Make sure the camera you buy can take Ni-MH rechargable batteries. These batteries have about 5-8 times the life of Alkaline or Ni-CAD batteries, and they do not have a memory, which means you can recharge them each night even if they are only half flat. My Canon camera takes 4 AA batteries and using the Ni-MH ones, they would last 2-3 days before they needed charging. I carried two sets with me all the time in case they did go flat. Of cause, the more photos you take, the faster they discharge.

chris, thanks for the info.

i just bought the f828 sony camera. one of the main reasons why i bought it was for the memory stick. i have a sony laptop which i can just transfer the memory stick to the computer.

question: is any one familiar with the infolitium battery? there is no info in the instruction book. should i let power run out of the battery to recharge?

the camera is awsome, it takes great pic's.

joey

Lithium Ion batteries, such as the one in your camera, can safely be "topped up". No need to discharge the battery before recharging.

Regards,

Chris

OK, I am back from traveling.

Chris has done a great job on this thread.

Bond 007: Are you sure that that particular dealer sold Sony at all? Many dealers say many things to folks to sell what they have in stock and to keep the prospect from from going to another store.

RaroGirl: I agree with Chris that cds are very safe mode of storage. DVDs hold a lot more so as the prices come down for DVD burners, you might want to consider that storage option.
Go ahead and get that new drive: drive prices have gotten so cheap you really can't afford not to. One thing: as you fill up that drive, you may want to get software for tracking and organizing your images: something like ACDSee.

Chris: Sony added CF to the 828 because the new High-Speed CF cards record faster than anything that Sony has in a memory stick. Sony designed the camera for the prosumer market, not the point and shoot market. I believe they have added RAW format to file layout for this reason.

joeycerra: the Sony Infolithium batteries can be charged at any level, they don't have to be run dry. The neat thing about these batteries is the installed chip that tells the camera how much time is left on the charge.

Finally, I have always believed that you should buy a camera that meets your needs as to use and as to features. You don't need a digital SLR to take snapshots or a 10X zoom. You want something compact and easy to use. More advanced photographers want more features. I bought my Sony based on the Carl Zeis lens.

Glenn
www.pbase.com/gsrunyan

Your pictures are wonderful, was Las Vegas where you just travelled to? (or from?)

Shannon

Glenn, your pictures are great, as always. Wish I could take photography lessons from you!

Glenn,

The comment about Sony's memory sticks was made by several friends (including my sister who wanted us to be combatible) - as well as one saleperson - although I brought up the issue first. He DID sell Sony, but told us a lot of people found Sony's approach off-putting.

Anyway, we're really happy with our new machine, and counting down the days until we fly out (15).

007

Shannon, Rarogirl:

We were in the Rocky Mountains all last week. I hope to post some images from there next week-first time I ever had the problem of scattered ultraviolet messing with the images (altitude does make a difference).

Got a pretty golden sunset in Denver.

Thanks for the kind comments.

Glenn
www.pbase.com/gsrunyan