Digital Photography

[digby]

I just bought my first digital camera (5 megapixel) and will be taking it on the 12/17 sailing of the Insiginia. I am at the very beginning of the learning curve as far as digital photography is concerned. (Some might say that is true about many things!) I am concerned about running out of space on the memory cards in the middle of the trip. (32 mg built in + a 512 and 1 gig card) Are there facilities on Insignia to down load your pictures onto a CD/DVD? Does my having a MAC G-4 computer make any difference? I can set my camera at various settings from 1.8 megapixels to 5 megapixels which use different amounts of memory.

[meow!]

Yes, there was a photo lab on the Regatta (and presumably the Insignia as well). They charged only some $12 for each transfer to a VCD (which took 20 minutes). Back last April, those SD-MMC cards were still relatively expensive. We also used a 5 megapixel camera, and found that each 256mb card (at full 5m pixels but "normal compression") was good for 200 pictures. Now those memory cards have become so cheap that a 1Gb card sells for only $69, and should be good for some 800 pictures. So, you can figure it out! I hope this helps.

P.S. Digital versus 35mm photography: Most built-in flashes on small digital cameras are very weak, and the "useful range" is much shorter. Also, digital cameras can be horribly slow in "recycling time", it can take more than 10 seconds at times to get it to "fire" -- by then, the game can be over! (You won't get the close to "continuous" firing ability of an SLR.) Things will improve in the years to come. At present, like a chimpanzee riding on a bicycle, "it is not that it rides so well, but that it rides at all". However, a true SLR with several lenses can weigh 5 lbs or more, while a small digital may weigh only 5 oz. So it also depends on how strong are your shoulders! There are pros and cons to everything, give it careful consideration and choose whatever is best for yourself.

[phlewt]

I will also be on that sailing, Digby. I have used digital cameras for several years now, so feel free to ask me questions during the cruise.

It is my understanding that you will be able to copy the image files from your memory card to CD-ROMs while on the cruise. Therefore there is no need to worry about not having enough memory card space -- as long as you don't use it up during a day excursion away from the ship.

If your camera has rechargable batteries, remember to bring the charger. If it uses disposable batteries, bring several replacements.

See you on the cruise very soon!

[FlyFishermanADK]

Digby...do not be concerned with running out of room for storing your pictures with your new digital camera....unless you plan on taking over 500+ pictures at the highest settings(which is a lot of pix) ....you have a tremendous amount of storage on your hands....probably no need to copy onto CD until later for backup purposes. Remember...you do not need to take every photo at the highest settings...unless you feel you may want to print them up at a later time. For email or say a slide show on a computer...lower settings are just fine...plus save room on your cards. good luck!

P.S. I'm a paid photographer by profession

[rdowney]

It is unlikely that you will run out of storage. However, if you choose to have you photos burned to a CD, be sure to mention that you are using a Mac. I know that Macs can easily burn CDs for use in a PC, but I'm not sure whether that is a standard feature of burning software on PCs.

[goeurope]

Just remember, you'll probably take more pictures with a digital camera than you did with a film camera, simply because it's so easy to snap away when you don't have to think about changing film (and spending money) every 24 to 36 exposures. You can stretch your memory cards further by sitting down each night and deleting photos that obviously aren't keeping, but sometimes it's tough to tell (by looking at a small LCD display) which picture in a sequence is the best in terms of sharpness and exposure.

Another thing you can do is limit yourself to a reasonable resolution, if you don't think you're going to make 8 x 10 or 11 x 14 prints. A 3-Megapixel setting or even 2-Megapixel setting might be enough if you're going to view photos mostly on your computer or as 4 x 6 prints. (I've got some 1-Megapixel photos from several years ago that look stunning on a computer screen.)

[rdowney]

If you are just going to make 4x6 prints without cropping, you will be fine with a lower resolution. My camera is several years old and only 3.3 MP, and the 4x6 prints are often excellent. However, if you crop the images, you will lose pixels. An advantage of digital photography is the ability to easily make that sea lion look a lot closer or remove a tourist from your wildlife shot by cropping the image. That's when you will be glad that you used high resolution. Fortunately memory cards have become relatively cheap.

[lcand1923]

I used my new digital camera on a Western Med cruise in September and had the same concerns as yours.

Based upon what I had read, I doubled the number of per day vacation shots that I took in the 35mm world and bought sufficient memory to cover that number of pictures. At the end of the trip, I had some unused memory but not enough that I felt I had wasted any money.

If you can buy additional rechargeable batteries for your camera, do so. I would recharge each evening, but did need to change batteries on one particular picture intensive day.

I had read on either this board or the Yahoo board that Oceania At Sea (the computer lab onboard) offered some digital photography courses as part of Oceania's Enrichment series. The courses were free or carried a nominal fee.

The free course was an Overview thing. The instructor we had offered some tips that were great! The nominal fee courses talked about using Photoshop Elements. They were well worth the money. Check to see if they offer these on your cruise. The time spent was well worth it.

Enjoy your cruise AND your new digital camera!

[Andee]

My husband bought a small, inexpensiuve CD burner, and downloaded pictures every evening, which only took a few minutes. That way, he never worried about how much memory he had.

[ClaudiaF]

I have a Kodak digital..and it seems to have frozen..? Can't get it to take any pictures although, when turn on lens releases, all the lights are green.. but won't take picture..any idea how it may be corrected?

[goeurope]

I have a Kodak digital..and it seems to have frozen..? Can't get it to take any pictures although, when turn on lens releases, all the lights are green.. but won't take picture..any idea how it may be corrected?

That's a great point. My camera's battery is good for about 200 shots, and that's with the electronic viewfinder (not the LCD, which presumably sucks up more power). I always carry a spare charged battery, and there are usually at least a few days when I need it while traveling.

As for ClaudiaF's problem with her Kodak camera locking up, here's a Kodak Web page that discusses that very topic:

http://wwwde.kodak.com/global/en/service/publications/tib4258.jhtml?pq-path=5115&locsvcsEntryPath=4713

If Kodak's solution doesn't work, it might be worth removing the battery and letting the camera sit for a while before reinserting the battery. That might reset whatever electronic gizmo is acting up. (Then again, it might not, but it's a trick that used to work with my daughter's microchip-controlled film camera.)

[ClaudiaF]

Thanks Durant !