digital camera ?

[Lory]

I am thinking of buying a digital camera, only because everyone says "you have to get one" and I want to try it out because I hear it is great BUT........I have no idea how it works!!
You can see the pictures when you take them???
How do you "develop" them?? Do you print them on computer??
Do I need some type of program to print them??
I know I need to do some research but I thought I could get some quick answers here.
Would like to have one for our next trip this December.


Thanks,

Lory

 

[SnackyStacky]

Originally posted by Lory
I am thinking of buying a digital camera, only because everyone says "you have to get one" and I want to try it out because I hear it is great BUT........I have no idea how it works!!
You can see the pictures when you take them???
How do you "develop" them?? Do you print them on computer??
Do I need some type of program to print them??
I know I need to do some research but I thought I could get some quick answers here.
Would like to have one for our next trip this December.


Thanks,

Lory

I'll answer your question, but I'll also move it to the Disney Tips board, since it's not really a theme parks question.

Seeing pictures when taken: It depends. The more expensive models all have an LCD where you can view the pictures after you take them. I bought a $35 model at Target and it didn't have the screen to see your pictures, but it really was a VERY cheap model. I can't think of a single one over $100 that doesn't have the LCD screen.

"Developing": No developing necessary. There's a couple options for what would be the equivalent of a 35mm developing. You can download the photos to your PC (or Mac). From there, you can edit them (most cameras come with some software for "cleanup" to fix colorings and things like that - more on that later), and then print them on your computer. Another option - your camera will have a slot for memory. There's a few different types: SD, CompactFlash, XD, and Memory Stick. Your camera will take one of those types, and you can then take the memory card to someplace like Walgreen's. They have a little kiosk where you can put your memory card into the machine, and get prints of your photos. Each print is $.29 (for a 4X6).

Printing them: If you decide to print them from your computer, like I said - chances are that your camera will come with software. It's usually very basic software. It will let you adjust the colors of your photo, and then print them in any size - from a 4x6, to an 8X10. You can buy more advanced software that will be more powerful, and will let you do more - but you should be able to do the basics with the software that will come with your camera. You can pick up photo paper for your laser or inkjet printer at pretty much any department, drug, or photo store. I usually just pick mine up at Target.

They really are pretty amazing, self-explanitory, easy-to-operate little gadgets. You'll wonder why you didn't get one sooner.

The ONLY problem with them is they SUCK BATTERIES! When I say they suck batteries, I mean it! You may not even make it through a full Disney day on one set of batteries. I would HIGHLY suggest that you purchase a charger for whatever size batteries your camera will take. It's about $30 for the charger, and about $10 for 4 batteries. But they'll last you. I bought my charger in May, and my batteries from them are still going. I picked mine up at Target, but I've seen them at Radio Shack, BJs....any place that sells electronics.

Good luck!

 

[2tinksmom]

I am technologically challenged...but here goes! A digital camera has a small screen on the back where you can instantly see the picture that has been saved to your camera. If you don't like it, you can delete it, and make room for more pics.

Most cameras have memory cards or sticks that can be removed and place directly into a laptop (depending on the laptop) or your computer to download. Most computers come these days with a basic photo program that will allow you to edit and print. Photoshop is a good program to install if you don't have one on your computer.

I have an older camera that requires a memory card (rather than a stick) and is bulky compared to the newer models. I have to use a scan disc device that I put the card into and down load to my computer. For my birthday, I'm am getting a Kodak that has no stick or card, but pretty good internal memory. It comes with a dock that will recharge the batteries and download your pics. You can also get a printer dock that also downloads and recharges and will print 4x6 prints. I plan on using it to turn shots into postcards to mail home while we are on vacation.

That's about all I know!! Have fun finding the right camera for you...you won't regret getting one!
Michele

 

[Terk-1]

I bought a Sony CyberShot last year and LOVE it!!! I swear by Sony. Make sure what ever make or model you get that it has a minimum of 3X optical. As far as software, I just downloaded it to my computer from a cd rom. Most cameras come with a USB cable that plugs into the back of your pc (mine is constantly plugged it). You just plug the other part of the cable into your camera and transfer the pictures onto your pc. I always burn the pictures onto a cd rom and open all of them BEFORE I delete them off my camera. I would get a minimum of a 128mb memory stick/card, but if possible, get a 256mb. The higher the mb, the more pictures it can hold on it. As far as printing, my printer at home is not picture quality, so I usually print them at my local CVS or Walmart. They typically cost $0.29 per print. You can also post the pics online at a free website, such as Webshots. These allow you to password protect (if you want), then send the link to family & friends to view or buy copies.

 

[ktglads]

I totally agree with Terk. The optical zoom is where the difference is between cameras. Don't be fooled by the higher the megapixels, the better the camera. I have seen salespeople at stores like Circuit City totally steering customers in that bad direction. Most likely, the biggest picture you will ever print will be an 8 X 10. 99% of your pictures will be 4X6. A 3 or 4 Megapixel camera will handle those shots just fine.

