Digital Cameras, why they are better than scanners

Why, When and How to use a digital camera where you wouldn't use film. A list of ideas:

1. Sometimes when you (or your spouse) are working on a project or fixing an appliance or car and you need a special part that you don't want to remove until you have a replacement or it is too big (or dirty) to bring with. Take a picture of the item and bring the camera in and show them the picture on your LCD display. This is especially helpful if the person going to the store is a spouse who doesn't know what the part is.
   Also when disassembling something, take pictures at each stage to help you reassemble it correctly later.
2. One of several shopping related ideas...looking for a sofa or other piece of furniture. In the past we went from store to store and found one or two in each store that we liked OK, but not enough to say yes to right away. Then after a while it was necessary to go back and see them again to narrow down, often hunting all over a rearranged showroom. Now we just bring the digital camera and take pictures of each sofa. Not only did we have 'side-by-side' comparison ability, but we were able to successfully visualize the furniture in the room, by bringing the camera right there and comparing our favorites, helped by swatches of fabric.
3. More shopping. Eyeglasses. Same concept as the furniture above, so much easier than going back and trying to find that one frame on the racks to try on and then trying to mentally remember the other frames you like at other stores in comparison.
4. Preview/hone your picture taking instincts. If you think something would make a great picture, try it on the digital first at different angles and framing. When you get the effect you like THEN take a regular film copy. Or just keep the digital one. Be creative and see the results instantly.
5. Take a picture of yourself in that new outfit or hairstyle before a special occasion where you are sure to be photographed or just want to look your best. I find that often after holidays I'll look at photos and notice that I look bad in the outfit I wore or that my collar was half inside out or something. Somehow you don't notice the same things when looking in a mirror that the camera will catch. So take a quick photo or two before you make your final decisions.
   This would also be a great idea when shopping for a special dress or suit that you want to be perfect (just as many people take film pictures when shopping for wedding gowns). Take a photo of each one you like as you are trying them on. Later you can review them at home and pick the one that you really like best.
6. When looking for a new house take your camera along to help you remember each house. (And unlike the publicity photos yours can include the bad things too.)

Digital Cameras, how to pick out your digital camera

My opinions on the features and if they are worth it:

1. Removable memory storage: It depends on the storage abilities. Right now an extra memory cartridge can be cost prohibitive, but on the other hand most digital cameras do not store very many photos at their highest resolution. If you plan to keep your camera for a few years the prices of larger memory cartridges can really drop, but eventually the smaller size memory will be difficult to find and your camera may not be able to deal with very large capacities.
2. Flash: Yes, definitely needed. I really like that I can turn it off manually though. Mine has choices for auto-sense flash, no flash, always flash and redeye redux settings.
3. Zoom: Yes, this would be worth it. But don't be impressed by digital zoom. This is worth little because it essentially crops and resizes and your resolution goes down with digital zooming, you could do this in your edits later if you like it, but I wouldn't consider it a plus on the camera side. What is better is the traditional 'optical' zoom, where the lens changes to do the zoom, thus taking a closeup picture with the same resolution as a regular picture.
4. Macro: My digital camera also is able to take pictures very close to objects unlike my regular camera. This comes in handy.
5. LCD Preview: Yes, definitely get this (are there any that don't have this anymore?). This can be used as a 'view finder' but on my camera it takes a LOT of power to do it. I cannot use standard batteries for this. I mostly use it to review pictures after taking them. I'll take several pictures (or a full 'roll' in some cases, like with active kittens - see 'time' below for more about active subjects), then turn on the LCD and review and delete any I don't want right away. My camera also will display on the TV which takes less power and is pretty cool. I can use the TV or computer monitor as a view finder while taking new pictures with less power too, but I can only take pictures of things within a cable length radius of the TV.
6. Regular Viewfinder: this is the typical optical viewfinder found on all regular cameras. Unfortunately it isn't available on all digital cameras. I would highly recommend getting a camera with both a viewfinder and an LCD preview unless you have stock in a battery company. (Also the LCD previews can be very difficult to see in low light conditions, so even though a flash photo will turn out fine, you won't be able to tell ahead of time what will be in the photo.)
7. Downloading: My camera uses a cable to a serial port and it isn't hard, but it isn't as easy as the ones with floppies/CDs. I have used the ones with floppies and they have two files for each photo, the actual picture and the version for the preview on the camera. Also copying from a floppy/CD from the computer is a slow process and I often need to rename the files too. But one big advantage is that you can immediately use the files in any computer. I need to have my cable and have the software from my camera on my computer or I can't use the pictures. I would think a USB or wireless download might be better if they are available but I have no experience with them.
8. Time: Make sure to compare the amount of time it takes to 'take' a picture and write the data. It is frustrating to wait for, so I'd look for the shortest time here. I know some cameras have a setting where you can take multiple exposures in a row. That would be great for photographing moving animals or young children.
   Download time onto a computer is also a factor, but less important....unless you are impatient. To me the time for download was initially minimal compared to the time it takes to drop off and pick up regular film!
   BUT If you do end up getting larger media cards you may end up having trouble dealing with download time. My new card can hold 80 pictures, but if I'm not very careful the camera will power down before the download is done and I have to restart the download after deleting those pictures that were already downloaded.
9. Software package: The camera will include some sort of editing software. If you are concerned about this then read reviews about them and pick accordingly. There are several shareware (free) programs out there that work and are often much simpler than the big packages. But the bells and whistles are fun too. Be prepared to sink a lot of time into it once you get playing with the special effects in ANY of these programs. But it is fun to 'erase' the thing that is ruining an otherwise perfect picture.
10. Timer: This is a nice feature, especially if you want to take pictures while dress/outfit shopping and don't want to ask a stranger to take your picture. I just set the camera up, press the timer start and step back a few steps and wait. But I wouldn't reject a camera for not having it.

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