Which type of camera would work best for Egypt? I have both types,, and was thinking of taking my digital. I have heard charging batteries might be a bit of a problem, however.I am not a great photographer,just will be happy to get decent pictures.I have always used film before,but think it would be nice not to mess with film at the airport.Thanks for any thoughts.

Dottie, take both or the one you are most comfortable with. As for recharging batteries such should be no problem if you have the charging unit and the appropriate converter for Egypt. When in East Africa in June I had not problem charging batteries at the lodges even though I forgot part of the converter. Borrow such from the front desk. I would suggest taking maybe three sets of batteries and that way you will always have plenty on hand. I also read editing digital imagines uses up batteries faster than other use. You can also use your conventional camera and when you have the film developed simply pay a couple extra dollars and have the imagines also on cd. Providing you carry film in your carry on baggage you should have no problem with security units at airports. Just a few thoughts. Dick

Dottie - I still haven't been convinced on Digital. Some background: Last ear when a friend returned from trip to Botswana, he surprised me by sending all his duplicate 35mm photos and it was just great to go thru them and actually enjoy his trip. This year he returned to Botswana and Kruger and upon his return I received another package (of pictures I thought, till) I opened the envelop and inside was a cd disc. Certainly surprised, but saying to myself "welcome to the 21st Century" I inserted the disc into my computer.

Well, there were about 50 photos on the disc and even with a high-speed connection it took me 1-3/4 hrs. to get thru them. Sorry, but besides the fact that it took so long, I still didn't have photos when I finished this process. I don't have the proper printer to produce quality photos - neither paper or ink which are both more expensive. Pleease.. I'd prefer the real thing. While I thanked my friend, I did suggest the next time he upload the photos to a service like "ofoto" and just send me and other friends or family, the link. I could have gone thru those 50 photos in just a few minutes, though I still wouldn't have the capability to output quality prints.

As mentioned by the above poster, you can after developing film, request that the photos be placed on cd, however, you get a separate cd for each roll, not that all photos are placed on one or two cds. And each cd runs anywhere from $1-$2 each above the initial cost of developing each roll. Not very economical.

Admittedly, I've seen some excellent pics taken with digital cameras, but I've gotten some outstanding film pics from my trip to Egypt (and other destinations) taken with my 35mm. As well, I've never had problems with film going thru xray (camera and film are always in my carryon) and really doesn't take up much room.

Since you already have a digital, I would suggest you take both the 35mm and digital (with extra batteries) and use them alternately and see what works best for you on this trip. And realize that with film you just drop them off and someone else develops them, while with the digital, you have more work to do on your own, even if you eventually have some service of local developer do your printing.

So the choice is up to you. But once thing I have no doubt about - you will enjoy your trip to Egypt. Happy travels.

I took a Fuji digital to Egypt in June (9 days) and came back with about 350 images. I carried a couple of extra sets of batteries and used them all. The pictures were outstanding, the color is phenomenal. I loved being able to erase images I didn't like. I was able to take alot a chances I wouldn't take if it were film. All I had to do afterwards was save them to disc and drop it off at Wolf camera (Ritz). They're simply the best, easiest pictures I've ever taken. I sold my film camera when I got home. All that being said, i think that which digital camera you choose will have alot to do with your satisfaction. I have a Fuji finepix S5000 and would recommend it in a heartbeat. I think they've dropped a bunch in price in the last few months. Hope you have a great trip!

I agree with rsnyder - take the one you're most comfortable with, *especially* if the other one is fairly new or unfamiliar to you. Nothing will ruin a photographic experience quicker than experimenting during a relatively short window of time. Get the most out of your trip.

Both have advantages and disadvantages, but unless you're going through lots of airports, 100 ISO will be just fine. People overly worry about this - I just got back from Thailand with 50-400 ISO replete with 7 x-ray scans, and nary a blemish. Just be sure to carry it with you and do NOT put it in checked baggage. It will be fine.

Egypt is absolutely breathtaking, so enjoy your trip and bring back some great photos with whatever you decide.