I personally have a Kodak Easyshare 6440 that I bought for a couple of reasons from battery type to memory cards used. I had to get a camera that took normal batteries since I was travelling to a location with no power for a couple of weeks and my camera takes regular AA batteries. This is very nice since those are readily available for camera and battery emergencies.

Even my mom, who is technically impaired has gone to digital. She bought the Kodak 3 MP camera and that is one of the easiest cameras to use, since all she really has to do is turn it on and shoot. There are other modes, but she doesn't need those so she is just oblivious to them. With the dock that doubles as a charger, all you have to do is plug it in and press the button and the photos will automatically go to your computer.

Oh yeah, and Walgreens charges $.20 a picture if you are printing more than 50 photos. Plus, you can usually find a coupon for a free cd.

 

[holcomb-mania]

I bought a digital camera while planning our trip two years ago. You can take hundreds of pictures and just change a card if you want to take more. The cost of memory has come down TREMENDOUSLY since I bought mine. Over two trips in '02 and '03, I took about 400 pictures. The cheap cost of memory lets you take pics of just about everything. We definitely don't print all of them, but transferring them to a computer and burning them to a CD is a piece of cake. Instead of looking thru a photo album, I can pull up the folder and run a slideshow on the TV (I have a computer hooked up to my entertainment system), and the family can enjoy every picture we took on our trip.

I'd recommend going to consumerreports.org to check out the ratings. I believe you can get a monthly membership for only a few dollars per month, and cancel when you've made your decision on the camera.

Also, I can't remember exactly when these were becoming available, but CVS was going to offer disposable digital cameras with the LCD screens. I want to say they were going to cost $20-$30, but I'm not sure. Just another option if you want to test the water.

 

[kimbac3]

ok, so when at WDW I could take lots of photos of my day at the park and then that night I can upload them onto my laptop, then burn them on CD and take them to be developed? Or would it be better to purchase several memory cards instead? I was thinking of the Kodak easyshare. My neice got one for her birthday and she was letting me play with it. It looked really easy. Does anyone know the quality of the printed photos from this camera? Do they come out as good as they look on the screen?

thanks,
Kimba

 

[Disney_1derland]

To start with 3mega pixels is probably plenty, I still regularly use my 2.1 megapixel even though I have an 8mp.

You want a camera with OPTICAL ZOOM of at least 3x digital zoom kills your picture quality.

Read this: http://allearsnet.com/btp/digital.htm it was written by a fellow DISer ( <a href='http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb008' target='_blank'><img src='http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/29/29_3_3.gif' border=0></a> All Hail Zurg) and gives a lot of great information and what you will need to consider.

Then narrow it down. I do NOT prefer Sony cameras. This is a personal preference. They use a particular type of memory that no other brand uses so if in the future you upgrade you'd have to stick with Sony or lose your investment in memory. I love Sony products overall but after having my heart set on a Sony camera I decided to go with a Canon which won hands down in the class I was looking at for picture quality. That you can decide for yourself by reading reviews at www.dpreview.com

It is very overwhelming but boy is it a time and money saver after an initial investment.

As for how to store your pictures....if you have a laptop then I would absolutely take it to d/l the pics at night and save yourself some money on memory cards. Depending on the # of megapixels you end up with will depend on how big of a memory card you'll need to get through a day. Your own photo taking habits will also dictate that.

Okay, now that I have probably confused you....go read Zurg's page that I posted above, it got me on the right track and will explain everything in really easy terms.

Good Luck!

 

[holcomb-mania]

Downloading to a laptop at night? Heck yeah I'd curb my memory card purchases!

If you get just one card (cameras usually come with a token card included, mine came with 16MB - wow, thanks), I'd get a 128MB or 256MB depending on how many pics you think you'd take during the day and the quality level you want on the pics. On the High Quality setting for my camera, each pic takes up about twice the card space as Normal Quality.

 

[jeancbpugh]

Originally posted by SnackyStacky
The ONLY problem with them is they SUCK BATTERIES! When I say they suck batteries, I mean it! You may not even make it through a full Disney day on one set of batteries.

Not mine. I have a Kodak Easyshare DX6490. It has a special Kodak battery that recharges on its dock. I've taken the camera on vacation and never had to recharge the battery...even after 400 pictures taken!

I bought a spare battery and battery charger but have never needed it.

Now...memory cards...those are worth having a couple.

 

[jeancbpugh]

Forgot to mention: Be sure to go to a camera store and try the demo cameras. You may find some awkward to hold, or with difficult buttons, etc.

 

[mla973]

For those of you who take your digital cameras to WDW, but do not have a laptop, do you know if Disney photography services can upload the photos from a memory card onto a CD, just to clear a memory card out so I don't have to buy a ton of them?

If you have used this service before, any comments on price or length of time for the service? Thanks!

 

[Disney_1derland]

they can at certain parks (MGM and MK come to mind) and that it's around $12-$15. But I'm not positive, just think I remember reading this here on the boards.

 

[Keebles]

Yes you can at various Kodak kiosks throughout the parks. But there have been several posts about people having it done and erasing their cards, only to get home to find out the disc they had made was empty! My Sis did it at Epcot in January with no problems (she has an Olympus XD card). Just depends on how trusting you are!

