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"TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY" Page 1,
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ABOVE: This snapshot wasn't a
great picture technically, but--after cropping--it made a perfect illustration for my "Cats
of Venice" article. (Olympus InfinityZoom 200, 38-80mm lens; Kodak Gold
200 film.)
Digital Photography
When digital cameras entered the mass market in 1996, they
appealed mostly to insurance adjusters, real-estate agents, and other business
people who needed quick-and-dirty photos that could be uploaded to corporate
databases or added to Web pages. Digital cameras are still useful for such
applications, but their quality has improved considerably over the past several
years. What's more, the latest generation of inexpensive photo-quality inkjet
printers has made it possible to tweak digital photos on a computer and make
glossy color prints at home.
Unfortunately, digital cameras are still more expensive than
comparable film cameras. And while they're great for business and home use, they
have one major disadvantage for travel: limited picture storage.
Even the newest
models with SmartMedia or CompactFlash memory cards aren't as practical as film
cameras, simply because no portable electronic storage medium holds as many
images for so little money as film. (IBM's Microdrives come close, but they
aren't compatible with all digital cameras.) Finally, film has one other big advantage
over digital: it's an industry standard that won't disappear overnight.
If you'd like to know more about digital cameras, visit
Photo.net or visit the
rec.photo.digital newsgroup.
Two other possibilities are worth investigating if you want
digital images without buying a digital camera:
Film plus a scanner. To capture photos
electronically for digital photo albums or Web pages, you can scan prints with
an inexpensive flatbed scanner. Better yet, scan your slides or negatives
directly into your PC with a film scanner such as Nikon's CoolScan IV.
A video camcorder. If you're already planning to
buy a new camcorder, look for a digital model that stores both video and still
photos. With older camcorders, a device like Snappy Video Snapshot (check eBay
for used models) or a digital video-capture card lets you grab stills from
video footage. Such photos won't be up to the technical standards of the better
film and digital still cameras, but they're fine for Web pages, screensavers,
Windows wallpaper, and similar uses.
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Durant
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