Digital cameras 101

[jhettwave1]

Hello all and thanks in advance for your time and help.

My fiancee' has charged me with the task of setting up the "photo guest book" for our upcoming wedding in June - and the thought of using a polaroid is just killing me.  That being said, I've been searching online this afternoon for a digital solution but am finding it difficult to locate what I'm hoping exists.  

I would like for our guests to be able to walk up to the camera, take the photo and then have it print out to be placed in the guest book, along side their note/message to us.

PictBridge or even connecting my cameras to my PC automatically disables the functionality of the camera - and I don't want my guests pawing at my equipment all night, plugging and unplugging the camera from the printer..which would just be a hassle anyway.

So, any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks again.

Jhett

[ShutterbugGail]

Hi jhettwave1,

Welcome to the Q&A Board!

The idea of a photo guestbook sounds great! Using a polaroid camera would certainly be easy and less expensive but there is a digital solution (classic polaroid cameras cost about $30.00 on amazon) :

- use a camera and printer with wifi capabilities.

If that's the route you decide to take, get the equipment early enough so you have time to set up the system and practice using it. You usually have to use a computer to initially configure the system.

Canon makes wireless cameras and printers. Here's two examples found in our Amazon shop:

Canon PowerShot SD430

http://astore.amazon.com/digicamhelp-20/detail/B000B8UOV6/104-7644676-9470310

PIXMA mini260 pinter

http://astore.amazon.com/digicamhelp-20/detail/B000I5N5YK/104-7644676-9470310


Besides Canon, Kodak, and Nikon make wireless digital camera products:

eg: Nikon CoolPix P3 & Coolpix S6

Kodak EasyShare-One

Hope this helps a bit. If you decide to go wireless and have the time, let us know how it works out.

Congratulations on your upcoming wedding.

As an aside, here's an excellent article on taking wedding photos with a digital camera:


http://www.digicamhelp.com/learn/places-events/wedding.php

[bdery]

Hi,

I understand why you do not want your friends to use your camera and fiddle with controls, so I have to possible work-around to propose to you.

1-have them take the pictures, but print them later (later that night, with a direct printer, or later that week/month, at a lab or at home). Why? Because printing a picture with a personal printer will take about two minutes for decent quality. This might slow down the process quite a bit, and many people might end up in line to take their picture instead of enjoying the party. And they'll still have to handle the camera, which leads me to my second tip...

2-have someone operate the camera for you. A trusted friend whose job it will be to snap the pictures. This could be done as guests enter the ballroom, for instance. That person will know how to operate the camera, which will prevent people changing settings while trying to activate the self-timer. And the camera won't be sitting for long periods without anyone using it, while the batteries get empty. This person could print the pictures for you if you really want to do it.

I don't see any other way around this. I hope I helped a bit. Congratulations on your wedding!