Who's gone digital?

“A friend of mine has a digital camera she brings on our hikes and I think it's way cool.

Here's the advantages as I see them: no film cost, no developing cost, no wait for the film to be developed, (no extra trips to the store!), no having to scan photos, better quality pics than scanned photos.

So...who's gone digital? What kind of camera? Are there disadvantages?”

“heavy, and too expensive to break every few trips.

i do cheap 35s or disposable.”

“I use a digital on short trips, that way I can get back and show the wife and kids what I saw and did. On longer hauls I prefer the film camera, keeps the memories around for a long time.”

“MOM had a pretty cool digital camera on the wilson creek trip last weekend. No flash, but it was only slightly larger than a pen and held 80 pictures. It looked like a spy camera”

“I have a Canon S10, and I love it.

It is a little heavier than most 35mm or APS point-and-shoots. I would hate to break it because of the cost, but it doesn't seem especially fragile.

I used to always get photo CDs, and I save a lot by not getting film developed. The picture quality is about the same as a point-and-shoot or a single use. If a shot turns out bad, you just delete from the flash card.

I would say that the biggest disadvantage is that it goes through batteries a lot faster than a film camera. I bought a rechargable battery for mine, but I don't think that it would last for a long outing. It takes a specific kind of lithium camera battery that is fairly easy to find, but it isn't cheap.”

“I think I'd rather just get a digital video camera and take stills from that. They make 'em so small these days anyway but damn, the dosh involved to get one...mucho dinero!”

“I also use a Cannon, the Powershot A-5, and find the battery will last for about 100 shots if I don't view them much during the trip. The quality is similar to the 35mm I take on other trips, but if you want to have a shot enlarged and printed it is nowhere near as good. I have used this camera for the past 2 years in a variety of places and don?t have any durability issues. It?s a little heavier than standard 35mm point and shoots.”

“I use a regular camera, shoot rolls of 36 picture film and pay $5 extra for for aa disk with all the pictures digitized.. May go digi when prices and weights come down.”

“I had a digital camera last year but got rid of it because, when taking a shot, the slightest movement will cause blurring.”

“Used a Nikon 990 for awhile, but really don't like digital for my purposes. Regardless of the CCD size or pixel count, it's still a digital image and lacks the tonal range and contrast of film. Mostly it just sits on the shelf. I prefer my film outfits.”

“I use my AGFA and love it. It weights about the same as a pocket 35 mm. It can take from 25 to 150 pics on it's 2meg mini disk. At 150 pics the pics are crappy. So I have mine set at 70 pics which works for what I want. I can get about 140 to 180 pics before my batteries need to be recharged. Be sure you put you download your pics to disk though not just your hard drive! If you computer has to be reformatted you can lose all that you have on the hard drive, as I've done a few times myself. I usually upload quite a few to my website as well and so I can copy them from there if I need to. I'm not sure how long disks CD or floppy will last though before they start to break down - which I'm sure they do at some point.
I got mine last summer on sale at Sears for under 200. Don't buy the cheap ones though cause they are crappy but you don't need to spend a lot of bucks on one either.”

“I am mostly digital now. I have a Kodak Millenium Gold. It is nice size. I have a 32M card that will hold 114 hi resolution pictures (over 500 low res). I shoot everything hi resolution because I can always downsize with my photo editor.

For my purposes this is great. I do most of my work on the web. I got sick of scanning and paying extra for CD ROM. I save a lot of money on film.

It can blur very easily. It also will produce some flash pictures with bizarre reflection spots.

I have printed out some of my pictures with my HP842C printer. Good high resolution pictures come out very nice.

This summer will be the test. I plan to try it out in the mountains and want to see how the colors turn out.”

“I bought a small Aipetk camera at Staples for 89 bucks. It is the size of 2 penciles side by side and takes 2 double A batteries. it comes with a program and the pigtail??? to conect to the computer. it has no flash but takes great daytime pictures. it will hold 80 pictures and the batteries last exactly 2 weeks. so far it has been great on hiking trips. I have pictures of the wilson creek tripon the internet that i will show everyone as soon as i can figure out how to send you all there. sorry im a little slow at all this.”

