Camera suitable for food pix

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Zhizara

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I'm thinking about getting an inexpensive camera to use for making pretty pix to post.

I need a camera that is compatible with my laptop and the ports I have (USB and one other that is rectangular with 3 rows of pin sockets).

I know next to nothing about cameras, and even less about digital.

Would some of you give me some pointers of what I need to look for, please?
 
The digital cameras I have all have usb ports - and if your laptop is fairly new, it should have a slot for the sd card to go directly from the camera into the computer. If all you want to do is take food pictures, any of the inexpensive cameras should be fine (IMHO).
 
The laptop is only a year old, but I don't see any slots except for one on the front edge that has a little plastic piece plugging the opening 1" wide. Is that for the sd (?) card?
 
Yeah, that might be it, Z. Push it in and see if it springs out. My laptop has the same thing. It's sort of a filler piece.
 
For what you are looking to do any digital camera will do fine. You will end up buying a card reader for your computer. It is a small inexpensive ($10-$20) thing that plugs into your usb and the memory card goes into it.

Stick with Nikon, Canon, Sony.
 
I'm thinking about getting an inexpensive camera to use for making pretty pix to post.

I need a camera that is compatible with my laptop and the ports I have (USB and one other that is rectangular with 3 rows of pin sockets).

I know next to nothing about cameras, and even less about digital.

Would some of you give me some pointers of what I need to look for, please?

Zhizara,

Take the laptop with you when you go shopping for a camera and try if it works with your laptop at the store (most likely, any camera will). Also consider getting a tripod, as less expensive cameras tend to have a huge lag (the time you press the button to take your picture and the actual moment it happens) and usually are pretty bad in low light conditions (read indoors). So put the camera on the tripod and turn the flash off. The pics will turn out better. Take lots of pictures, zooming in and out. You will pick whatever you like at a later stage.

You will then need to edit your pics. I use FastStone Image Viewer, Screen Capture, Photo Resizer ... to do bulk renaming, resizing, adding frame etc. It can also do basic gamma/brighness/contrast manipulation. For tougher jobs I use Gimp (GIMP - The GNU Image Manipulation Program). Both are free.

As an illustration, all pics on my new blog are taken with a cheap Samsung ES29 (~$70), because someone borrowed my Canon Rebel for a while. They are not too bad. I was using a tripod and flash was off.

Fearless Spatula | "I shall want four different kinds of meat, some wine, a duck's marrow, some ginger, and a herb called heal-well". Dwarf Nose by Wilhelm Hauff
 
I bought a Sony a year and a half ago and it came with cable that connects the camera to the computer for downloading pictures. No need for a card reader.
 
I would take my laptop and camera when shopping for an SD card. Not all cameras and laptops will take the same format, and the cards look the same. Both need to be able to read the card.

Phone cameras have gotten quite good recently. If you are looking for an excuse for the latest and greatest phone, this might be a way to go.
 
I would take my laptop and camera when shopping for an SD card. Not all cameras and laptops will take the same format, and the cards look the same. Both need to be able to read the card.

Phone cameras have gotten quite good recently. If you are looking for an excuse for the latest and greatest phone, this might be a way to go.

I don't have a camera. That is what I'm looking for. I have no intention of carrying my laptop into Walmart. We have a van that takes up to 7 of us to shop there weekly for 2 hours. I'd be a nervous wreck if I had to watch my cart that closely for that long!

Besides the fact that this IS low income housing, and I just don't want everyone knowing I have a computer at all.

I have a Safelink free cell phone, so I'm not going to buy a phone just for the camera.

I hope this clarifies things. I will have a discussion about this with a rep at the electronics counter and will also check to make sure the 1" port is actually for a digital card and what kind of card.

I'd like my DC to be reusable so that I don't have to keep buying them. Once I've uploaded my pictures, I can erase the card to use for more images. I can save (backup) my uploaded pix to a CD.

I'd really rather that I be able to plug the camera directly into the computer and not have to deal with memory cards at all. Is that possible?
 
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Yes that is possible, and there is no need to bring your laptop to the store. These things are pretty standard now and your laptop is recent enough. Just let the clerk at the store know you want to be able to plug the camera directly into the computer and not have to take the memory card out of the camera and he/she will lead you in the right direction.

The other option is to get an Eye-Fi memory card. You do not have to plug anything in that way at all. The Eye-Fi card transfers photos from your camera to the computer wirelessly.
 
Oh the other thing I wanted to mention is that you might want to reconsider storing photos on CD as backup. CD's are a horrible way to archive things as they degrade in a very short amount of time (think 5 years or so). Online storage is a great way to go or get a backup hard drive and go that route.
 
Yes, it does pop out. It is exactly 1" wide is that right?

Sounds like it, but I would not let that limit me to which camera to get. That just lets you know that if your camera comes with an SD memory card, your computer can read it. It will open like another drive.
I haven't boughten a camera in a couple years, but they all used to come with a USB cable, so no need to use the card reader anyway. I've got an older Sony and a semi-old Canon and the Canon is very intuitive to use. And comes with great editing software (Zoom EX). They are both considered point and shoot.
 
Thanks, Pacanis and GB. This is just the kinds of information I'm looking for. I'll start a page of notes so I'll know what to ask the electronics rep.
 
Well that depends on what you use for email. If you use something like gmail then yes you could do that. Depending on how many pictures you are trying to backup that could be very cumbersome and time consuming though. If it is just a few here and there then that would work, but if it is 20 or 30 or more at a time then you would quickly get tired of doing it that way.
 
Online storage means your data/pics will be saved elsewhere, not on your computer.
Check out "thumb drives" while you're there. It's a simple device that plugs into your USB port and that you can save anything to.
 
Online storage means your data/pics will be saved elsewhere, not on your computer.
Check out "thumb drives" while you're there. It's a simple device that plugs into your USB port and that you can save anything to.

Thanks, pacanis. A thumb drive sounds perfect. I don't like the idea of online storage.
 
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