Disposable camera question

[pampaul]

I have searched online for like forever trying to find a disposable panoramic camera. I know they make them (cause I've seen them) but they always say that they're out of stock. Does someone know where I can pick up a couple of these?

[bakechef]

Hello

 

Having worked in a photo lab, I can tell you a little about panoramic cameras. The picture that you get with most panaoramic cameras, is not a true panoramic shot, here is why. The camera puts black bars at the top and bottom of the picture (kind of like a widescreen format movie) these tell the photo machine to stretch the photo and print at double the length, so what I am saying is with most of these cameras you are not really getting anymore of a wide shot just a regular picture stretched out, often looking VERY grainy, often very dissapointing. I have seen hundreds of panoramic shots and very few ever looked good, most people use them for sunsets beach shots. There may be a one time use true panoramic, they will have a much different looking lens than a traditional camera and will require special processing, usually with a send away service. I love to take pictures, but I really don't recommend one time use cameras. One time use cameras are really great for taking to the beach, or anywhere else that your expensive camera could get damaged, they are also great to give to kids, because really who cares if they get broken. One other one time use that is great are the water proof ones, great for the beach, and shallow snorkeling and if the water isn't too deep (not enough light in deeper water) they are really good for stingray city. Do not expect good indoor shots with disposables, as their flashes are pretty weak. And finally if you need to buy disposable cameras, buy name brand Kodak or Fuji, the off brands are recycled name brands, loaded with really cheap film and taped up with electrical tape, and always put film in your carry on, not your regular luggage, the x-rays that your carry on goes through are not strong enough to damage your film, but the ones that your regular luggage goes through are much stronger, and will damage your film. Digital is not a problem with x-rays.

 

I know that this is probably too much info, but I got started and couldn't stop, hope it was helpful. In my opinion panoramic cameras are not worth it and can cost you alot more to process.;)

 

happy cruising

[pampaul]

thanks for your reply. And no, it wasn't too much info. Answered a couple questions I had in the back of my head anyhow. But could you answer me this one.

 

What should I do to get those couple panoramic shots that I want to get (sunset, sunrise, NY skyline)? My sister in law has a digital camera with a panoramic setting. Will this be okay? Any suggestions would be great. I have never been cruising or to any island before in my life and I would LOVE to get some panoramic shots. Please help!!!

[bakechef]

I believe that the digital should be a much better option, through software in the camera you should get a true panoramic, because digital cameras are much smarter and can "stitch" pictures together. What you do is take between 2 and 5 photos and have the camera stitch them together. Is your sister-in-law's camera an HP? Their website has a demo on how this works, it is pretty neat. There is software that will stitch photos together too, but they are alot more work, and probably would not look quite as good as the in-camera software.

 

I'm glad I could shed some light on the fake panorama cameras, you don't know how many people were very dissapointed when they saw their panoramic landscape shots look grainy and washed out. If you have achance to play with the digital camera before the trip, do so, get a little practice. And last but not least, make sure your sister-in-law has the camera set on the highest quality setting, setting it lower will get more pictures on the card, but the quality will go down, and the colors will not be quite as vibrant, make sure that she is using the megapixels she paid for, I always told people why did you pay for 5 megapixels, and set your camera to use only 1.5? People back from trips, would say "but it looked good on the screen!" but when printed, looked bad.

 

have fun taking pictures, I hope this helps!

[Audiocracy]

Try doing a google search for "panoramic disposable camera" and you should get a couple of hits. I'm not sure exactly what you mean by the panoramic setting on your sister's digital camera. Is it similar to what bakechef described where you flip a lever and the viewfinder becomes shorter horizontally? I have an older Nikon P&S that had a panoramic mode that allowed me to take one picture and then display half of that picture in the lcd screen superimposed onto the live view so that you could overlap the next picture with the previous one. You could then use the included software to stitch the pictures together. It worked pretty well for what it was. The absolute best way to capture panoramic pictures is with a DSLR and an ultra-wide lense, but both the camera and especially the lense are expensive.

