How to save money on digital photography

[JDArt]

We all know it: digital photography can be very expensive.



Here are some ways I think you can save money while still getting what you need out of the craft. Feel free to pass on your ideas.

Yesterday's memory cards
Skip the "high speed" memory cards. Go shopping for a memory card, and you'll think that you're shopping for CD-ROM drives. You'll see speed ratings such as 4X, 8X, even 52X. These speed ratings attempt to give you some indication of how quickly images can be written to your digital memory cards. The higher speed ratings, of course, correspond to higher prices.

But in practice, the difference in "speed" between an 8X memory card and a 52X memory card will be measured in milliseconds, hardly enough for you to notice.

Rechargable batteries
Purchase only rechargeable batteries. Some camera models on the market today use conventional "AA" batteries. It's not a bad idea to use a camera that takes conventional batteries, since you'll be able to find them anywhere around the world. But digital cameras eat batteries for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Therefore, prefer rechargeable NiMH batteries, like those you can find online from distributors such as Thomas Distributing (http://www.thomas-distributing.com), as well as a good battery recharger. You'll save a tremendous amount of money over purchasing nonrechargeable batteries. DSLR users already know this, of course, since their cameras come with rechargables.

Software
You can also save money by using free or low-cost image editing, viewing, and printing software. IrfanView (http://www.tucows.com/preview/194967.html) is a very popular freeware image viewer. For editing images, look first to the software that comes with your camera. Most digital cameras come with software sufficient for performing basic editing chores on digital photographs.

Jasc's PaintShop Pro (http://www.jasc.com) is an image editor that has enough for many people. It's available for well under 100 dollars.

Printing is a task that few programs do as well as the low-cost Qimage (www.ddisoftware.com/qimage).

Developing money-saving habits
Think carefully about whether you really want to develop your own digital photographs. Take into consideration the cost of a photograph printer, paper, ongoing costs of inkjet refills, and the amount of time you'll spend proofing and reprinting photos, and you may decide that letting someone else handle the printing chore makes a lot of sense. AlbertP said something similar here:

http://www.photocamel.com/index.php/topic,1936.0.html

Camera upgrade blues
Finally, resist the urge to upgrade your camera when a new model is released. Of course, you should think carefully about your needs before you purchase a digital camera. Once you've decided on a model, however, don't be tempted by the next offering that boasts more megapixels. Digital photograph quality is about far more than how many megapixels make up an image. Most digital cameras rated at three or four megapixels will take pictures that can be printed at sizes larger than most people ever need.

Instead, focus on refining your skills as a photographer--and on improving your photographs on the computer, which is the digital equivalent these days of the darkroom. The skills will allow you to produce better pictures. The latest, greatest camera model won't.

You can drop a ton of money into digital photography. (If you don't believe me, just read this thread:
http://www.photocamel.com/index.php/topic,1433.0.html.)

Or you can buy yourself a good camera and concentrate on taking pictures. You'll no doubt have more and better memories following the latter course.

[BigB]

Nice thread. I'll have to check out QImage, always heard great things.

As for software, you could also try GIMP or GIMPshop. Or, if you know a college student, you could always get the Adobe suite for a little over $100. No box or manual, but hey, there are plenty of tutorials for you to learn with.

[JDArt]

Originally Posted by BigB

Nice thread.* I'll have to check out QImage, always heard great things.

As for software, you could also try GIMP or GIMPshop.* Or, if you know a college student, you could always get the Adobe suite for a little over $100.* No box or manual, but hey, there are plenty of tutorials for you to learn with.

I've heard of GIMP but not tried it. It's multi-platform, right?

Here's a link for those interested:

http://www.gimp.org/

Would love to hear of people's experiences if you download it and fire it up.

[Paul Shields]

Gimp is OK, and does work on pretty much any platform (the source is available for compilation on any cpu). It doesn't have the speed of the likes of Photoshop though, and I found it a little clunky the last time I used it (a few years ago), but it has many plugins and can do pretty much anything you want and more.

It's definitely a contender in the save money stakes - doesn't get any cheaper than free!

[edawn]

Jay,

I really appreciated your posting here! Very helpful information and things to remember. It's so easy to get caught up in the latest and greatest. These pointers reminded me of the basics and what's important - enjoying taking pictures!

Elaine

[ellette]

I have PSP (7.0) and tried Gimp and I have Adobe. I HATED Gimp. I don't have any books on any of the three programs, just trial and error teaching myself. Adobe and PSP...both made sense to me and were easy to learn and easy to use. Gimp seemed slow and not anywhere near as logical. Things that I thought for sure would be there weren't (can't remember now, dont' use it ever) and then it also had tools that I assumed would do something but would work entirely differently than I wanted. I couldn't stand it. Ended up trying and trying to use it, but got so frustrated with it I gave up after about 10 uses. Didn't figure it was worth my annoyance to continue with it.

