Digital Camera Recommendations for Cruise?

[FatCow]

I personally am not a fan of Sony's white-balance. They tend to be on the redder side. Very unnatural. I like accuracy.

Some people like that kind of oversaturation, though.

Regardless, they tend to be feature packed.

 

[cruiser]

The last few cruises I went on I did not have a digital camera, I now have a Panasonic, and I love it. I have also heard the latest HP cameras are very very good.

A question for recent cruisers, do the computers on the ship have media card readers and or CD burners? Just curious if I will be able to empty my SD card or if I should buy another to be safe. It would be nice if they had a reader so I could email photos to people from the ship..

Just curious (and thinking wishfully)

Lee

 

[FatCow]

How long is the cruise going to be? If you're using a 4MP camera at the highest resolution setting, you will not need more than 512Mb SD card for the duration of 10 days (you WILL need to erase your unwanted pics every day or so).

Considering the low price of SD cards nowadays (I bought a Toshiba SD card, 512 Mb, US$80 from TigerDirect.ca last week), it'll be almost as cheap (and much more convenient) in just buying a larger SD cards rather than paying a transfer service (about US$10-US$15 per disc in my area).

 

[sweet angel]

I just ordered two 256MB cards for my Olympus Camedia C-50 from Amazon for $82.64 each -- free shipping. It was the cheapest price I could find (I checked Walmart, TigerDirect, and MySimon).

I could have purchased a 516MB card, but my camera (less than a year old) wouldn't support it unless I shipped it to Olympus for a software upgrade. Not a bad idea, but I waited too long.

I figure the 2 256MB cards, plus my 32MB starter card should give me ample room for 7 days.

I also plan to bring at least one underwater disposable.

 

[KYMickey]

Ordering the cheapest storage media may not be the best bet. The speed of the storage media effects how fast pictures can be taken. A faster storage media means faster picture taking! Not important in all cases but it certainly is in some like while shooting senquential shots of action. JNT but...................

 

[sweet angel]

I'm not sure I understand what you mean...

It's not an off-brand. It's an Olympus XD card, just like the one that came with the camera. It's just that I found a good price.

 

[cruiser]

Actually, I have plenty of cards, a 512, 256, and two 128's. The burner would be nice, but I was hoping more to be able to share some pics from the ship while on the trip. Although, while this sounds like a plan now, I doubt I will even go near the computers once I am on board.

Lee

 

[amymouse]

Thank you "LoveMyBirmans" for posting the link to www.stevesdigicams.com! What an incredible website. ALL the info I was looking for and links to great discount prices. Who could ask for more?

 

[Belle's Castle]

QUOTE]Originally posted by xABearx
I have 2 Olympus models (2.1 MP & 5 MP) and think they put out great pictures with bright colors and the 5 MP is very small and compact with lots of features, the model is a C50.....Andy [/QUOTE]

I have the same 5 megapixel camera as well. I even dropped it on the cement floor in the Contemporary after eating at Chef Mickey's. Very well built and produces clean images everytime! My suggestion to you is check out www.cnet.com . They are pretty tought graders but anything in the mid 8 range is a good buy. Good Luck.

 

[LoveMyBirmans]

You're welcome "amymouse"! I love that website and really learned a lot there before buying my camera.

~ Leanne

 

[DepCor0311]

we just got a Sony cybershot DSC p92 5.0 mega pixel wondering if any one has this we are still trying to lear how to use it befor our next cruise and vacation to walt disney world and the polynesian... Mike

I have this exact camera and really like it. We used it on our trip last year and will definately be taking it with us on our trip this year (Poly and Cruise as well). I think that it is great because it is very easy to use in "automatic (point and shoot) mode" where all of the settings are preselected for you by the camera, yet you also have the option to turn off the auto mode and set the features yourself (if, for example, you are shooting portrait type pictures or fireworks). The one thing I learned is that for the daily use in the parks, you may want to lower your megapixel setting for the everyday "vacation shots." Shooting everything at 5.0 megapixels will really eat up the memory stick. I think we took ours down to 3.2 megapixels and were able to fit most of our vacation shots on a 128 mgb memory stick. A quick read through the owner's manual will get you most of the info that you need to take your basic pics.

 

[Thunderrd]

The one thing I learned is that for the daily use in the parks, you may want to lower your megapixel setting for the everyday "vacation shots." Shooting everything at 5.0 megapixels will really eat up the memory stick. I think we took ours down to 3.2 megapixels and were able to fit most of our vacation shots on a 128 mgb memory stick.

I just upgraded from a 3mp to 5 mp dig camera and always use a high setting. I read where you should take pics at a high setting and save them that way. You can always crop or change the size of the photo afterwards but if it's taken at a lower setting you can't print larger photo's or crop alot without losing resolution?

I guess alot depends on the subject matter. I like to see that the people in my picture take up most of the picture size so sometimes I use the zoom feature alot when editing, and on a 3 mp camera, the zoom is limited b4 you start losing quality.

Any dig camera buffs out there have more info on this?

 

[FatCow]

Not just with digital camera. Even in audio recording, one would have to start with the highest resolution, cleanest possible source.

If you want to downsample/crop/make it 'dirty' later on, go ahead, but always start with the most pristine source.

In digital photography, store everything in the highest MP possible with the lowest compression ratio possible. Yes, this means larger file, but it's your source file and that's a good thing.

bottom line, Thunderrd is correct.

 

[DepCor0311]

I am by no stretch of the imagination an expert....and that is very true that you should use the highest possible quality when you can. I read somewhere that if you plan on printing out photos larger than 5X7, than you should definately stick with 5.0 megapixels (which is good if you plan on printing out 8X10 photos). Not that I am being defensive but... If you don't have download capability on vacation (I know its hard to believe...but not every one carries a laptop with them everywhere they go ) and you don't want to carry around bunches of memory cards/sticks (or you can't afford bunches of memory cards/sticks). We save all of our photos to CD and (usually) print our photos in 4X6, so the lower megapixel setting works for us.

bottom line...both Thunderrd and FatCow are correct in what they are saying...if you have the capability.

 

[cutesnoopy]

Another supporter of Canon S410 or S500 here.

 

[firsttimemom]

I have a Canon G5 (5MP) and shoot everything at the highest resolution. On vacations, especially, I don't have lots of time to compose the perfect shot- it's snap it quick or the moment's gone. As a result, I end up doing a lot of cropping and enlarging. Using the higher resolution has saved me from some grainy pics.

If you're worried about blowing through your whole memory card (stick, whatever), bring 1 or 2 extra. It's also extra protection in the event that one goes bad.

Liz

 

[KenP]

I have a Canon Powershot A60 and have just ordered a A75. I highly recommend them. Why I like them:

1) they use AA batteries. You can buy 4 rechargable NIMH AA batteries with a charger for under $20. This compares to proprietary battery packs which are much more expensive.

2) they are small. Easy to fit in a pants pocket or purse. For disney cruise snapshots you want something portable.

3) they are relatively inexpensive, around $200. Most digital cameras die after 4-5 years.

I don't print my own photos. You don't really save money doing this. I would suggest a company like shutterfly which lets you share the photos for free and charges you only about 25 cents a print.