I am giving up on digital for Paris trip...
 

I know, I know, I should be packing and I am not. Good news though, great neighbor just loaned me two pieces of her Tumi luggage for our trip. Now, just got to put stuff in it.

But here is the deal. Think I am going to bail on digital and just go and buy a point and shoot. I am a RETARD in this digital thing. OD just tried to show me everything and I am more confused than ever. Have the digital charged and loaded with a new card but am thinking I will just not worry about it and get what I know.

Do you think I will regret this decision? It is a good Canon Powershot SD20. And elph. Od picked it out for me. So, it isn't the camera. It is me, totally stressing about it. She says I should just get a disposable so I won't stress. Argh!!!

I say give it another go, with an explanation of only the basic functions you would perform with any camera. Basic picture taking and erasing.

You want to enjoy your trip, not stress about it! If you are more comfortable with a disposable camera, take one, or three or four.

However, if you have room (and how much room can a digital take?), take the digital too. Then you can use both and compare your pictures when you get home. This could be an easy introduction to a digital without the stress of it being your ONLY camera.

The really important thing is to enjoy Paris even if you don't one picture.

oops!

"even if you don't take one picture."

I agree with Cameron. The most important thing is to have a good time. Probably, the second most important thing is to take good pictures that'll be lasting memories of the trip.
And, the best way to accomplish both is to take a camera that you feel most comfortable with!

Quick, use the digital to take pictures of your house, neighborhood, and neighbors. Pretend they are all sights in Paris. Look at the results on your computer, and if they are acceptable, you are good to go. If they are crappy, leave the digital at home. You will probasbly do OK with whatever Point And Shoot setting the digital has, by the way. Those chips are real smart!

Does your camera have an automatic setting? I still haven't read my instruction book so I just leave it on either the "P" (I still don't know what that means) or on the "A" whichis automatic, duh.

Have a great trip and do try and take the digital, it makes such a difference.

I have been using digital cameras for several years, but on trips I have taken both digital and "point & shoot."
(I have a 15 year old Samsung that takes consistently good photos.) That being said, I only used the digital camera on our trip to Ireland this month, never took the Samsung out of the bag. No fancy photos, I leave that for experimenting at home on the dog and garden!

Take them both. Use whichever makes you more comfortable. But you will need more than one disposable!

Robes, really, computer boy, of course I can tell the diff. And I was kidding about the disposable. But not about buying a pt and shoot. Don't those still take pretty good pictures? Haven't had a working one in a while. But I do like the idea of taking both. And the manual (one more book, argh) and then maybe learning to use it on my trip and have the pt and shoot as a back up. This is good advice. Thanks Cameron. You are right, the digital does not take up much room. Whew. That was easier than I thought.

Do you realise how long you will be on the airplane for ??? Plenty of time to read the instruction take 100 practice shots of the inside of the plane and then delete them before you get off ! You will be an expert !

One of the best advantages of a digital camera is not having to pack and carry film - or pay to have all the photos developed.

Bring the camera and the manual on the plane. You can study the directions on the plane (or your husband). It might even put you to sleep.

Don't let the naysayers get you down. You can get a very respectable point-and-shoot camera for a reasonable price, and it will give you good results.
As I say previously, use whatever you feel most comfortable with!

It is true that there is a lot more flexibility with the digital as far as sharing the photos. Something to think about. I just got the manuel out. Will take both and learn it on the job. You guys are great and I am not as stressed.

OMG, I hate packing!!!

Heaven:

It’s eerie.

I know exactly what you’re talking about.

I’ve taken eight trips to Europe, always packing my trusty Nikon Zoom Touch 500 point-and-shoot, a tidy little device that’s like an extension of my hand while taking wonderful shots. Well, it finally broke down, and Nikon told me recently that it doesn’t have the parts to fix it.

So now, I’m forced to use a digital Canon Powershot 75 for my trip to Rome (starting May 2), which, while smaller than a dougnut, comes with an instructional manual the size of War and Peace. Over the last few days, I’ve grudgingly toyed with the damn thing, taking test shots just to get the feel of it, and I’ve now resigned myself to the technology and to the simple fact that the old point-and-shoot era is nostalgia.

What about recharging the battery over there? Will I need a converter or other device? Or would I need to recharge it in the two weeks?

Sorry I am so lame. I warned you, RETARD applies here...

If the camera has a batter charger - just look at the raised print. If you see something like 110/220 - it's dual voltage and you don't need a converter, just a plug adapter (so you can insert the plug into an outlet there). How often the battery needs to be recharged depends upon the battery. Typically, the manual will give you a general idea.

