Well, my camera just broke and I suspect it will not be worth repairing and I'll end up buying a new one. I'm so mad, too, becasue I had to run out and buy a disposable one to get me thru the weekend, and I know I won't get a good picture of the the wedding cake I did!

     I had an Olympus Zoom infinity, and I was very pleased with the pictures and it was easy to use. Paid about $150 for it 5 years ago. I had just taken pictures of cakes the day before and it was fine, then I was in the middle of photographing a cake and the motor just jammed up. The film rewind worked, but nothing else. It wouldn't retract the lens, and the shutter and light wouldn't work.

     Any recommendations for a 35mm camera in the $150 range? Must have a zoom lens and a date stamp! I liked the old camera, but seems like it should last more than 5 years!

Kathyf
         Does it have a separate battery for the parts that jammed and the film rewind? Mine does? I love my Pentax but it was closer to $250.

Jennifer
       No, just one battery, and it's still good. The display still works, and shows the bettery is good, plus when the batteries are almost dead, it retracts the lens, closes the lens cap, and turns itself off.     This is definately a mechanical or electrical problem in the motorized parts.

MarieK
        I've got a Samsung 35 mm that I got at WalMart at about your price range. I've had it a couple of years and so far, so good. It takes good pictures without me having to know about settings etc. I hear the Pentax are good also. If I were to buy another camera, I think I would invest in a digital one.

FROM EARLIER:
Mish
     Digital Camera - BAM! out the door!
     Wed Sep 27 13:01:05 2000

     Ok, Mom felt terribly sorry for me :0 and is buying me a new digital camera!!! Wohooo!! So, Sony Mavica is the way to go? I just ordered a
     new computer and it has Window ME on it, will it run on the millenium series?
     Where did you folks purchase yours and at what price, if you don't mind me poking in your finances. :)

Jody
     I have a Minolta....
     Thu Sep 28 06:52:29 2000

     Mega Pixel EXpress which my husband just bought me for my birthday. I didn't do a comparison or find out options on different cameras, but this one takes some great pictures! I think he paid about $400 for it and it's an $800 camera.
     This is some of the information on it that I copied and pasted from the site he bought it at. Maybe someone can tell me if he got rooked or if this is a good camera or not! Like I said, it takes great pictures, but I haven't had time to read the entire manual and learn all about it's functions. He bought it off Egghead, if anyone's interested.

     2" LCD monitor
     The classic Dimage detachable lens system
     3.5 frames per second "Burst" capture
     Up to 7 frames in full resolution burst
     Includes: 8MB removable Compact Flash memory storage
     AC Adapter Included
     Video out for both NTSC and PAL
     Digital subject program selection
     Ultra compact design
     Auto flash, with fill, cancel & redeye reduction
     Expandable system

     Minolta’s Dimage EX 1500 Wide Digital Camera is a high-quality digital camera with a detachable lens and high-speed, 3.5 frame-per-second
     shooting capability. The 1.5 million pixel CCD and primary color filter provide beautiful image quality with realistic color fidelity. The Minolta
     Dimage EX 1500 Wide Digital Camera also features Minolta’s advanced autofocus and exposure systems, digital subject program selection, and automatic white balance, for ease of use with a wide variety of subjects.
     The new Minolta Dimage EX 1500 Wide Digital Camera sets new standards in digital imaging. Partnering with LSI Logic and its DCAM-101™
     image processor, and FlashPoint Technology with its Digita™ operating environment, Minolta created a digital camera that incorporates the most advanced technology available today. Among the many advances of the Minolta Dimage EX 1500 Wide Digital Camera are Minolta superior 300 lines per mm optics, Megapixel EXpress resolution of 1.5 million pixels, professional SLR-like camera capabilities, and unique features found only in Minolta digital cameras.

