What is an SLR camera??

[mountainhouse]

I'd suggest handling both cameras somewhere. Also, you could bring in 2 12-exposure rolls, and shoot with both cameras. A camera store should let you do that.

[brittany21]

do you think a walmart or a bestbuy will let me? Cause the cameras will be more expensive in a camera store. I guess i could test them out there, then buy them somewhere else. Kinda shady, but im a student, every penny counts.

 

I think ill probably go with the rebel tho, just b/c i already have a sure shot, mine does not have the intensive zoom like the Z180U, but we'll see... :)

[brittany21]

How was your trip on the POA in 7/ 04?, i go 2/06, thats what all the research for the camera is for...

[Flossie]

If I was to get a backup device to empty my card, I'd get one of the hard drive based ones. I think that having to deal with a bunch of CD's would be a pain.

 

Hello bruce-r , I really hate to take a lap top with me, think that might be more of a pain than the CD's? I burn all my photos onto CD's anyway for storage. I am afraid that if I put them on some kinda hard drive unit it might fail and I would loose it "all" all at once. I looked into a photo ipod but decided to go with the burner instead since I do put everything on a CD anyway it would be done, and I don't think that I would have to take to many of them since they hold so many photos. I appreciate your thoughts and would like more info on this device that you have I still might change my mind I have not purchased anything as of yet for the storage and still looking at what kinda and size of flash cards that I want to purchase.

[mountainhouse]

do you think a walmart or a bestbuy will let me? Cause the cameras will be more expensive in a camera store. I guess i could test them out there, then buy them somewhere else. Kinda shady, but im a student, every penny counts.

 

I agree, I hate taking advantage of a store that way. I think the discounters might let you use the camera in store. Just take 12 photos real quick at the counter. By the way, always compare prices to my favorite place to buy cameras... http://www.bhphotovideo.com . Be VERY careful with internet photo purchases. However, B&H is definitely an exception. Very reputable company. Spend more $$ there than I care to think about. I'd check Costco too in my area.

 

PoA was a great time. We were on the 3rd cruise, when a lot of folks were unhappy with the service on board. I thought it was on par with a 2 star hotel. We had few complaints. Found the crew very friendly, and since so many were from Hawaii, they gave good advice on what to do ashore. We recently did the Grand Princess. Service was better. However, if we had to choose between the 2, we'd go PoA again, no question. Why? Because the itinerary just can't be beat. The short port stays on the Western Carib left us feeling a little cheated, compared to HI. It was our first time to Hawaii, and when you come back and tell folks what you did, they're amazed you saw so much in one trip! You can see what excursions we chose from the photos. Tubin' the Ditch was a highlight, along with scenic cruising on the Napali Coast (I used a Nikon 5400 for those shots, which is 116mm at the long end). Lava flow was pretty light when we were there.

 

We're pretty excited about next year's cruise, mostly because the itinerary looks awesome, like HI. Good cruising!

[mountainhouse]

Hello bruce-r , I really hate to take a lap top with me, think that might be more of a pain than the CD's? .... I appreciate your thoughts and would like more info on this device that you have I still might change my mind I have not purchased anything as of yet for the storage and still looking at what kinda and size of flash cards that I want to purchase.

 

I use one of the Addonics units. Bought it direct from Addonics. Others have reported good results. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=179285

[brittany21]

the B&H site you gave me has the sure shot alot cheaper then best buy, and the rebel comes in many different packages, some with date stamp, some with accessory kit, ranging from 199.99-229.99. The rebel at Walmart has a lens of 28-80mm and the ones at best buy and the site u provided is 28-90mm...

 

Like you said im go nna have to go buy some film and take some photos with them in the store. The maybe ill come home an order from this site. It seems to have the best prices.

[Flossie]

Mountainhouse-

Thank you for all the great info. It me awhile to read it all, question? When I go to the Addonics web site I found two models. One is a new one that they just have out. The price for it is higher, it is the same price as the roadstor. Can you tell me the differances in the two units the new one and the old one or rather what the new one has that the old one does not. I really want to purchase one of these kinda units but not sure what one to get was alittle worried about the Addonics unit not able to hold a 1gig card but really don't think that I would use a 1 gig card anyway as I worry about so many pictures on one card and loosing it all so that may not be a big deal. Just do not know if I need to buy the new unit or the older one is ok. Any input is greatly appreciated. Did you buy your unit from this website and how long did it take to get to you? do you know if it is available in a retail store?

Thanks for your help.

[bruce-r]

Hello bruce-r , I really hate to take a lap top with me, think that might be more of a pain than the CD's?