Make sure your card is large enough - cards are inexpensive these days.

Hi

When it comes to photography I'm a complete hack. However digital cameras are the best thing since sliced bread. The main advantage I found with them is that you can keep taking photos until you get it right and then you can delete the rubbish ones. Yippee no more headless and legless corpses! Then on your return you can use the software on your computer to improve the image. Believe me it's not rocket science. If a "culture jammer' like me can do it you will have no problems. Just make sure your camera is easy to use i.e set on automatic so you can just point and click. If you find yours complicated there's heaps of basic ones on the market for around $100. Get one with at least 4X optical zoom for those faraway shots.

Yours in digital

djkbooks, my batter charger says 100V-240V. Would that be duel voltage?

Dual voltage, yes.

I once had a digital camera, and I've returned to a film point-and-shoot, because (a) the damn thing broke twice; (b) the instructions were too long and complicated; and (c) I prefer print copies of my photos (yes, I know that I could do that, but it would still involve taking them somewhere and paying to have it done). Point being, I remain much more comfortable with the film camera, despite having to pay to have film developed, and would make the same decision again.

Yeah, the automatic setting is great. My Canon has been on auto for 2 years, and I've gotten the best pictures I've ever taken (after over 40 years of Brownie and 35 mm picture-taking). Plus I can instantly see if the picture came out well and do it over again if not.

When I want prints, I just bring up the photo finisher's website, move the photos I want prints of (and only the ones I want prints of) to the website, and pick up my finished photos on the way home from work the next day. Such a time and money saver.

The other thing I like is hooking the camera up to our hotel TV at night and writing down notes for each picture--I used to get my film photos back and sometimes couldn't remember what some of them were.

Heavens

Just set your digital camera to 'Auto' mode, then point and shoot. Invariably you take some good shots as well as some not so good ones, but when you get more proficient, you can then use the manual settings.

Be sure to have enough memory on your memory card(s), ie no less than 512Mb, and certainly buy an extra battery and ensure that the spare battery you carry with you is fully charged. Make it a habit to charge your battery nightly at the hotel.

Have fun!

S

Point and shoots are easy and if that's what you're comfortable with, you should take it of course. But I can't help but feel that maybe you're posting this for a reason.
Before you give up on a digital consider that a digital camera can almost pay for itself in a couple of trips.
I took well over a 1,000 photos on our recent trip. (My husband asked me at one point if I were going to photograph every square inch of Germany - I was!)
The pictures were great quality and I didn't read my manual either before I went. (I had so much fun with it I read it when I got home.) Because I was able to capture each image more times for just the shot I wanted without worrying about what the film would cost me to develop, I ended up with some great pictures. If you throw enough rocks you'll eventually hit the post. Plus no film to buy either.
I've been able to do more with the pics I took... screen savers and emailing the top three to friends with ease.
If you have a digital that runs on AA batteries they're easy to charge and not expensive. I bought a converter at Home Depot that has all the little plugs all in one lightweight unit and the battery charger I have wieghs practically nothing.
The digital not only was fun, which I love but it saved me tons of money. I should go calculate how much and put it in my travel fund.
Camera or no camera, you'll in Paris and it will be heaven. Have fun.

Do what you want. You just didn't plan far enough ahead to get with the program. You get what you get.

Another HUGE advantage of digital is that you can upload all your photos to your PC (again, no developing cost), edit them, and print them if you like. Best is just screen savers (for your own enjoyment - and no photo albums to worry about) and being able to easily share them with others, if you like.

With the economical photos printers and high quality photo papers (love HP, and my printer has a "slot" for my camera card), I get better printed photos (cheaper) than I ever did having them processed.

Be sure to save your images to a CD not just your pc hard-drive.

About 3 1/2 months before a trip to India, I bought a Canon digital Rebel xt SLR. I tried to learn how to use it before the trip, but didn't feel that I really was comfortable with it. But I took it with the attitude that I would be comfortable with it by the time I got home, and that proved to be true. I love the camera & the photos I got! Go for it!

Digital requires a lot more infrastructure than film. If you shoot film, you can get the film developed and turned into prints in an hour. If you shoot digital, you can do the same, except that you pay a lot more for the camera (you save on film, but you'd have to shoot thousands of photos to make digital as inexpensive as film in some cases).

It's surprising how many people take digital photos and never do anything with the shots, just leaving them in the camera. Some move the shots to CDs or a computer, but this requires special equipment (a computer) in order to view them. You can take a CD to a lab and get prints--but you could always do that with film, too. And Kodak once estimated that about 80% of all digital photos at least will be lost, because most people never back up their digital storage media.