Lynn Wheatley
     Digital Cameras
     Wed Sep 27 21:01:49 2000
     Hi Mish,

     What I have learned about digital cameras is you want one with high resolution/pixels. The higher the pixels the better for taking detailed pictures like cakes. The one I have is ok for everything but detailed cake pictures. It just doesn't pick up fine details like my regular camera. So go with one that has the most pixels that you can afford. I am getting a new one just because of that. Hope this gives you an idea of what to look for. One more thing. Epson has a good quality camera. Go out to their web site and compare theirs with the Sony.

LAURASG

     I don't have any digital camera yet, but I brought the Mavica 83 for my dad newspaper, that's it's wonderful, very easy, you can take pict or a little video with them and just take off the diskette and put on you pc, so don't worry with cables or something like that, and my husband have the Mavica 73 on his work, and it's exactly same, just different on zoom I don't sure exactly, but think mavica 83 have 6x zoom and the 73 it's 10x zoom, this is all info I have.

Mish
     I just went to the Sony website and there are about 5 different Mavica's. Ranging 500-1000. I would assume the $1000 is the better of them, but which ones do you have and why do you like it?

Dolores
     You must ask before you finalize your purchase to me sure it will work with Windows ME. But I see no reason it shouldn't. That is just an
     upgrade as I understand that.
     I have a WONDERFUL Epson digital camera. Earlene got this exact one first. She loved it and recommended it to me so then I got it too. I have never been sorry. Earlene and I both take all our cake pictures with it. Any of her cakes done in the past year or more were photographed using this camera. Check hers out at www.earlenescakes.com I think the pictures are superb. I have printed some wonderful pictures after taking them with this camera. It isn't cheap but one thing...this very same model is still selling after over 2 years. It must be good. I can't say enough for it!

     EPSON PhotoPC 750Z $650.00
     Model G730A

     The photo printer I use is
     EPSON STYLUS 1200 (about $500.00)
     I use Kodak photo paper

     The best place I have found to look at any graphic hardware/printer/camera and the like is:
     Publishing Perfection
     1-800-827-7621
     Web site: www.publishingperfection.com

     You will be surprised when you call this company. I have actually bought expensive items after taking to their rep, using their recommendations.
     The reps who answer the phone can really advise you. I have nothing but raves for this company! I have dealt with them for more than 2 years  now. They carry everything graphics. Even some high-end printing hardware we will never use. They have a lot more expensive cameras than I got too...and printers. The rep even told me what NOT to buy LOL.
     I didn't see my camera listed in my latest catalog. But Earlene said recently that is was still on the market. May be on their website.

AN EARLEIR SUBJECT:

Mish
     Digital Camera, the one NOT to get
     Thu Sep 21 09:23:14 2000

     My momma, the wonderful woman that she is, God bless her, bought me a digital camera for my birthday. I picked out the Polaroid Max PDC
     1100, it was around 300 w/ a 50 rebate. Anyway, I've had nothing but trouble with the little thing. I couldn't get the software to load in my
     computer, then I tried it at work, we have Windows NT at work and it wasn't capatable, nor did Polaroid have any updated software for NT.
     Then it started eating up batteries like you wouldn't believe. It would take 1 or 2 pictures and then wear out the batteries. Then it wouldn't even
     take the batteries, as if there weren't any batteries in there at all. Just wouldn't turn on. Now I have to send it back to Polaroid to get it fixed, b/c
     when I put a fresh brand new set of batteries in it, it has an error message that it has low battery and shuts itself off. Any way it could be that I just
     have a bummer camera, but I definately wouldn't buy this one again.

Am
     They are really expensive! WOW! I like the ones that use the diskette you can put in and pull out. That seems very user friendly to me. Do you
     save your pictures as jpeg, mpeg or dsi files? Very green to this stuff! I'm trying to set up a web page any hints tips or advice?

Karen S.
     I highly recommend the Sony Mavica. I am SO DUMB when it comes to computer stuff, and I have no problems at all with our mavica. (see
     C.S.'s post below... she explains it a little more). THe pictures are saved as jpeg's (pretty sure). I don't know how much they cost... my husband
     won his from a web site building contest. Pretty lucky! I know they are pretty pricey though. I think it would be worth it though. It is so easy and
     takes great pictures.

