help me buy a digital camera for my cruise!

[daltonsdodisney]

We just got back from a relaxing Spring Break in Destin, Fl, but I dropped my 35mm camera and now it's broke! Our cruise is in May and I'm thinking of taking the step and getting a digital camera, since I have to replace my other one anyway. I don't know the first thing about them. I'll probably be developing them as pictures primarily, since I do a lot of scrapbooking. I want a good zoom, too. Kids pics turn out so much better up close! Anyway, can anyone recommend a good digital camera? Something that's easy to use and affordable? (under $250) What about those new cameras that look like a video/cam combined? Anyone have those? Please help, I want to make a wise, but quick decision.
Thanks!

[mikeymars]

This ISN'T the best time to make the jump to digital. Why? The new digital cameras with the x3 chips aren't going tobe coming onto the market for another 3-4 months.

What is x3? A new digital format that makes much better use of each pixel. Current digitals can only use a given pixel for one color (red, blue or yellow). That means (as example) to show green, two pixels new to be used (blue and yellow). Want black? Three pixels. Inefficient to say the least, and the reason you can't get decent shots with current digitals unless you spend BIG bucks on one with at least 4 million plus pixels. X3 allows EACH pixel to be ANY color (green, yellow, black, you name it). That results in MUCH deeper color than current digitials can do, and will also result in much better pictures from much less expensive cameras.

[Firefighter Mickey]

A good digital camera with a decent zoom is frequently incompatible with your $250 price range. Lots of digital cameras have zoom capability, but it's done electronically rather than with a lense - which means that the quality goes down quite a bit when you use the zoom.

If you really do a lot of scrapbooking, you should probably also be looking at a decent photo-quality printer in conjunction with the camera. Most ink jet printers are only ok for printing pictures.

At a minimum, probably a 2 mega-pixel camera - the more pixels, the more money you'll be spending, but the better quality pictures you'll be taking.

Do you plan on taking a laptop computer with you on your trips? If not, you may want to look at a camera that has a hard drive (or a CD-RW), rather than a camera that uses memory cards or sticks. A hard drive or CD-RW will also boost you out of the $250 price range. Of course the other option than going with the hard drive based camera would be to simply purchase a couple of additional memory cards for your camera.

If you'll have a laptop computer with you, then you can go with memory cards or sticks and download the pictures into the laptop (usually via either a USB interface or a memory card interface that plugs into an expansion slot on your laptop). You may also want to consider purchasing an additional memory card - usually the cameras come with a minimal amount of memory which will usually only hold a few pictures at the best quality.

[nedleycan]

We bought a digital camera last year on a Windstar cruise (bought it in St. Martin). We bought a Nikon, that can use Nikon zoom or wide angle lenses. Therefore, we can get those nice close-ups of the kids.
Our camera is very small, and we paid extra for that. It can fit in our pocket, but had the highest megapixels that we could find (in that size). We are very happy with our camera. We also bought an Epson Photo printer. It is a must!
Good luck with your purchase. Buy the most expensive camera you can afford, otherwise you will be very disappointed.

[jennifersmith23]

It's funny you should ask this question because we just bought our digital camera. I searched high and low for info to make the best decision since I knew we would spend a small fortune on a camera. We ultimately decide to go with the Sony P5. It had more "bang for the buck" so to speak and our household has always loved Sony products. It may be a little out of your price range though at 500 (minimum) bucks including shipping. Sony has released a model with slightly less features in the Sony P71. I haven't taken pictures with this cam yet, but you can bet my trip report pictures will use this cam and you will be able to decide then. I did not know about the new x3 chips...That is interesting information...Sounds quite costly though.

Anyway that is my 2 cents...I looked at several cameras including a few Olympus, Fuji and Kodak before finally deciding on the Sony. Email me if you have any questions.

Thanks,
Jennifer

[mikeymars]

Just the technology ten cents again - ignore design trends at your own risk: anyone who has already purchased a digital camera (especially the more expensive ones) is likley to be disappointed with that decision when they see what the new x3 versions (which will be in the market as soon as 4 months from now) can do. The range and depth of color delivered by x3s will make the pictures of existing digitals look bland in comparison; the major photo magazines are already predicting that by the end of this year, retailers won't even be able to give away "old fashioned" digitals that don't have an x3 chip. So the smart money isn't buying digital - yet. Better things -- and [I]much[I] better value -- will come to those who wait. :smooth:

[jennifersmith23]

The x3 chip may be the latest technology, but I have this to offer to you:

I have done research and there is one (count em 1) camera that will have this chip in it in the next 12 months and it is expected to retail at around 3000 dollars...Not exactly in my price range. I need a camera in the next 2 months. Also, you know the way these price war rage...I would give it at least a year after that before the price comes down to a reasonable range to buy. Considering this info, having a digital camera for 2 years sounds ok to me. I will choose not to wait and get a half decent camera now.

Here is the article from MSNB that I read about it:

http://www.msnbc.com/news/724798.asp?cp1=1

Jennifer

[mikeymars]

quote: "I have done research and there is one (count em 1) camera that will have this chip in it in the next 12 months and it is expected to retail at around 3000 dollars"

Hate to burst the newsweek bubble, but that article is outdated already (these trends move fast, don't they?) Next twelve months? The future is already here. Sigma may not be well known to laypeople, but it's a household name among professional photographers who have ALREADY ordered the Sigma SD9:

http://www.businesstoday.com/business/technology/ap_bizcamera03242002.htm

As for the issue of "at least a year" for affordable X3 point and shoots, maybe, maybe not:

http://www.photo.net/sigma/sd9

By the way, the above link shows wonderful examples of the output of "normal" digital compared to x3. If some people want the former, fine. We'll wait for the good stuff. In the interim, if one needs to have a decent, affordable camera available, there are plenty of killer deals available on 35mm and APS that will deliver much better quality than comparable digitals in the under $250 price point category (most of what is available there now in digital is so-called "webcam" inventory, which even the manufacturers stae isn't really accpetable except for posting grainy pictures online.)