I love my point and shoot. I like film. 80 bucks for the camera from B n N in New York, six or seven rolls of film, and I am off. No fussing with computers. I like the physicality of film and paper, rather than the nebulous world of bits.

Take a digital photo, a bird flew across the lens, check it see its flawed delete it and take another. Or I suppose you could go back home have the film developed, see that the once in a lifetime shot is flawed and then buy another plane ticket to go back and take another photo. Or maybe the x ray scanner at CDG is a bit zealous and and your precious rolls of 35mm now appear to be have shot on a foggy day ?

Copy you pics onto a cd make a dozen copies (still for less than the cost of processing a roll of 35mm), give them to your friends and relatives because most newer DVD players will play a slide show of your photos, in as large a format as your TV allows.
Download them to the My Pictures section on your PC and then set your screensaver as slide show!

PS I still print my digital photos (only the VERY good ones )and put them in an old fashioned album as well !!

I understand how you feel. I normally use my digital camera but on my last trip to Vienna, I forgot it. I ended up buying an inexpensive (under 100 euros) regular point and shoot camera.
The downsides: I couldn't tell whether the photo I'd just taken would be any good or not. Once you have a digital camera, it feels weird not to be able to check the quality of the shot right away and delete the out of focus, boring or just not quite right shots. I bought four rolls of film then had to buy another. Also, since this is the first time I've had to take film in to be developed for years, I didn't know where to take it. The Fnac shop I used to go to in Brussels closed. I don't know the quality of the photo developers in Maidenhead. I HATE it when developers don't change their chemicals often enough and you get that yellow or greenish tinge to pictures!

However, if you've never used a digital and you're not comfortable with the idea, don't be bullied into using one. One of my mother's neighbors just bought a digital camera and finds it very confusing. I tried to show her the simplest commands, but she's still uncomfortable with it. The basic commands are second nature once you're used to a digital camera, but if you and digital just don't click, then don't stress about it. My mother doesn't use digital either. The point and shoot camera I bought in Vienna (with instructions in English) is easier to use (specifically, the films loads a lot more easily) than her old point and shoot, so when she comes to visit, I'm going to give it to her.

We're pretty savvy with our Sony 5.2 mp camera, but we still get blurry shots now and then.

It's your trip. Do whatever you feel most comfortable with. Prices of point and shoots are so low now, there's no need for disposables.

Anthony - where do you come up with this crap. What a lot of hooey. Thankfully no one will read your analysis of digital photography and take it seriously.

He does paint with a broad brush. I thought I would never give up my film cameras. I'm on my 3rd digital now, and this one will see me through (although I really was waiting for the digital SLRs to come down--to about where they are now).
I LOVE not having stacks of photos to deal with. I can make a collage of my pictures if I want--or individual--or a page of small prints.
And Anthony, I know this will make you feel better but I do back mine up--twice at least.

This last trip was our first with digital. I thought of taking a conventional camera and doing a 'parallel' shoot just to be safe but at the last minute I bailed... on the conventional camera... and I'm glad I did. Nothing like being forced into the 21st century.

And oh, do I now love digital! The hardest bit, it is true, is the editing and processing after the photos are taken - but we had enough memory to take plenty of pix so we were able to wait until we got home to fiddle with the rest. I love the picture quality, the camera's wonderful sensitivity to low light conditions - our Canon Powershot has IS (image stabilization) - I think this might account for why I got great hand-held photos at speeds as slow as 1/8.

I know what you mean about the learning curve. But RonZ is right on - just do the basic stuff this time and you'll be sold. Go forth, be brave, this is why you travel - to have new experiences.

I've never used a P&S.

By the way P&S doesn't only refer to film cameras. Digital cameras that are not SLR, interchangeable lens cameras are normally referred to P&S as well.

So, it appears the debate is whether to stay with film or to go digital.

As I wrote, I've never used a P&S. I've always had some form of SLR camera.

Many years back I had a Canon AE-1 and loved it. I used it for 20 years.

Then 5 years ago I decided to modernize somewhat. Auto wind, auto focus, semi-auto exposure (I never used fully automatic mode) and moderate wide/moderate telephoto walkaround lens.

I stayed with Canon because I like their cameras and moving within the same family makes the camera look and feel the same. The layout of the controls is more or less the same.

I used the Canon elan7e for about 4-5 years and decided to wait until 8 megapixel became the norm to move to digital.

Six months ago I purchased a Canon XT DSLR. As before, many of the controls are in the same place. It almost has the same feel.

Of course, there are a few very important differences.

