Need help on finding a good digital camera & printer

[etwinchester]

We are going to Florida in March and would like to purchase a good digital camera. It doesn't have to be top of the line, but take really nice pictures that I can print for scrapbooking.

I'm very new to the digital picture thing, so I have a couple of questions:

* What camera is good for taking digital pictures, any recommendations?

* How many pictures do they store (24, 36, etc...)

* What software do you use to edit, resize, add borders, etc...?

* Do you use a photo printer or a regular printer? What kind/model do you recommend?

* I've heard rumors that when taking digital pictures, the subjects have to be really still or the pictures tend to get blurry. Is this correct? If so, how can you take pictures of children on rides?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I need all the help I can get...

 

[LindaBabe]

finepix whatever number it was, with 6 x optical zoom and there was also a good Nikon Coolpix for the same price ~$400.

The number of pictures it holds depends on the MB of the smart media - you can get them up to about 100 mb which holds a LOT of pictures. You can save them at different quality level - low allows more per card, but high makes better prints.

I've found it is hard to take clear pictures of moving targets in low light situations - ie Teppanaki. However most of my pictures come out well.

I think the highest rated printer is an Epson for about $125 or so - the key is using photo paper and highest quality print setting. I print my own pictures when I need a quick picture to fill out a page, or a special size but I do NOT print all my pictures self - it is far far to slow. I upload my pictures to Snapfish and order prints from them. MUCH less work on my part.

Theres a good discussion on buying digital camera over on deb Wills site www.wdwig.com

 

[RRBB]

DH bought the Nikon Coolpix 2500 last April and I absolutely love it. It takes great pictures and even printed on plain paper at normal quality setting (on our HP Deskjet 990Cse) they come out looking really good. It has a 3x optical zoom and 2.0 mega pixels. I can't remember the size of the original memory card, but it held about 48 pictures. But DH doesn't do anything small and bought a 192MB card that will hold over 400 pictures on it. But of course the more you have on it, the slower it becomes when storing/retrieving. I know the settings have a lot to do with how many pictures can be stored. I have ours set with the following: Image Quality: Normal (Fine/Normal/Basic), Image Size: 1600 (1600/1280/1024/640)

I really like this camera because it is small and light but takes great pictures. It easily fits in a pocket or purse. And it has a scene mode that you can set depending on when/where you're taking pictures. ie. party/indoor, beach/snow, sunset, fireworks show, closeup, etc. It's also very easy to transfer pictures from the camera to the computer.

This camera will also store up to about 15 seconds of movie, but there is no sound to it. (I've never used this mode, at least not on purpose.)

I have found that if you're trying to take a picture of a moving object/person you may not get it. The subject may be out of view by the image is captured. It takes some getting used to because there seems to be a delay between the time I press the shutter-release button and the time the picture is taken. I've learned to take lots of the same thing in hopes of getting a good shot in the end. (It's so easy to go back later and delete the images I don't like, usually after I've downloaded them to my computer.

As for editing, I use Microsoft PhotoDraw. But that's because it's the s/w application DH loaded on my computer. I think he has PhotoShop on his computer that is probably more powerful and flexible. But I don't really do much editing, except for resizing anyway.

 

[llp479]

You will definitly want to buy an Epson printer. Epson has varying levels of archival inks, ranging from 25 - 100 years. Their web site www.epson.com has all their printers, prices and ink specifications. I've been eying the printer that allows you to print straight from the media card with the optional monitor you can see the picture, make some sizing adjustments etc. Printer and monitor run about $350, but they also have others for around $200 that will print direct from the media cards.

While HP has some great printers, their ink is not archival. They don't even mention anything on their site with regards to their inks. I printed some pictures about two years ago, and they are starting to fade, even though I printed them on CM photo paper.

Another option is to take your media to a photo processor for printing. Roughly .40 a print, but they are printed using the same process as your APS or 35mm film.

As for picture quality, our au pair has the Nikon 3.1 pixel camera and all of her shots have been great, including the EPCOT at night photos.

 

[etwinchester]

Thanks for all these replies. I have been various searches on the different cameras and checking CUSTOMER reviews as well.

I'd rather have customer reviews as they are using the camera on a daily basis with different circumstances.

If anyone else loves their camera, please let me know about it.

Thanks so much!

 

[pattyT]

Hi! I love my HP photosmart 612! has flash, zoom, etc! my only complaint is that sometimes it takes a few seconds to focus and you get the wrong pictures! (My dd has decided she doesn't like having pics taken and turns her head - so thank goodness I can delete all the photos of the back of her head and try again!)lol

DH bought it for me for x-mas last year and I also got the HP

photosmart 1000 printer too!

It is awesome - they give you the software you need with the printer (I think at the time it was 199 for the printer and 249 for the camera) No need to upload your pictures! Smartmedia card holds 80-120 pictures depending on star rating (pixels used). Put the card right into the printer and vaavoom here come the photos - love it for birthday party projects with pics of the kids etc! The software however allows you to crop etc.
I have some pic's available online to show you the quality! Just e-mail me!
Hope this helps!