[pampaul]

Well, I've been searching online for one of those disposable panoramic ones, but FUJI has told me that they've been discontinued. :( I'm really not an expert on digital cameras and such, but someone had told me that some digital cameras have some type of setting that can take a panoramic pic. So I don't know. I might be seeing her today so I'll see if she can bring her camera so I can play around with it. Thanks!!!

[bakechef]

I did some digging around the net, and it seems that all companies have discontinued their one time use panoramas. But there is some good news, amazon.com has an Ansco slim pix 35mm camera it is not disposable, but only costs $12.99 +shipping, this might be a good option. Here is a link, that I hope works. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000AQFG2Q/ref=nosim/002-0699117-6380854?n=3370831

 

You will have a camera to take on other trips, or one you can take places where you wouldn't want to take better cameras. You may also want to check discount stores, like kmart, they may have a similar camera, that has switchable panoramic like this one, for not alot of money.

 

if the link does not work, just search amazon for Ansco slim pix 35mm

 

hope this helps

 

Mike:)

[CleoPat]

:) I had a panoramic camera which broke on my second day of my cruise and went crazy looking for disposable ones. None to be found. I did end up buying other disposable cameras and my photos turned out BETTER in color and clarity than my friend's digital camera. So I would not poo poo a disposable camera re the photos. The panoramic (disposable) cameras that others I've know to have used DO show more of the scenary on left and right but do narrow top and bottom. P.S. After I got home I saw the disposable panoramic ones sold in my supermarket camera department!!! Publix.

[bakechef]

I do agree, that with good lighting, good film and good processing that you can get very satisfactory shots from a disposable. Although you do not get any more scenery to the left or right, because they do not take a shot any wider than a standard shot, just compare the width of the shot on the negative to other shots without panorama, the width is no different, with that said most photo labs have their macines set up differently, and some shoot the image on the paper and can cut off some of the picture, you can have your prints done one place, and then reprinted in another, and there may be more shown in one than the other. Take my word on this, I used to do this for a living, these pictures are just stretched with the top and bottom cropped. You may still be able to get a disposable panorama, but most companies have discontinued them, so this may be tough. As far as the digital comared to disposable, goes there can be many variables on this one, resolution turned down, shaky hands, camera, just not all that great, I have seen digital pictures from excellent to dismal, it is all about how you use them,and the same with disposable, if you are good at taking pictures, and aware of lighting conditions, you can get some awsome pics, I am not anti-disposable, they have their place, and many people love them, just trying to give some advise on my experience.:)

[CleoPat]

And I was giving my experience. Maybe it is because I was using ASP camera where you can switch from regular, wide and panoramic. You can see when you are switching from regular to panoramic that you are getting more in the photo on left and right. :D

[bakechef]

And I was giving my experience. Maybe it is because I was using ASP camera where you can switch from regular, wide and panoramic. You can see when you are switching from regular to panoramic that you are getting more in the photo on left and right. :D

you may be correct on that, I never looked that much at aps negatives, so it is entirely possible (these get rolled back up into their original canister as you know, and we had to cut 35mm negatives, so we got to see how these panoramic frames compared to the others. Too bad everyone has discontinued aps cameras, these were very popular among those who wanted hassle free picture taking, especially older people who hated messing with loading a 35mm, or those who just liked convenience, even though it came at a higher price for film and processing. I think digital is killing film altogether, and disposables are helping film to hold on longer, I have even seen disposable digital cameras, but I doubt that the quality would be anywhere close to film. As for me I have adopted digital, and love it, a decent digital can take stunning pics. ;)

[CleoPat]

I agree with the APS cameras. Years ago I always used 35mm cameras. Had a Minolta and had gotten a wide angle lense for it. However, it did became a hassle carring around all that heavy equipment while touring and changing lenses, etc. Then a couple of times I hadn't loaded the film correctly and found out when I had development -- no photos! Now that can be a heart breaker especially when you are in a place like Egypt and may never go there again! Once the APS came out, I loved it because I even had a little telephoto on it. No muss, no fuss. Had the photos all put on disks and did editing and ordering online. Photos were great. My last trip was to Alaska in May and the second day my camera wouldn't work anymore. That's why I had to buy the disposables. In the meantime, I had bought 25 rolls of APS film for the trip (and of course opened all the packages, so I couldn't return them!) So upon my return I went on eBay and got a used APS to at least use all the film I had bought:D So now I plan on going digital but it all seems so confusing. Too much to choose from! I'm leaning toward the Kodak EASYSHARE Z650 Zoom Digital Camera.