 

[KarlaG4Kids]

Digital is the way to go. I have an Olympus C750. Love it. It has a 10x optical zoom. Lots of features. My biggest recommendation is that you purchase the camera quite a bit ahead of any trip or event you want to photograph. PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE with it. That is the great thing, you can practice all you want and erase everything you don't like. No printing costs to find out it didn't work the way you wanted. I agree with the person that said you should go to the camera shop and "feel" each camera you are interested in. They are very different. I purchased mine online after checking them out at the stores....got a great deal. Check out the online sellers. Good luck.

 

[Lory]

I appreciate everyones answers!!
I know nothing about new gadgets so this digital camera thing is all new to me.
I will probably buy the one that comes most recommended and make my husband figure it out and then show me how it works!!
I seen Kodak makes many different models, is there one thing specific that makes one model stand out?
We do have a laptop that we bought last year--how exactly do we download our pictures to it and then we would need to put them on our home computer to print them out... right??
I know nothing. I want something quick, easy, but the best quality pictures.
If you download your memory (card, stick, ??) to a laptop does that mean it is ready to take new pictures, you use the card numerous times??
I know this sounds stupid to all you that know what you are doing!!
I will do much more research.....buy, and then just wing it I guess.

Thanks to all,

Lory

 

[montblanc]

Take a look at other makes as well. I have used many different models and makes over the years, my Nikon 4300 has performed extremely well with over 10,000 shots taken so far. I used the Kodaks several years ago and was not impressed, hopefully they are better now.

If you want a really informative site go to www.dpreview.com, they provide indepth reviews with photographs.

On to your questions:

- Models vary based on how many megapixels they have, response time, format (rangefinder or SLR), optics, etc.

- Cards are much less expensive now, a 512mb storage card can hold around 500 photographs at fine resolution for a 4 megapixel camera. Unless you plan to take more than that I would skip the laptop, at Disney I always vow to take a lot of pictures but never go over 250.

- I did a small commercial job using my Nikon 4300. I took around 150 photographs in one hour, and had the job done so quickly that my client could not believe it. The quality was very high as well. Megapixels are important but so are the optics of the camera lens. The camera used by NASA on Mars was only 1 megapixel but had such state of the art optics and CCD circuitry that the pictures were sharper than conventional cameras at 8 megapixels.

- If you dump (download) your pictures to a laptop you can erase them from your card. The card is like a portable mini hard drive and will show up on your computer as one with folders. You can use the card over and over, no limit.

I strongly suggest you try out a few models to see what you like as well. LCD preview screens of your shots are good to have but don't show the picture quality clearly enough, only when you see it enlarged on screen can you make a good evaluation.

PS: I just bought a Canon I960 printer. Simply amazing! I loaded 20 sheets of 4x6 photo paper, picked 20 images to print and out came the prints in about 10 minutes. Friends and family can't tell the difference between them and professional lab results...

PPS: Please keep multiple digital copies of your photographs, there are many horror stories of computer crashes, scratched discs etc. where people lost their entire portfolio. Although prints are rated between 25-100+ years (normal analog prints from film cameras fade after about 25 years) this is based on optimal conditions. I keep my digital photographs on my computer hard drive, a CD-ROM and a backup CD-ROM which I store offsite.

 

[Deb & Bill]

I have three Sonys. One Mavica that used floppy disks. One Mavica that uses small CDs. And my newest Cybershot that uses the memory stick. I got the newest one because we were going to be hiking up a mountain and the other two were somewhat bulky. My 11 yr old son uses all of them and takes great pictures. Print quality can depend on your printer, but mine have all turned out beautifully.

These cameras all are getting cheaper and cheaper. I think all three of mine have cost about the same. Now I just wish I had a digital video camera instead of the non-digital one.

I made the neatest slide show of my hiking photos the other night, including music with Adobe Photoshop.

 

[KarlaG4Kids]

One thing I do that makes me feel "safer" about loosing pictures. I download my pictures onto my computer and then I copy them onto a CD. I use that CD to take in to make copies on the machines. 1) I don't want anything happening to my memory cards (mine aren't cheap yet) and I worry that one of those machines will goof up. 2) I have a back-up to the pictures in case anything happens to my computer. I store my cd's in my fireproof lock box for safety. I make sure my cd's copied correctly before I erase my memory card. Usually I take my laptop with me on trips so that I can download my pictures and keep taking more. This upcoming trip is short enough I don't think I am going to take the laptop.

There is so many advantages to a digital. The one thing I have noticed about the digital is you have to allow a couple of extra seconds when taking the pictures. Digitals have a little slower response time. Focusing takes a little longer and it takes a second or two to record the picture to the memory card. As the battery gets lower on juice the response time seems to be a little longer. Make sure you get a charger for whatever size battery your camera takes. I prefer the AA because they are cheaper and you can also resort to a regular AA in a pinch.

I almost made myself crazy shopping for one. There are so many choices and good and bad features to every camera. The pictures are worth it though.