Help with digital stuff

[Jackie H.]

I have been scrapbooking for several years (and I've been a Disney freak for decades).

I am trying to decide if I want to get into the digital camera thing.

Are those photos good for scrapbooking? Do they rub off or fade or anything bad like that? Or do I just need to make sure I get certain standards in my printer and camera?

I would greatly appreciate any help you guys can give me on this!

 

[janette]

You will want a camera with at least 3megapixals to get good prints. They are okay lower than that but now they have gotten cheaper I would go with at least 3mg. The higher the number the better the quality will be. We have a digital that is 2mg but use it for pics mainly on the computer. I haven't printed lots of them.

I'm holding out for the really high resolution ones to drop more before replacing my 35mm with one.

There are web sites and I believe some photo developers that will print copies of your photos. The print process with those is the same as any other picture developing. If you want to print them yourself it would depend on your printer. Most ink-jet printers are not archival quality. I've heard there are some new printers on the market that use thermal processing, these should be the same as if you had them printed at a developers.

 

[Limmer]

I work in a photo-lab and while I can't comment on the process as we don't do digital on-site I can tell you it is A LOT more expensive to have them printed. We charge $0.74 for prints from negatives and $1.99 for prints from file (disk, memory card, etc.) If you are planning to have them all printed for scrpabooks and albums etc, I would not let go of your 35mm just yet.

 

[Wendy]

Wow Limmer! That's a lot for prints from file! Around here, I get 4x6 prints from file for $.20 - $.29 each. If I use an online service to upload them and have them developed, they range in price from $.29 - $.49 each. I get prints from my digital just as cheap as if I used traditional film. I usually burn them onto CD and take them into Sam's or Wal Mart to have prints made. When you do this, they're using the same paper and everything as they do for 35 mm prints, so they're just as archival as traditional prints. I wouldn't recommend using a home printer for srapbooking.

I started using a digital camera for srapbooking last summer and would never consider going back to a 35 mm. I LOVE my digital!!! I just bought a Nikon Coolpix 995 and it takes better pictures than any 35 mm point and shoot I've used ever came close to taking. Really! There's no comparison in the quality!!! The best thing about a digital is you can take 100 pitcures if you want to get that *1* perfect shot and you don't have to worry about how much film you're using. Because of this, I'm taking much, much better pictures than I ever did before and you can really tell the difference in my albums. You know immediately if the shot turned out so you can retake it if necessary. There's no more getting a role of film back only to find a picture that would have been a great shot if only little Mary didn't have her eyes closed in it.

Having said all that, be sure to get a good camera to start out with if you intend to scrapbook with it. I started out with just a so so camera, because I wasn't sure if it was worth the investment. That first camera was a complete waste of money for me as the pictures were only mediocre and it just made me want a good digital camera that much more. I quickly realized the advantages to having a digital camera and was hooked! I wish I would have spent the money on a really good camera to begin with. Live and learn, I guess!

Here's a couple of pictures taken with my digital:

 

[Keli]

Wendy, Do you know if I could save pics to disk and bring them in for developing at Wal-mart? I don't have a CD burner yet but I like using a digital camera to take pics. Or could I just bring in my smart card and have them downloaded from that?

 

[Wendy]

I think you can bring in a floppy, but double check with your Wal Mart. I've never tried, so I could be wrong.

 

[BevS97]

I get my prints printed professionally, it's cheaper, faster and the quality is better than I can do at home. I pay £4.99 for 40 digital prints - that's about what I would pay to have a 36 exp. 35mm roll of film developed, so it's very similiar in price - although there's no film to buy.
I didn't have a cd-writer initially, but I take my smart-card to the photo shop and they can print directly off there - you can edit etc on your pc and then write back to the smart-card using your camera (at least I can, and my digitial is pretty basic).

While I quite like the convenience of my digital, I have just gone back to 35mm, I wanted a more powerful camera, with a decent zoom lens etc and to get that kind of quality in a digital camera was going to be way out of my price range - for what i would have paid for an ordinary digital, I was able to buy a very nice 35mm compact camera. Of course, the first day I took it out, I forgot to bring etc film ! The bonus of the digital is that with the right card you can take 100's of pictures without changing the film.


