I am going to buy a digital camera Saturday.

What I want to be able to do is; take a picture, get in on my computer and then to the internet. Before I encounter a sales weasel (I was one, I know how they can be) I have a few questions.

I've been pricing them and reading their features but they assume I know something and I don't. It comes with software. Why? I would assume the camera uses a floppy and you incert that in the A drive and upload to the software. I would assume from there you can do what you wish. Am I completely lost? Do I need to buy a bunch of junk and open the case on my tower? If so, what?

Thanks!

when I got my camera, it came with software. Mostly it is so that the computer knows what this new thing that is connected to it is and knows what to do with the pictures. My camera has a cradle that connects to the tower via USB cable. There is also a power cord that goes from the cable to a plug so that I can charge the batteries when the camera is on the cradle. There are other programs...like photo editing things...on the disks that come with the camera. Usually you can choose what all you want to be installed onto the computer. You shouldn't have to open the tower at all. I have mine set up so that I put the camera on the cradle, push the "unload" button on the cradle and it automatically puts the pictures into a file in the computer. From there, I usually upload the pictures that I want to post to photobucket. Hope this helps.

oh....i believe the software comes on a floppy and on a cd now. Some people don't know what floppies are anymore.

I don't know how much you really know about digital cameras, but when I bought mine I did a lot of research.....One of the most important things to me is that it had optical zoom....which is really more important than the digital zoom....It was a little more pricey to get an optical zoom one, but worth it to be able to get better close up shots.

I got software with mine too...all kinds of photo editing stuff so you can fix your pictures, and a transfer folder so when I plug in the camera to the USB it automatically opens and loads my pictures into my albums.....Mine came with only a CD... but on my old computer I had a floppy drive and I never used it once...so when I just ordered my new computer I didn't bother to have one put in it....

I get it. The camera has a hard drive and you dump that in a file. Ok. Thanks gal!

My comment would be to make sure it can take shots inside or in low light conditions. I have to take stuff outside to get a good picture of it to post. And there are times when that just isn't possible.

Tammy I have an old camera sort of like the one you have....it was my beginning camera, and it didn't have a flash--and without that flash it was SO hard to get decent pictures inside.....

A good flash is really important.....On my new camera it is so bright that when I take a picture outside and it's pitch black it looks like daylight with the flash turned up high.

loz, if you were taking a picture of say a tomato plant. Could you get away with 3x to 4x optical zoom are is that inadequate?

3 or 4x optical zoom isn't bad....When I bought mine I could only afford 3x optical....My friend just got a 10x optical and it takes absolutely fantastic pictures from far away--but it wasn't cheap......So depending on how far away you need to zoom in I'd say 3-4x optical would be just fine.....and don't forget once you take a picture using the optical zoom you can go into the menu on your camera and zoom in closer with the digital zoom.......

I have to hit the sack now, but you'll love it so much when you get your camera....I took so many pictures with it the first few weeks.....

Also you may want to look into getting a bigger memory stick for your camera....Mine came with one, which they pretty much all do--but it couldn't hold that many pictures in memory...So after a few weeks I upgraded to a 128MB memory stick....Now I can take loads of pictures and not have to erase any, and I can take pretty nice movie clips with it.....

I have a Sony Cybershot....I like it alot, but there are lots of good cameras out there.....I just happen to like Sony a lot.....

Anyway, I really am heading to bed now......Night!!!

I would recommend you visit About.com and sign up for their free course on purchasing and using digital cameras. They send it to you in installments via email....

Merme

ditto Merme
Jimmy

RE courses. I think I found something better.

ShortCourses.com

Good advice though.

If you need a floppy instead of a CD, you better make sure the salesperson knows, because most digi cams cannot be returned once opened. We purchased one and it came with a CD, it's been here for months and I cannot figure the @#&%* thing out. The store wouldn't take it back either.

I have a Fugi FinePix S7000 and I love it. Learning to use it by reading the owner's manual was hard, so I looked on the internet for some HELP.

I found a site that reviews each camera, and has literally step-by-step instructions for the settings, functions, etc. for each specific camera.

Imaging Resource

This site explained the functions much better than the manual, with PICTURES!


Cindy

LMT, my camera is an HP photosmart 733, but they stopped making that one (to make the 735, which is not only pc compatible, but also mac compatible, but I don't use a mac.). I paid about $160 for it. It is 3.2megapixels (the higher the mp's, the better, and more costly too..), 3x optical & 3x digital zoom, and has a built in memory of 16mb. That 16mb is only good for about 8 high quality photos.. but you can buy a small memory card, most cameras take them.. mine was about $35 for a 256mb stick, and I can take about 165 high quality photos, or 1,650 standard photos. I always use high quality tho, so I can get better closeups.

So..
1)megapixel
2)optical zoom
3)digital zoom
4)memory
5)flash
Those things right there are what you need to get good closeups. The higher the numbers on them, the more it'll cost. Now, if you look at my sig, and see "my favorite photos" in webshots, I took those with my hp 3x everything. Sure, 10x is out of this world.. but costs that much too. There's a few closeups I've not been able to get. But check out the ladybug I took a pic of.

Meg

I got this Fugi FinePix S5100 before I got the S7000.
It has 10X and it was only $300. (with case and extra 256mb card).


I didn't have to pay for either one of them.
One was a Christmas present and one was a birthday present.

Cindy

Wow Cindy, that's a great buy, 10x for $300. We were looking to spend less than $200, which I did.. and I could have almost gotten a 5x, but I liked some of the features of my camera that I didn't see on some of the other more expensive ones. Well, they all had a feature that another one didn't, but overall.. mine was in my price range, and had most of the features I wanted.

ps- a fuji camera was a *very close 2nd* for me. I nearly bought it. Only thing was the xd memory it uses, is a bit more pricey.

Meg

From what I've found (going from memory) I'm looking at 4 megapixel, 3x optical/4x digital zoom, 156mb (or something like that) memory and flash when staying around $180. The camera will do a good job in most applications but I won't win any awards.

Bingo!

A handy feature of most new digital cameras, is the capability of just using the usb to download them to your pc. Older cameras took readers to get the info off of your camera.. yet another "device". Some cameras, like my hp, have "optional docking stations" where you don't need a pc to get your pictures, it will print them up for you from there. Also, I think the docks have a charger in them for your camera's rechargeable batteries. That's hp, anyway. I don't have the dock.. but am considering it.

Meg

WHELL!!! LA DI DA DAHLING i want to get the contraption you have sooo bad but jeff thinks i'll end up devoting my life to taking pics of my plants. DUH!!! i already do!!
if you don't mind me asking what did that lot set you back?

i guess i should have read the whole thing
ah ha! what is the price range?

HP camera & dock bundle from HP shopping was listed at $229.98, but you may find one somewhere else, cheaper than their website. That camera is actually probably a step better than mine, it's a 4megapixel, mine's only a 3mp.

Meg

hmmmm.... worth looking into definately. thanx for the info dahling

nada problem. (i shop amazon a lot) I did get my camera from walmart, but didn't have the fundage at the time to get the dock as well.. it wasn't a bundled pack. :rolleyes:

Meg