Cameras and other gear for amateur genealogists.

[CBHagman]

Help! A borderline Luddite, I only got my PC and printer a year ago, but I haven't yet bought a digital camera. I am at the point where I think I'd better make tracks on getting something that will be able to photograph documents and other photos (for those relatives who can't or won't scan their photos). I also need to be able to make decent photos of headstones and the like.

In addition, I was curious about various hand-held scanners that can be taken to libraries.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this particular aspect of research? Details on pixels, brands, techniques, etc., are most welcome.

[reprehensor]

1. CB...

Fudge Stripe says I should give you my opinion.

I do graphics for a living, so I have some idea of what's going on digitally.

You are picking a good time to load in on accessories, the technology for cameras is getting really good and user-friendly.

We've been hampered a bit by affordability, but we have had really positive experiences with Canon (Powershot A40 2.0 Mega Pixels), and our latest camera, a Konica Minolta (Dimage Z2 4.0 Mega Pixels.)

The Canon has never failed, is relatively sturdy, and takes nice amateur shots.

The Konica is doing great so far, I'm not sure how 'sturdy' it is, but it takes sweet shots too, very user friendly.

If your computer has a built-in media card reader, you may wish to match up your camera purchase with it. Beyond that, you can buy external media card readers that plug into your USB slot.

I recommend the media-card reader route, rather than loading up the 3rd party software that your camera manufacturer will stick you with. It's almost always buggy and quirky, and Windows 2000 especially gets confused when you start plugging in a bunch of different devices.

SD (secure digital) seems to be the most popular media card around right now. I like it. Your computer reads it as a removable drive, and you just copy and paste to your hard drive.

As far as scanning on the fly, I haven't met anyone who will swear by a portable hand-held scanner. The claims made by the manufacturers seldom deliver. They lose data, use up batteries like crazy, the consumer technology is not there yet. (If you decide to do some reseach and find a good one, let me know about it. Definitely read the consumer reviews of the product!)

Instead, I recommend that you focus on getting the best digital camera you can afford. Ultimately that would mean getting something with manual focus, just like an older 35mm camera.

However, automatic focus is getting REALLY good. If you can't afford manual focus, get the most Mega Pixels you can afford, combined with the highest OPTICAL zoom you can afford, and stick with a major brand, Kodak, Canon, Minolta, etc. In my experience, the Minolta has better auto-focus than the Canon.

The distinction between Optical and Digital zoom is important. Don't let a salesman try to scam you.

Basically, the higher the Optical zoom, the better quality lens you are going to wind up with. This can, depending on the model, make the camera more bulky, like a traditional 35mm, but from my experience, the bulk is worth the quality trade off.

With a decent digital camera you can do sharp close-ups and a portable scanner becomes secondary. The trick is getting enough lighting to get a decent shot. With good lighting, you can take a close up of an 8.5 x 11 sheet of text and read from it later, no problem.

This becomes problematic if the library you go to won't let you use flash photography (it fades originals) or has no natural light to speak of. In my experience, digital cameras love daylight above all other kinds of light, no matter the make.

I highly recommend a camera that takes regular AA sized NiMH rechargeable batteries. You have to use them a couple of times to 'warm 'em up', but once you do, they far outlast regular batteries and are easier to replace when worn out than a 'rechargeable battery pack'.

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BeachCamera has good customer service and great prices:
BeachCamera.com

CNET reviews the latest cameras:
CNET reviews page.

Digital Photography Review covers it all, excellent reference site:
DPReview.com

Hope that helps!

[CBHagman]

2. Thank you for the tutorial.

I've printed out what you posted and put it with my printer information. The tips will come in handy when I start shopping and eventually come to a decision. Thanks to you and Fudge Stripe!

[reprehensor]

3. You're welcome. n/t

[Cooley Hurd]

4. My primary tools are a 3 mega-pixel digital camera and a GPS...

The 3 mega-pixel camera is just enough to take photographs of documents, headstones, etc. I use the GPS to record the coordinates of grave sites.:thumbsup: