Just bought a digital camera...now what do I need? (1 Viewer)

[Stephen L]

I just purchased a Fuji Finepix 2600 Zoom camera for my wife for Christmas.I did some research knowing nothing about them and decided on this entry level 2.1 meg model.Now what do we need for it? It comes with a 16mb card , rechargeable batteries and charger.I bought an additional 64mb card .What other accessories do I need for it? Any good and fairly simple software programs for digital photos?

 

[Brad_W]

Doesn't your camera come with software?

I have the Olympus D-100 1.3 megapixal camera and it came with Camedia software/cable/memory card. I can load the pictures right into my Adobe Photoshop.

 

[Stephen L]

Doesn't your camera come with software?

I'm waiting for the camera to be delivered.It does come with a basic software program but was told I would need to purchase a better software program .

 

[Len Cheong]

You can download many photo editing programs off the net. Try Zdnet downloads. Does your camera hookup via usb? Great, it's faster than a serial connection. Start playing around and seeing what lighting conditions work best. If you have a good printer, start printing off some photos. I don't have a good printer so I develop them at a local shop. Personally, I only have a 1 meg camera integrated into a dvcam but it produces pretty good 4x6s.

 

[John Besse]

You need an eBay account!!! So you can take pictures of all the cool stuff you can unload on eBay

 

[Kurt B]

Stephen

Any good and fairly simple software programs for digital photos?

I run a small photo business on the side and found a great program for doing everything I need to do with photo editing and printing. The package is Qimage Pro and is priced right with free upgrades for life. The cost was about $35 and it does all I need to do, including various print size layouts. The web site has a 30 day eval.

Good Luck.

Kurt

 

[Scott Dautel]

Stephen ...
I got into digital photography just a few months ago and I'm still having loads of fun with it. Excellent choice with the 2.1Mp Fuji! I've heard great things about the Finepix line and I also chose a 2.1Mp (Kodak DX3600). I've found that at 2.1MP, you can print 4x6's that are indistinguishable from 35mm. depending on the content ... 5x7's are near perfect as well.
For editing ... I've found MS Photo Editor (comes w/ Win95 & Win98) to meet most of my needs, but it won't let you configure multiple prints per 8.5x11 sheet like the more advanced ones do.
The one option you've got to have is a decent inkjet printer. I've found the HP Inkjets with "PhotoREt" technology do an incredible job. The key to everything is the glossy photo paper. The HP 4x6 premium plus is great but rather pricy ($0.33/print). I've recently discovered the 8.5" x 11" Epson paper (100 sheets for $29 at Costco is the best deal going) cut it in half and you're printing 5x7's for $0.145 each.
Regarding printers ... In my office, I have the HP DeskJet 950 ... does an incredible job for $150.
At home I just splurged for the HP PSC950 ($360) (see picture below).

This all-in-one printer, scanner, fax, copier accepts all photo card formats (CompactFlash, SmartMedia, Sony Memory Stick) and prints directly with no computer needed!
The new printer came with great software for any kind of custom printing you want ... I particularly like the "Photo album page" feature, which lets you configure pages any way you want with captions and variable print sizes. Both printers do the same photo quality (The expensive one is faster).
Now ... I'm alwys on the lookout for cheap frames. Everyone in my family is getting framed photos of the kids as an extra gift!
have fun ... Scott
Link Removed

 

[Brian Mansure]

Stephen,
I have that very same digital camera and am overall pleased with it so far.
I wish the flash would cover a little more area and the shutter speed was faster but for an entry digital camera for around 300 bucks it's a good buy.
Anyhow, I use Paint Shop Pro 7.0 at work and have also used it at home to do digital photo editing with the Fine Pix 2600. I really cannot comment on the photo editor software that comes with the Fine Pix 2600 as I have not used it at all.
I'm still juggling between which printer to get but most likely I'll end up with a HP Photo Smart printer.
I've read that when it comes to printing out digital photos HP and Epson printers are hard to beat for the money.
The 16mb Smart Media card holds about 30-35 good quality photos but depending on which setting you use that number will increase or decrease.
The batteries last a pretty long time even with using the lcd display semi-frequently but picking up an extra set of Ni-MH batteries is probably a good idea.
Here are two examples of shots I took with the camera:
pic#1
pic#2
Both these picuters started out above 5mb a piece and are heavily compressed so it doesn't take days for them to download.
Well, have fun with your new camera.
Brian

 

[JohnRice]

Steve,

I run a Mac and don't know anything about the software available to you, other than Photoshop, which is great and very expensive.

From my experience, the Epson Photo printers are outstanding. You need to get an Photo model that uses six colors, not a standard 4 color model. They start at under $100. Glossy papers are nice for photo-like prints, but the paper is expensive and uses a lot of ink for every day use. For better economy and still exceptional results you can also use a paper available at Office Depot. It is Imaging and Photo Paper from Great White. It is a super heavy. 37 lb. paper that is coated on both sides. It gives outstanding results and is only $10 for 100 sheets. The surface isn't glossy, but it is definitely photo quality.

 

[DougRuss]

You need to get a Card Reader !! Helps save batteries or hassle of plugging in the power supply to download your pics.
Seen at the local "Staples" they had them for $20.00.
Card Reader
AND Some
Info