“Almost four years ago I bought my first digital camera (Casio). Haven?t looked back since. For point & shoot convenience and size, they match any 35mm. But exposure control, picture resolution options, LCD playback mode, delete capabilities, photo editing software, plus having enough money saved up, made the digital decision an easy one for me.

Just save your pics as JPEGs, and you can forget the trips to the Walmart photoprocessing center. Unplug your scanner too. Send ?em in emails, post ?em on the net, etc. If you have a good graphics software program, the possibilities increase tremendously. And if you want hard copies, print only the ones you like.

Disadvantages I can think of: higher price, a little extra weight in your pack, possibly more vulnerable to damage, the LCD has an appetite for battery juice (carry an extra set), and many models have bells and whistles that you may never need to use.

I?ve seen them for under $100 (albeit low resolution), and some outstanding ones for under $600 (on sale). You can spend a lot more, but if you?re willing to shell out about $300, you can pick up one that?s great for multipurpose picture-taking, on or off the trail. I highly recommend the ones that use AA batteries (odd-size batteries are expensive and often hard to find). Better yet, get some rechargeable Nickel Metal Hydride AAs plus a recharger.

I now use a Ricoh 5300. 2.3 megapixels, 3x zoom. Has an 8MB built-in memory card that I can use for extra shots if my 32 MB removable card gets full. Its perfect for my needs: from point-and-shoot candids to works of photographic art. A bit pricey for my economic status, but with the large amount of pictures I take, I believe that in terms of film and processing costs, it'll eventually pay for itself.

My 2 cents.”

“Howdy Mr.Silver!”

“Oh, yes--Price. My Kodak Millenium Gold costs around $355 on line. I comes with a cable that plugs into a USB port and that is now my F drive. In seconds I have access to my pictures. I can also connect my camera to the TV in seconds show pictures as well.”

“I went to several retailers this weekend and fondled several brands of digital cameras. I saw large, clunky models and also some of the smallest cameras I've ever seen.



This little Canon Elph S100 is 3.4" wide by 2.2" high by 1.1" deep and weighs 6.7 ounces, so I think we can all throw that "weight" argument out the window.”

“and the price?”

“Hmmm, that link was 'sposed to be a picture!

”

“Around $499, I believe.”

“I personally like my good old 35 mm SLR camera. It's a lot more versatile then current digitals in the same price range and allows me to take better pictures. I think I would rather spend the money on a larger format camera then buy a digital one.”

“I was thinking about buying a digital camera last summer - I went to my local Best Buy to see what they had.
I was very excited about buying something new ... However the picture quality wasn't the best - they claimed it was better than a 35mm. I asked them to take a photo with their best camera, print it on their best printer, with their best photo quality paper ($2 per sheet). I was very disappointed ... It would be great for Emailing and stuff, but as far as taking photos of my kids or vacations - to keep forever ... pretty poor quality prints in my opinion
... maybe I just expect too much”

“Hey there Buddur!

Did you ever calculate how many rolls of film and processing it would take to buy a decent digital camera?”

“Did you ever think off how long it would take to retake all your pictures if you ever had a computer problem versus the time it takes to find old negatives?”

“I have an Olympus D-490 that I use almost exclusively for backpacking now.

With a current 2 or 3 megapixel camera you can get prints around 8x10 with essentially no discernable difference from film. Bigger than that and film still has the advantage.

For the web, digital is clearly the way to go. If you are printing pictures, it's about a wash right now, but digital will soon pass film.

I'm waiting for the new crop of digital SLRs to mature, then I'll replace my Cannon Elan II and keep all of my lenses.

I shoot 50-60 rolls of film a year, easily. I took a two week vacation to Thailand and Cambodia last year and shot over 20 rolls of film. The cost of the camera is pretty small in comparison, plus I take many more shots with my DC. I was up at Tuckerman Ravine this weekend and shot nearly 100 meg of images and video.

For the images, I burn them to CD with a CD-RW drive on my home PC. They're easy to store, sort, and label. Much better than my negatives, which are filed in a big box.

