Dare to go Digital with Travel Photos
By Hazel M. Freeman

If all the new technology coming on to the market at light speed has you intimidated, don’t feel bad, you’re not alone. I still have voicemails on my cell phone from two years ago because, neither do I know how to listen to them, nor do I know how to make them disappear. I rarely use my cell phone except when I’m traveling, but still, it would be nice to be able to listen to a message if I get one. I’ve been made fun of on more than one occasion for this technological inadequacy, but it seems to bother other people, more than it bothers me.

I’m at a point in life where I’m very selective about what activities I'm willing to invest time, energy and brain power into learning. I'm eager to learn new things that I believe will enrich my life in some way. I'm not interested in learning, for example, how to text four thousand words a minute. But having a handy little digital camera to use for traveling is a good thing. If you’ve been stubbornly holding on to your film camera it’s time to consider digital. Here are a few reasons why:

· The new digital cameras are extremely easy to use
· They have an auto focus and flash so the camera does all the work
· They’re compact, and easy to put in a pocket, purse, or luggage
· Even if you don’t have a computer you can get prints made at many stores
· Cost of digital prints is comparable to film if not cheaper
· You can print photos in a matter of minutes
· You can get calendars and other nifty things made with your photos
· The prices are extremely reasonable
· You can store hundreds of photos on one memory card
· If you use a computer, you can store your photos, and access them easily

Now I’m not suggesting you throw your film camera away, especially if you have an emotional attachment to it. I’m merely encouraging you to take the leap to try a digital camera if you haven’t yet. The difficult part will be choosing which one to buy. There are probably a zillion different ones on the market. It might help you to decide by coming up with an amount you’re willing to pay for one. You don’t have to pay a fortune.

For around $100.00 to $150.00 you can get a nice pocket, point & shoot digital camera. Unless you’re really into photography, a point & shoot, will probably do everything you need for a first digital camera. A website I refer to on occasion for reviews on digital cameras is www.dpreview.com. Two of their recent picks for budget, point & shoot cameras were; the Sony CyberShot W120 at $100.00, and the Panasonic Lumix DMC LZ8, at about $130.00. You should of course do some of your own research.

Besides being really convenient digital cameras are a fun, and easy, way to save those wonderful memories from your travels. Promise me, you’ll at least think about it!