Camera Memory Cards & Pic Software

[Peter Stahl]

Anyone have know what brand of Memory cards to buy or avoid for Digital Cameras? Bought a Canon G5, 5 meg pix and it comes with just a 32 mb card.
Also what Software do you use for resizing and editing pics.

thanks, Pete

[Glenn Clabo]

Check out this site Pete...but beware...it's kind of like asking what's the best hammer.
http://www.dpreview.com/articles/mediacompare/

As far as the Software...PhotoShop is considered the industry standard. However, it's very expensive and has a monster learning curve. The programs that come with cameras nowadays are a good start.

[Mark Singer]

Get at least a 512mb....or 2-256mb to start. I have the G2 and the Digital Rebel

[Jim Becker]

As far as the Software...PhotoShop is considered the industry standard. However, it's very expensive and has a monster learning curve. The programs that come with cameras nowadays are a good start.
The well-under $100 Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0 is very easy to use and has most of the functionality from it's more expensive sibling that most of us will ever need. (And there are books that describe tweeks that go even further) I bought this awhile back to replace another program that became "no longer supported" and have been very, very happy with it.

Many others like PaintShop Pro, another inexpensive program that has been around for a long time.

[Dan McLaughlin]

Pete:

The link from Glenn is good to compare features but not prices. I bought a Sandisk Ultra 256 Meg Compact Flash II card for lessthan $60. I use Photoshop (currently ver 7.x) but that is because I use it for website design work and already have it. Most of what comes with the camera is good. Adobe Photoshop Elements is very good and substantially cheaper that Photoshop ($85 on Amazon).

[Jim Becker]

The link from Glenn is good to compare features but not prices. .
Pretty impossible to compare prices on a somewhat static site...they change almost daily! I caught a sale recently at Buy.com and bought two 256mb Lexar compact flash modules for under a hundred bucks, including shipping. The prices are going down all the time!

[Mark Bachler]

as long as we have a camera thread going here, any recommendations for a guy new to digital for a 8x to 10x optical & at least 4mp for around $700 to $800?

[Jim Becker]

as long as we have a camera thread going here, any recommendations for a guy new to digital for a 8x to 10x optical & at least 4mp for around $700 to $800?
There are a number of fine cameras in that price range that offer the features you want plus through-the-lense viewing (non-interchangable lenses, however) Nikon, Fuji, Cannon, etc. all have them. Take a look at the reviews site listed in this thread and see if any of these float your boat. You might also find a bargan on a "slightly" older version, such as the Nikon 5700 that have dropped in price considerably due to new models being out. That can save you hundreds if you don't need the latest and greatest.

[Peter Stahl]

Jim,

Which CF Cards did you get, are they the faster ones (i.e 12X). Most you see at local store sales are 4X, was wondering if the faster card makes that much difference. If I really get into this digital camea thing then I can still use the cards in a Digital Rebel of 10D. I attached a picture of a nest in a fern we have handing on the porch. Camera didn't want to focus well, guess it was swaying a little. I was also standing on a ladder. Didn't want to disturb the nest.

Pete

I replaced the orginal pic I posted. New pic is a reduced/cropped pic of the oversized one I originally posted.

[Peter Stahl]

I cropped the pic in the last message and saved it so it's only 47kb but I don't know how to make it smaller in width and height. My camera came with a program called ZoomBrowser EX is that helps.

Pete

[Jim Becker]

Peter, they are the Lexar USB enabled 12x 256mb CompactFlash units.

On the picture you posted, it appears that something "scaled up" your photo to a size greater than its original size. That's what is causing the pixilation. I just reduced it to 500 pixels wide, but it's still not "detailed" like it should be.

BTW, what finch species are the eggs from?

[Peter Stahl]

Jim,

Do you have a PC watch or are you always in front of one. ;) The birds are some type of finch I think but, I'm not a bird watcher so I'm not sure. I've attached a picture that I just cropped and tried to reduce the size with MS Paint. Didn't realize how small the file was till I uploaded it, only 30 kb. Don't expect too much detail.

thanks, Pete

[Jim Becker]

Do you have a PC watch or are you always in fromt of one.I have three computers within arm's reach...work computer...personal machine...and old personal machine I'm preparing for my dad. SMC dings me whenever someone posts to a thread that I've suscribed to. It's one of the things I like about this forum...it's easy to stay in touch with what's going on even when doing other things. (Like interminable conference calls...)


The birds are some type of finch I think, I'm not a bird watcher so I'm not sure. From the picture, it looks like a female house finch. The males should have a redish head and upper chest if that's what they are. Like below in the first picture and contrasted with the goldfinch in the second...strange that the nest would be in the ferns, however. Our two couple have their nests behind the shutters; one in the back of the house, one in the front.

[Peter Stahl]

Jim,

I reposted my pic in my last post. Looking at your pics, I would say it looks like the redish colored one on the feeder. Thanks for the posts. I need a lot more practice.

Pete

[Jim Becker]

If that's a very young, just fledged bird, it might be, but otherwise it may not. The shape of the head and beak is a little different. But no matter...it's a bird! :) They make great photo subjects, especially for digital since you can snap away without regret.

[Peter Stahl]

Still learning my camera. Pictures are large when saved and found a free program to resize them with (www.irfanview.com). I attached a updated pic from the nest. Looks like 2 chicks. I'll probaly but photoshop elements once I get to know my camera better.

Pete

[Jim Becker]

Great pic, Pete! Our brood of bluebirds will undoubtedly fledge this week. That's a great site. Keep taking pics of these every few days to document, but be careful once they get feathered and "aware" of their surroundings. (eyes open, etc.) You don't want to scare them out of the nest early.

[Dar Lounsbury]

Sandisk 256MB Compact Flash II is $41.99 at Costco.

[Peter Stahl]

thanks Dar, that's a good price for a SanDisk II. I'll have to ask my buddy who has a membership there to get me one.

Pete

[Brian Hale]

I shoot a Canon D60 (6mp) and have gone through a learning curve with CF cards. Sandisk makes a good card but they tend to be a bit slow transferring images to the computer. I own 2 512mb transcend cards that have lost Several images and i only use them when everything else i own is full. My favorite are the Lexar Pro cards which come with a USB 2.0 reader and recovery software. This software is so good, i can format the card in my camera, stick it in the computer and get all my images back. Currently i've got (1) 1gb and (2) 512 mb cards and when i get another it'll be a lexar. www.ecost.com (http://www.ecost.com) has good prices if you watch the site.


As for software, i run Photoshop CS for image editing and BreezeBrowser ( www.breezesys.com (http://www.breezesys.com) ) for image transfer, databasing and previewing. Photoshop elements is a great program if you don't need the advanced features like multi layer images with adjustment layers and such. PaintShop Pro is also very popular.

Brian
PS... Back up often!

[David Klink]

We have an HP Photosmart 850 with a Sandisk card. I use Jasc Paint Shop Pro V.7, and my wife uses V.8 because I'm too lazy to install V.8 on mine.:)

I've been using PSP for 4 years or so now, and love it. It hasn't been as much of a dedicated photo program in the past, but as digital cameras have gotten more popular they've geared it more towards them.

One thing I've always liked about it is, when they do put out a new version they don't do it just for the sake of doing it. There are generally noticeable improvements or enhancements, and that's one of the marks of a good software company.

[Peter Stahl]

Brian/David

Thanks for the replys. I finally bought 2 256MB 40X Lexar mem cards for my camera. Still need a lot of practice with my camera and now I have some storage. Still looking at software and a extra battery.

Pete