Sara

Originally Posted by Jay Dougherty

I've heard of GIMP but not tried it. It's multi-platform, right?

Here's a link for those interested:

http://www.gimp.org/

Would love to hear of people's experiences if you download it and fire it up.

[BigB]

Actually GIMPshop (not just GIMP) would be more suited for Adobe users. It's available for OS X and Windows and Linux, however I can't seem to get to the webpage at this moment. It's basically a hacked GIMP to give the user a PhotoShop interface and utility.

Besides, it's free, and this is about saving money.

[badpickev]

Jay you did not list Photoshop Elements 3.0. what i like about it is its $99 and uses acw. for those of us with off main stream make it helps a lot.

[BigB]

Originally Posted by badpickev

Jay you did not list Photoshop Elements 3.0. what i like about it is its $99 and uses acw. for those of us with off main stream make it helps a lot.

Yup, that too. And sometimes you can find it on sale for $60. Get most of what you'll use in PhotoShop for editing your photos for a big discount.

[JDArt]

Originally Posted by ellette

I have PSP (7.0) and tried Gimp and I have Adobe.* I HATED Gimp.*

Thanks for the feedback about GIMP. Did you try the latest version?

Sometimes it will indeed be worthwhile for you to choose a tool that is costly, and Photoshop may be an expense that you can justify. I'd say the purchase price of Photoshop is around $600 now, isn't it? That's probably too high for many people, however. Unless you know you're going to be serious about digital photography and you can justify the expense of Photoshop, there are probably many other options.

[JDArt]

Originally Posted by BigB

Yup, that too.* And sometimes you can find it on sale for $60.* Get most of what you'll use in PhotoShop for editing your photos for a big discount.

Good point. There are no doubt many programs and options that I failed to mention. Your additions I'm sure are helpful to those reading this. I can vouch for Elements. It's a great program.

[deluco]

I agree re PS Elements. *That's all I've been using. *I do miss not having Actions but I also use ThumbsPlus for other things.
Another inexpensive piece of software is Pictures to Exe (wnsoft.com). *It's $30 and it is an excellent presentation tool for assembling and presenting slide shows.

[ellette]

Oh absolutely, and I was given my copy of Photoshop (a friend's uncle bought a few too many licenses for his company and gave me one. I probably would have MADE Gimp work if it hadn't been for that and I had been told it was actually better than the PSP I had though I'm quite comfortable with my PSP for drawing, I don't much like it for picture editing after using Photoshop.

Sara

Originally Posted by Jay Dougherty

Thanks for the feedback about GIMP. Did you try the latest version?

Sometimes it will indeed be worthwhile for you to choose a tool that is costly, and Photoshop may be an expense that you can justify. I'd say the purchase price of Photoshop is around $600 now, isn't it? That's probably too high for many people, however. Unless you know you're going to be serious about digital photography and you can justify the expense of Photoshop, there are probably many other options.

[badpickev]

There are a lot of photography sites, boards and etc out there, if you look you can be amazed. By slowing down and reading and being objective, one can save a ton of money.

On Thom Hogans site (bythom.com) there is a great help file about buying a tripod and how to save $700. What funny is the moral of this article applies to everything. My point on this adds to the idea. I am actice in 3 camera forum sites. I see a lot of what lens should I buy threads a lot. There are a lot of answers. But if we read first, I usually read the first 3 pages (most current) before asking. Then I go to a equiptment review site, photographyreview.com looks to be the most used and active. I then read all the reviews on an item, pay attention to the dates. i then go to the manufactures sites for more data. After all this I then ask for opinions.

Case in point my tripod. i was looking for a heavy duty tripod. Very few poeple want to hang a 4-8 pound lens, 2-3 pound camera, and a 1-2 pound flash on a tripod. I was lookng at 7-12 pounds (batteries are heavy). B&H is a great site to compare for specs. I realized there was not a lot of heavy duty tripods that were cheap (ie less that $500). I saw a few and was looking at $275-400 without a head and they were heavy. Hey stability comes at a price. I asked for opinions and was offered a novel solution, a WOOD tripod. it holds 22 pounds, weighs 4 and cost $175. Went out and read some more, bought it. I mounted one of my cheapest lenses and bang. I was stunned and amzed.

At the cost of 1-3 hours a day for 1-2 weeks, I learned about tripods. Listening to people whos opinion I value and trust (I have seen thier pics) for another week or two. I spent a decent amount of money and got a cool looking tripod. Poeple always come up and talk about it, just cause its wood.

Not that I want to steal Jay's thunder or put people to sleep. Being smart has saved me more money, then I have spent, and that is 6-8K so far.