Bev

 

[abbyndrewmom]

I love love my digital camera for scrapbooking. The best thing is being outside coming in and scraping the pictures right away. There is so much you can do with your pictures right on the screen, I do all my cropping and shapping right on the computer. the ability to throw out the bad pictures is great. I got my digital camera (Toshiba 3.5 mp) last August and took it to WDW in September, it was great to go to the room at the end of the day and go through the pictures erasing the ones that were not very good. Also when it comes to the characters you can check your pics right away to make sure they are good. I can't tell you how many times I had taken a pictures that everyone wasn't looking or someones eyes were closed with a std carmera I wouldn't have known till I got them back from the developer. I had to 64 memory cards and was able to get about 110 pictures at the highest setting.

I print alot of mine at home i have the Epson 780 photo printer it has archieval ink, and was recommened by CK magazine. For special pictures I use the Epson Glossy paper and the results are amazing!! Much better then anything that I have ever done with my 35 mm camera.

Goodluck

 

[Jackie H.]

Thank you guys so much for the wonderful replys. I have decided I definately want a digital camera - told my hubby I want it for Mother's Day. Your suggestions will help a lot on deciding which to get.

 

[eeyorefanatic]

I just bought one after about 2 months of research. I also do scrapbooking and so print quality was important to me: Here is what I learned:

Make sure the digital camera resolution is at least 2 mega pixels. That is the lowest resolution you can get and still get ok prints (up to 4x6). This is also one of the biggest things that determines the price. At 2 mega pixels expect to pay $200-$250.

It is the optical zoom # that is important not the digital. The digital zoom is the same as changing the size of a picture on your computer. The pixels just get bigger and sometimes the result is not that great.

Also I would advise getting a digital camera that takes compact flash memory. It is more readily available and cheaper than the others. The cheapest place i have found any memory is www.newegg.com.

Additional costs to consider: Rechargable batteries, memory cards, card readers or docking stations, good quality printer if you plan on printing them yourself photo paper etc...

As I used to take 10-20 rolls of film on every Disney trip I new this would be a great cost saver for me. It also will enable me to do a lot of on screen editing before I have to print the picture so it will be just the way I want it.

As i was on a pretty small budget I got a Kodak DX3600 for $248 at Walmart (It also takes videos with sound) and am really happy with the results around the house. I will post some pictures when I get back from my trip. 2 more days

 

[sha_lyn]

I have an olympus Camedia c3000. It is a 3.3 mega pixel and has a zoom lens. I love it. For prints I have an HP photo smart 100 portable printer. To print larger prints for now I will get those done at Wal Mart. Eventually I will get a larger printer also.

 

[Olaf]

I spent a lot of time researching digital cameras before making the switch to digital. Now that I've done it, I'm in love!

Don't mess with anything under 3 mega pixels, go for 4 if you can afford it. This will allow you to zoom/crop in on your pictures without loss of quality. The best cameras out there are the Nikons and Olympus. Consumer Reports has done several reports on this topic.

After you have your camera, invest in a good photo editing program. I use Adobe Photoshop Elements.

I sent my original shots off to several different companies. The best/cheapest was Sam's Club.com. They charge .24 a print and use Fuji crystal archive paper.

The best thing about going digital is that you can you can take tons of pics and only print the very best. Plus, they always look better after messing with them a bit.

 

[MerryPoppins]

There is a site (I'll have to ask my DH for the URL) that allows you to look at the same photo taken with different digital cameras. Very helpful when trying to decide which one to buy. Anyone interested in looking at it? If so, I'll have him find it again.

I LOVE my digital. I take more pictures and only print the ones that turn out good. My friends say they can't tell which photos are from digital and which are from my conventional camera. I also get my pics printed, usually from an on-line service like shutterfly or ofoto.

 

[chessie]

I would love to see the photo comparison.

I am just beginning to do my research on a digital. At this point, I really think that I will be waiting for a while yet. What I see that I think I want, costs much more then I think I would want to pay.

