Alaska Report #2 – Digital Cameras
My sister, Eve, used a digital as well as a conventional camera during our travels through Alaska. Both cameras resulted in fabulous pictures, but who can go wrong with subject as beautiful as Alaska?
Here are some of the advantages of using a digital camera:
1) You don’t need to pay for film or developing. A digital camera requires no film. The photographs are stored on a small removal chip inside the camera. You can then transfer (or “download”) the pictures from the chip onto your computer. If you don’t take your computer on your travels, you might want to invest in an additional chip. Be sure to find out how many images can be stored on the each chip.
2) Digital pictures can be viewed and discarded on the spot. With a conventional camera you’re never sure of the quality of the photograph until it has come back from being developed. This is not true of digital photography. You can view the image immediately and decide if you want to retake the shot. You can also delete images you don’t want along the way.
3) Digital images can be e-mailed while you’re still traveling. When we were in Alaska I transferred Eve’s digital pictures to my computer. Then I attached a select few to e-mails so my friends and family could get an immediate view of what we were seeing. Pretty amazing!
4) Once your digital images are stored in your computer you can then make adjustments to the image (i.e. crop it, remove the red eye, etc.) before you print and frame it. Be sure to invest in good photo quality paper or your image won’t be as clear as you expect. The quality of the picture is also going to depend on the quality of your printer.
Instead of carrying rolls and rolls of film Eve carried a spare set of batteries for her digital camera. Much less cumbersome and not nearly as expensive. Before you invest in a digital camera try out a friend’s or have a salesperson give you a demonstration. Even with a digital camera I can still cut off people’s heads, but at least I didn’t have to pay to see my disastrous photo attempts developed.