[ruvidu]

#1 Purchase at least a 2.1 Megapixal camera. That will allow you to print 8X10s.
#2 You can download your images to snapfish.com and several others. They provide a place for you to store your images in albums and share them with friends. They also for about .60 each will print 4X6 glossy prints and mail them to you. My wife is an avid scrapbooker and is pleased with the quality of photos we have received.
#3 We use a Minolta Dimage 2300 and are quite pleased. We take 3 64 Meg cards with us and always have plenty of room.
#4 As an old photograher let me say, "Never depend on one camera". We take a 35mm SLR with two lens, a 35mm point and shoot and the digital when we travel. You may never get another chance for some shots.

My dream camera right now is the Minolta Dimage 7 because it lets you use an external flash. Most built in camera flashes are only good for about 12-15 feet.
Good luck with your purchase,:cool:

[zurgswife]

Dalton....

Zurg has a page on Deb's about Digital Cameras
http://wdwig.com/digital.htm

Also if you have any specific questions you can always email him
Brdunlap@badshoe.com

[bweppner]

Definitely go with at least a 2.1MP digital. Also count on dropping at least another $50 for additional memory. Most digitals only come with 8 or 16MB in the box which is not nearly enough - adding at least a 64MB Flash Card is a necessity. My wife has the Canon SureShot S110 which she loves. Small (very), decent optical zoom (3X), and a sturdy stainless steel case. It takes very nice and convenient pictures.

HOWEVER, I am still bringing along my trusty Canon Elan II SLR with a 28-200mm zoom lens. I prefer film for great outdoor landscapes, sunrises, sunsets, action, etc. To me a good film camera is faster and has better color depth and resolution. But it is definitely more bulky than her small and "cute" digital.

Additionally, my wife has "requested" we bring along our camcorder as well. I was hoping not to, but I think I have been vetoed.

If you have a decent film camera, bring it as well. Whatever you do - good luck!

[taswira]

ruvidu - You say your dream camera is the Minolta Dimage 7. Although it has a 200mm optical zoom (that equivalent in a 35mm camera) and 400mm digital (the "interpolated" lesser quality), it has very slow auto-focus, a sometimes overheating battery and short battery life, among other problems. Minolta will soon (projected May, I think), come out with the replacement - the Dimage 7i. It addresses those problems and a preliminary review has been fantastic. Read info and specs at http://www.dimage.minolta.com/ .

As for mikemars comments, he is correct. You get what you pay for. A low-priced digital camera will give you sub-par results. But it's in the eyes of the beholder. If you want scrapbook photos but are not a discriminating professional or semi-pro photographer, you might be content with a low-end digital for awhile.

[ruvidu]

I had not read any negatives about the Dimage 7 but will research it again. The $1K price tag is a little much right now. I still view a digital as a toy or better yet a convienence. I used to shoot Mamiya 645 and now have downgraded to the Canon Rebel. My eyes are not as discerning as they used to be.
Thanks again for the heads up.

[taswira]

If you shop around, you can find the Dimage 7 online varying from $734 some days to $799 (at the same site). A full review of the 7 is at http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/minoltadimage7/ . There is also a review of the 7i but the URL is too long to post here. I've read only great things about the 7i in several beta reviews. Sounds worth holding out for. Everything I have is Nikon, but the 7i is worth a look.

[jennifersmith23]

Not that I doubt you MikeyMars, but I can't find any website that leads me to believe that a cheaper version of the x3 will become availabe in the US anytime soon. I am willing to pay a reasonable amount of money for a decent camera, but 3000 is a little much. Give me the info you have as to what other manufacturors are going to be coming out with this camera so I can do more research. I am always up for "latest technology" and will cancel my order for the P5 if I see something coming out in a reasonable timeframe. This technology does seem pretty cool.

Jennifer

[hydster]

and we love it!!! It is the size of a credit card. It is a 2.1 megapixel camera, it has an underwater housing that you can buy so if you do scuba diving or snorkeling you can put it in the underwater housing and take underwater pictures, it was 200 bucks and came with 2 batteries and 2 cards. My husband has a laptop that we take with us to watch dvd's on the plane so we just download pictures onto that and then clear out the card and use it again. When we get home we figure out the ones we want to have printed (avid scrapper here too) and I upload them to Walmart.com. They print them out for me in any size picture up to 8x10 and then they will send them to me or I can pick them up at my local walmart. For 4x6 prints they charge .26 a picture and dont charge you shipping if you pick them up from the store. If you want to see the camera we just bought here is a website that has it on it...

http://www.powershot.com/powershot2/s100/
it didnt set us back a whole lot of money and on my webshots page is our cruise from January on Carnival Spirit and those pictures were ALL taken with my digital camera! I LOVE IT because it is so small!!!
Just my 2 cents!
Heidi

[ruvidu]

I have seen the lower priced Dimage 7s offered as well. Most of the places offering it at those prices also have a lot of negative feedback (Gray Market, Bait and Switch and paying extra for included components). I will probably hold out until I can get it local.
I purchased one of my 645s out of New York and had a time getting it. I finally called up there and told them I was bringing a truck load of good ole boys from SC to visit them. Got it the next week.
Thanks for the input,

[dianthus]

We bought an Olympus D- 490 2.1mp before our 10/00 cruise. It does quick time movies too, although we have never used that feature... We love this camera! It has a window to view pics to see if you got the shot instantly. You can do panoramics with their Camedia software, providing you use the Olympus Smart Media Cards. We just purchased a 128 m card for our upcoming cruise on Amazon for $72, which I thought was a good price. In HQ mode, it holds about 300 pics, 1000 in SQ mode. This way we don't have to bring the laptop to down load them to. We use Shutterfly and have been very happy with the service.

