DIGITAL CAMERAS: Purchasing Tips and Tricks by Lesley Hunton



SITE ADDRESSES
http://www.pcphotoreview.com/
This home page for PC Photo Review is a very informative consumer review site for purchasing and using digital photography equipment. This site lists all digital cameras that are available so you can compare them for price and features. This helps you make a well-informed purchase and you can quickly compare facts which will save you time. They offer assistance both before and after your purchase, so you will always have support for any problems or questions that may arise.

http://www.pcphotoreview.com/dc/new/howtobuy1.htm
This PC Photo Review web page explains how to buy a digital camera based on your needs. It also explains how digital cameras work, which is much different than conventional cameras. Digital cameras do not use film nor need film developing. When you take a digital
picture, the images are converted into computer language and are recorded in the camera's memory.  These images can then be downloaded to your computer for editing, printing, emailing to friends or you can create albums to share with others on the internet.

http://home1.polaroiddigital.com/look/index.html
This web page by Polaroid gives examples of their digital camera selections. It has information about their products including the system requirements needed and where to purchase them. They have a new camera out that you can take digital photos with and
also play your MP3 music on. This camera comes with headphones and volume control - the best of two worlds! They also offer a selection of parts and accessories to order and a 1-year extended warranty option for $19.95.

http://www.zdnet.com/special/filters/sc/camera/domore/
This web site has a list of suggestions on how to do more with your digital camera. For example, you can touch up, organize, share, and print photos. You can take an on-line 4-week course on the basics of digital photography at a cost of $19.95. "SmartPlanet" which is linked on the ZDNet site offers this course. You can also build your own homepage for free.

http://graphicdesign.about.com/arts/graphicdesign/cs/usingdcameras/
This About.com web site offers a large selection of tips and tricks for fine tuning your digital images.  It even includes information about printers and how large you can print your images. There is also a link to a question and answer page where you can ask an
expert for help.

http://www.imaging-resource.com/TIPS1.HTM
This Imaging Resource web site has excellent information on finding the right digital camera, trouble shooting serial port connections, the importance of the right type of battery for your camera, and how to 'stitch' images together to make a panoramic view. It includes a searchable question and answer section and a discussion forum.




ARTICLES
http://news.cnet.com/news/0,10000,0-1003-200-324352,00.html
This Cnet news article, although a little outdated (1997), gives good information about digital cameras.  It mentions that digital camera sales are growing at a faster rate than PC's, so they consider it a pretty hot market.

http://www.newsearching.com/digitalcameras/digitalcameras.html
This article is more current, last updated March 2001. It is an informative buying guide for digital cameras with many links to other digital camera sites.

http://www.lonestardigital.com/pocket_camera_reviews.htm
Here is a nice article on pocket sized digital cameras from Lone Star Digital, which is an on-line photography magazine. The author lists six of his favorite cameras and reviews each one. These cameras are great to have on hand (or should I say in pocket) for those candid photos.



NEWSGROUP OR MAILING LIST
http://www.photography.gr/links/mlists/
DigiCam is a general discussion forum for purchasing and using digital cameras. This forum is open to the general public and caters to professional and amateur photographers. To join DigiCam, send a message to:
Majordomo@leben.com
with the words "subscribe digicam" in the message - no subject required. To remove yourself from the list, send a similar message with "unsubscribe digicam" in the message body.



SOFTWARE
http://hotfiles.zdnet.com/cgi-bin/texis/swlib/hotfiles/info.html?fcode=0019L3&b=help
This is FREE software that you can use to enhance not only your digital images but also can be used for your scanned images. This product is best used for enhancing poor quality, low light photos. It does not improve images that are already clear and have normal lighting. This software can open images in bmp, jpg, pcx, png, tga, tif, wmf, and pax formats. This program works on Windows 95, 98 & NT and was created in July of 2000. It is given a four star rating and has had 96,059 downloads to date. It can be downloaded directly from the web page.



SEARCH ENGINE
http://search.dogpile.com
Dogpile is a very extensive search engine. It will return many web sites from various sources, so be prepared to spend some time surfing through all of them. This search engine will give you a very large selection to pick and choose your information from. I got an incredible amount of hits for digital cameras and was able to find a lot of helpful information on those web sites.



ADDITIONAL RELATED SITES
http://www.mysimon.com/category/index.jhtml?c=digitalcamera
Now that you have decided on which digital camera you want, you will want to purchase one. "My Simon" is a web site that allows you to pick a camera by price or by manufacturer. This web site finds the best price for you which then helps you decide what to buy and where to buy it. There is no charge to use this web site.

http://www.photo.net/photo/medium-format/
This is a web site with excellent examples of photographic images. The artist's name is Philip Greenspun from Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was a well trained eye for fascinating composition angles.  His photos are very crisp and clear, I liked them a lot.

On an interesting side note, this artist had a dog named George that he wrote a story about. He lost his dearest companion to cancer. If you get a chance to read it, have a box of tissues handy.
http://www.photo.net/samantha/samantha-I

http://www.digitalproducer.com
Here is a web site for "Digital Producer Magazine".  It has suggestions on how to hone your techniques, use tools and gadgets, and the latest in news and technologies. It offers newsletters, personal stories, an artist gallery, and classifieds for digital media professionals where you can post your resume. There is no cost for registration. 

http://www.dpcorner.com/index.shtml
This site is called "Digital Photo Corner"; Arthur H. Bleich publishes it. He says that digitizing an image doesn't change the basic photographic creative process.

I really liked this site because it offered an on-line  course for beginning/intermediate photographers called "Digital Photography 101". The cost per session is $350, lasts for 10-12 weeks, and is limited to 10 students. The students post their photos and the instructor critiques them, all on -line. There is a discussion board for interaction and feedback. It shows excellent examples of what to do and what not to do. To actually participate in the class, you must register. Here is the web site address for the on-line course:
http://www.dpcorner.com/digiphoto/

http://www.shortcourses.com/editing/index.htm
This web page is an 'on-line' book on how to edit your digital images. It gives easy to understand instructions and shows photo samples.

http://home1.polaroiddigital.com/look/products/digital320.html
This web page shows the specifications for the digital camera I purchased about a year ago. This camera is an inexpensive entry-level camera with a simple one-button point and shoot process.

http://www.geocities.com/webley54/santa_s_helpers.jpg
This digital photo is my first attempt at touching-up a photo. I used a Polaroid Digital 320 Camera and PhotoMax SE software to add the bows, hats and caption. My camera does not have a flash, so this picture was taken using normal indoor lighting, which gave the photo a 'washed out' look on the right hand side. With all the information I have learned during this course, I'm sure my next photo will be a great improvement!

To Top