Gilbert

I have decided to retire the old Olympus OM20 after 24 years of faithful service and buy a digital camera.

The camera will be used mainly for travel photos, plus hiking/camping trips in Alaska.

I want something that's fairly simple to operate with an instruction book to match!!
I know almost nothing about digital cameras.
Have been looking at reviews of various cameras on the internet, but not sure what to buy.

Looking for something with 6-7 megapixels.

Any advice or suggestions would be much appreciated.

Thanks
Gilbert

FainaAgain

If your camera is 24 years old... how old is your computer? First of all, make sure you can download pictures on your PC.

I can't hook up those new fancy cameras to my old PC.

bookhall

There's been a lot of info posted here--using the search function should bring much of it up.

My personal feeling is the one thing you should look for is an optical viewfinder. There are a lot of great, handy, reasonably-priced digital cameras being offered today. But far too many only have the screen to preview the picture. And that can wash-out very easily on a sunny day.

Good reviews can be found at stevesdigicams.com and dpreviews.com, as well.

Gilbert

FainaAgain

I don't have a computer (at home), only this one at work !!

FainaAgain

thank you, Gilbert, I feel better now!

still, make sure you can download pics on your work computer - both if there is an appropriate program and if boss will allow you

Andrew

You didn't mention price...but I recommend getting a digital SLR. They will have the same kind of feel as your 35mm camera (basically) - mechanical shutter for example, and a quick response on the shutter button. In the DSLR field, Canon and Nikon are the two giants and both make great cameras and lenses. I'm a "Canon Man" myself although not out of any great loyalty (once you start buying Canon lenses, switching to Nikon seems foolish and vice versa). My current camera is a Canon 5D (12.8MP), which is probably above the needs of most travelers and is a bit bulky to boot.

I recommend the Canon Digital Rebel Xti. It's about 10MP and a nice all-around camera. (I have an older version of the Rebel that was quite good.) One thing to watch out for, though, is the fact that most cheaper digital SLRs (I mean the ones under $2,000) have what is called a "focal length multiplier" meaning that the sensor of the camera can't see the entire lens. All this means is an artificial zoom. The Canon cameras have a FLM of 1.6 meaning that a 28mm lens is "zoomed" to 44mm. That means you're generally happy if you do a lot of zooms but unhappy if taking wide shots - and so you'll need to get a wider lens than usual. The Rebel Xti comes with a decent "kit" lens though that is pretty wide.

You could stay with Olympus - they have a DSLR line but it's not nearly as extensive as Canon and Nikon's nor is lens selection. Costco was selling an Olympus DSLR as well as the Canon Digital Rebel. They might not be a bad place to get a DSLR, given that they have a 90 day return policy on this kind of merchandise.

You can take your memory cards to photo labs (like Costco) and get them to burn a CD of your photos, so in theory you don't NEED a computer (and make sure you have at least TWO copies of these CDs as they can go bad over time!). But honestly, if you're going to do any serious digital photography, you're going to want a computer of some sort to deal with them.

Andrew

FainaAgain, out of curiosity, why can't you connect new computers to your old PC? Even 10 year old PCs should have USB ports. Even Windows 98 tends to have drivers for connecting USB cameras. Even so, you can always get a card reader for $10 - eliminates the need to connect your camera to the computer at all. Card readers are supported without drivers in pretty much all Windows versions except 98 (and then you can just install the drivers probably coming on a CD). Card readers plug into the USB port and are very handy - I have a couple of cheap ones that I use all the time.

FainaAgain

Andrew, not new computer - new camera. My son looked at the back and said there is no connection to a camera (he has a digital). I didn't question further.

I have a regular camera, and ask to develop a set of paper pictures plus a CD of those. Simple enough for me, and I can send them in e-mails.

And if mom is happy, everybody is

sylvia3

I have had a digital camera (actually, two) instead of my 35 mm for several years. I NEVER print them out, and rarely even look at them, whereas my albums of travel photos are dragged out fairly often by us and the kids. I've made CDs made, and rarely looked at them. Sometimes the newer technology is not all it's cracked up to be...my next trip, I'm taking my extra lenses and my filters!

Andrew

FainaAgain, sorry, typo there, I knew what you meant about the old computer. Anyway, is it REALLY an ancient computer? I find it hard to believe that it doesn't have USB ports. I've worked on a bunch of old computers that are 5-8 years old and have yet to find a usable one that doesn't have at least one USB port. That's all you need to connect a camera.

USB is for all kinds of devices - a mouse, sometimes a keyboard, microphones, printers, etc. Could it be that all your USB ports are used up by other devices? If so, you can get a USB hub which is like a power strip, to add more USB ports to the computer.

FainaAgain

Oh, well, now it would be questioning my son's statement what I don't want to do. Besides, to develop a film on paper and CD is under $10 in Walgreens.

I don't take that many pictures!

rm_mn

If you had a digital camera you would take more pictures. The cost to take 1 picture is a couple of seconds and a little space on the memory card. The cost for ten pictures is just a few seconds more and a little more space on the memory card.

This spring on a trip with our 2 grow kids and their significant others, we had 3 digital cameras and took nearly 1500 pictures of scenery in only 5 days. The hard part is sorting out the best of the best of the best to be printed or shared.

toedtoes

Here's my tried and true solution to the "what camera to buy" dilemna.

First, go to www.betterphoto.com and select: Resources > Best Camera. This will bring up a "digital camera calculator". Answer the questions (using either the visual or text version). The calculator will provide you with a list of about 10-15 cameras.

Next, take that list and go to www.dpreview.com and read the reviews and specs. Cross off any camera that doesn't get a Recommended or higher. That should reduce your list to about 2-5 cameras. By looking at the specs, you might be able to cross off a few more.

Last, go to your local store and try the cameras. Get a feel for how they fit in your hand and how easy it is to use the buttons, etc.

You don't mention if you want to go the SLR route. I know a lot of people who have gone from a film SLR to a digital point & shoot and are very happy with them. There are still some pro-sumer digital cameras out there that give you some of the benefits of an SLR (manual settings, etc.), but they are becoming less common as the SLR prices come down.

If you do want a dSLR, then you'll be happy with either the Canon or Nikon brands - just look for the best price for the features you want. The Pentax K100D (digital version of the old standard K1000) is also an option.

NewbE

Sylvia, that is really interesting, because my experience has been the opposite. I hardly ever drag out my old photo albums and photo file boxes, all of which have been carefully organized and are now gathering dust! But while I never print out my digital photos, either, I look at them all the time on my laptop, I email them to friends and family, and I use them as wallpaper, changing every few months. Just last night we scrolled through a few dozen kitten pictures of our youngest cat, all grown up now (awww!); if I'd had to go upstairs to get an album to look at, we would have skipped it. To each his own...

rkkwan

My question to the OP is this:

Why do you want a digital camera? What do you plan to do with the files if you don't even have a computer at home?

Are you going to mostly share the files over computer at work and post them on websites? Or are you going to just get prints? Are you looking at printing them at home, at a drugstore, or upload them to a printing service and have the prints mailed to you?

And then what's your budget? Do you want an SLR with interchangeable lens like your old Olympus? Or you want something small and light?

dfrostnh

I think it's time for your own computer if you have a digital camera. You can read lots of technical information but what settled my mind when shopping was the following:
(I purchased a Canon several years ago)
1. rechargeable battery and the charger came with the camera. When downloading pictures to computer it's best to have it plugged into an outlet.
2. Ability to change picture size. If you're going to email photos you just need the small size. The advantage is you can put more pics on the memory card.
3. I prefer looking thru the viewfinder to take the picture. It also saves battery power if you don't use the LCD display.
4. Get a moveable LCD display. Sometimes you can't see the display is bright sunlight unless you change the angle. It's also handy for taking shots from weird angles. I have taken photos over people's heads by angling the LCD display so I can view that. Or sometimes you just can't stand in the right position.
5. Playing with photos on the computer is fun. My Canon came with Photoshop LE which is great software. I've used cheaper photo editing programs like the one that came with my Canon printer but find it actually harder to use. I frequently crop pictures and since I use some for b&w brochures I like the easy option to change from color to b&w with the software.
6. The ability to hook the camera up to a tv. (another set of cords that came with the camera) Then you can view vacation photos on the tv!

I suppose you can enjoy a digital camera if you don't have your own computer but I love using photos for our Christmas newsletter, making my own cards, and craft projects.
BUT you will want to have a video camera for Alaska. We have great video of our boat trip to Kenai Fjords out of Seward plus a very special day on a mountain north of Palmer. If I were to buy a camera again I would get the video kind that can also take still photos.
I think!

joan

I am by no means an expert, but the issue I found with digital cameras is not the zoom or the pixels (which we were careful to compare) but the TIME it takes from when you press the button to when the camera actually snaps the picture. It seems like ages! I have since learned that the more expensive the camera (surprise), the faster the reaction when you press that button.

I took 10 pics of a 747 flying over top of our cruise ship in Boston. Not one picture showed the plane, because it moved faster than the camera could shoot (*unless you put it on the setting for sequential shooting, where you get five pics in rapid succession...).

Anyway, I don't know what it's called technically, but check for that ratio of shutter to button push!

Gilbert

Answers to some questions.

No, I don't want to get a digital SLR.
I pretty much want a "point & shoot" something small and light.
I am sick of lugging around the old camera - it's heavy!

Price range - up to $400.

I will most likely get prints made of favorite pics, the rest I will probably store on a CD or computer @ work (or home when I finally get around to buying one).

Will definitely check out the web sites mentioned. Thanks.

Gilbert

dfrostnh

Gilbert, I have to admit that I haven't used a lot of the functions on my Canon. It was expensive several years ago but I think a similar camera is in your price range. It's not that large but has a half decent zoom lense and is basically a point a shoot. I know what the other poster meant about the time it takes the camera to take the picture. We used an old Sony Matrix that used floppy disks in a class once and I thought it would never snap the shutter. My husband only takes pictures of things like modified jeeps and jeep parts that he can email. He does fine with the camera.

toedtoes

Gilbert - give the camera calculator I mentioned above a try. It will help you decide what you want and what you need in a camera.

For example, do you want something that you can fit into your shirt pocket? Or do you want a wide angle for scenic shots?

You can plug in how much you want to spend, so you won't get a bunch of cameras out of your price range.

Since you don't have a home computer, you may not want a camera with an "easy dock" - it sits on your desk attached to the computer and you pop the camera into it. Depending on your work, you may not want it made that obvious that you are using the computer for your personal photos.

Megapixels are the first thing you'll be told about. Most stores push you to get the biggest megapixel camera you can. In truth, a 4 or 5 mp camera will work just fine unless you're printing bigger than an 8x10. Also, it's not worth spending the money on a 10mp camera if you're going to set it at the lowest resolution (approx. 5mp). Most experts recommend using the camera at the highest setting - you can always downsize, but you can't upsize easily.

Also remember that with a 5mp camera, that your photo storage will be big and after a few trips can start to fill up the computer memory (and/or slow down the computer speed). CDs only hold so many - DVDs will hold more. Another option there is to pick up an external harddrive (you can get them pretty cheap now) and store your photos on that. Then if you end up getting a home computer, you can just plug in the hard drive and there are your photos (instead of having to copy a bunch of CDs).