Yes, you can either send your memory chip to an online store, or upload the pictures via the internet and they will print them and send them to you. Or, you may bring them in to a kiosk place and leave your memory card with them. It's economical because you only pay for the pictures you want and the enlargements you like.

My two cents: the canon elph series are great cameras for traveling - compact, made out of metal for durability, and good quality.

You are welcome, elaine.
I suspect the digital photos you looked at were either blown up beyond their limit, or were printed cheaply.

Not that digital is the best media for every photo, but neither is a given film format.

I use one camera for a wide variety of photos (from scenery to parties to awards ceremonies) and recently upgraded from a 1 mp that I have had 4 years.

Occasionally I am contacted to sell photos and I am hoping the new camera (Nikon 8700 with 8 mp & 8 optical zoom) will lead to more sales.

Keith

I recently went through the same decision-making process. (If you click on my name, you can find the digital camera thread I started, which has some great advice.)

You got lots of good comments and, as you see, everyone has their own opinion about what makes a camera "perfect."

My husband and I finally settled on a Pentax Optio S4i. 4 megapixels, 3x optical zoom. $349 at Ritz Camera, and we get up to six free photography classes (and some other useless coupons!).

This camera is TINY, which makes it perfect for stuffing in your pocket and carrying around. We've already taken some interesting shots of the dogs swimming in the local river, and of a group of children at church on Sunday.

However, we decided that we really "need" two digital cameras, so we'll be buying a second one sometime soon. We couldn't get the minimum of 4 megapixels & 8+ optical zoom & small size all in one package.

So, we're still "on the hunt" for a second camera...really like Keith's pick (Nikon 8700) but are not convinced we want to spend that much money for what we do.

We'll keep checking websites and looking for specials...

Be sure and personally test any camera before you buy it. I hated the Canon Elph - for whatever reason, I felt like I was poking my eye out whenever I tried to use the zoom. But, that's just me...others hate the camera I chose because it's "too small" and they're not able to hold it steady to take shots.

So, visit the camera stores - haunt them until you've seen every one available! Ritz Camera, Best Buy and Circuit City + a local camera shop had the best selections in my area. But everybody has a digital camera center - Radio Shack, Target, Sears, et al. Visit them all!

Good luck.

Gayle

I left my 35mm camera at home, last summer when we vacationed in Italy.

Got some good photos with my digital camera and plan on taking the digital with me on vacation next month.

Many thanks everyone. Armed with this great info, I will head to the stores.

Like Gayle, we have the Pentax Optio S (but the other model) and love it. We needed the small size/weight for backpacking, but have really enjoyed it for everything else too. I am definitely clueless when it comes to all the features on these things...but I do know we have taken some great shots with it and had them made into 8X10's to frame and were very pleased.

I just bought a Nikon Coolpix 3100. Very small, simple, simple, simple to use. List was $259, on sale for $199, with a $100 rebate for a final cost of $99!! (Office Depot about a month ago). It's got 14 different settings (I just use the point and shoot one), but the basic functions are very simple, and I've caught on quickly to how to get them on my computer. Its so cheap to get prints from digital now, that after my trip, I will pick the best shots and take them to Walgreens for printing at 29 cents each, so that I have a regular photo album too.

Anne