Is it better to buy disposable cameras here in the US and cart them overseas, or buy them at Boot's in London? Are the Boot's chemists similar to , say, a Rite Aid in the US? I just love the chocolate over there. First thing Ill do is head for one of those little grocery/general stores and stock up on Cadbury! I suppose the grocery stores are comparable to ours here? Not like Walmart, but, say, do they HAVE Walmarts there? I know they have tons of Starbuck's on every corner, but I never saw Walmart. I hear their is a new hurricane brewing in the Gulf of Mexico!! More of what I want to get out of the US fast for!!!!!

hersey . . . I would advise you not to take or use disposable cameras on your trip. The picture quality is only mediocre at best. For only a little more than what a number of disposables will cost you, you could buy a decent digital and have much better pictures. And you won't have to tote a ton of cameras around.

Hershey, RaroGirl is correct, now that you have conquered the computer a digital camera will allow you to have complete control of your photo's. You can delete the ones you don't like each day allowing you more room on your memory card and when you get home you can download these onto your computer and print out the photo's you want, you can also email any photo's to your friends.

I agree with the previous posters - get a digital camera. They are available for little more than you'd spend on a few disposibles.

No, we don't have Walmart stores in the UK. Walmart do, however, own Asda, one of our largest supermarket chains.

Regards,

Chris

Hersey...
I have to disagree with the previous posters regarding the "Throw-away Cameras". My brother was trying to convince me to buy a very expensive camera one year, which I didn't do, and I purchased the "Throw-away Cameras". The pictures came out beautifully. My brother was very surprise to see the quality of the pictures. I have purchased these cameras at CVS (their brand)and have had them developed there as well. Depending upon when you're going to London, there have been times when CVS has had specials on their film where, if you buy one, you get one free. The only time I purchased one of the Cameras was when I was in Northern Italy and I had to purchase two more as I didn't figure out the right amount of cameras to buy before the trip started. But, it all depends upon your taste as far as quality of the pictures you want to have after the trip.

hersey...
One thing I forgot to mention about the cameras is that if you take 2 or 3 trips per year, the more expensive camera would be the way to go. But, if you're only going to take 1 big trip per year or every two years, the "Throw-away" cameras would be your best bet. Since I only take one big trip per year, I only purchase the "Throw-away" Camera as I cannot see putting good money into an expensive camera unless I'm really going to use the camera on a regular basis. That's the major reason why I purchase these cameras. Also, I will take a two to a 4 night trip somewhere with my Travel Club that doesn't involve an airplane - more of a bus tour.

I've seen Walmarts in Germany; a couple of years ago my wife and I (while on a TT tour) stopped in Heidelberg and got a chance to see one of her college roommates (the german girl was studying English in the US). She had actually worked for Walmart when she was younger. What struck me as wierd was that they call "Pet" department the "Zoo"!

I heard somewhere awhile back that Walmart is coming to the UK!

Is that good or bad? What do they sell?

Regards,

Chris

Marie,

I must, with the greatest respect, disagree with you.

I think the decision as to whether or not to buy a "real" camera should be made not on the basis of how many trips you do, or plan to do, but on the basis of how important it is to have good pictures.

Disposible cameras can take nice pictures of, say, landscapes, but optically they aren't great (a simple plastic lens) and obviously they have no zoom or wide angle capability. If you want to do anything more than print 6x4 prints, I firmly believe that a decent camera is far better. I was forced to buy a couple of disposible cameras following the theft of my camera in Rome a couple of years ago, and the pictures weren't even in the same league as those I got from my Minolta.

Besides which, who says that a camera is only of use on a coach tour? Don't you ever take pictures in your everyday life? Families? Days out? Parties? That kind of stuff?

I'd say get a real camera and forget the throw-aways.

Best wishes,

Chris

Chris Marriott...
The only time I use a Camera is when I go on a trip. My brother and his son take alot of family pictures for the holidays, etc. and they send me a few snapshots of pictures I've requested after I see what they have taken. The throw-away camera's are just fine for me as I'm not into camera's. My nephew uses his digital camera alot and he'll send a few via the internet to me.

Chris Marriott- Do a Google search for Walmart. That is another highly debated question. As far as disposable cameras- I have taken numerous pictures with them. People are amazed that such a HIGH QUALITY picture resulted. Where and by whom the photos are developed can play a MAJOR role. As far as family functions etal.- more than enough shutterbugs in my family. My brother is a semi professional photographer.Digital cameras are WAY too much of a bother for me. I NOW have a more than adequate still photo camera that suits me just fine. Taking a new camera of any kind on a tour is not worth the aggravation and possibilty of missing out on photos solely due to newness of camera and its features- IMHO.

Hi Liz,

I totally agree that you should be familiar with a camera before going on a trip with it. There are many low-cost "point and shoot" digital cameras these days which are literally that - virtually impossible to go wrong with them.

As I said, I was basing my experience of throw-away cameras on my own experiences, which weren't too good. Perhaps there are better ones. I think the ones I bought were Kodak ones.

Cheers,

Chris

I agree, Chris, that the disposable cameras produce inferior pictures, though some are what I would call "adequate." You certainly wouldn't want to enlarge them. I have bought a few waterproof throw away cameras for rafting trips--they are perfect for something like that as I wouldn't want to risk my expensive camera by taking it on a river. But I thought the pictures could have been better.

As for Walmart coming to the UK--well, some people love Walmart and some people hate it. Myself, I like Walmart and if it comes to the UK, then my money will stretch a little further, which is a good thing by me!

I am the shutterbug in my family; I've always loved to take photos no matter the occasion. I have used disposable cameras,and gotten some good pictures with them (esp. the 'panoramic' type), but it can be hit or miss.

Hershey, you could buy a point-and-shoot SLR (with film) or digital; there are some fairly simple ones that take good pix, and don't require several college degrees to use. I am sure Walmart sells cameras?!? (Don't actually know this for sure). But I wouldn't want to have all my holiday photos on disposables, which might/might not come out, and I wouldn't want to buy them in London (or wherever); that would be just one more 'chore' type thing to do when the time could better be spent sightseeing!

Hershey, you could go to a camera store, or Walmart or wherever, and tell them what you want: a simple camera for your holiday photos, not too many bells and whistles. If you feel comfortable with it get a digital, if not, get the 'old fashioned' kind. You could probably get one for $100 (US) or less, or certainly for under $150. Take it home and take some photos around your house to get a feel for it. If it's a film kind, then get your film before you leave. Places like Walmart often sell packs of 4-5 at a discounted rate. Again, you don't want to be trawling around London looking for film when you could actually be using it to take pictures!

If you decide to go digital, check one of the other threads (I think it's 'internet cafes') for how people have managed memory cards/sticks whatever and how many pictures they can store. You could also ask the person at the camera store about this--explain where you are goingn, what you want to do, and hopefully they can advice you on what to buy.

Cheers
Frizzy Lizzy