Check out the new Epson Photo Stylus printers. Photo quality prints with archival inks at a very reasonable price.”

“I wish digital cameras had been around when those nudie shots of me were taken. (Sigh) Que sera sera.”

“Love my Sony DSC-S50 - I have used it for backpacking a number of times - to keep it dry and safe, I pack with it in a padded Otterbox, I could throw it off a cliff w/o problem. Pictures I want to print and keep, I print on my Lexmark Inkjet on Kodak paper - more expensive per print than real film, but I generally only want a hard copy of maybe one in thirty pictures, the rest i am happy just to look at on-screen. Burn them to a CD, deathmarch99, and no computer problem will ever cause you to lose pictures. Also, in ten years, I guarantee you that print quality off my digital images will be amazingly cleaner than the ten-year old negatives you are using! All in all, if you can afford it and don't mind the weight, digital is the way to go! I'm thinking about leaving it at home for my 85 mile hike next week, though. Just too much weight for 5 1/2 days and 14,100 feet of elevation gain.... But as I pack, I may change my mind...”

“roseymonster, my husband wants the digital camcorder for the same reason of being able to take a still too.

I have a digital camera. It's a lot of fun to take pictures and see them and retake them if necessary.

I take a lot of photos over again with my 35mm to get the really crisp shots. My camera, bought months ago is already outdated being a 1.3 pixel. My sister just bought one which is a 3.1 which I'm thinking takes sharper pictures.”

“I've used both the Kodak DC 290 and currently the Nikon 880 Coolpix (both at newspapers).

If I had $500 bucks right now, I think I'd be tempted to buy the 290. I don't know how many megapixels it is. I do know it has nice great big LCD viewing screen on the back. I mean, it's HUGE! You can also zoom in up to 4 times to check out the fine details of that photo.

I think they have quit making the 290 (??) Was a $1,000 camera and I've seen it for $500 lately in a few places.

The Nikon is OK. I think the one I'm using has autofocus problems; it grinds back and forth and sometimes you have to push on the shutter button forever. Again, it's probably an $800-$1,000 camera.

I've never printed photos off these on my inkjet to see how they look.

As far as getting a digital, I'd do it in a second if I could -- but not necessarily for "keeper" shots that are near and dear to your heart. I would want it for the immediacy of it -- to be able to send breaking news photos to a paper I freelance for. You can't beat a digital for that. I mean, newspapers don't need the high quality print, say, that a magazine does.

My big choices are which to get first-- a digital (which will pay for itself with photos sent to papers) OR an excellent quality slide scanner, which I need for top quality slides.

Ughhhhhhh...FIRST I NEED MONEY! WANNA START A COLLECTION??!? :-)

Telemark, I also use a Canon EOS Elan II for my normal stuff. I like it!

(Say and did I read Kleetn has a FRIEND???! Wow.. way to go, guy!)”

“One more piece of advice. Definitely shoot on as high a setting as you can. If you can save as a TIF, DO IT! Otherwise, the best quality JPEG.

I have taken some old scanned shots on my computer (which were run through Photoshop) and changed them from JPG to TIF files. I've already lost image information having them be JPG... BUT even doing this will increase the photo quality.

Also, get as big a card as you can then. A 4 or 8 MB card might not even hold ONE photo at top quality. On a 64 MB card at the paper I got something like 60 photos. I don't remember if it was used up or not. We shot on the second-best quality (newspaper...... didn't need the best)

Just some thoughts...........”

“Actually, lisz, you probably won't lose a single bit of data by using the highest quality JPG mode vs TIFF. While JPG is in theory a lossy compression algorithm, in practice, you end up with exactly the same pixels. Many folks have run tests with the same images in TIFF and JPG, run through Photoshop, and you get exactly (bit for bit exact) the same pixels.

So, a two megapixel image runs about 400K, a three megapixel image should run about 700K. I have 64 and 32 meg SmartMedia cards, which I can use up in a single day if I'm busy.

Cameras that have CompactFlash II slots can use the 340 meg and 1 gig IBM MicroDrives, which are good for 100's of images. At that point, batteries are your problem.”