KarenS
         I have a Ricoh that I spent a lot of money for and love it (professional model). I also have a SanDisk unit that is always attached to the computer
     that I put the card in to transfer the files to my computer. I also installed the driver for the other cable on my laptop. I had problems since it
     wouldn't install per the instructions, but finally got it installed and just leave the cable attached all of the time to the usb port.
     I found that I could only use recharable batteries since I could only take a few pictures before the regular batteries went dead. I also thought I had
     a bad camera, and called the company who was going to replace it, then I put the recharable batteries in and haven't had any problems since.

Erica
     I would highly suggest rechargeable batteries :)
     Digital cameras really eat up the batteries, especially if you have the little view finder on to see the pictures you took. We bought two sets of
     recharges and they have certainly paid for themselves and I don't feel guilty for spending so much money on batteries anymore (plus it helps the
     environment-less waste).

Dolores
     Rechargables came with my camera. I eventually bought 2 more sets. This way I always have a backup and one charging.
    Earlene and I also bought extra memory disks. Now I can take hundreds of pictures (such as at ICES) and no need to 'dump' them until I go home. It depends on which resolution you choose as to how many pictures each disk will hold. Also, depends on the amount each disk is DESIGNED to hold. I have one 8MB disk, (2) 30MB. Then I found out that this wasn't enough space for ICES pictures so I also got a 128MB disk.
   As Karen said, I also have Scandisk. But since I changed to Windows 98 there is NO way I can get that thing installed. I have read from their web site and tried every trick in the book. It simply will not work. But no matter unless you are using it in 2 places as I am (home & work). I can always attach the cable and put the pictures on my computer that way too. Once the software for the camera is installed there will be an icon on your task bar. Just click and it opens and shows you the pictures you have on the disk.

C.S.
     I love my Sony Mavica!
     Hubbie and I chose the Sony Mavica!! We spent BO-COO bucks on it, but I love being to pop out a disc, pop it into the computer and upload.
     No software to play with.
     Also, we can take a mini movie and email to Grandma's etc. So far it has been easy to use, and we are very pleased!!

Dolores
     The best!
     Earlene and I have the Epson PhotoPC750Z. We have had them 2 years almost and they are STILL sold. The software works great. I will say
     the batteries don't last real long. I bought 2 sets of rechargables so that is no problem at all. They'll last all day etc. anyway. Ours was about
     $650.00 The instructions are VERY easy. I have never had a minutes trouble with it. The resolution is great and pictures are good.

Monica
 Thu Oct 5 11:23:22 2000

     Just got mine, on my birthday, last month 25th.
     Canon EOS REbel 2000, husband purchased it thru Amazon, About $300-something.
     Auto focus 35 mm ,w/ zoom lense, no brainer kinda camera.
     Still trying to iron out some wrinkles, (certain settings,lighting,etc..)
     My professional photo lab people, where I develop my photos, recommended to me.

pattycakes
     canon 5100 printer for edible images
     Sun Oct 7 09:09:47 2001

     I have just recently figured out a problem I have been having with making the edible images and wanted to share it with you. I hope this has not
     been already discussed and I just missed it! I have had problems with the print heads ever since I bought mine, it seems after you use it a few
     times, then go back to it a while later, I would get lines running through my pictures. We tried cleaning the head, soaking it, thinking there was
     dried ink in there clogging it up, etc. Well, finally I found a guy at Kopykake that solved the problem for me. If you take the printhead out of the
     printer when you are not going to use it for a few days, and CLEAN IT WITH THE CLEANING KIT BEFORE PUTTING IT IN THE CASE,
     no more problems. We were just cleaning it before we used it and by that time it was too late, and there was already dried ink. Hope this helps if
     anyone else is having this problem, I have been doing this for a month, and it works great!

My cleaning kit came with my printer. It is from Kopykake, and it is called "printhead cleaning kit" part #KJCK1001 I'm sure if you want to, you can go to
     the Kopykake website and order one from them if Dolores doesn't carry them. Just make sure that you clean it BEFORE you put it away, and
     that seems to cure the problem!