? for those who use digital pictures

[etwinchester]

Could you tell me how long you've had your digital camera and digital pictures? Also, have they lasted long?

A salesman told me that a PRINTED digital picture tends to fade more quickly than regular film pictures.

I love to scrapbook and he said that after 5 years, the picture would really fade.

Please tell me if this is true or what you have found thru your experience.

 

[kellyb2000]

I have had my digital camera for about a year and a half. I bought it specifically for a trip I took to Hollywood/L.A. and I have since scrapped that whole trip and my pictures still look great. I still use my regular camera and sometimes take pictures of the same thing with both cameras to see the difference and believe me, there is. And I don't even have one of the best, more expensive digitals. The pictures come out brighter and more vivid and they are especially great to email (which is something else I wanted it for) I don't print my own so I'm not sure if they fade. I can't see why they would, though especially with all the new printers they have out designed specifically for printing pictures. I usually send mine to walmart.com and let them print them for me.

 

[MerryPoppins]

I've had two digital cameras. I've been using them for about 4 years. I never print my own pictures, I use Shutterfly or Ofoto's services. My pictures still look great. I do burn cd's with my pictures, so I have them all stored. I guess if they fade, I'd have to have them reprinted, but I think if you use a photo lab for the prints they should last just as long.

 

[etwinchester]

How much does it cost to have someone else print them for you?

I thought that it would be more expensive that way than normal film. A 24 roll is normally $6.00 with a regular camera. That's why I thought about going digital and printing out the ones I want.

 

[kellyb2000]

It is a little bit more expensive than printing them yourself, and eventually I plan on buying a good printer (that would be a good Christmas present!) Walmart will print a 4x6 for $0.26/piece - shutterfly and ofoto, where you can play with your pics like enhancing, cropping, add borders, etc., it's $0.49/piece. Shutterfly has a neat option of buying a bunch of pics where you will have that many credited to your account and it gets cheaper the more you buy. I think the most expensive option is $99 for like 350 pictures which equals about $0.28/piece. They have very good print quality, though, which is why I use any of the above.

 

[MikeScott8]

Kelly,

Thanks for the info on printing your photos. I have a bunch of Digital photos I am trying to narrow down which one sto print for doing some disney pages with.

Mike

 

[bunnyfoo]

I have mine printed at a photo developers ... The pictures look sharper than the ones that I print on my inkjet printer.

 

[safetymom]

Epson makes a number of inkjet printers that you can use to print your pictures. They have a print life of 25 years which is what film prints are rated at. Also when used in a scrapbook that is acid free, archival and kept the print life doubles. Not all printers are capable of this. Epson has been to many scrapbooking events showing their printers.

 

[MikeScott8]

Glad to hear that as I recently picked up a EPSON Stylus Photo 820. I had got it for several reasons including border free 4x6 prints and its features. Its price was good too. I had asked about the ink they used was archival and when it was, that really sealed it as then I could use it for prints for pages.

The day I got it I had recieved a WL photo frame from a DISer I made a copy of some "Great hotels" shows on Disney resorts I taped, so I printed a nice 4x6 border free photo I had taken last year at WL to put in. It turned out great, and I only have a 1.3 megapixel camera, so when I upgrade my camera I will be able to do nicer and also some bigger prints on it.

Mike

 

[llp479]

We just went digital yeasterday! Sony 4.1 meg at Best Buy now $399! Been checking out the best prices for the Epson printers tonight. DH didn't see why we couldn't just use the HP we have, until the salesman at Circuit City showed him the same print from both the HP and the Epson.

 

[etwinchester]

Could you please tell me what Epson printer they recommended? I would be very interested in checking it out.

Thanks.

 

[safetymom]

Any of the photo printers that Epson makes would be good for printing photos and scrapbooking. The 785,820,925,1280. The 820 does a great job and is only $99. It can print up to 5760 dpi.

 

[paulinewdw]

I have an Epson 785 photo printer. When you average out the ink and paper costs alone, without any mistakes, it costs 79 cents per print. It is much cheaper to have them developed on-line, plus you can crop them before sending them and you see what you will get(ie no surprises) I still use other cameras also,
I have six different models.

 

[safetymom]

I don't know how you figured your numbers but my costs are around 45-50 cents per 4x6 print. I can crop them myself and print just the ones I want. I also don't have to wait for them to come in the mail. When you go up to 8x10 the per print cost is around $1.25. Very cheap and they look great.

 

[FantasticDisFamily]

Another opinion on the subject of digitals:

I've used some digital prints when that is all I have available but am still a film girl at heart. One of the reasons is that you lose resolution much more quickly when enlarging a digital photo.

Also I just can't get the same speed out of a digital as I can high speed film. That motion blurs - ie: the football arcs across the entire print. And until you get to the really high end digitals the ability to shoot the equivalent of a 300 mm or greater lens isn't there.

So you need to think about what you're shooting.
Deb

 

[etwinchester]

My main use is for everyday and vacation. Very seldem will I print 8x10 pictures. The highest I ever get is 5x7 and then again, that is only for special occassions.

My other main purpose is to print out (or thru online services) just the ones I plan to use for scrapbooking. I only scrapbook the pictures that I like best and turn out better. I don't use the whole role of film so then I end up wasting money using my regular camera. There are some pictures that don't even turn out and using digital, I can delete them right away.

 

[kellyb2000]

That's exactly why I got my digital - I wanted to see my pictures before I ordered them because I take alot of pictures even when I don't need to. (you just never know!) And also you may want double prints of a couple of pictures but not of the ones you cut people's heads off!