"Mary Fisher" wrote in message
t...

I apologise in advance for this but if anyone can advise I'd appreciate it.

In the summer we're going on an Arctic cruise and of course I want the
best pictures I can afford. Digital camera makers seem to fall over
themselves in getting more and more sophisticated models at cheaper
prices, it's very confusing.
I wondered about having an SLR digital - I've heard about them but not
seen one, my old pro photographer boss has finally got one and is very
pleased with it but I don't think I could afford what he paid.

Has anyone here any experience or recommendations? I've used SLR manual
for nearly sixty years but do enjoy the computer-related functions of
digital and thought the combination might combine the best of both to
advantage.

If by "SLR manual" you mean a 35mm film Single Lens Reflex with
interchangeable lenses then you won't be intimidated by a modern Digital
Single Lens Reflex (DSLR), nor will you be surprised or disappointed to
learn that they are heavy and bulky compared to a little pocket camera,
especially if you're using two or more lenses and perhaps also carrying a
separate flash attachment or maybe even a tripod. The reward at the other
end is that for all your extra trouble you can have more control over your
final results with a camera like that. But to get the most from it you need
to use it a while and gain experience with it. If you acquire it a week
before you take off you may as well go with a good P&S because you'll find
yourself using the "auto" setting on your fancy new DSLR and in that case
you won't be enjoying the creative options built into it. Once you know how
to use a DSLR and that includes knowing how to process your pics on your
computer --- then you'd never want to go back to a pocket camera. But the
fact is there are lots of people carrying DSLR's around today who have no
idea how to benefit from their features.

I don't mean to confuse you but if you feel like you'd enjoy the challenge
then by all means bite the bullet and get the pricier DSLR and whichever
auxiliary attachments you'd like. If not, don't.

Somebody else mentioned batteries. It's a valid point for some types of
cameras but any of the better DSLR's that I'm familiar with come with a
rechargeable battery and there is no option for replaceable AA's or AAA's.
Is this a problem? Not really. Speaking from experience I have carried my
Nikon DSLR's all over China and the US without any battery problems
whatsoever. The cameras will take hundreds of shots per charge. I've only
rarely run out of battery capacity. I don't carry a spare but I could if I
wanted to. I think they run about fifty or sixty bucks USD - I don't know
how many Euros that is.

One other thought: When I'm away from home I carry a portable computer so
that I can download all my pictures onto the hard drive at the end of the
day and start the next day with a clean, empty Compact Flash card. Oh ---
and that's another thing! Storage capacity is very important, especially if
you want to try the challenge of shooting in RAW. RAW files are huge. They
contain a lot more picture information than regular JPEG's. On my Nikon D80
I use a 4.0 Gig SanDisk flash card. That'll hold 326 shots if I shoot in
RAW (Nikon refers to it as .NEF). If I shoot in JPEG Fine that number jumps
to 530 exposures. With JPEG Normal it increases to over 1,000 just on the
one flash card and those numbers sound like a lot, but don't be fooled. If
you carry the camera everywhere and are an enthusiastic shooter you can fill
your flash card's memory in a couple of days. The solution is to either
carry several flash cards or do like I do & carry the computer too. We've
found that is the best answer because I can look at my results at night in
the hotel room. I can even process some or all of them with Photoshop and
kind of "tweak" my exposures for optimal results. I've also got my bank
software loaded on the laptop so when I get to a wi-fi spot or a place where
I can connect to Ethernet via a CAT-5 cable, I can do my banking or even
e-mail some of my pics to friends. One caution about the screens on laptops
though: they're not the greatest for viewing pictures. They may be fine for
typing a letter or doing an Excel document or Power Point presentation but
as far as a device for displaying photographs properly --- uh-uh. They're
lousy. You can view stuff and get general impressions but wait 'til you get
home and see the stuff on a good stand alone monitor. There'll be a major
difference.
--
Pat Durkin