Need Digital Cameral Advice

[John Stevens]

Hi, folks. I'm sorry to be asking for advice without having done ANY research first, but when it comes to cameras, I don't have a clue.

In a couple months I'll be traveling to China for about two weeks to adopt a little boy. As you can imagine, I'll need to take lots and lots of pics there. I have to find a camera and accessories that will meet several needs.

First, I'm not good at taking pics, so the camera has to be a "point-and-shoot" model that's just about idiot-proof. I don't need a camera with a lot of features. Reliability is more important.

Second, storage of digital picture files during the trip will be an issue, so I guess I need to consider how the camera works together with digital storage devices. I don't know if the digital files from the camera can be transferred to a disc or a card or whatever, and I don't know how many discs or cards I'd have to take with me for a two week trip. Any comments on that issue would be welcome.

Finally, I guess I need to consider power--how many batteries should I bring with me for the trip?

Thank you very much for your help.

[Rick Doyle]

hi john,

sounds like a great trip and a nice digital camera would be a must for that - especially for pics of the child you are adopting - congratulations!

you've asked all the right questions and i'm quite sure you will get tons of answers and recommendations. i'd just like to make a few points here.

storage for your pictures shouldn't be problem with the capacity of today's removable storage cards - there are all different types depending on the camera you choose. they are capable of storing up to 8MB of data, or more, that's about 8,000 pictures - think you'll be taking more than that? probably not. the cards come in sizes ranging from 64k to 8mb.

if you brought a laptop with you, yes you can transfer pics from the camera to a cd, or take your compact flash card in to a camera store and they will do it for you. however, i wouldn't count on that in china.

as for any other advice, i would strongly recommend that you visit a local camera shop and talk to them. ask them to give you a few recommendations on different cameras - some good brands are canon, nikon, olympus, fugi. then, check out the reviews of those cameras on a few of these websites:

http://www.dcresource.com/
http://www.steves-digicams.com/
http://www.megapixel.net/html/cover.php

you'll find out everything you need to know about the camera there.

good luck and let us know how you are making out.

[Lee Schierer]

I like the Canon A510 we recently purchased. It is a 4 Mp camera. With a 1 meg SD memory card you can hold about 700 decent quality photos. It can be as simple as point and shoot, but offers considerable features for special effects and manual setup if you want it or need it. It us pretty easy on battery life if you turn the camera off when you aren't taking photos. Batteries last longer without the flash too. It uses AA cells so you can get them anywhere in a pinch. Rechargeables won't take as many photos between charges, but they can be reused. It will fit in a shirt pocket. I would suggest you get a back up SD card. We carried ours everywhere on a recent cruise and didn't fill up the card. We transfered them all to a CD when we got home, did some editing and printed them at Walmart.

It also comes with some easy to use software for image editing and management.

[Michael Ballent]

I would also add http://www.dpreview.com for a lot of info, reviews and dare I say it, forums :D. Memory cards are not too expensive so you can think of it as the film your pictures are written to. So as it fills up you swap out the card for an empty one. As MP (megapixels) go up so do the storage requirements. I currently have a 3.1 MP camera and the files are in the 800K range (assuming you are shooting in jpeg) so a 512MB card can hold a lot of pictures. There are memory cards out there now that can hold gigs (1 gig = 1000 megabytes = 1,000,000 kilobytes, and that is a rough number)

There are all sorts of memory cards out there, and for your purposes you really should not bother too much with the type of card, so long as you buy the one(s) that fits your camera.

As far a battery use, I would insist on a camera that can use standard batteries AA, AAA etc. If you buy a camera that has a proprietary battery in it and it dies you may not be able to replace it easily. The whole world uses AA, AAA batteries. You can also buy rechargeable AA or AAA batteries Lithium Ion would be my suggestion since it holds it charge a long time. Also make sure that you have the correct electrical plugs that will fit Chinese outlets and make sure that the charger can handle the different voltages automatically.

When I travel, I keep a set of batteries in the camera, a freshly charged set of batteries, and a brand new set of non-rechargable batteries with me. As the juice drops I replace as needed, using the non-rechargable ones as a last resort. With digital photography you really have to make sure that batteries.

One other thing that you will want to make sure of is the shutter lag between pressing the button and the camera actually taking the picture. Get a camera that has the least shutter lag, so you will be less likely to miss a shot. This is why I am looking to upgrade to a digital SLR camera, they turn on instantly and take the shot instantly (well almost) but those are not point and shoot cameras you are looking for :D

Congrats on the new addition to the family, and one final piece of advice is for you to get the camera well before you head out on the trip and start taking pictures now. Last thing you want is to be fiddling with the camera trying to set the self timer DAMHIKT :)

[Daniel Heine]

Hello,

I have owned a dozen differnt Canon cameras over the years, and have never had a problem with one of them. IMHO, Canon is the best brand on the market. I have owned two of their digital cameras, and 11 of the 35mm conventional cameras ranging from their most basic to the top of the line pro models. For me ther is no other option but Canon.

I have owned two Sony camcorders, and both failed long before I would have expected them to. Service is horrible, and they won't look at your camera for less than $100.00. I will never own another Sony product in this lifetime.

