I use an HP932C. It gives excellent results for US$130. Paper is as important as the printer - and cost isn't necessarily an indicator. Some of my best results have been with Royal Brites paper from Sam's Club ($20 for 200 sheets). Inkjet technology has come a long way in the recent past. <BR><BR>Longevity is an issue for some people. I have some prints that are almost a year old and no sign of fading, but I've seen others that are almost imperceptible after a few weeks. If you really want long-lasting prints, I think Epson has (or will be introducing) a new archival-quality printer (!75+ years) for under US$300. Of course, replacement ink and paper costs will be more important than the capital expenditure.

My previous post was for Tracey Re printers (I didn't realize this thread would outrun me<BR><BR>For anyone who wants to know more about digital cameras or printing, etc, take a look at www.dpreview.com and www.stevesdigicams.com - the camera reviews and user forums are great places to learn.<BR><BR>(If you really want to be impressed, take a look at the Canon D60 digital SLR reviews on the aforementioned sites - now that's a camera to dream about!)

topping<BR>

Tom-<BR>Here is a general guide:<BR><BR>less than 640 x 480: wallet-size <BR>640 x 480: absolute minimum resolution for 4x6 <BR>1024 x 768: minimum recommended resolution for 4x6 <BR>1152 x 864: minimum recommended resolution for 5x7 <BR>1600 x 1200: minimum recommended resolution for 8x10 <BR>My camera's "3rd setting" I mentioned is 2038x1536 - this is the one that can fit 169 pictures on a 128 mb card. Also remember, however, that if you think in advance that you might want to crop a particular shot that you should allow extra for that.<BR>Kimberley

does anyone own the Canon Powershot G2, and if so, do you like it? I am thinking of buyin a new camera soon...

My work colleagues let me borrow the department's Canon G2 for a week (I'm doing an assignment in Berlin). It's an awesome camera. 4 megapixel, view finder is mobile, quality is great, options (automatic, black and white, program settings, etc) are almost the same as a 35 mm SLR, and it can accept an IBM microdrive. You might be able to get it packaged with the microdrive. It's not a lightweight camera, and it's not cheap...

Does anyone have any experience with the Olympus E-10 or E-20? It looks to be a good "step up" without going all the way to an SLR with interchangeable lenses.<BR><BR>Or, a related question (okay, so it's realted only in my mind!), are there any manufacturers making a digital body that allows the use of Nikon lenses (besides Nikon, of course!)

Just returned from a trip to England/Scotland/Wimbleton - I bought the S30 and instead of the 128mb card I bought the IBM 1gb Microdrive for around $300. It's the same size as the flashcard, fits inside the S30, and I took over 650 "highest resolution" shots with it. I got home and found I still had room for at least 500 more shots on it. Unbelievable!<BR><BR>If you get a digital camera, get the S30. If you get extra memory, get the 1gb microdrive - heck, you could even put some tunes on the microdrive to play in your mp3 player. That's the way to go!<BR><BR>By the way - the quality of the photos on the S30 blew me away - even detail in shadows was sharp and contrasted.<BR><BR>Hope this helps!

Hi Robyn:<BR>I have an Olympus D-460 zoom for my travel camera. It has only 1.3 megapixels, but does everything I want; Cropping; great slide shows on my computer monitor or my TV; and good prints up to 4x6. If I was buying a camera now, I would shoot for around 2 megapixels. The suggestion to get a card reader to download images to your computer is a good one; much faster and energy saving than going from the camera. I live in southern Calif, and some of our local Savon drugstores have installed "1 hour" developing machines that can read smart media and compact flash cards directly and quickly print film quality 4x6 prints for 39 cents a print. This really reduces the cost if you have many pictures, because you can select the images you want to include in a trip album. My Olympus came with included Camedia software that lets me manipulate the images before filing. I can then burn the files on a CD-R. I have just purchsed a CD/DVD player that claims it will play photo CD-R's in jpeg format through my TV. I am anxious to hook it up and try it. This would permit a traveller to create a photo file for each trip or event and view it on your large screen TV as a slide show with family and friends. One more thing: If you have access to a Fry's electronics store, wait for there sales to buy high capacity smart media or compact flash cards. I have purchased 32 megabit cards (good for 150+ high quality images) for $14.95, and have seen 64 megabit cards for under $25. <BR><BR>Good luck, Chet

You don't need a computer with you to download the pictures on your compact flash. I've discovered a "digital photo album" that you can download the actual compact flash card and store the pictures you have taken. Then your compact flash card is empty and ready to use again. This "digital photo album" can store both 10 and 20 Gigabytes. You can find it at:http://www.jobodigital.com/products/digital_album.htm<BR>It is a godsend for traveling and taking as many pictures as you want.