Friends of our have the Nikon Cool Pix one and another has the Sony. All take about the same quality pics, with a few different features. We paid about $400 for ours 18 months ago and felt it was well worth it. When the technology improves and is affordable, we'll upgrade then. :)

[nedleycan]

It is not a good game to play, to keep waiting for the next technology. I would buy as much as you can afford now, and in another couple of years, buy something else. Then your old camera can be used by your kids. My daughter (4 1/2) loves to play with our Nikon coolpix. When new technology becomes available, and reasonably priced, the Nikon will be her camera to play with.

[Mike Bartenhagen]

I agree with Nedleycan. If you are waiting on the next latest and greatest it will never come. There will always be something coming in the next year. I have a Canon S30 which is a 3.1 megapixel camera and I am very happy with it. It is big enough that you can feel like you are holding on to something yet small enough you can fit it in a big pants pocket. I would say that our digital pictures are as good as our film pictures. We have never had a really good film camera always a mid range 35mm point and shoot but we were always happy with the pictures.

When we first got the camera we got a few pictures with red eye, a few with the color a little off, a few out of focus, etc. and I was a little disapointed. Then I got to looking at our film pictures and they were not perfect either. We had just looked at them and enjoyed them never really looked close to find imperfections.

Here are a few things that I think are great about a digital camera and the reasons that I would buy now.

1. You can take tons of pictures. I took 85 pictures of the kids Easter morning, usually it's 10 to 20 but it dosen't cost anything to take the extra pictures and we can print only the ones we want.

2. With a 2 - 3 megapixel camera the quality is great. Unless you are a pro photographer or you have been using a expensive 35 mm SLR I don't think you will see a difference.

3. DVD Picture Show. This is a program from ulead.com, you can download a trial there. This program allows you to make VCD's (video cd's) which are similar to Kodak Picture Disks with much more features. You set up a menu on the first page of each of your shows (i.e. "Day One on the Magic", "Castaway Cay" , etc.) It is very simple and allows you to choose pictures and music for a slide show that you can play on a lot of DVD players. I have a 46 inch TV and the pictures look very good. I have a Sony DVD player that would not play the VCD's but the APEX 1500 from Wal-Mart which is about 80.00 plays them great.

4. Instant Photos. We had a baby 8 weeks ago. The day after he was born we had pictures of him, a few minutes old, that we put in my wifes hospital room. I have a 100.00 dollar printer that makes good prints.

5. Cool Colages (sp?). I got a program with my camera called PhotoRecord. It will let you pick several pictures, choose from many backgrounds, frame, add text, etc. a sheet of 8 x 10 paper costs about a buck and I am sure it takes a few cents worth of ink but you can make pretty cool prints. It's kind of like scrapbooking for dummies.

6. Ceiva.Com We bought my mother in law (who lives close but has no computer) and my grandma ( who lives hours away) each a Ceiva frame. This is a digital picture frame that plugs into a phone line (not a dedicated one, it only dials in once a night) and downloads digial pictures. My daughter had her first soccer game of the season last night. I took digital pictures and uploaded them to the Cevia site last night and grandma and great grandma will see them this morning when they wake up.

7. You can have the ones printed that you want. I have not done this to many times yet but I did use ofoto.com (a Kodak Company) and the pictures came very quickly and I thought were of the same quality (look and feel) as picture from a film camera.

As to one of the orginal questions about a video recorder and a camera all in one. I looked for this combo for quite some time. How great it would be to carry a video camera and a still camera together. They are out there but all of the ones that I have seen have a low resolution still camera.

I would not worry about a camera you purchase now becomming obsolete. If you are happy with the pictures that it gives you they will not become any worse as new technology comes out. We have a TV in the bedroom that is about 10 years old and it has a very good picture. We also have a Hi-Def TV which has a much better picture. Since buying the new TV the quality of our old TV has not decreased at all. We still watch it and it has a very good picture although not as good as the new TV.

I can't imagine that these new cameras will be affordable when they first come out. When was the last time that new technology was cheap. I would also disagree that the retailer won't be able to give away the old technology. There are many 80-100 dollar cameras out there that people still buy that were 1500.00 3 or 4 years ago. If anyone sees a store that wants to give away the current cameras please let me know. I paid 600.00 for my camera last fall. They are 500.00 now. They won't be free this fall but it they are 350.00-400.00 I think they would be a great buy.

Many have mentioned the memory. I shoot my pictures at the highest resolution and the lowest compresion. On a 128 mg card I can get 77 pictures. The first 128 mg card I bought last fall cost 129.00. I bought a name brand 128 mg card at Best Buy last month for 50.00. My next purchase will probably be a Digital Wallet. These are small devices which conatin a hard drive. The ones that I have seen are 3-20 gigabytes. You can buy the 3 gig model for about 200.00. You put the cameras memory card in the device and it holds your pictures. It is not much bigger than the camera and if my math is correct the 3 gig model will hold about 1700 of my pictures.