[bakechef]

cleopat, don't be intimidated by digital! People will have all kinds of opinions about what digital cameras are the best, but let me tell you, Kodaks digitals seem to be the most user friendly, and the one you are looking at looks like a great camera, with a zoom you will be very happy with, I have a 10x zoom, and will never go back. Here are a few tips about digitals.

 

-always set to the best resoultion (usually they will come out of the box this way) you paid for the megapixels use them!

 

-the zoom will have two levels optical and digital, usually with a pause before going into digital zoom, digital zoom is worthless, it will just make your pics look bad, use it only when you really need a far reach.

 

-purchase a card of at least 256mb, 512mb is even better, digital cameras take pretty good video, and if you will be using this feature, it will use alot of space on the memory card, so larger is better. Newegg.com has some awsome deals on these memory cards, don't get hung up on name brand.

 

-play with it alot in a store, does it feel good in your hand? are all of the buttons in the right spots? I personally like the little larger ones, so I can get a good grip for steady shots.

 

-if the camera does not have a rechargeable battery, buy some, (usually AA) the rechargeables last longer, and will save you a bundle. have a set for the camera, and a spare set. this $20-25 investment will be well worth it.

 

-and finally don't get hung up on megapixels, as consumer reports says most people will never need more than 4 megapixels. My last camera was a 3.2 megapixel, I take photos as a hobby and as I said worked in a photo lab, when I wanted to upgrade, I decided 3.2 was enough and spent the money on the larger zoom, and some advanced features, and even now, I feel 3.2 is enough for me, 8x10s look just as good as my 4x6s. 3.2 cameras are harder to find now because most companies know that people think that more megapixels make for better pictures, when a high quality lower megapixel camera's pictures often look better than a cheap high megapixel one.

 

Just follow these tips and you should be fine, if you decide to purchase a digital, and you have some questions just ask I will give you honest uncomplicated answers. Sometimes people, get too technical and will confuse the heck out of you, just ignore them, and buy the camera YOU want.

 

 

good luck!:D

[CleoPat]

BakeChef: Thanks so much for all your advice! I was intimidated by them because a close friend of mine bought one and took so long to pick one re the megapixels, etc. Then she took forever "learning" it. Then we go on a trip and she drove me crazy with all the "settings" After that trip, she gave the camera to her daughter and bought another one because she didn't like the one she had. She still drove me crazy on our last trip re the "settings" and now she had extra lenses to put on! Ugh. After we came home and she saw my photos from the disposable, she decided she doesn't like this camera and is buying another one!:rolleyes: She had those "tiny" cameras that I did not feel comfortable holding to take photos. That's one of the reasons that this Kodak appealed to me. Need a good grip!;) Another friend of mine bought the Kodak EasyShare and he said his photos come out great and he doesn't have to do anything fancy with it. I'm confused re the zoom (telephoto?) lense on it though. What does 10X optical zoom vs. 3X digital zoom mean:confused: I know the higher megapixels are better if you edit your photos and zoom and enlarge. This says that with the 6 mp you can blow up to poster size without distortion. I truly appreciate your help and advice:)

[bakechef]

no problem, the difference in the zoom is quite simple actually. Optical zoom is where the lense actually moves, just like a point and shoot film camera, and no quality is lost. Digital zoom is where your cameras software "crops" the picture, and takes that small section and blows it up to fit the screen, simulating zoom, this will make your pictures look pixelated (fuzzy and blotchy). The very low end digital cameras usually only offer digital zoom.

 

It sounds like this friend is technically challenged, and is letting sales people sell them, more camera than they need (sales people often do that, saying "this one is very highly rated"). This level of kodak easyshare, that you are looking at will have a few more settings, than the small less expensive ones, BUT you don't need to be bothered with them, they may be in the menu somewhere, and only when you become comfortable with the camera will you feel the need to change any, (I almost never change them, the cameras are pretty smart these days and should need little input from us). On the back you will have a wheel to choose which type of picture you will want to take, to be honest if you left it on auto most of the time you will be perfectly happy, the others like potrait, action, scenery,video, and Macro(close-up, the little icon on the wheel looks like a tulip) you may use these on occation, I use the macro for close ups of flowers, you can get some incredible detail.