I had friends in my college photography program that owned and loved Nikon cameras. I think Nikon and Canon are on par quality wise.

Finally, buy the best combination of mega-pixel resolution and optical zoom you can afford. Digital zoom is of very limited use, go for the optical zoom, and save $100.00 for a 1Mb memory card. Outpost.com had 1 gig cards for $35.00 this weekend.

Have a great trip,
Dan Heine

[Jim Becker]

The good news is that there is a whole crop of "travel friendly" high-megapixel digi-cams available these days. What I mean by "travel friendly" is small size, light weight, recessed lenses with auto-covers and metal cases that stand up to "the pocket". Mine is a Nikon S1 (since I'm a Nikon camper), but all of the major brands have similar. The original list price of it was $379 (I got it with AMEX points, however) and the prices have fallen considerably. There are also new models. The DPReviews site linked to in a post above is the one I generally use for comparisons.

Relevant to your needs, I used the Nikon S1 as my still camera when we went to Russia in November to complete the adoption of our girls and it worked wonderfully for the job. At 5 megapixels, it takes shots "large enough" to reproduce on paper. Suggestion: no matter what you buy, be sure to get more than one memory card so you don't run out of space and take a small USB card reader with you so you can send back pictures via email from "any" computer available to you, such as a business center in a hotel. Save a few shots at 640x480 resolution in the camera for email transmittal and take the rest in full resolution so you have choices later. Be sure you have the physical plug adapter with you appropriate for China so you can use your camera's charger.

Oh...and CONGRATULATIONS on your upcoming adoption! It's a wonderful thing...and a boy, to boot, considering China adoptions are mostly infant girls by a 90% plus majority. CONGRATULATIONS!

[Jerry Olexa]

First, Congrats on your adoption!! this is a major, happy event for you and your family!!
The advice above is right on. I also rely heavily on dpreview. It helps to go to a specific brand forum and see what the actual users are saying about your cam prior to purchase. Do a search for the model you are considering and you hear both the good and the bad...
Lastly, I strongly reco you get the cam early before your trip and try it out before you leave. The shots you will be taking later are too important to leave to chance. You also generally have a 15 or 30 day return period to spot glitches, This way, u can correct before you leave on your journey!! Bon Voyage....

[Rob Russell]

Based on my experience with our digital camera when we were in Australia for 3 1/2 weeks, there are 2 things I'd be really attentive to.

The first is shutter lag. It is amazingly frustrating to want to snap a quick picture and have what you end up with not what you wanted because of a 1 second+ shutter lag. It does make a difference.

The other thing is turn-on time. As the card on my camera filled up, it took longer and longer for the camera to turn on - to the point where it was 5+ seconds for turn on. That sort of delay basically kills the ability to "quick - snap that".

I've basically decided to buy the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ30. It's around $600 or less street price, is almost as quick as a DSLR both in terms of turnon and shutter lag, but has a high quality built in 35-420 Leica zoom lens. It's basically the same size as a DSLR, but costs less and - for my needs - will perform like one.

Rob

[John Stevens]

Thanks everyone for your warm responses (not to mention the amount of useful info!)

Just a quick follow-up to one of Jim Becker's suggestions--is a "USB card reader" something that is sold at camera stores, computer stores, or elsewhere?

Thanks again.

[Wes Bischel]

John,
Congratulations on the impending joy! The last 4 years have been the best simply because Sam came home!

On the USB card reader, they can be purchased pretty much anywhere that carries electronics. You'll want to get one that matches the card type in your camera, or one that has multiple ports to read different types of cards.
Here's a bunch for example:
http://www.buy.com/retail/searchresults.asp?querytype=home&qu=usb+card+reader&qxt=home&dclksa=1

I suspect even Walmart has them!

We recently purchased a Kodak V550. It is a pocket point and shoot - great for having on hand with the little ones - has pretty good video capabilities as well. My wife loves the docking station (comes with the camera) and the Kodak management software. Had been Canon users and loved our S110, but the review from users on the newer SD models showed the LCD screens were prone to breaking - and Canon would not cover them under warranty. The Kodak has performed great - it does have the propietary batteries Michael mentioned, but we bought a couple and have not had any issues with battery life etc. The pocket P&S type of cameras are not for everyone, but we have found them nice for having on hand quickly for the "cute shots". Thank God for digital - we would have been in the poor house if we had to buy film!:D

Congrats again - your lives will change in such wonderful ways - I know mine still is!

Wes

[Jim Becker]

is a "USB card reader" something that is sold at camera stores, computer stores, or elsewhere?

I buy stuff like that from Buy.com or Ecost.com usually, but you can also get such things at Staples and similar local retailers. Very handy to have...get one that supports multiple formats for maximum flexibility.

[John Stevens]

I suspect even Walmart has them!

Err, I guess I need to get out of the house more often :o

Thanks again to all for your tech advice and warm wishes. My wife and I are trying to temper our excitement, but we're both looking forward to becoming parents for the first time.

[Wes Bischel]

Err, I guess I need to get out of the house more often :o

Not really - I didn't know they existed until I had no easy way to downloading the card from my camera!:eek: ;)

Wes