“Scuttlebutt, does your Sony use "memory sticks"? How many pics will the one that comes standard with your camera hold?Does yours download via USB?”

“Kleetn - the DSC-S50 does use the memory stick, it comes with the 4 meg stick, which holds roughly 4 extremely large pics (I never use this setting), 20+ mid-range, and probably 80ish small (the small is more than sufficient for my desires on a backpacking trip - I can print a good 4x6 print using this size). I bought a 8 meg stick, but before my upcoming vaca. i am buying a 64 meg so I can fit a whole vacation on one stick at the middle image size setting. They can be had on ebay for under $100, $130+ in a store. I would highly recomment this camera. It does download through USB, or you can get a floppy-adapter and use the memory stick in your a: drive. Plus, the DSC-S50 and 70 allow you to record .mpeg clips with sound, something I have enjoyed since I bought it.”

“Bonzai always seemed to like going digital.”

“I got my kewl new camera and also got a gift certificate with it. The certificate had to be used by the first of the year so, at my brother’s prompting, I got a Compact Flashcard Reader so I can upload photos at a faster rate without burning up my camera’s batteries. Great! Now that the thing is on it’s way I bust out my software and cords and stuff and what do I find? I already have a card reader! Holy sheep shoes, what a dumba@@! So I have this extra card reader that does me no good.

Would anyone be interested in it? I just wanna break even. I’ll even pay shipping.

ImageMate CompactFlash Card Reader ”

“Nigal, I'll buy it from you...

fritz_barnes@yahoo.com”

“Thanks Fritz! You've got mail.”

“With Photoshop or other graphic programs you can alter the photos anyway you want.

Wanna see pictures of my backpacking trip on Everest with the Pope and Miss November?”

“Let's see it gordo.”

“I have a Fuji 1400z digital camera. Advantages... No developing film, I can take over 100 pictures, I know instantly if a pictur comes out... if it didn't I can delete it, I can send my friends pictures via email with out scanning and I can carry an addtional memory card that weight less than an ounce to take 100 more pictures. (I can take 42 at the finest quality with a 32 MB card)

Disadvantages. It is heavier than the regular 35 mm APS by about 5 ounces, It takes 4 AA batteries and goes through them like water. I have rechargeable ones witch last a LOT longer, mine cost me $225 a bit more than a Kodak APS. Memory cards are small and run around $20 (Pricewatch.com) I am not sure how my digital would react to rain... I am sure not well. So I always take extra precautions to make sure I double ziplock it and when it looks like rain it goes deep into the pack.

I like my digital, I seem to take more pictures and have more fun taking them. Sort of like instant gradification when you can see what you just took. Also the extra weight is worth it to me...”

“I wanna see'um, too Gordo!!! C'mon!!!”

“How about that picture I've got of Nigal with a goat? Or that photo of Lizs and I under the moonlight that I cherish so much?”

“I have a cell phone does that count?

Crazy Mike......:)”

“I'm still having fun with my camera... Fuji FinePix 2600zoom
It only takes 2 AA batteries which are rechargeable and weighs 7 OZ.
I can get about 80 to 90 pics on one set of batteries and even view them a couple of times. Also I bought the 64 meg smart card so I could get more pics on the card.”

“Me and a goat Hobbit? I never forfet a lover but I can't recall this one. LOL!

I got a camera that has a rechargable lithium battery that you just plug the camera into an AC adapter to charge it. In the long run it will save me on money but I think I'll need to buy a spare (around $60) for a week long trip and avoid using the monitor for the week.

The software that came with it is called Arcsoft and has about four or five seperate programs that you can do about anything you want to the picture.”

“That would be forget, not forfet.”

“I use a cheap little digital camera for my hikes - the JamCam. The pics aren't the best, but the camera is lightweight and not expensive. I use a Sony Mavica otherwise. The pics taken by the JamCam are similar in quality to a disposable camera from my experience. I paid $45 for the JamCam and got a free 16Mb memory stick! Although I must admit that I'd rather carry the Sony.”