This stuff is very easy. I am not very talented but this stuff was easy to do. Also it does not take a new computer. I have a pentium 233 which is many years old.

Don't miss out on the opportunity to have digital pictures of your cruise. I did on our last one but I won't on our next.

[beschultz]

My first digital camera was really cheap - yuck! I had to hook it up to the computer to even see the picture. I upgraded to an Olympus D370 which I thought was great. When it got stolen last January, I started doing more research. I tried an HP 315 for a month and was disappointed with it. I now have an Olympus D510 and I love it. I took some awesome shots at the circus last Saturday. I got a 128MG disk from Amazon for $55! At the lowest setting (but still better than that first camera) the disk will hold 1330 pictures! But I keep it set for about 230 pics. You can pick up a D510 for around $250-300. I have a year to practice. I want my first cruise pictures to be perfect:rolleyes:

[mikeymars]

"With a 2 - 3 megapixel camera the quality is great. Unless you are a pro photographer or you have been using a expensive 35 mm SLR I don't think you will see a difference. "

Really? My 5 year old son can see major differences between a 2.8 pixel digital picture printed out on a $300 printer and a machine print produced with a $140 35mm. He (and I) notice the latter is clearer, has more detail and much more depth in color. Suggests that taste (not career or wealth) may affect knowledge of quality. Whatever, there indeed are good (and bad) times to purchase new technology. The cheaper digitials avaliable now may impress some, but not us and we will wait 8 months to a year when yes, what now costs $600+ will be half the cost. I saw exactly that happen with Hi8 camcorders back in the mid 90s, and yes it IS going to happen again with digital cameras.

[daltonsdodisney]

Thanks for all the great suggestions! I guess I'm very electronically challenged!;) My cruise is less than 2 months away. Should I just go ahead and buy another film camera while I'm deciding/pricing a digital? I hate to just rely on a new piece of equip. that I may not have time to practice using. Also, where did you buy your camera? Where do you feel had the best value?
Thanks again!

[Mike Bartenhagen]

Quote: Really? My 5 year old son can see major differences between a 2.8 pixel digital picture printed out on a $300 printer and a machine print produced with a $140 35mm. He (and I) notice the latter is clearer, has more detail and much more depth in color.

We will have to agree to disagree on this subject. I respect your opinion I just want to make sure people don't get the wrong idea about digital cameras. My 5 year old is very excited to see pictures of herself and her brother and sister on the tv and in pictures we print and look at on the computer. They can hold them, bend them, hang them by their desk, get finger prints on them. We can eaisily print more. She also has fun taking pictures with the camera (as does my 2 year old). She loves for us to e-mail pictures of her to our relatives. She was also very excited to take pictures of herself and her new brother (printed on a $100.00 printer) to school the day after he was born. We would have had a hard time convincing her that if she waited a few days we may be able to get her a higher quality print to show her friends. If you have a 5 year old that is concerned with picture quality than you should wait for the camera that you want to purchase. My daughter is not concerned with picture quality. Never once do I recall her saying "Daddy let's go back to the old camera. These new pictures are less clear, lack detail, and don't have the depth of color that I saw in our other pictures." I would say most 5 year olds (and adults for that matter) will be satisfied with the quality of digial pictures and will spend time enjoying them, in the many more ways digital allows you, rather than comparing them and therefore I don't want anyone to think that the quality of the current cameras is so poor that they would make a mistake buying one. I am glad that I have the digital pictures I have. I wish I would have bought a digital camera a year ago. Someday I will buy the next latest and greatest camera but I am glad I did not wait. New technology is not always the answer (The Beta VCR). If you think it is the best idea for you to wait then you should wait but many don't share this opinion. Sales of digital cameras are huge. If they were so bad people would not be buying them. There would not be several magazines devoted to digital photography. Comp USA would not have redone all of there stores to include a special section for digital cameras. Sure they are going to get better and better. I am sure Disney will have new bigger better boats someday but that isn't keeping any of us from sailing now.

Daltonsdodisney, I bought mine at Best Buy. As to learning to use it, it should not take long at all. The film camera stores the pictures on film. The digital stores them on memory but other than that many of the function are similar.

[dianthus]

Daltonsdodisney-

I agree with Mikeymars on quickly evolving technology. We bought 3 camcorders in the last 10 yrs. since my DD was born! There is always something better coming out and you can keep spending money... Digitals are great for a lot of things and are so convenient- instant gratification, emails etc...
. Action shots are better with 35MM cameras.

We bought ours just shortly before our first cruise from IQVC. They had it on special- it was the best price around at the time, saving about $200. We barely knew how to use it when we left & we had beautiful photos from the trip, so the learning curve seems to be pretty short. IQVC has a 30 day money back quarantee. I figured if we didn't like it, we could send it back. We loved it & kept it. Costco, Amazon and Best Buy have good prices & also have 30 day refund policies, so they would be good to buy from too. Purchase the camera within 2 weeks of your cruise & you'll have plenty of time to learn, practice & you can decide if you want to keep it when you get home- you'll still be within your 30 days if you're not pleased with it.
:)

[taswira]

ruvidu - You wrote: "I have seen the lower priced Dimage 7s offered as well. Most of the places offering it at those prices also have a lot of negative feedback (Gray Market, Bait and Switch and paying extra for included components)."

