I think one of the best inventions ever is the Digital camera. Now that I am a father I spend so much time taking photos of my daughter and if I didn’t have a digital camera I would be spending hundreds and hundreds of dollars on film.
I actually have 4 digital cameras, the Xacti C4 (it is dead now but I can’t make myself get rid of it. I will most likely give it a digital autopsy and see how it ticks.) I also have the Canon SD800is and the Canon Z850 Digital video camera that can take stills and my showpiece camera the Nikon D80. With those cameras in my arsenal I am more than ready to snap shots this Christmas.
I use my cameras every day with my photo-a-day project but I am also participating in weekly photo project like photohunters and green thumb Sunday as well as Trevor Carpenter’s December Challenge. The D80 has been great for that project but I am kinda itching for an upgrade, maybe to something like a Nikon D3. That would be one kick butt camera.
There are so many things that you can do with a digital camera, I find and try projects from PhotoJojo and other places however just getting out and experimenting is fun.
Many people ask me advice for the right camera to buy for a loved one. I ask first, “What sort of photos are they going to take?” If they are going to take snapshots of the grandkids then there is no need for an over the top digital camera get a nice point and shoot. If someone is getting into photography to make a business then get a DSLR. I then ask, “what is your budget?” Then I tell them the cameras I have and how they have worked very well for me. Then I say get the one with the highest numbers like Megapixels, and Optical Zoom, optical is very important because digital is only so good.
Once you have the digital images sharing them is so easy. I’ve set up accounts on Flickr, Zooomr and Buzznet to host my images, interact with other photographers and get more ideas. I’ve printed images out into book and other items and Allison and I are going to use some digital images to make some Christmas ornaments too.
If you haven’t gone digital yet, what are you waiting for? Cameras are inexpensive and easy to use, buy one and get snapping.
As much as I love standard film camera’s and Polaroid camera’s; I really love digital as well. I currently have a Fuji Finepix S700 and I like it a lot. For Christmas I am getting a Pentax K100D or the K110D, not sure which. I am excited about the SLR aspect of it, I have heard many great things. Boy, I am rambling.. hehe Great post today.
Thanks Chica. I love digital and have been using it since 1996 when I had a Kodak DC220.
I’ve loved digital cameras since the first Mavica was on the market and now have a Sony DSC-M2 which is 6.0 MP and 12x Optical. One of the things you don’t mention is image stabilization.
Prior to the Sony, I had a Kodak Z750 which took awesome photos as long as you were perfectly still as it didn’t have image stabilization. I only had it about a month before I decided it was just too hard to take the kinds of photos I wanted to with it (action shots of my dogs running and of birds)
A DSLR is out of my budget, but is what I have my eye on as the next upgrade.
Maggie
Maggie,
Thanks for pointing out my missing info on image stabilization. My Canon SD800is has image stabilization, that is what the is means. I almost forget I have it. If you look for a camera with image stabilization make sure it is part of the camera and not just the software.