Jim Karpen Tips

May 2001

I know almost nothing about photography, but I do have fun with my digital camera. Not having to pay for film is liberating. You can take hundreds of photos and simply delete the ones you don't like.

Prices have come down rapidly. One of the main considerations when buying one is how much resolution you want. A regular film camera has very high resolution, and the images can typically be much enlarged and still remain sharp. A digital camera with that amount of resolution would cost thousands of dollars.

On the other hand, images for the Internet are almost always 72 dots per inch--a very low resolution. A digital camera that's limited to this low resolution can cost as little as $40. You can shoot away and know that your pictures will look just fine online.

If, however, you want to print them out or use them in print publications or enlarge them even the smallest amount, you'll need a better camera. A friend of mine bought a camera for around $400 that has 2.1-megabit pixel resolution, which offers near photo-quality images. Couple such a camera with a color ink jet printer (often as low as $50), and you can have a lot of fun. A 1-megabit pixel camera is the minimum resolution for quality 4X6 color photos.

For around $200 my friend bought a printer that, with special paper, can output photos that to my untrained eye are virtually indistinguishable from what one is accustomed to receiving from a service. Another option is simply to upload your photos to a web site that then sends you prints.

In summary, here's one way it works: buy a digital camera, go wild taking photos, download the digital photos to your computer and select the ones you like, and then upload them to a service bureau that makes prints and sends them to you via regular mail.

After a quick perusal of the sites, I came away with the impression that Shutterfly is an excellent site if you're just getting started with digital. Once you upload your photos, you can use their online tools to do things like fix "red-eye," add borders, and create greeting cards. When I visited they were offering the first 15 prints for free. After that, prices start at 49¢ per print. You can even add a message to the backs of the prints.

Most sites let you store and share your digital photos. One advantage of this is that friends and family can then also order prints of the ones they like.

Ofoto is one of the simplest sites, while Photopoint is one of the richest. Find camera reviews at Imaging Resource.

© 2001 by Jim Karpen, Ph.D. (#259)