The prices I was quoting were not gray market. One place offering the Dimage 7 at that price is MPSuperStore at http://www.mpsuperstore.com/. Quote from their description: "This product is brand new and comes complete with all manufacturer supplied accessories. Original MANUFACTURERS USA warranty IS included." I know several people who shop there and they have no complaints. You will probably find the 7 will continue to drop as the 7i nears release.

[mikeymars]

Just to add some detail to my earlier point about 'there are and aren't good times to upgrade," here's yet another (somewhat involved) example:

While on the 3/23 cruise, I unfortunately left my splashcaddy waterproof bag open while playing with my son (building a sandcastle) on the rocks at the southern end of Dawn Beach on St. Marteen. A big wave rolled in and swamped the bag, which contained among other things my 1998 vintage Sony TRV940 Hi8 camcorder.

After drying it out, the CCD still worked, but the camcorder would neither record nor play back. Dead for rest of cruise. When we got home, I investigated repair and found it would require (as I expected) a new head, which with labor would run a little over $200.

So I investigated repair vs. replace. Where are we in early 2002? Well, while Hi8 is still alive and well, Sony is already heavily marketing their "transitional" format called digital 8 (records and plays in either 8, Hi8 or digital on 8mm tapes) and everyone is heavily pushing mini DV (ergo, pure digital).

To replace my old Hi8 with a brand new one will run $260-300, albeit the current Hi8 models have been cheapened by Sony (such as no stereo audio or flying erase heads like my old TRV940) because Sonys marketing strategy is to force the bells and whistles segment (me) into digital 8 or mini DV. Problem is, acceptable digital 8s start at around $500 and I am uncomfortable buying a "transitional" format that only one company (Sony) markets or supports (buying that is asking for trouble five years from now - just look at what has happened to owners of Sony Beta equipment). As for mini DV, yes, those little palm-sized recorders are sure sexy, but the decent ones run $1100 and up and frankly don't do much better video than Hi8 (latter has 500 lines of vertical resolution in super VHS mode, vs. 525 for digital. The visual diifference is impossible to see, I've seen side-by-side demos).

So where did that lead me? To eBay, where I picked up a lightly used (4 hours) still warrantied demo model of a Sony TRV87 from a credible retailer in Canada. It's an older model Hi8 (with all the bells and whistles like stereo, flying erase heads and multiple fade modes that Sony has subsequently removed from their Hi8 line, and in fact has some features that my old TRV940 didn't have, like snapshot mode) and I picked it up for less than $300. That "last-of-the-good-TRVS" (as one on-line review put it) will suit me just fine until mini DV becomes (a) more affordable (I give that a year to a year and a half at most) and (b) contains better digital photo capabilities (Like others, I'd love to have a single decent camera/camcorder combo and am willing to wait for that).

By the way, for those who have heard the "analog video is bad because your tapes will disintegrate over time, so buy digital" propoganda, don't buy it. I have VHS tapes of me blasting away in a rock group that were shot way back in 1982 that look still look brand new today, and video of my daughter as a newborn shot back in 1993 on Hi8 also looks brand new (my gut is wear and tear - not age --is what destroys analog videotape, so it will hold up well as long as it isn't continually played; none of that "archival stuff" I mentioned gets looked at very often, which is why it's still healthy). And if those ever do begin to have problems, technology to copy them into digital format (tape or disc) will be readily available and cheaper than that costs to do today.

[gscott8075]

I have an HP315 (2.1 megapixel) and an HP PhotoSmart 1000.

The camera is now about $200 and the printer is $150 -200. My wife hates computers. So, with this setup, I can...

1. Take the Compact Flash card out of the camera and plug it into the printer and print the shot I want.

OOORRRRR

2. Find the shot I want to print on the camera, point and click in front of the printer and IT WILL WIRELESSLY PRINT THE SHOT in any standard size.

My dear wife can use it - it is just like a Polaroid! No unloading - just point and click and print.

Great quality - very very easy to use!

[gscott8075]

I have an HP315 (2.1 megapixel) and an HP PhotoSmart 1000.

The camera is now about $200 and the printer is $150 -200. My wife hates computers. So, with this setup, I can...

1. Take the Compact Flash card out of the camera and plug it into the printer and print the shot I want.

OOORRRRR

2. Find the shot I want to print on the camera, point and click in front of the printer and IT WILL WIRELESSLY PRINT THE SHOT in any standard size.

My dear wife can use it - it is just like a Polaroid! No unloading - just point and click and print.

Great quality - very very easy to use!

[MO64RN]

I purchased a Cannon Powershot A20 for about $300 online. I am very happy with it and the prints are 35mm quality. Here is the link for reviews on this camera as well as others I hope this helpshttp://www.zdnet.com/supercenter/stories/overview/0,12069,631104,00.html:pinkbounc :bounce:

[MarkRG]

Now, originally I wasn't going to post on this thread, but, after reading it thru, I am sure daltonsdodisney is more confused than ever. All these technological arguments are honestly, irrelevant. There will always be some new advancement around the corner that might be worth waiting for. If you decide to wait, you might as well wait forever. My honest suggestion at this point is pretty simple. Use your own judgement. I do have, however, a number of points you will want to keep in mind while shopping for one.