You know, it is mostly personal preference as to which is better. I already have a 12" ibook which is pretty compact and doesn't weigh much. I use it for lots of things when I travel in addition to photo storage. I use it to watch DVD's on the plane or while waiting at the airport. If the airport has free WIFI, I can surf or send email. I edit my photos for different uses. I also do some writing when I'm on dive trips. I already own it so I don't have to buy another gadget.

 

I am afraid that if I put them on some kinda hard drive unit it might fail and I would loose it "all" all at once.

I think that hard drives today are pretty reliable, so I would trust one. Even in the event of a hard drive failure, there are services that can recover the data. Also, I would only use it while I was traveling. As soon as I get home, I would burn a DVD of my photos. Usually, CD's don't hold enough for me for one trip. I've filled a 1 gig compact flash 2 times while on a 4 day dive trip. I take a lot of photos.

 

I looked into a photo ipod but decided to go with the burner instead since I do put everything on a CD anyway ...

The iPod is an incredible device that will do lots more than just play music, but if you don't own one already, photo storage on one wouldn't be enough reason to buy one, IMHO. There are other hard drive storage units that cost less than an iPod.

 

I appreciate your thoughts and would like more info on this device that you have I still might change my mind I have not purchased anything as of yet for the storage and still looking at what kinda and size of flash cards that I want to purchase.

Actually, I don't have one of those Epson digital storage units since I have my iBook. But if I didn't have the 'book, then I would be tempted to get the epson. I like it because of it's ability to view the images. It is expensive, probably more than you can justify. The Addonics unit that Mountainhouse mentioned looks pretty good too because it can burn and play DVD's as well as CD's. The price is more reasonable too. My problem with CD's is that they just don't hold enough for me (a DVD would), plus I like to see the images right away before I get home. The iBook lets me do everything I want. I guess you need to focus on the main things you want in a backup plan and get a device that will fill those needs, be it hard drive based or a burner.

 

As for memory card size, I like the 1 gig cards. I do a lot of underwater photography, so I can't change cards when I'm diving. I have a big card so I don't run out of space during a dive. I have 2, a Lexar regular one and a SanDisk Ultra II. Never have any problem with either. I never format them with my computer. I always us a card reader to transfer the images to my computer, then I erase the card with the camera after I have had a chance to browse the photos, just to be sure everything worked correctly. The minimum size memory card I would recommend would be a 512meg. The price of memory has been steadily declining, so the 512 and the 1 gig compact flash cards have become pretty affordable. I check memory prices at http://www.dealram.com and sometimes http://www.dealnews.com finds good deals on memory.

[zydecocruiser]

Kayred, here is an excellent price for a very good camera, the Canon S1 IS:

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?ec=BC-EC3-Cat79&pos=2&whse=&topnav=&prodid=11064186

 

 

I have this camera and really, really like it, but you should know that a new model is out - S2-IS. A 12x optical zoom and 5 megapixels, different memory card.

http://consumer.usa.canon.com/ir/controller?act=ModelDetailAct&fcategoryid=144&modelid=11368

 

I have not seen a waterproof case for it, YET.

 

The image stabilization is great and necessary for that much zoom.

 

The ONLY the S1 doesn't have that would sometimes be useful is the ability to store photos in raw format.

 

With a digital camera, I can take hundreds of photos without changing batteries or film card and only print the ones I like. I can review my shots on the fly and not have to wait for the trip to be over to find out I should have taken another shot.

 

There are still strong cases for film cameras, but they are diminishing.

[Flossie]

bruce-r --- Thank you for all your help. I still am not completely sure what I want to purchase. Still reading and looking. It takes me forever to finally purchase something like this.It was unreal how many hours I spent looking and reading before I purchased my Canon D-Rebel ! I think for me I made the right choice there , but it is gonna take me along time to figure that camera out, still confused! going to sign up for some classes soon.

As you pointed out I guess I need to figure out how much I will really use these units that I am looking at. I really think that the ipod thing is out since I would not use it for any music and would just burn a cd when I returned home to get the photos off it so maybe the roadstor or the addonics unit would be the best for me since that is what I will be doing with them anyway. Now you did bring up a good point as to how many photos can I get on a cd rather than a dvd.

[Suzieb]

The differance between the two Addonics units is one burns DVD's and the other burns CD's. So you have a chance to decide how many disks you take with you. I wish I had known about the Addonics unit before I bought my Roadstor, but I still like my Roadstor.

 

Enjoy

[mountainhouse]

Mountainhouse-

Thank you for all the great info. It me awhile to read it all, question? When I go to the Addonics web site I found two models. .... Did you buy your unit from this website and how long did it take to get to you? do you know if it is available in a retail store?