 

In my humble opinion, you should give digital a try, and should get one well in advance of a trip and get to know it. My mom is 60 and recently bought a small point and shoot nikon, alot less user friendly, but she has learned it just fine, and she is very technology challenged, when she gets a new gadget she sits down with it and pushes every button finds out what they all do, and after a while becomes very comfortable with the gadget. If you choose this easy share camera, I think you will be very happy, you should be able to put the batteries in it, turn the wheel to auto, and start taking pictures, the one thing you will get to see with digital is that they will often correct lighting on their own, and if they need to be corrected further, the software you use on your computer can help further. The software that will come with this camera, should be pretty easy to use, but if you want to try somthing else try Picasa from google, you can download it completely free, and it is really easy to use.

 

Sorry if I am long winded, I like to demistify digital cameras for people, sometimes the answers that you get in a store, leave you more confused than when you started.

 

good luck!

[CleoPat]

no problem, the difference in the zoom is quite simple actually. Optical zoom is where the lense actually moves, just like a point and shoot film camera, and no quality is lost. Digital zoom is where your cameras software "crops" the picture, and takes that small section and blows it up to fit the screen, simulating zoom, this will make your pictures look pixelated (fuzzy and blotchy). The very low end digital cameras usually only offer digital zoom.

 

It sounds like this friend is technically challenged, and is letting sales people sell them, more camera than they need (sales people often do that, saying "this one is very highly rated"). This level of kodak easyshare, that you are looking at will have a few more settings, than the small less expensive ones, BUT you don't need to be bothered with them, they may be in the menu somewhere, and only when you become comfortable with the camera will you feel the need to change any, (I almost never change them, the cameras are pretty smart these days and should need little input from us). On the back you will have a wheel to choose which type of picture you will want to take, to be honest if you left it on auto most of the time you will be perfectly happy, the others like potrait, action, scenery,video, and Macro(close-up, the little icon on the wheel looks like a tulip) you may use these on occation, I use the macro for close ups of flowers, you can get some incredible detail.

 

In my humble opinion, you should give digital a try, and should get one well in advance of a trip and get to know it. My mom is 60 and recently bought a small point and shoot nikon, alot less user friendly, but she has learned it just fine, and she is very technology challenged, when she gets a new gadget she sits down with it and pushes every button finds out what they all do, and after a while becomes very comfortable with the gadget. If you choose this easy share camera, I think you will be very happy, you should be able to put the batteries in it, turn the wheel to auto, and start taking pictures, the one thing you will get to see with digital is that they will often correct lighting on their own, and if they need to be corrected further, the software you use on your computer can help further. The software that will come with this camera, should be pretty easy to use, but if you want to try somthing else try Picasa from google, you can download it completely free, and it is really easy to use.

 

Sorry if I am long winded, I like to demistify digital cameras for people, sometimes the answers that you get in a store, leave you more confused than when you started.

 

good luck!

 

Thanks so much again Bakechef!!! Good explanation on the zoom. Now I understand and a 10X is great then. When my friend tried to "zoom" hers in the software, the pixels started showing. I've been using Kodak EasyShare software to edit my photos already, so that's not a problem. My APS had a couple of the icons on it and I have used the "flower" one, so I know what you mean. I know my friend was very upset that she didn't use the "snow" one on her digital when we went dogsledding:) We're planning a few trips this year (a few weekenders and a one week cruise). I'll use up all the APS film I had bought for the weekenders and I'll get the digital a month or two before the cruise so I'll know what I'm doing, but I have a funny feeling I won't have any problems. I agree that maybe my friend is a little technically challenged. She was afraid to use her new computer to edit 500 photos from our Alaska cruise, so she stood at a machine in Walgreens for hours and days:eek: She made a lot of enemies in Walgreens. She said she was afraid of losing her photos on her new computer. In the meantime, I scanned the hard photos I got from the disposable cameras in Alaska and got the others on CDs and did all the editing and ordering online myself and they turned out just as good or better than hers in less time and effort. That's for your encouragement:D

