STAy tuned...I'm taking your posts with me!

Hi FTA, Having read your postings, you are SO like me!! I'll be reading my camera manual and using it for the first time on that horrendous flight to London. I got a 5mg/ 3zoom. To be honest, my most treasured articles from previous adventures are my travel diaries. A picture can't always capture moods, smells, experiences. AND you don't want to be spending so much energy trying to capture the perfect pic (which people at home don't really want to see!)and miss out on the stuff happening around you. Besides, having looked at the photos posted by fellow travellers - they are awesome and I'll be looking at these to reminisce. Have fun, and happy shooting!

firsttimer again -

Belive me, I am no expert, having just posted here a couple of weeks ago about similar issues, but hopefully I can share what I will be doing to try and help you.

We already have a good digital camera, so from a person who is pretty useless with this sort of thing I can advise that it doesn't matter which one you get if it is for general holiday snaps, as long as it is easy to use and has a fully auto function (with perhaps some manual functions you can play with after you learn how to work the camera). Of course, if you are a photographer then that is a different matter, but then, you and I would not be asking questions here, would we?

To get around the storage issue.... I have done a lot of reading here and for me, I think that having several memory cards is what is the best bet.

I thought that it was unlikely that I would get the full use of a storage device, and it is a bot heavier to carry around so I have bought a few 512 MB cards. I have found that the 512 MB cards are cheaper per MB than smaller cards, and seem to be cheaper per MB than 1 GB cards (go figure!). Your new camera will come with its own card but it is sure to be realtively small (?64 or 128 MB) and so will fill up quickly.

The memory cards are very easy to change in your camera - there will be a little slot or opening for them. No more difficult than changing the battery. Then when they are full, pop them out, put them in a safe place, and put in a blank one!

How many photos you get on one card depends on the size of the card and the size of the photo you take. With my camera, I can take fairly low resolution shots and get 600 photos on my 512 MB card, or take very very high resolution shots in TIFF format and only get 25 shots. Most of the time I take pretty good medium size pictures and perhaps can get 250 shots per 512 MB card, and ramp up the quality of the picture for that once in a lifetime shot. You can select the quality of picture (hence the photo's digital size) on the camera usually fairly easily.

If you do elect to buy a couple of memory cards, it really pays to shop around. If your camera takes CompactFlash cards, then retail price for 512 MB can be as much as $150 although considerably cheaper if you use ebay (perhaps $50 to 80 or so depending on who you buy from).

Another tip - when using my camera to take LOTS of photos such as at a wedding or outing or on holiday, I have found that my biggest enemy is running out of batteries. Some options to try to prevent this is to buy a camera which can also take disposible batteries so that no matter where in the world you are, you can always fill 'er up (this can be expensive though). Another alternative is to buy a spare battery (perhaps the camera store can throw one in for you when you purchase your camera, otherwise it is back to ebay for very cheap rechargeable batteries). And turn off your viewfinder screen when you are taking billions of holiday snaps - you don't need that screen burning up the battery juice whilst you are walking around looking for a shot. Also, take enough memory so that you don't have to edit (or cull) the photos whilst you are on the road. Take all your shots whilst you are out and about, then view them in the night and cull them then - when you are in your hotel and the camera runs out of batteries because you have been going over and over your photos on the screen you will be so happy you can just plug the camera in, and will be grateful that you are not outside the Colosseum or some other site begging for a photo to be taken.

Good luck, I hope that some of my ramblings made sense. Others will probably have much better ideas and more logical ones, but this is how my poor little low-tech mind worked it out.

Happy holidaying!

Nell,
My BOS&P in May will be the first tour that I have taken using a digital camera, so I appreciate the tips that you have passed on. I've decided to buy a couple of packs of AA batteries, in case the re-chargeables expire during the day.

Another hint -- Make sure you get the right disposable batteries for your camera - many digital cameras only use lithium batteries. Read your manual to ensure you get the right ones (or ask at a camera shop).

I agree that dead batteries (especially the rechargeables which don't seem to last all that long) are a huge problem. I always carry extra disposable batteries - and have had good luck with Energizer lithium e2 batteries. The first time I travelled with my digital camera - my rechargeable batteries failed me -- talk about panic - I was in Paris and it was a beautiful day to take pictures. A camera shop recommended the energizers and I've been carrying them ever since.

Well, I have bought IT! It is a 3 meg still with video. And has 3Cccd lens????

It fits into my hand and what sold me was that I can take a still while filming BUT mainly because it is just so easy to use.

Fits into the spall daybag (long shoulder strap)
that has also just been purchased. I leave on May 9 so it is all becoming very real.

Thanks all for your advice, keep the tips coming as I hadn't even thought of spare batteries.

I bought 2 x 512 memory cards as well.

FTA,
What brand is the camera? I'm just curious.
Are you aware that you can claim the GST back before you depart Australia, as you have purchased it within 30 days of departure??

Congratulations!

I'm sure you'll have lots of fun with it. Now all we have to do is wait for you to get back and post the pics!

Have a great trip!!

Here's another bit of advice...

Before you share those pictures with us (or anyone else), take some time 'edit' them using the editing software which will come with your camera. I believe you were buying a Canon, and if so, Canon's editing software is excellent. You will have to load it into your computer using the disc provided, but it takes no time at all to learn to use it to advantage.

With all due respect, many of the pictures posted here are really excellent in terms of subject and composition but could be significantly improved by using 'brightness/contrast' or 'hue/saturation' editing.

Thanks for everyones easy-to-understand advice..
doubleu, once I get to the 'contrast' on the camera..are these manual options I can choose?
I haven't had a chance to ply withit as yet (except carry it around in my new handbag!) as I have worked this weekend; so this time next week (I'm visting my parents in Hamilton this week) I should have some idea of what I am doing.

Thanks again, this entire BB has made me a much better "green" traveller!