1- general things to look for 2- camera brands 3- accessories 4- finding reviews and the best prices 5- conclusions
Digital Camera Buying Tips
page three of five
ACCESSORIES: WHAT YOU
DO AND DON'T NEED.
MEMORY CARDS, PRINTERS, CARD READERS, ETC.
MEMORY CARDS
Wait! You mean I have to buy a memory card too? Why yes you do, unless you think you'll be able to do much with the one your camera came with, that can hold three pictures. Yes, you'll have to shell out to get more memory. But remember that you are also *not* having to buy film. And you can use memory cards over and over again thousands of times. So they pay for themselves pretty quickly.
Important note for all memory cards: wherever you get your camera, they will try to push extra memory cards on you, and will try to convince you that you will desperately need one. Don't buy from them unless the PRICE IS RIGHT. This is how a lot of places justify their low camera prices: they get you with a killer rate on a camera, then later pressure you into buying a $100 card for $200. So the important thing with memory cards is to KNOW BEFOREHAND WHAT YOU SHOULD BE PAYING.
How much memory you'll need: this is always an issue. Memory cards have come
down in price so much now (prices are 1/3 or 1/4 of what they were a year or
two ago) that you can easily afford to get a lot of memory.
When calculating it out, always use the high-resolution estimates. High-resolution
pictures take up more room on your memory card; but they are necessary to get
good prints. For example, my 20-megabyte card could hold about 40 images at
high resolution. It could also hold over 300 images at low-resolution…
but those 300 images wouldn't be of sufficient quality to print, so why bother?
A good rule of thumb: if you are getting a 2-megapixel camera, then go for a
memory card that is at least 64 megabytes, or maybe even more. (80mb, 96mb,
or even 128mb.) If you are getting a 3-megapixel camera, then get a memory card
that is at least 96mb or 128mb. They do make 256-mb cards that are fairly well-priced;
but this is more than what you would need. (Unless you're going on a long vacation…
which is a whole other can of worms.)
Brands of memory cards to buy: also an important thing to consider. There are
a few main manufacturers out there: Viking, Lexar, SanDisk, and Kodak. All these
manufacturers use the *exact same* components (called a "controller"),
and just slap on a different label. So with these manufacturers, go for the
best price, unless you think having the 'Kodak' label is worth the extra $20.
Generally, stick with those manufacturers. If you look at another brand, make
sure to check the store's return policy ahead of time in case you have a problem.
(I did get a VERY inexpensive card last December— a generic brand, with
a Toshiba controller, and have had no problems with it.) Especially stay
away from Memorex cards, which from what I've read, are widely known to have
major incompatibility issues.
How much memory cards should cost: pay careful
attention here, class! For a CompactFlash or SmartMedia card, NEVER, EVER, EVER
pay more than $1 per megabyte of memory. (That is, never pay more than about
$100 for a 96-megabyte card.) And in fact, you should be able to get memory
cards for less, now (mid-2002) down to as low as 50 cents per megabyte. (This
is the price range you should actually shoot for, as prices seem to have stabilized
at that point.) For example, Costco routinely offers a 128-mb Sandisk card for
under $50. Another site known for good deals on memory is www.crucial.com.
For the Sony Memory Stick format, someone else (Lexar) is finally now making
them in addition to Sony, which is good because it brings prices down. At the
moment, these only go up to 128mb, but bigger cards are supposedly in the works.
Memory Sticks are a bit more expensive than CompactFlash or SmartMedia; still,
you should be able to find a 128mb MemoryStick for under $100. (The prices may
have come down even more lately.)
CARD READERS
Don't worry about getting a card reader. This is a small convenience; it means
that you won't have to plug the cable into your camera every time you want to
transfer pictures to your computer. But it's not absolutely necessary. Your
camera will come with everything you need to transfer the pictures. This
is another accessory that places will try to sell you at inflated prices. Remember
that you don't need one; and if you do want to get one, you shouldn't pay more
than $30 or so. (Maybe a bit more for Sony Memory Stick readers.)
If you are using a laptop computer, though, one FABULOUS accessory to get is a PCMCIA card adapter. This is a small item that only costs in the range of $10 to $15; and transfers pictures to your laptop lightning-quick. Basically, the card fits into this adapter; and then the whole assembly fits into the PCMCIA slot. The transfer speed is blazing— many times faster than the USB cord is capable of doing.
EXTRA BATTERIES
A nice convenience to have. Are they necessary? That depends on a lot of things.
It depends on how much you think you'll be using your camera at one stretch;
it depends on if you're anticipating any long amounts of time away from a place
to charge your battery; and it depends on how much you use certain battery-draining
features on your camera (like viewing pictures on the LCD screen.) Most
importantly, though, it depends on which camera you have! Some of them
drain batteries faster than others.
So do you *need* one? Maybe, or maybe not... you'll have to figure that out. If you do decide to get one, make ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN you have the right model number, so you don't get the wrong battery; and then price-check very carefully because prices vary wildly for the same battery. Generally, a spare camera battery costs from $40 to $80... and remember that if you already have a charger, then you don't need to spend extra to get a battery/charger combo.
COLOR PRINTERS & PRINTING AT HOME
Basically, forget about printing pictures at home on a color inkjet. Yep, just forget it.
Now it could be argued here that I'm saying this because I work for a place
that prints digital photos. This is, at least, a little bit true. But there
are a whole bunch of reasons why printing at home doesn't work out.
First is the cost. At first, it seems cheaper to print at home. But by
the time you take the color printer ($100-$200), and then add ink cartridges
($20-$50), and then special paper to print it on (can be up to $1 a sheet),
you are talking some big expenses. Especially when you undoubtedly mess up a
printout somehow and have to do it again. And what if you want to make double-prints
of 40 birthday pictures? Forget it.
Second is the quality. Inkjet prints just do not have the resolution
that chemical-process prints have. They will look like they came from a color
printer. Whereas chemical-process prints will rival (or even exceed!) film-quality.
Third: longevity. With pictures done on a color printer, the ink is just
sprayed on the surface, and will fade after a few years. With a chemical process,
it's done similar to that in traditional photo labs, and they will last for
dozens of years.
So when you think about it, the notion of printing at home suddenly loses its
appeal. And if you're going to print through a digital photofinisher… why
not use Shutterfly!
I won't plug my company any more than this, other than to say that we
provide an incredible convenience, and a lot of very unique products. If you
really want to know more, just ask me, I'm always happy to talk about it!
Ready for more? Then go to Page 4 to read where to find reviews and the best prices online.
1- general things to look for 2- camera brands 3- accessories 4- finding reviews and the best prices 5- conclusions