[bakechef]

Thanks so much again Bakechef!!! Good explanation on the zoom. Now I understand and a 10X is great then. When my friend tried to "zoom" hers in the software, the pixels started showing. I've been using Kodak EasyShare software to edit my photos already, so that's not a problem. My APS had a couple of the icons on it and I have used the "flower" one, so I know what you mean. I know my friend was very upset that she didn't use the "snow" one on her digital when we went dogsledding:) We're planning a few trips this year (a few weekenders and a one week cruise). I'll use up all the APS film I had bought for the weekenders and I'll get the digital a month or two before the cruise so I'll know what I'm doing, but I have a funny feeling I won't have any problems. I agree that maybe my friend is a little technically challenged. She was afraid to use her new computer to edit 500 photos from our Alaska cruise, so she stood at a machine in Walgreens for hours and days:eek: She made a lot of enemies in Walgreens. She said she was afraid of losing her photos on her new computer. In the meantime, I scanned the hard photos I got from the disposable cameras in Alaska and got the others on CDs and did all the editing and ordering online myself and they turned out just as good or better than hers in less time and effort. That's for your encouragement:D

You sound like you have a pretty good handle on digital pictures already. It sounds like your friend is a bit intimidated by computers, like alot of people are. I am not a fan of having alot of prints hanging around, did you know that you can ask for cd only from your film when you go to a photo lab? you will usually pay a small processing fee (to develop your negatives), about $2 to $3 or per roll or less depending on where you go, and the cost of the cd. You now have digital pictures that you can pick and choose from and get prints online if you choose. I usually don't print my pictures, just put them on cds, and slide the cds in a book-like cd holder that zips closed, most people use these for music cds and dvds, but they are great for picture cds as well, and they are all in one place so you can torture friends and family with slide shows anytime you want!

 

and once again download picasa, it is free and works well, maybe refer this program to your friend, it will locate every picture that is on your hard drive, so if she saved any pictures and forgot where, this will find them automatically, this is my favorite so far, I can't waste my time with complicated programs like photoshop, I have it but never use it.

 

your welcome for the advise, I have this thread on instant notification through e-mail, if you have any other questions.:D

 

see ya!

[CleoPat]

You sound like you have a pretty good handle on digital pictures already. It sounds like your friend is a bit intimidated by computers, like alot of people are. I am not a fan of having alot of prints hanging around, did you know that you can ask for cd only from your film when you go to a photo lab? you will usually pay a small processing fee (to develop your negatives), about $2 to $3 or per roll or less depending on where you go, and the cost of the cd. You now have digital pictures that you can pick and choose from and get prints online if you choose. I usually don't print my pictures, just put them on cds, and slide the cds in a book-like cd holder that zips closed, most people use these for music cds and dvds, but they are great for picture cds as well, and they are all in one place so you can torture friends and family with slide shows anytime you want!

 

and once again download picasa, it is free and works well, maybe refer this program to your friend, it will locate every picture that is on your hard drive, so if she saved any pictures and forgot where, this will find them automatically, this is my favorite so far, I can't waste my time with complicated programs like photoshop, I have it but never use it.

 

your welcome for the advise, I have this thread on instant notification through e-mail, if you have any other questions.:D

 

see ya!

 

Hi Bakechef! Yes, I know about getting CDs instead of prints. That's what I've been doing for quite a while now. The reason I had to scan photos was because I didn't have time to get CDs on the trip. I was in Alaska with 6 disposable cameras (after my APS camera broke down) and had prints done because the lab there couldn't do CDs in one day (for whatever reason, I don't know). It was easier to pack photos than 6 disposable cameras to take home:rolleyes: I also have a slide-in book holder with a zipper that I use for my computer program disks. But for photo CDs I have a looseleaf binder with pages I ordered online that holds the photo CD and the contact sheet of the photos. I usually order the prints online and produce a slideshow that way to email friends out of town. I need the prints to put in photo albums to bring to the office to show off;) I know it's a lot of work, but it stretches out my vacation a bit looking at the photos over and over and over again.:)