digital cameras

[dis4harley]

I am thinking about getting a digital camera for our land/sea trip.
what are teh pros/ons of 35mm vs digital when on the cruise?
I have heard about some peoples film being destroyed, is there danger of that with a digital?
any info would be appreciated
thanks

 

[denise5374]

The pros of using digital is that you can take as many pictures as you want and not worry if they all don't turn out. Just make sure that you have enough media storage space.

I don't think theree is any danger of having the media cards erased through xray.

I bought a digital camera before our 2002 land/sea and took probably 350 pictures in 7 days. Of course they weren't all great but I ended up with quite a few which are stored on my computer.

The only con I can think of with a digital camera is they use a lot of batteries so I would recommend rechargeble batteries and carry your charger, my rechargebles take about one hour to recharge but I always carry spare reg. batteries in my camera bag, just in case.

Good lkuck with your decision!

 

[3MinnieMom]

We were just on the Nov 8th Western cruise. Several friends/family back home warned us to just leave our digital camera at home and only bring disposable cameras. We have a 4.0 megapixil Kodak EasyShare digital camera that we decided to bring anyway. In the rush of last minute packing, we forgot to pack the battery charging cradle. My DH turned-off the display mode (we could still "see" the picture for a few seconds after we took it) and he warned us not to use the review mode very much. We spent 3 days at Universal Studios prior to the cruise, then the 7-day cruise. The battery lasted the whole time! We took close to 140 pictures on our digital camera - we are SO glad that we brought it. The only times we didn't use it was at the ports/on excursions/on Castaway Cay (then we used a Target underwater camera or disposable cameras). The quality of the pictures from the digital is so much better than from the other cameras. Next time we won't forget the battery charger (for peace of mind - and more use of the "review" mode back in the room!). Have fun!

 

[wdwmom2]

On my land/sea vacation I am taking both a digital and 35 mm camera. My DH got me a Nikon Coolpix 4300 last year for Christmas. It is a 4 megapixal and takes GREAT photos!! Yes, the batteries can go quickly, especially if you use the large back screen, use the flash alot, review your pics frequently. This year for Christmas I asked for an extra battery and another memory card, I want a 256 card. My 35 mm is a Pentax IQ Zoom 140. It also takes great pics. I will have my cameras hand checked at the airport to avoid any problems. Don't let them talk you into running your photographic equipment though x-ray, they have done that to us. Although I personally have never had a problem with film run through x-ray, I am not going to take this chance with all of my wonderful Disney memories. Nope, not worth it. This will probably be the last big vacation with our children as they are getting older.

 

[Memaw2Wm]

Originally posted by wdwmom2
I will have my cameras hand checked at the airport to avoid any problems. Don't let them talk you into running your photographic equipment though x-ray, they have done that to us.

When we flew out of Dulles (Washington, DC) last summer the security agents did hand-check our film (although they tried to talk us out of it), but INSISTED that our camera go thru the scanner ... no problem for my digital and luckily the film in my daughter's camera didn't seem worse for the wear ... but my daughter used up her film before we went thru security on the way home.

Personally I think digital is the way to go if you're traveling and having to send your camera thru scanners.

 

[wdwmom2]

Memaw2Wm,

Our experience has always been at BWI. Maybe the answer to the problem of having to run your camera through the scanner would be to not load your camera with film until you get to your destination and then when coming home use up the roll of film in your camera and then take it out. No worries about ruining any film. You can have it all hand checked. I think that this is what I will do when we go to WDW in April.

 

[UMTerp]

My last DCL experience pushed me toward purchasing a digital camera. You will be asked to put your camera and film through x-ray when you return to the ship from each port. The number of x-ray exposures can really add up that way.

Good Luck!

 

[Sebastian_the_crab]

I too have a Nikon Coolpics 4300 with a 256 mb card. I bought an extra battery also. I had to charge the batteries every night. With two batteries I always had an hot one ready to go. Our 7 day land/sea vacation was awesome. I wound up taking 855 pictures! With the adaptor to hook up to the in-room tv, I was able to review my pictures afterwards to decide which to keep.

I told all the security people of the digital camera. The were all very careful not to x-ray it. In fact security told me they WOULDN'T e-ray it. They just manually checked it with no questions asked.