Zoom. How important is this to you? You will need to look for any that have optical zoom. Digital zoom is very bad. The pictures lose a lot fo detail on digital. 3x is about the minimumfor a good zoom, but higher the better.
Megapixels. Personally, I agree with one of the above posts that unless you plan on printing out all your pictures in 8x10 anything 1.5 or up is acceptible. You will discover that you'll wind up printing out very few of the pictures as you go along. I wind up scrapbooking each trip, if anything. And even then there are good computer scrapbook programs out there now to use the pictures directly.
Memory. This will wind up being an additional expense as most cameras don't include enough memory to take a good number of pictures at the higher quality settings. And you will want to use the higher quality settings. Look at buying 64 or 128 megabyte chip right away, they're very low priced right now.
Battery power. Make sure the camera can either use AA batteries as well as its own battery if it has a special one for those times you can't stop to (or forget to) recharge it, or get an extra battery for it right away.
Storage. You're going to want to have some kind of separate storage device to keep the pictures on once you get home as well. A Zip drive or a CD recorder are the best choices. Your computer doesn't have an infinite amount of storage, and what happens to the pictures if the computer has a problem.
Brand. Try to stick with a good name brand, and if possible a good name in 35mm cameras like Nikon or Olympus. Off brand cameras are usually very cheesy.
Price. Now here's the tricky part, there's always going to be a model on markdown, so you can find a good buy on one if you look a bit, but be a little wary, sometimes the markdown is just to make way for a new model, but it's also sometimes to get rid of one that may be trouble.

Once you have it narrowed down, do a search engine for that particular one and look for reviews and such. Good luck. I've been happy with both the ones I have bought in the past 4 years. With the exception of waterproof cameras, I haven't used film since I got my first one.

[candleonwater]

For what it's worth... here's my 2 cents!

I did a LOT of research on digital cameras. What drove me to want to make the change? I shot 14 rolls of film on my December cruise with my "trusty" little 35mm... it had never failed me before. To start, the place where I always got my film developed, lost a roll, and then the icing on the cake - some of the best pictures of my daughter would have been great if they had been in focus!

Now, being a photographer, from back in the days when my dream of a "fancy" camera was to have a camera that automatically advanced the film.... I knew I really wanted Nikon, but was willing to look at what else was out there. I was really taken with the Sonys that use the mini CD... however they had a lot of drawbacks (no viewfinder, so you HAVE to use the LCD)... I went with the Nikon CoolPix 995 - and in the two months of owning it... still love it. A couple of things I think about when I think back on all the "warnings" from others... the bit about "get a camera that allows you to use disposable batteries"... for me, forget about it! I shoot a LOT of pictures... and I'm finding I'm getting over a weeks life with one battery charge... but still I did purchase a second battery as a backup. The compact flash that came with the camera is on 16mb... which is fine for me (most of the time). I went out and purchased a card reader... and just download the pictures as I take them. Of course this doesn't solve the problem of when I'm on a cruise - I haven't decided whether to just invest in more Compact Flash or to bring the laptop along to download as I go...

[Mic]

Gee, after reading all the posts from the "pros", I am confused, too! I appreciate mikeymars trying to explain everything in simple terms, but I am still lost(as I am sure others are). For those of us who are technologically challenged, ease of use and price seem to rule supreme. In my quest for both, my DH and I decided on the Kodak DC3400. The price was right(@$200 at Walmart in Dec.), it came with a bigger compactflash than most(8MB), it has 2.0 megapixel resolution and 2x optical and 3x digital zoom(not sure what that means, but it was "better" than other cameras in the same price-range, according to DH), and even I can use it! We were able to get a great shot of a starfish in the Bahamas while on the 4-day in Jan., and good shots of the Wonder. We invested $50 in a bigger "card" to hold more pictures, so this should fall right into the price range daltonsdodisney is looking for. Also, the software that comes with the camera is really easy to use. Once DH installed it, I was able to plug the camera up and download pictures myself, a major feat for 1 who can only turn the computer and modem on. We have been satisfied so far, as has a computer savvy friend of mine who bought hers about a year before I bought mine. Good luck in your quest, and just remember my mantra when shopping for electronics:"Whatever I buy today will be outdated tomorrow." ;)

[taswira]

I agree, Mic. As I stated, the "quality" IS in the eyes of the beholder. Those of us who are professional photographers would not be satisfied with some of the flaws of lower-priced digital cameras, but for those who want simplicity, ease of use, a low-powererd zoom and built-in flash in order to shoot "snapshots" for a scrapbook or a personal website, there are a myriad of suitable, reasonably-priced cameras out there. Your suggestion to stick to the better known camera manufacturers is EXCELLENT advice.

I hope everyone out there who has a low to mid-priced digital camera has not been offended by the tone of this thread. Just as with computers, there are people who demand the latest, greatest super-system with all the bells and whistles. They buy one and keep it only until they can't stand not having state-of-the-art anymore. As soon as you leave the store it becomes old because new technology is always just around the corner. If computer work or photography is one's profession, one feels compelled to keep up with the technology. Otherwise, the ONLY thing important is to buy what works for YOU and stick with it until it no longer works for YOU.

[wsurrettema]

Hi All,

My wife and I just went through the process of buying our first digital camera, so I'll recount our experience. By doing quite a bit of research, we quickly realized that the most important basic features of a digital camera (other than price of course) were resolution (megapixels), optical zoom (as has been said before, "digital" zoom was pretty much irrelevant), battery life, and memory media.

We decided that a 3+ megapixel resolution, a 3x optical zoom lens, and memory sufficient to hold a couple hundred pictures was the minimum we'd consider. Size was also a consideration. We initially looked at the Sony, Olympus, Canon and Nikon models. All of the cameras had similar features and similar prices. The differences were in the types of batteries and storage media. We had pretty much decided on the Nikon Coolpix 885, but my wife then went out on the net and did a bit more research. She discovered that the Minolta Dimage S304 was highly recommended and had some features that exceeded the Nikon.. and actually came in at nearly half the price of the Nikon.