Thanks for your help.

 

I have older Addonics, that burns CDs. I use 512Mb cards, so a full card fits on a single CD. I don't remember the exact shipping time, but it was pretty quick. I haven't seen the unit at any retail stores. Good shooting,

[mountainhouse]

Detailed film vs digital discussion:

http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/filmdig.htm

[Flossie]

Mountainhouse. once again thanks for the great info and web site. I guess that I should purchase the "new" addonics unit that can burn the DVD's ? still just not sure, if that feature is something that is a must with the price differance and I still need to get an extra battery and flash.

 

Suzieb - do you think that you are really missing something by not having the DVD unit ? for the money would you go ahead and get the new unit? Thanks for your input and help.

[bruce-r]

Now you did bring up a good point as to how many photos can I get on a cd rather than a dvd.

You can't really ask "how many photos" will fit because the size of each photo will be different depending on the resolution, the megpixels of your camera, and the file format you use.

 

The difference in size between a CD and a DVD is at CD is 700 megabytes and a DVD is 4.7 Gigabytes. You could fit roughly 6.7 CD's on to 1 DVD. A full 1 gig memory card won't fit on a CD. Forget about the 2 gig and larger memory cards which are available for compact flash.

 

The Addonics that Mountainhouse suggest sounds pretty good. The new one that will burn DVD's also plays DVD's and does some other stuff too. Looks cool to me and at less than $200 seems like a bargain. The only possible drawback to burning DVD's is the time it takes to actually do the burn.

[bruce-r]

I have this camera and really, really like it, but you should know that a new model is out - S2-IS. A 12x optical zoom and 5 megapixels, different memory card.

 

I have not seen a waterproof case for it, YET.

I think the change in memory card style is a downgrade. Compact Flash is superior to SD media in my opinion. It comes in larger sizes, has faster write times and is less expensive per unit of storage.

 

http://www.digideep.com is and excellent site for underwater housing info.

The Canon S1-IS does indeed have an underwater housing. A friend has one.

[zydecocruiser]

\

The Canon S1-IS does indeed have an underwater housing. A friend has one.

 

me too. :p it is the s2 that seem to have no housing, yet. since it is different sized, not sure the s1 housing would work.

[Suzieb]

Suzieb - do you think that you are really missing something by not having the DVD unit ? for the money would you go ahead and get the new unit? Thanks for your input and help.

 

Flossie, to me it does not matter if I burn a DVD or CD. I perfer CD's , but that is me. To me what matters is the Addonics unit reads XD cards and the Roadstor unit does not. I bought a special card to converrt my XD to CF cards but it won't read my 512 card, oh well! So go what you can afford and what will handle the card that your camera has.

 

Good shotting and have fun

[zydecocruiser]

www.digideep.com is and excellent site for underwater housing info.

The Canon S1-IS does indeed have an underwater housing. A friend has one.

 

i like that site, but confirmed...

 

"At the moment there is no housing available for this camera. But you can click here to register and receive an email as soon as we know about an underwater housing for the PowerShot S2 IS camera. "

 

 

From day one I have used compact flash and the fit lots of other things including my pda (ok it has a second slot for sd cards).

[brittany21]

I bought the rebel... im a lil apprehensive with it.. its more complicated then i thought. It is automatic everything so if the lightening and stuff is not right, it wont take the picture. Ive read the book, and its all jibberish. Any suggestions?? Ive figured it out for the most part, but i dont think of im taking the full advantage of it.

[bruceh4]

I bought the rebel... im a lil apprehensive with it.. its more complicated then i thought. It is automatic everything so if the lightening and stuff is not right, it wont take the picture. Ive read the book, and its all jibberish. Any suggestions?? Ive figured it out for the most part, but i dont think of im taking the full advantage of it.

My advice to you is to use the camera in automatic mode it will take wonderful pictures. I think you will find that the first part of your statement will not be the case. In automatic mode the camera will make all the adjustments to give you the best picture possible. If I were you I would forget the details in the manual which are confusing to you and just read the first part where it should tell you how to shot in automatic and let the camera do the work. When looking down on the top of your camera, the round dial next to the on-off switch should be set to the GREEN box. This will put your camera in automatic and shot pictures till your hearts content. When you become more familiar with your camera then read further into the maual about some of the scene modes, such as landscape, portrait, and so forth. Here is a website page which will show you what I am talking about.

 

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2003_reviews/300d_pg3.html

 

But for now just shoot in full automatic and have fun taking pictures.

[xtopher_66]

The Canon Digital Learning Center has some good digital photography lessons along with tutorials on using the Digital Rebel XT.

 

Chris