While you can't view in advance on the screen (SLR could never do that) you can see your results immediately. You know whether or not to retake (Important).

Interestingly, due to the fact you can easily delete, I take more not less photos. I don't think much in advance. I just take it and review several to delete later when I have a chance.

One very important detail. You have an extra variable in upper level digital (DSLR). ISO!!!!!!

With film, you make a decision which film to put in the camera.

Essentially, at that point in time you've decided on the sinsitivity of the film. I used to used Kodak 200 and then switched to Fuji 400.

With a digital I can shoot ISO100 or 200 during the day and switch to ISO400, 800 or even 1600 for evening or night shots.

Of course, with a less expensive camera ISO400 or more would result in much noise (the equivalent to grain on higher ASA film). But my Canon XT DSLR has a great sensor and I can't tell the difference (maybe older eyes) even at ISO1600. Phenominal difference having 3 more stops of sensitivity for low light times of day.

I realize this may be beyond what most people are interested in but hang in with me.

I still believe film is slightly better in quality than digital. However, not by much.

On the other hand, I used to take my film in for developing and printing. Unless you go to a really top-end developer and/or have a lot of confidence in your photography and insist on redos, you're getting mass produced results.

Amazing how many prints came with dust marks, out of focus (my negatives were sharp - I checked with a magnifying glass), under or over-exposed. I just didn't like the results.

With Phototshop I can adjust under or over exposed photos that were my fault. I can see what is sharp and what isn't.

I know what the results should look like and insist upon it.

I've taken the new camera on a few short trips and as I wrote, I take more not less than before.

I have three memory cards for a total room of over 800 shots. On trips I used to average a roll of 24 per day.

We'll be going on our first major trip (Prague, Budapest, Brugge and Amsterdam) in the first half of June. I expect to take a "few" photos.

Having written all that, I still expect to make an album of selected prints so my wife can show it to friends.

Now, my advice.

Digital is here to stay. Accept that.
Get a digital camera of at least 5 megapixels (Sony W5, Canon, Nikon, etc).
Buy a large memory card.
Set the quality to the highest quality (no use in buying 5 mp and taking your travel photos at 2.5mp - you may have a few absolute winners and can't do anything with them).
Set your mind to it and play with the camera for 30 minutes EVERY DAY for a couple of weeks. Force yourself if necessary!!!!

You will be amazed at how quickly you will become comfortable with the camera and understand what you are doing.

You may even end up understanding enough and switching off fully-automatic and onto semi-auto mode.

Just my opinion.
Good Luck.

Hey, Meyer, you can set your ISO with LOTS of digitals--even my original 1MP Kodak. AND you can even choose black and white.
As for using the viewfinder, I have never stopped using it. I rarely use the LCD panel to compose a picture.
And the Canon S1 or S2 is such a great camera--user friendly with the controls for aperture, movie, focal, manual--or the ubiquitous and easy, AUTO all on top of the camera.

And one more thing to Heavens, although I think she has already left. WHY oh WHY would she borrow Tumi luggage and put a big bullseye on it for theft. HOpe it doesn't happen, but never never for me.

Gretcheen (you added an extra "e" to my name name so I just thought I'd return the favor),

What I really meant to write about ISO is that on the upper level cameras the higher ISO values are usable.

From what I understand the noise becomes rather unacceptable at higher ISOs on less expensive cameras.

If I remember the Canon models correctly, the Canon S2 (successor to S1) (they now have an S3 that's 6mp and goes to ISO800) is not really considered a P&S camera but a Prosumer.

I guess that's above one and below the other.

I actually considered the S2 for a short period of time as a less expensive entry into digital. However, I found the grainy viewfinder too tiring for my eyes. I never really got far enough into it to check the quality.

I wouldn't buy a new film P&S these days. Digital completely dominates that end of the market.

Remember that you don't have to master every feature of your Elph to take pictures equal or better than your old P&S.

Learn to use the zoom, flash, red-eye reduction, and delete and you're pretty much there. Learn to use the programmed shooting modes (selecting portrait, landscape etc) and you're ahead.

Buy an extra memory card or two, and maybe an extra battery.

Pretty much everything else is optional, although very useful as you become more adept.

If control isn't your thing, even a cheap film camera rivals a $500 digital for resolution. You can buy a perfectly serviceable P/S film camera for $30 or so (Walgreen's has some $50 Fujis in their "overs" bin for $7).

Buy film in Europe, and have it processed by a film lab (at least to negatives) before you board your return flight. This will obviate the hazards of airport x-ray fogging.

If you can use a computer and post on this forum, you can use a digital camera!!

S