DigCam:
+ Easy to use, convenient
- Expensive to buy, somewhat limited capacity,
no hard copy of images (except printer output)
Photo/Scanner: + Hard Copy, can be used for other
stuff too
- Film and Developing can be expensive, takes time
Camcorder: + Easy to use, Allows for selecting
the right image
from several views
- Video capture hardware/software isn't cheap
Well, I
guess it's time to put my two cents in. I own a Kodak DC20 digital
camera, and a handheld color scanner.
The digital camera is the basic model, no frills. It holds 8 hi res
pics, and 16 low res pics. As far as quality goes, it really depends on the
lighting conditions and the distance that you are going to be shooting at.
It can get some incredible pictures, but it does have it share of bad ones.
As far as taking pictures of our computers, it is great for taking good
desriptive pictures (here's my pdp 11...) If you wanted to take a picture of
a circuit board and be able to make out the chip numbers and wiring, forget
it. It has decent resolution, but nothing like a scanner and a 35mm photo,
and the light has to be right with this camera, since there is no flash
(yet). I usually save the pictures in jpeg format, and each hi-res picture
is about 25-35k. Not too bad on the storage side.
My handheld color scanner is absolutely great. Unfortunately, I am
always wanting to scan something in 1" wider than the scanner, which makes
it a real pain even with great picture editing software. I would really
recommend a flatbed scanner, but you might as well grab another hard drive
while you are at it. Those color hi-res pictures take up more space than it
took to put a man on the moon. Also, as a side note, it takes about 55
seconds to warm up the bulb on the color scanner. It's not a major gripe,
just an inconvenience.
Bottom line: My suggestion is - If you are looking to take pictures
of your collection (for personal or insurance reasons) and store them in a
safe, and take a buch of cheap pictures of your kids, go with the digital
camera. If you are looking to scan in boards and pieces of equipment, and
are looking for extreme detail, I would go with the scanner. I find that
having both is really convenient, and I can pretty much get the results that
I am looking for and not be dissappointed with either. If I only owned one
of them, I could definitely see times when I would not be happy with the
results. As for the Camcorder products, those are next on my list.
Isaac Davis
idavis(a)comland.com
indavis(a)juno.com
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