The Nikon was 3.x megapixels, and a 3x Optical Zoom and cost around $799 (plus upgraded memory etc.) The Minolta was 3.x megapixels, a *4x* optical zoom and cost around $399 (plus accessories). The Nikon Coolpix was slightly smaller than the Minolta, but not by too much.

We decided that since it was our first digital camera, we'd opt for the more economical choice. Although we've only had the camera for a few weeks, we are very satified with our choice.

Hope this helps a bit...

Gusman

[mikeymars]

O.K., just another set of thoughts on the subject of "when is the right time to purchase 'new" technology?"

These days, it generally makes little sense to buy the first generation versions of a new photo or video technology (which is where we are right now with digital cameras and mini DV video). Why?

Well, to begin with, first generation versions are priced extremely high, due to limited demand, the need for immediate returns on investments in manufacturing and limited competition. As demand and competition simultaneously grow, manufacturing costs drop and all three of these things quickly force prices down. Ergo, those who recently spent close to $400 for a 3+ megapixel resolution camera are going to be really annoyed by the camera ads they see in the newspaper come this December.

That leads to the second point: the period between the first generation versions and the second, third etc. that follow (with more features and better prices) is shrinking. This is to a large extent due to the fact technology-related product life cycles in general have been speeding up over the last 25 years. Example: in the early 1980s, the period between “first’ generation PC chips and the “second” was almost 4 years. By the mid 90s, it was two years or so. Now it’s down to a year or less. So the time between “being first on the block to own” vs. “I got a much better version for a lot less” has shrunk dramatically.

Or stated differently, the first person on the block doesn’t have nearly as long or as much to brag about as they used to. And likely has an attic full of quirky techno-antiques like top-loading beta VCRs, big, heavy auto-focus 35mm SLRS and full-size VHS camcorders. To which they will soon add their non-X3 digital cameras and camcorders.

So if you must have that first generation digital photo/video stuff right now, fine, but realize you are paying a lot more for a lot less than what others are going to get in less than a year

[DreamsDoComeTrue]

Ah, glad I tracked this thread down! I need to get a digital camara this weekend.

Does anyone have any further thoughts on recomendations?
If anyone has just recently bought one, how was the shopping experience? Are you happy with the purchase?

[Fawn]

Good thread! Having just researched this topic for our cruise in January, we have finally decided on an Olympus D550 Zoom. It will run $300 to 350, has 3 megapixels and 2.8x optical zoom.

This is a personal shopping experience. I think you have to decide what features are important to you, and their order of importance; i.e. megapixels, price, zoom, memory, etc. Then do a comparison search.

Good luck!

[fireplug]

We plan on going to Best Buy or a comparable store and actually looking at the pictures . We have been told they will take 1 picture with each of a few cameras a and then print them all off the same printer. so you can compare .

Steve

[SweetSpot]

I purchased a digital camera at Sam's yesterday for $129.00. It is a Vivitar Vivicam 2.1MP Digital Camera and it came with a camera case and batteries. They just started offering the deal here, not sure if it is available at other Sam's. This is the camera at Amazon http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00006JP2K/qid=1033770101/sr=1-8/ref=sr_1_8/104-1007716-7112748?v=glance listed at $229.00 (reduced price). Truthfully don't know if it is a great camera (hoping it is) but if you need on quick and cheap it's something to look at.

[Rootee]

Here are two free (you don't need an online subscription to view) articles on digital cameras from Consumer Reports. These really helped me decide what camera was a good deal because I knew absolutely nothing about digital cameras


http://www.consumerreports.org/main/detailv2.jsp?CONTENT%3C%3Ecnt_id=6787&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=142683&bmUID=1033781953847

and





I ended up getting the Kodak Easyshare DX3600 which they rated on top of its category (2.2 megapixel model). It was easy to learn to use it, and I was very pleased with the results.

Consumer Reports also mentions that you are more likely to find the best prices online and not in a local store.

Ruth

[DreamsDoComeTrue]

Consumer Reports also mentions that you are more likely to find the best prices online and not in a local store. Humm, that's good to know.
I also like that idea of seeing an actual printed picture from each of the final contestants for side by side comparison.

[smjj]

I read and read and read up on digital cameras. I then went to Halfbay.com(part of E-Bay) and got my new camera for a steal(Olympus D510Z) and LOVE it..smjj

[aalan]

i'll try to keep it short and simple:

i am a painter/photographer, and have been using an olympus d-460 1.3 mega pixel camera for the last 2 years. it has its limitations, but you know what? it does a real fine job: i am constantly amazed at the images i get. its an extremely easy camera to use: the automatic settings work very well, just point and click. (although you can set things manually, as well)

sticking to the major brands is a good idea.

buy at least one extra 64 meg card, or 128 if you can afford it. you just cant take too many photos when they really do not cost anything to process.

dont forget about rechargeable batteries: most cameras need 4 double "a's." i carry an extra charged set at all times, cause you never know when your batteries will go...on that note, use the view finder to take photos instead of the digital screen. the screen is neat, but it does eat power quickly!

mickey mars is right about one thing: better quality cameras are available today for much less than what i paid for mine almost 2 years ago. 2.0 megapixel cameras seem to be in the $200.00 range, and i think you will be very happy with your purchase.

one last thought: you will need to have a good inkjet printer and purchase decent photopaper. it helps (although its not required) to have some knowledge in some sort of photo software. (photoshop or photopaint, for example) most cameras come with some sort of basic photo software so you can view, crop, and print your images on your computer.

well, it wasnt that short, but i hope it was simple! happy to answer any questions anyone may have...