 

[MerryPoppins]

Take a look at:

www.imaging-resource.com
Among other things, go to "reviews" and click on the "Comparometer: Test Image Comparisons". That will allow you to look at the same shot from different cameras.

and

www.dcresource.com
is another good site with info about digital cameras

I have a Kodac DC265 and I love it. Good luck shopping around. There are some good deals to be found if you look hard enough.

 

[sha_lyn]

Most places do not charge 1.99 to make a print from a digital camera. Depending on where you get it done it cost between 25 and 39 cents. Also remember you will not have to buy film and the media cards can be used over and over.

 

[Muushka]

Intersting digital thread! One comment about digital cameras. The MP are very important, espcially if you plan to print larger pictures. But another factor in purchasing one is whether you are a "point and shoot" type, or one who likes a little control over their camera.

I have used a totally manual SLR for over 30 years. When I purchased my digital, I really was not aware that they could have a lot of the same "manual properties" that a SLR could have. Luckily, I got a Kodak DC4800. This was Kodak's higher end camera in 2000. I guess they could not find a market for it (it was pretty $$ when it first came out)and it has been discontinued. I paid under $500 (just!), and am just now realizing how much this camera can do after almost a year.

Anyway, some of the features that are important to this "camera control freak" are:

ability to set the film speed
ability to set the f stop and shutter speed (and to have long time exposure)
ability to set the white balance (has to do with lighting, flourescent, tungsten,daylight...)
ability to set the white balance manually (where you actually tell the camera what is white)
ability to set the color mode (B&W, Sepia, and different filters)
ability to set the sharpness

this in addition to the normal camera stuff like optical zoom, ability to recharge in the camera, lots of memory, extra batteries......

I bought a tripod for it for our last trip to WDW and the night time pictures were very awesome (if I do say so myself!). I took some pictures at Portifino Bay using a long exposure
at night of the bay and the hotel, really great.

My next purchase will be an external flash (the one they give with the camera is lame).

I am not promoting my camera, just another facet of digital cameras.

Oops, almost forgot, Sams Club does a decent job for .20 for a 3X5 from CD, while you wait.

 

[TwinMom7]

I went digital last fall and I use my digital photos totally for scrapbooking. I upload all of my photos to www.walmart.com and the prints are 26 cents each with shipping at $1.38. My photos turn out WONDERFUL!!!

I have an Olympus Camedia (2.1) megapixels and my photos have printed out beautifully at 8x10, so don't have anyone tell you that you have to have a 3.0 or higher. 99% of my photos are printed at the 4x6 size and they are GREAT!!

My camera uses a SmartMedia card. I purchased a 64 and I know I'll need a larger card before we head to Orlando in August. At least I won't have to carry around 20 rolls of film...just my rechargeable batteries and charger.

 

[StilesMom]

We returned last week from our most recent Disney trip and we LOVED using our digital camera! We have an Olympus C3000 and we love it! We took nearly 800 pictures in 7 days and I chose 225 to have printed professionally. I used an online company called Webphotos and the pictures turned out beautifully! (Incidentally - I can comment on another online company - Fototime - I ordered some from them to test their quality and all the pictures turned out very poor!)

Some tips:
- have plenty of batteries on hand!
- don't use the LCD screen unless you have to (it eats batteries!)
- invest in a 128 card
- back your pictures up on CD

 

[BevS97]

I have to agree with StilesMom, you don't really need 3 meg if you can't afford it. I have a 1.3 meg FujiFinePix - it's absolutely the bottom of the range, and yet it takes great pictures and I have had a few printed at 8x10 and they look great. The 6x4's are completely indistguishable from my 35mm prints. My only complaint about the FujiFinePix 1300 was the lack of zoom, and to get a really good optical zoom on a digital you have to go right to the top of the range.

Mine's not as flash as Muushku's, but it still let's me adjust the exposure and the white balance, to be honest I just leave it on AUTO, but I did play around with the exposure for some cool halloween pumpkin shots once and was very impressed.

Bev