Reason to switch to digital camera

[Disneefun]

I see a lot of posts on here about the pros/cons of switching to digital cameras. Here is the reason I switched: Wal Mart lost our film from our recent WDW trip! WAHHHHHHHH!!!! We returned in Jan. and the pics have not turned up and are long gone. Forutnately we go to WDW a lot, so most of the stuff I have pics of elsewhere (except pics of us having fun), but still....I am done with standard photography. CompUSA had a midnight madness sale this weekend and I snagged a 4mp camera for $149 (after I send in the rebate). WalMart is giving us a 128 MB memory card as an apology for the film loss. So, for those of you thinking about switching, I say go for it. I wish I had done it sooner.

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Bummer about your film. That is one of the reasons I used to advise my customers to never use send out for those vacation photos. It does not happen often, but, who wants to take that chance on their "number" coming up? IMHO, it is worth the small extra cost to keep it inhouse for developing.

What kind of camera did you purchase?

 

[GoofItUp]

You will love your digital camera....at least we love ours! And the 128-mb card won't make up for your lost pics, but it is a nice (and necessary) addition!

 

[disneysteve]

Originally posted by GAIL HAYDEN
it is worth the small extra cost to keep it inhouse for developing.

This is no guarantee either. I have had photolabs mess up film beyond repair, so even the 1-hour places aren't safe.

Steve

 

[RoyalCanadian]

Folks,

Our family's foray into digital pics has been stepped up a notch or two by a similar experience to the OP's -- except it was my entire camera that was stolen just last Friday at the curling club where I was helping to run a bonspiel. Fortunately, there were no "once in a lifetime" pics on the film -- but it still hurts to lose the camera I've been using for nearly 19 years and one that got me a few "gigs" as a church convention photographer and, along with that, some cover shots for our church's nationwide magazine.
I found a great place on-line to order my camera -- tigerdirect.ca (based in Illinois, but have a Canadian address) -- and scored two 256MB xD-Picture cards at a sale yesterday for $70 CDN, each. Everything seems to be coming together just perfectly with the ordering -- lowest pricing all 'round. I guess it was meant to be.

 

[Disneefun]

Originally posted by GAIL HAYDEN
What kind of camera did you purchase?

It's called an Eye-Q, by concord camera. I had never heard of the brand, but did some checking and found they got positive reviews from others. Been using the heck out of it since Friday and am very satisfied.

And, oh wow, we went to pick up our free SD card from WalMart and the manager gave us a 256mb instead of a 128 that he originally mentioned. Said he felt very bad about this and really wanted to make it up. So while I'm peeved that Wal-Mart lost the film, they have done a good job of making things better, if not perfect, since the film can't be replaced. So small kudos to walmart.

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by disneysteve
This is no guarantee either. I have had photolabs mess up film beyond repair, so even the 1-hour places aren't safe.

Steve

You are absolutely correct, nothing is 100%, but, the odds are more in your favor. I am also not going to tell you that the labs I worked in did not mess up film, but, the outlab lost far more than we messed up (I think that actual total was 3 rolls, three too many as far as I am concerned), I lost count on the losses.

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by Disneefun
It's called an Eye-Q, by concord camera. I had never heard of the brand, but did some checking and found they got positive reviews from others. Been using the heck out of it since Friday and am very satisfied.

And, oh wow, we went to pick up our free SD card from WalMart and the manager gave us a 256mb instead of a 128 that he originally mentioned. Said he felt very bad about this and really wanted to make it up. So while I'm peeved that Wal-Mart lost the film, they have done a good job of making things better, if not perfect, since the film can't be replaced. So small kudos to walmart.

I sincerely hope the manager bills the outlab for the cost of that card. I think the manager did what was necessary to make a decent situation out of a horrible one. I am happy for you (well for the card, not the film).

 

[jenfur]

I have decided to go digital too, but for different reasons. I just got photos back and some of them did not turn out well at all. They would have been really cute pictures of my son at the beach but instead there is a haze and you can barely see him. With a digital camera, I would have known they were not coming out right and I could have tried again.

I haven't bought a digital yet, but I am definately shopping around for one.

 

[RoyalCanadian]

The November 2003 edition of Consumer Reports magazine did an excellent review of digital cameras. I try not to spend any major sums of money without making at least one stop at the library to read through the past editions of CR.

 

[GoldenOldie]

Digital photos are wonderful but now the onus shifts to you to make sure you don't lose the pictures you've taken. I'm sure you've read many tips about digital vs film but let me stress this one as emphatically as I can.

You MUST back up your photos to CD's or DVD's. If you leave the only copy of the picture on your computer's hard drive you are asking for trouble. When your hard drive fails, you will have forever lost those pictures.

If you can stand the extra work that is required to do this, then digital is a wonderful way to go. If you can't or know you won't back up the pictures, you are setting yourself up for big trouble sooner or later.

 

[safetymom]

You should make 2 copies of your photos. Burn them to separate CD's and put one away. That way if anything happens to the first one you have a backup. You should also save the original image before you start to work on it so if you decide you don't like what you did you can always go back to the "negative."

Also as technology changes burn the images to the latest technology. That way the next generation will be able to see your images.

 

[nicknamy1996]

To add to that I have a system of taking pictures then downloading them to my hard drive. I leave the photos on the camera until I have sucessfully burned them onto a cd(and a back up cd) Then at that point I delete them from my camera(of course they are kept on the HD). This way the pictures are always at a minimum of 2 locations... Camera & HD, HD & disc. If one should happen to fail you always have back up.

I always swore I would never get a digital. A couple of years ago I bought an old Konica off of ebay, fully manual, did my research and learned alot about photography and have come up with some really great pictures. Then my wife bought a digital. In no time my camera was retired to the closet. Every once in a while I take a roll with it and still just love the pics i get, but the cost savings and ability to snap away without a care with the digital is very convienient.

 

[safetymom]

nicknamy1996, I forgot to add that piece of advice. Leave the photos on your memory card until you now they are ok on the Cd and computer.

Also don't format the memory card in your computer, only do it in your camera.

 

[Glideslope]

Everything any humane could ever want to know about Digital Imaging. I went Digital 5 years ago after 29 years of 35mm film.

Read, read, and then read more.


www.dpreview.com

 

[jgates]

If you are on vacation and your memory card is filling, you can get them burned on CD at a couple of places at Disney along with WalMart and probably Walgreens. Once you have the images on the CD, then insert the CD into the machine (like you want to make prints) and make sure it is ok before you clear your memory card.

 

[WDWorld2003]

I would like to add that even though your image may look good on the small viewing screen, once it is a larger 4 X 6 it may be blurred. We have had this happen quite a few times on our Olympus 300 Digital. Looked great on the screen, but the print was flawed.

 

[SonicLogic]

Originally posted by GoldenOldie
You MUST back up your photos to CD's or DVD's. If you leave the only copy of the picture on your computer's hard drive you are asking for trouble. When your hard drive fails, you will have forever lost those pictures.

Good advice, but what program(s) do you use to burn a photo to a CD or DVD?

 

[safetymom]

I use the built in program in XP. Before that I used Roxio's Easy CD Creator.