[mausmu]

OK. Maybe I'm wrong here, but I have to give my opinion. I say go out and buy a camera that you like the size and looks of and that is in your price range. I read this post and see people saying there son can tell the difference between a digital picture and a film camera, and then they turn around and say that they have a video that is 20 years old and it looks as good as the day it was shot? Everyone has different expectations of what there pictures should be. How many people do you see with disposable cameras in the parks and on the ships? They don't give you a professional quality photo, but they give a nice shot to show people when you get home in your album. Hope you find the right camera and really enjoy your trip.

[LOVETHATMOUSE]

I just purchased the Canon Powershot S30 and LOVE it!! I had alot of help from the people on these boards - especially Zurg (thanks, thanks, thanks). It is a 3.2 megapixel and 10X optical zoom. I played with it all day yesterday, and have gotten pretty good as most of the stuff - very easy to do. I got if off the internet (buydig.com) for about $150 less than Best Buy, plus no tax. They also sent it in 3 days - can't beat that. Also got a great price on a second battery because I bought the camera from them. The camera only came with a 16 MB CF, but decided to get a higher volume card ( I took 20 rolls of film on our last cruise). Best Buy had a special on a SANDISK 256 MB card - $124.99 and a $25 rebate. I also had a coupon for 15% off, so the card will end up costing me only about $80.

No I just have to get a good photo printer.
Any suggestions?

[cyndilou01]

Heidi,
Glad to hear you got the Cannon Elph digital and liked it. We have all the Cannon elph cameras... my husband loves his underwater elphsport... I had the elph 2 for about two years and my pictures have always got raved reviews... especially the outside shots.... Last month I dropped my camera and it broke when I left my job the girls at work bought me the Elph 370.... I was thinking about getting a Digital camera but I really did not know what to look for.... How are your pictures? Is it easy to download on the computer... I will be cruising in November... I think we may be on the same cruise if so you can show me how it works....

thanks for all the info on this site.... The Dis Boards are the Best....

[DreamsDoComeTrue]

Well, at least I can relax about finding a digital camera in time for cruising, (10 days, yeehaw!) but oh, what I seem to have gotten use of! :rolleyes: My Dad has offered to loan me his, (I forgot he even had one) and it must be OLD! I asked if I should get another memory card for it and he said, "oh no, it just uses floppy discs. Pop them straight into your computer." I didn't know digital camera's even used floppies! Is that really, really old, or is it just a type that I hadn't run across yet? It has a separate zoom lens that can be attached. He said it's so easy and convenient to have them work on any computer without cables or software. Make copies for friends or fellow travelers on the spot, etc. Humm. Any comments? I'll get it tomorrow and share the make and model if anyone is interested.

[psimon]

... My Dad has offered to loan me his, (I forgot he even had one) and it must be OLD! I asked if I should get another memory card for it and he said, "oh no, it just uses floppy discs. Pop them straight into your computer." I didn't know digital camera's even [I]used floppies! Is that really, really old, or is it just a type that I hadn't run across yet? It has a separate zoom lens that can be attached. [/B]

It is probably not one of the newer ones.

The upside: You can take a box or two of floppies with you.

The downside: Because it is saving to floppies, the files are not going to be very large. Smaller files implies a lower resolution camera, or files that are highly compressed, or both. The lower the resolution, the smaller the photo will be when printed (an example: A 2 Megapixel camera will allow you to print reasonable photos up to 4x6. A 3 Megapixel camera will give you up to 8x10 photos, and higher pixel rates will allow still larger photos.)

File size will depend on both the the above criteria. Any megapixel camera will look good when posted on the web.

I suggest you try a few before you take it with you. A suggestion; Walmart will print your digital pictures for $0.26 each! They do a really good job.

Have I confused you more? :confused:

If I did, I'm sorry.... Paul

[DreamsDoComeTrue]

Thanks Paul. That all makes perfect sense.
I had heard that about Walmart too but wasn't sure if I'd heard Walgreens or Walmart. Now I know! I'll definitely play with a bit. If nothing else, I have my good film camera that I am also taking. I know exactly how that works, and enlargements always look great.
I wonder how those hybrids are coming along?

[Mike Bartenhagen]

Lovethatmouse,

I have had the S30 for about a year and I love it. We just got back from the 4 day Wonder last night and I took about 600 pictures. It was great to be able to take pictures of everything and now I can print only the ones I want. The camera fits in a pants pocket which was nice because I got several great pictures because I had my camera with me at the right time. One feature of the camera that I did not use until about a month ago is the ability to record small video clips. This works great for recording 10 to 15 seconds of video to e-mail (a Happy Birthday to someone from our kids, etc.). You might want to search for a free program called cam2pc. I use this to download my pictures and rename them with the date. You can rename them about anyway you want when you do this.

Dreamsdocometrue,

As Paul says you need about a 2 megapixel camera to get good 4 x 6 pictures. These pictures would be about 1 to 2 mb in size. A floppy holds 1.44 mb or only 1 picture from a camera of this quality. In other words the cameras that use floppies take a very low resolution image in order to get even 5 or 6 pictures on a disk. The pictures would be good to e-mail but make sure you use your film camera or you may be disapointed

[LOVETHATMOUSE]

I have to say, that although I have only had the camera a week or so, I absolutely love it! I even used the video to send a greeting to the grandparents in FL. I seem to be playing with it all the time!

Thanks for the info Mike - will search for that site! Post some pics from the trip. I would love to see how they came out. :)