Best Digital Camera for Beginners
 

Hi there. I was thinking of going "digital" for my trip and saw some really terrific pictures Kim and Dan took. I am not looking to "break the bank" but just buy a camera which is user friendly and which doesn't require alot of bells and whistles and extra lenses. Is there such a thing in digital?<BR>Please let me know exactly which models you suggest and any accessories I will need.<BR>Thank you so much for your help.

My advice: the simplest version of the Canon Digital Elph (or Powershot, whatever they call it these days). Because it easily fits in a breast pocket, 2.1 mio pixels (more than enough), a very small battery charger (usable worldwide), and a solid aluminum case. There's a lot of other good and fancier ones out there, but for travelling I find it most convenient.

Shop the internet, your stores, sales for the most pixels you can get for the amount of money you want to spend. And don't forget to upgrade your computer memory for storage and thank god, printers have come 'way down with quality going up. If you can, get 3 megapixels. That will take you to whereever you eventually want to go. They all take getting oriented too--once there they are easy to use.

Read lots of user reviews before splurging, just check google. I am sorely disappoitned in camera I just bought even though it is rated well, it takes a PHD to understand the manual. Even the guys who sold it to me can't figure out some things. Get something with 3 megapixels if you can afford $350-400, but no less than 2 megapixels for about $250 (good for 4"x6" prints and iffy for anything larger). Olympus, Nikon, Fuji and Kodak are all making good digtal cams in that price range, but check ratings for models in your price range. As for accessories, get rechargable batteries, but not the cheap $30 charger, the good one that costs about $50. Don't bother with the docking station sold by Kodak, instead get one of those plug in readers that can read the memory chip. You save batteries and it is way faster to get the pictures from camera to computer. As for memory, older cameras have Compact Flash and new ones have Smart Media. I'd suggest you buy camera tha uses Smart Media and then get the Smart Media card reader for your computer. If you have an old computer, this could all be a problem, so make sure what you have is compatable with the latest in camera software.

Sandy of Texas raves about her Canon S300 Elph, and after a fairly long time researching on the web, I am getting ready to buy one (the S330 new model and cheaper, too, if you call $399 cheap). I believe it comes with a battery charger; you'll need a bigger compact flash card than the one that comes with it and a card reader is helpful for fast uploading to your computer. Some people advise getting an extra rechargeable battery.<BR><BR>Since my Mac doesn't have USB connections, I'll have to get a card and upgrade the system (what can you expect of a 4-year-old computer)!<BR><BR>There are a couple of very thorough sites with good reviews on them; you will learn a lot:<BR><BR>http://www.dpreview.com/<BR>http://www.steves-digicams.com/hardware_reviews.html<BR><BR>I put off getting one till after my Paris trip--wanted to be sure I would have pictures, and now Ritz/Wolf has lost my pix of Vaux-le-Vicomte. Waaaa!<BR><BR>Digital, I really miss having a decent zoom with my APS camera. Will I like the 3x on the digital better?

Regarding the zoom, the enlarging/cropping of digital pictures is amazing. You will be able crop to increase your "zoom".<BR>Compact Flash is not necessarily "old". It is used on the new Pentax digitals which are pretty nifty.<BR>I LOVE my Olympus 3030.<BR>3 megapixels in a good camera will give you good enlargements up to 8X10 easily.<BR>I wish Easy Camera had "outed" his poor buy in a digital.<BR>The magazines for digital give a lot of consumer report and all 3 megapixel cameras are not created equal when it comes to picture clarity.

Message for 'Easy Camera' - can you tell us which model you're so disappointed in? I too am thinking of going digital and one of my fears is getting a camera I can't figure out.

You always get what you pay for. The quality of a digital will not be the same as with film. Having said that, the higher the number of pictures, the finer the result. If you think you may want to print some of you photos and possibly enlarged them you want over 3 megapixels.<BR><BR>Once you spend your money it's gone and you must live with the purchase. Put you money into a higher resolution as that cannot be changed or added to once purchased. <BR><BR>Kimberley's (of Kim and Dan above) camera has a resolution greater than 3 mp. She also has a few lenses that she added after purchasing the camera.

Robyn-<BR><BR>I just bought (yesterday) the Canon Powershot 330. Of course I am still reading how to use the more advanced features, being that I've only had it for one day, but basic features seem real easy. I bought this one for it's size since I am traveling to europe next week very lightly. So far the camera seems awesome, small, and takes great pictures from what I have done so far. Check out ebay, I got a great deal with a ton of extras for a small price (cheaper than the camera on it's own), and cannot wait to have my france pics in a great file like Kimberley and Dan. Good luck!!

I do have to agree with my dad (myer) that film can still provide a level of quality unmatched by digital (especially when it comes to enlarging), but with a good camera you can do pretty darn good. I have found the real difference shows in the printing of the pictures - the quality of the paper and ink. Although I am constantly printing things on Kodak paper on my ink jet, I do find that a professional service (I use shutterfly.com) can provide prints that look as good as regular film pics. I do have an important comment about the zoom - while you can "crop" to create zoom, you are consequently losing resolution when you do that. If you are using a 2 megapixel or less, you cannot crop in order to zoom if you want to print your pictures, because they are just about big enough as it is to create a 4x6 print. Cropping and enlarging a portion will not look good in print. As for my extra lenses and paraphernalia...you really don't need them. I am a product of a shutterbug dad (you've probably seen his posts all over the place) and a career in web design, which has made me more prone to indulging in photography gagetry. I spent hundreds on those extra lenses because I was on the mood for a new toy that day, and although they allowed me to take some extra pictures (eg. a close up of the entire arc de triomphe with the wide angle, or the arc de triomphe as seen from the eiffel tower with the zoom) I really could have done quite well without. I'd strongly suggest investing in a camera with at least 3 megapixelas and at least 2x optical zoom, and then forget the extra lenses and stuff. I think our favorite advantage of going digital was knowing whether we got the picture we wanted. You know when you ask a stranger to take a picture of you, and then get home to find that they framed it weird or cut off the background you wanted? With digital you always know so you can try again a few minutes later. We wound up with 130 pictures we love and deleted everything else immediately. Oh, one more thing - the shutterfly.com website does a pretty good job of explaining some of the concepts of digital photography and how pixels work. If you're new at it, you might want to check them out (I do NOT work for them, so nobody attack me!!!) <BR>Kimberley

