Digital cameras 101

[cuchosan]

Hello. I am organizing a volunteer project in Africa where I will teach orphanage children photography as a way of self expression.

I will bring a Pogo printer so I can show them the pictures instantly.

The pogo uses bluetooth and pictbridge to receive the pictures, so I am wondering which is the simplest (and cheapest) camera that uses pictbridge or bluetooth so I can buy several of those.

Thanks

[admin]

Hi cuchosan and welcome to the Q&A Board!

What a wonderful project!

As to PictBridge, almost any digital camera you by today is pictbridge compatible. I've recommended the following camera (or one of it's successors) more than I can count. There is so much packed into the camera for the money. I've personally owned and used 2 A Series digital cameras.

This model has a 2.5" screen, veiwfinder and manual controls...though plenty of auto and scene modes. It has image stabilization and face recognition too. Very fine image quality and exposes well.

The Canon A590 IS:

http://www.amazon.com/Canon-PowerShot-Digital-Optical-Stabilized/dp/B0011ZCDKS

I'm personally not aware of any cameras that use blue tooth, but there are wifi cameras which I suppose doesn't help. If so, Kodak, Nikon and Canon all make wifi digital cameras. Nikon makes the least expensive WiFi cameras that I'm aware, such as the Nikon Coolpix s50c.

Kodak makes a wi-fi card for some of their cameras:

http://www.amazon.com/Kodak-Easyshare-Digital-Camera-Printer/dp/B0007KQWFU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1238264426&sr=8-1

The best thing to do is a search Amazon or similar site for what's currently available and to find one in your price range.

[rex10]

- The Kodak Easyshare V610 has Bluetooth built-in. I think it is discontinued, but you can search Ebay.

- Be sure to play around with the PoGo before you leave. I have one and the output is somewhat inconsistent, with banding and streaks frequently occurring. It's still great fun, but for teaching photography it could be frustrating.

- My tidbit of advice on cameras is to look for one that offers a 28mm equivalent wide angle. Most digital cameras only offer 32mm equivalent, but some offer the wider 28mm and don't necessarily cost more. Check Canon and Panasonic models for this feature (I'm sure there's others as well).