I'd recommend a digital camera because of the cost savings of not having to have film developed AND you get to see what the pics look like as you take them. A very cool thing indeed.

 

[natdencro]

A digital camera is a MUST! No problems with it going through numerous x-ray machines, etc. Only problem is................ you take too many photos! On our 2 week cruise on the Magic, we managed to take 639 photos! The difficult part was picking the best 200 to put into our Cruise 2003 Photo Album! By the way.............. you can purchase very good digital cams in St. Thomas/St.Maarten........ much cheaper than at home.Nat

 

[wdwmom2]

Sebastian,

Did you get all 855 pics on a 256 mb card?? What resolution did you shoot them in? I always like using the highest resolution because you never know when you will shoot that picture of a lifetime and want to enlarge it.

Thanks

Sharon

 

[Sebastian_the_crab]

I had it set on 1600Xwhatever resolution. I got some GREAT pics too.

 

[wdwmom2]

So you got all your pictures on the 256 mb card??? Just wondering. I want to make sure that I take enough memory with me. I tend to go crazy with taking pictures, lots and lots!!!

 

[Favorite Auntie]

I have a Sony Cybershot DSC-P10, I am still getting use to it. Some of my photos are coming out blurry? Mine has 5 mp, but if I were to do it again I would only go for 3. My parents have a 3 MP Sony and I have blown up some photos from theirs and I can't tell the difference....and my camera cost $300 more than theirs!!

I am bringing my sony and my Nikon N80 (SLR 35 mm) on my cruise next week. I still love my SLR....

 

[lbgraves]

LOL! We just got off the Magic Saturday & I manged to take over 500 pictures on our 256 so far & there are another 135 on a 64 card. I also have 10 rolls of film from our 3 days at WDW & then the cruise. I kept the completed rolls of film in our safe so that they didn't have to go thru security each time we got back on the ship.

 

[markºoº]

I have both a 35mm and a digital so I will give my 2 cents.

Digital pros:
Instant review of pics so you can retake and delete junk
You can upload pics to computer to share/post on web
3MP camera will result in excellent 8x10 if you shot in highest quality.
No concern with xray machines
Cheaper to use - one time investment in large memory card

Digital cons:
They eat batteries
Limited storage - can't just buy more film
Very poor in low light situations
Printing pictures can be a pain and expensive
Pictures are easily blurred due to the small delay all digicams have between pushing the button and taking the actual picture.
More expensive to purchase

That said, how do you use pictures? Do you like printing pictures you can put in a scrap book or photo album? If so, lean towards 35mm. Do you take only a limited number of pics or do you like to take a lot. Lean toward digital if you take a lot. Do you want to be able to post pics on the web or email to others? If so, get digital.

Don't be too concerned about xray machines damaging film. I travel frequently and always carry my 35mm with lots of film and have not once had a problem. I generally use 200 or 400 speed film. NEVER put film in CHECKED bags - new xray machines for checked bags will damage film. On the cruise, when you leave the ship only take film you will need that day. I always take exposed film out of my camera bag and leave it behind in the room.

 

[Sebastian_the_crab]

Very good points Mark! I'd like to add, on the Wonder memory cards are available for purchase. They are expensive though. If memory serves me correctly, a 128 mb card was something like $58. A far cry from the $46 they are on sale for now at Wal-Mart. But in a pinch, you can still get one.

 

[reggit]

Does anybody know if guests can use the internet computers to download photos from the camera and then burn them on a CD?

 

[brack]

As a long time amateur photographer I prefer my film camera. With the labs now able to (cheaply) put the pictures on a CD when it is developed I get the best of both worlds. As for airport/cruise ship x-ray machines; I bought a lead lined case for the film. They have to hand check it then.

 

[CanadianCruiser]

I don't think they let you have access to the computers to download pictures from what I've read. Best to bring several memory cards, a laptop or best a digital wallet.

Buy a cheap Canon i850 or whatever the latest photo printer is, and you can print out really nice lab quality prints at home if you have the right paper. I use Epson Premium glossy photo paper which seems to work best for my needs. Office Depot photo paper is also supposed to be good too.