Need Equipment

[Bill Gruby]

All I have is a computer and a printer, what else do I need to post pictures?   

[Leester]

Other than a camera, nothing.

[Bill Gruby]

Thats a start Leester, I'm brand new at this and don't want to get talked into buyiny something that I don't need by some greedy salesperson.That's why I came here first. Do I need a digital camera, any info will help?

Bill Gruby

[Leester]

You don't need one but it would be an advantage to have. With a digital you can download the pics into your computer and the program that comes with the camera will downsize the pics to computer posting size in a heartbeat. Very handy all the way around.

[Elwyn Aud]

If you  won't be needing it to take action photos, or to store a lot of photos, a simple point and shoot with a built in flash and  around 3 megapixel capacity should be sufficient and not very expensive. A friend purchased an Olympus at Sam's that was in a bubble-pack and I think it was around $140 and that was a couple of years ago so it might be even less today. You might be able to find a good deal on Ebay, possibly something that's been factory reconditioned. The storage chip that came with his camera only held around 20 pictures so he did buy a 256 chip to have a lot more storage capacity.

[Clancy Arnold]

The next thing to consider is a Flat Bed Scanner.  I use mine a lot. I use a Minolta 7000 camera (35MM) and then scan the pictures into my computer.  All of the pictures I have downloaded to Stunt Hangar were done on it.  An other advantage is that you can draw a sketch and download it to a forum or attach it to an Email.

Clancy

[Tom Perry]

Bill,

If you have a scanner or access to one you can scan your non digital pictures and upload them.

 

[peabody]

Bill:
Elwyn is a pro....and makes sense....
I took a class a couple of years ago and came away with a few thoughts about digital cameras....
1) Make sure that it uses AA batteries.....others (Panasonic, i.e.) are real expensive!
2) The "digital zoom" feature pretty much shrinks the field on a camera, and an "optical zoom" is much, much better....
3) The SD memory chips are inexpensive, especially if purchased on E-Bay.
4) A huge chip isn't as good as two or more smaller, because the camera searches each available slot before finding a place to put the next pic.....this sometimes takes significant time.
5) Fuji uses a six sided pixed, most others are four sided....meaning that the Fuji has 50% more potential for clarity....that said, the Fuji lenses are not as good as some.
6) Sony has had some problems of late...I would avoid them.
Almost all of the inexpensive cameras do a terrific job here on the Internet because the resolution of the monitor is low....but to print, mega pixels start to mean something...a five works great, more will allow printing bigger photos that5X7" clearly.
I have a memory stick that uses SD chips....nifty because I can load my camera quickly that way...

I hope this helps!

[Bill Gruby]

You guys are terrific, I'm getting closer to the store. At least now I won't get hosed when I do decide to buy.

Bill Gruby   

[Steve Helmick]

If you are a devoted 35mm user, you can simply pay a little extra for a CD of your pics when you get them developed. It's been awhile, but I did this for a year or two, while I tried to decided about a digital camera. I didn't think it was a bad deal, and it's probably cheaper now.

I have had little luck with understanding and using either Olympus or Canon software, tho I admit, that I didn't bother with the Canon software, as I already had it figured out (IrfanView 'freeware' is the cat's PJ's), when the Canon came to stay. I replaced my Oly with a Canon Powershot SD450 ELPH. It was $299 at Best Buy. There's an accessory pack that brings you an extra rechargable battery and bigger memory chip, neck strap, and a few other doo-dads. All in all, very worth whatever it cost. This thing is smaller than a pack of cancer stix by quite a bit, and it takes great pics and even does little movies, a fairly useless feature, IMO. Truly pocket sized!

You don't really need a printer or a scanner. If I had a choice, I'd take the computer and digital camera. You can draw a sketch and simply take a macro picture of it, just about as good as a scanner would do, tho a tripod would help a lot. If you can use a scanner, a flatbed scanner is what you want. I don't have one, and don't particularly need one. I have an old HP OJ600, which is a fair all-in-one. My kids used it a lot to fax resumes, and it'll do a decent scan and then a decent print, but I don't use it that much. More paper and more ink is all it's ever needed, in about 10 years. I can't see why I would regret buying the OJ, but don't use it a lot.
   Steve

[frank carlisle]

I think a digital camera is by far the most economical way to go to take pictures. I used to use a 35mm film camera and the cost of getting the film developed and pictures printed was pretty high especially considering that maybe only one in five of the prints I got back were keepers. With the digital camera you avoid the cost of developing and printing.