Regards, Bruce
http://www.brucegcollier.com/galleri...level2_all.htm

I talked to a professional photographer recently about camera choice for an upcoming trip to Egypt. He said to take the camera that I am most comfortable with. So. I'm going with the conventional camera.

Bring more than one camera - sand may damage some equipment if you are not careful (my daughter was not and zoom lens got stuck on her camera). You don't want to be trying to repair your camera or hunting for disposables in Egypt.

Have at least one extra set of batteries - we always had one charging and one on the camera. Even though we researched necessary adaptors/convertors before we went, we were glad we brought the entire set because the electrical requirements on Nile cruiser were different than in Cairo hotel! Do not remember specifics, but one was "European" and one was "African".

Film at the airport was a pain, since we took several internal flights within Egypt. Small price to pay for the great photos and memories - have a great trip.

One other point - I found a digital camera was good for places where flash was not allowed (Egyptian Museum, Abu Simbel) because you can easily lighten the pictures when you get home. I brought both - used my 35mm mostly and just used the digital in the places mentioned above.

We have been an avid film photographer for years. We purchased our first digital camera in May for our trip to Afica. We also took our film camera.
My husband and I took shots of the same animals - the digital produced far superior shots - because you could adjust your ISO on the spot. You could see if you got the shot - if not you could shoot again or delete a duplicate.

One other prime reason for digital is all the xraying of the film as you go through security. The FAA web site states the xray is safe for film up to about 5 times. If you are making many connections like we did - we had many xray scans - which can damage the film.

We took extra batteries - so we did not have recharging issues - even though we found it easy to recharge. We also took 3 1GB flash cards - had more shots than we could dream of.
To Sandi's point - I love real photographs - no eletronic prints for me. We just save our shots on to a CD take them to SAMS and have them printed. The cost is about the same as regular film and you only print the shots you want. We printed 1000 shots when we returned from Africa. SAMS is about 15 cents per photo (4x6).

Skidoo_chick - when I was in Egypt in September I had to leave all camera equipment at a special kiosk before I was allowed into the Egyptian Museum in Cairo and photography wasn't allowed inside the Abu Simbel temples. I think these may be new rules - were you there prior to that?

Here's a couple of mine from my trip 1995. Yes, photos were allowed back then.

http://home.earthlink.net/~fluffymeo.../abusimbel.jpg

http://home.earthlink.net/~fluffymeo...utankhamen.jpg

Since this is a thread about digital vs film, this is how these two are done:

- Fuji 400 consumer 35mm film
- scanned at 3072x2048 using Minolta Scan Elite II
- enhanced using a photo program (in this case PhotoRetouch Digicam on Mac OSX)
- reduced in size to 1280x853 to fit your computer screen better

If I were to go to Egypt (or anywhere else again), I'll definitely go with digital.

Where2Travel - that's really unfortunate that you weren't able to bring in cameras at all in September. Must be a new rule, although from what I read prior to my trip in March 2004 (this was my first trip there), it appears as though the rules for still & video camera use change frequently in Egypt. I remember that in the Egyptian Museum, lots of people were using flash even though it was not allowed, so they probably just decided to ban them entirely.

We were in the Egyptian Museum in Nov. They no longer allowed cameras of any kind. You were required to leave it with a guy in the courtyard. Would not want to leave a valuable camera... too much temptation. Our guide told us - no cameras was a new policy.

i love my digital camera but, when ever i travel a always use a film camera. Process and print the roll as soon as its finished then post it home. One package for the negs and one package for the prints...just incase. If it breaks you can always pick up a cheap one abroad. They also withstand being knocked about a lot more than digital cameras.

Richard,
http://www.franceinfocus.net

Gail - I just had to respond about the stuck zoom because it made me remember when I was in Africa about 5 years ago and my camera zoom stopped working. My husband gave it a bang with his hand and it has worked ever since. When I was in Egypt last year, someone else's camera jammed and I told them to give it a bang and it worked perfectly after that.

I carried two cameras, a basic digital camera (Canon A60) for the webpages and a SLR with slides for more serious stuff. You can see the photos taken with the digital camera at
http://www.idiap.ch/~sivadas/Egypt/index.html
Among the various pros of digital cameras, they are not affected by X-rays.