PS: Dad, you've been back for 18 hours...stop slacking off and post your Rome/London trip report.

robyn,<BR><BR>I researched quite a bit before buying my Canon S300. The Fuji 6000 is pretty good as well. It is all a matter of personal preference. I was looking for something small, at least 3X optical zoom, some adjustability, and user friendly. The canon and Fuji both fit those requirements. Total cost of everything was $550. I can take up to a 1000 good quality pictures and I never need to wonder if I took a good picture or buy film again. If you have any other specific questions, feel free to e-mail me. <BR><BR>Greg<BR>

topping for jane

I wanted to by a digital camera for my trip and from all the research that I did, I was going to buy Cannon S30 3.3 megapixel, I found it for $439 on the internet ($499 in store). There is one catch and that's the reason I did not buy it. The camera comes with 16MB in stick memory (as other cameras do), taking pictures at maximum resolution you can store 6 pictures (in 16MB) in other cameras (3.3 megapixel and 16MB of memory) I was told that you can only store 1 picture, with the 128MB ($90) at max resolution, you can store 49 pictures. If you take 10 pictures per day, you'll be out of memory in 5 days, so you will need a computer with you to download the pictures on you memory stick. I don't want to carry my laptop on this trip, so I'm getting a regular 35mm film camera.

Zorro-<BR>You don't necessarily need to take your pictures at max resolution - check how high that resoluion actually is and if you really need it for your vacation pics. On my Olympus, there are 5 resolution settings, and the 3rd one allows for prints even bigger than 10x13 - at this resolution I can store 169 pictures on a 128mb card. Since I can't remember the last time I enlarged a photo bigger than 8x10, this resolution is more than enough. Plus, for the odd occasion when I thought I might want to crop something, I just increased the res. for that one picture. I brought 2 128mb cards for 10 days and never even needed the second one. Remember that you won't need to take as many pictures as you do with regular film because you will always know right away if it came out - no more shooting extras to make sure you got the shot or because you don't know which angle will look the best. Also, even though 2 128 cards may cost more than all the film you would need, you can use those same cards again and again and again...<BR>Kimberley

Personal experience varies widely of course, but my 3MP digital camera is giving me BETTER photos at a LOWER overall cost than my Nikon 35mm P&S did.<BR><BR>Re storage costs:<BR>The cards that come with most cameras are a joke (just as digital zoom is a joke). But while the up-front cost of digital storage is higher, the overall cost savings vs film can be significant if you take lots of photos.<BR><BR>Viking 128MB Compact Flash cards cost less than US$60 at www.buy.com - occasionally less than $50 on sale. How many rolls of 35mm film (plus processing) can you get for $60? Viking is a good name brand - I and others I know have used them with no problems.<BR><BR>On a typical 2-week vacation I used to average about a roll of 35mm film per day (say $150 incl developing). Now I have about 700MB worth of CF cards (cost US$350), which I use over and over. (Since I went digital about a year ago, I've taken almost 4000 photos!)<BR><BR>Other pluses for digital:<BR>- I don't have to worry about film damaged by airport security.<BR>- I control my own "developing" process<BR>- I can print 8x10's for about $0.25/page at home<BR>- I take better photos with the instant feedback, switchable ISO, etc that digital gives me<BR><BR>I always take 3MP low-compression JPEGs. My philosophy is that I'd rather pay up front to get sufficient memory than regret in the future that I don't have better photos.

Ok-you talked me into buying a digital camera. Now what printer do you all use? Until I can afford the printer-what internet services do you recommend for printing out pictures?

Tracey-<BR><BR>Thanks to Kimberley yesterday, I have checked out www.shutterfly.com and it looks great, they even send you a sample package to see their quality, as well as 15 free to try them out. That's who I am going to use until I buy a printer. Thanks Kimberley! Six more days! J'adore Paris!!

Kimberley - <BR>I got a new Canon S30 recently and really like it. I've figured out the functions, and taken and downloaded pictures but have not yet had any printed out. I am taking it on a trip to Italy next week. <BR>Here's my question: <BR>My camera has four resolution settings (2272 x 1704; 1600 x 1200; 1024 x 768; and 640 x 480). What setting would you suggest to ensure quality prints while enabling the most pictures on the memory card? I don't anticipate printing larger than 8 x 10 - most will be standard 4 x 6 prints. Thanks!

For Dina the costume goddess, or others who used CD downloading services:<BR><BR>since the topic is on memory, you mentioned having memory downloaded to CD in Europe, how does this process actually work? This looks like a good alternative if I run out of memory and do not want to carry some kind of memory reader with me.<BR><BR>I am envisioning leaving your memory card at the store, come back several hours later to pick up the memory card and the CD-R with your pictures on it or is it fast enough to be done while you wait? Or does it read off the camera itself?<BR><BR>Can this be done with any memory card from any camera makers or only those cameras which write to memory in some common industry standard format? Do the store have to ask you "Are the images written in nnn format?"<BR><BR>Do they write the CD in .JPG as plain PC files?