WOW
great pics!

I'd want to be _certain_ I would not run out of juice or memory before the end of the trip

Making sure you have enough batteries and CF space is no different to making sure you have enough film with you. If you had a 1Gb micro drive and were taking photos that were 2Mb per file then you would be able to store 500 photos and would only need to make sure you had three charged batteries.

If you were doing this with film you would need 13 films and one set of spare batteries for the camera (just to be sure).

13 35mm films would take up far more space that two extra batteries for the digital camera, depending on the battery in question the fiilms could also be heavier...

14 rolls 36 shot film: @ $6=$84. 1 extra camera battery = $12. P&S camera $180. Good digital camera $500, 1 GB microdrive $370, extra 2 OEM digital cam battery $90 (based on Canon batteries at PC Connection). Need more film overseas? Possible. Finding extra CF in rural China?

I see your side too. I said film is what I would do. Cost & robustness are why. Digital cameras also weigh more than a comparably sized P&S, although I grant a digital is less bulky. Film is not heavy. If you P&S is stolen/lost, you've lost 1 roll. If your digital is stolen/lost you've lost it all. To each their own.

Don't get me wrong, I love my digital camera, I just wouldn't take it on a week long backpacking trip in Asia.

-Zeke

But you're missing a vital point in your price comparison.

It's going to cost ~$170 at shutterfly.com + $20 s&h to get those 14 rolls developed, so that 1GB microdrive isn't looking quite so expensive - only $100 more. And the microdrive is reusable for the next trip, and the one after that, and so on. Whereas the film and processing costs are going to keep mounting every time you take a photo.

And you're comparing a 'P&S camera' with a 'good digital camera'. Why not a 'good P&S camera', such as the Leica MiniLux Zoom35-70 ($849), or the Minolta TC1 ($899) ?
(www.bhphotovideo.com)

So the cost argument isn't going your way. As for robustness, I'm trying to figure out how a camera with a finely balanced mechanical mirror, mechanical film winding, and mechanical shutter can be more robust than a camera without.

Your opinions and arguments are certainly worth considering - but I think that the numbers that you gave presented them in a rose-tinted light.

Genixia - I'm not going to argue with you. I said it's what I would do. I didn't include development because it's kind of a given and not a fixed item cost. I only wanted to make a suggestion as to a possible option that my not have been considered. To MY eye my $500 digital doesn't take any better photos than my $150 Olympus P&S. I don't want to get into a camera lens / religion discussion. Revlmwest mentioned a budget of about $500, and my suggestion is not nuts within that constraint. I personally don't care if he takes stone tablets and a chisel to take photos in China. Weatherproof P&S cameras are better able to resist misting/light rain and can take bumps pretty damn well. I just don't have that same level of belief in my Canon S30, I haven't owned it long enough. If you do, great.

Even with development I'm no where near the $900 or so for the digital camera, 1 GB micro, 2 extra batteries. Also, what if you want to actually have a real photo album? You would still need to send the digital copies out to a service for approximately the same cost as developing from film, although I'll grant you can be pickier about which pix you develop.

There is no right answer. What's best for you, me or Revlmwest are not the same thing.

-Zeke

Well, the real thing you're leaving out of your comparision is the seccond trip to china. Once you've paid for your digital camera, continuing expenses are zero, or the cost of prints. Once you've paid for your film camera, the cost of taking pictures stays as a per shot expense. If we're keeping this a closed one month long trip thing, then check out the resale value of the $500 digital camera and the compact flash card after 1 month. Damn I'm glad I don't work for Kodak.

Matthew

Anyway, to get closer to the heart of the topic:


I'm going backpacking in Southeast Asia, sometime around Xmas 2003. Currently I don't have a digital camera, but I want one and would like to have it by the trip. Right now I'm leaning towards the Sony Cybershot DSC-F717. This is really the top of my price range. Would anyone suggest a different camera? Does anyone already own a Cybershot? Do you like it?


The page you linked lists that model as "No longer available", so I'm guessing that unless you buy one of the existing stock now, then you wont find it. But I'd take Rob's advice and wait until closer to the time anyway. I'd add to that to advice and suggest that buying whichever camera you decide upon 3 months before the trip will give you time to read the manual, and get used to it's quirks and nuances.

I own an early cybershot (S30 - about 2.5 years old), and on the whole I like it. What I don't like about it is:

No optical viewfinder, LCD only. This makes taking pictures in very low light conditions difficult. Just about any decent digital camera on the market today *does* have an optical viewfinder, but it should be on your list of things to check.

Lack of wide angle capability. It just doesn't zoom out enough for decent landscape photos. There is a wide angle lens attachment available that I keep meaning to buy, but if I were buying new I'd make sure that the camera itself were capable of 35mm equivalency. (ideally 28mm, but I'm not sure if any cameras go that low yet).

My biggest gripe is the time lag between hitting the button and the picture being taken. It's about 1/3 second, which makes it difficult to take action shots, or shots of unpredictable things (eg animals or young children). Again, I'd hope that issue has been addressed in later models, but I'd advise you to check (and test if possible) before buying.

Aside from those three points, I can't think of anything else bad to say about it. Sure, it's not as flexible as my old OM10 SLR with 28-75mm zoom and 70-210 zoom lenses, but the OM10 rarely gets taken anywhere due to it's weight and bulk, whereas the S30 fits in my pocket and is convenient.

BTW, if you're looking for somewhere to buy a camera, I'd heartily recommend www.bhphotovideo.com. They are a large outfit operating out of NYC, and carry just about anything photo/video related at good prices backed up with good service.
I hadn't hear of them until I bought a video camera last year - IIRC they were the second best price I found online, but had reasonable shipping costs and a good reputation (unlike the cheapest vendor). They dealt with my order very efficiently - I ordered at 6.30pm and it arrived in Boston at 3.30pm the next day.
It's worth getting they catalog anyway, purely for the technical information it provides. I just received their latest edition... ~450 pages worth.

I'll second the B&H Photo & Video recommendation. They're a great place. They generally have some of the best prices on the net, and you can be sure you won't get a grey market item or a bait-and-switch act.

They also have some great used items.