe. Bummer on two counts!!!

Dean, Are you referring to the Conad store at one end of the Mall (the one that also has a Deli and mini-grocery store)? They seem to have a bit of everything there! As you've discovered, the cost of electronics is usually higher in Europe, especially when the VAT is added. Using an iPad is one method for getting photos, but it won't produce the same results as a Camera. Hope you have a wonderful time in Rome!