the way I am using a camera and photos, will more pixels really help. No, the way you are using your camera more pixels will be excess. However, the newer cameras have improved so much that you will get much much better pictures with the newer camareas even though you don't need more pixels. I would recommend you do not go below 2 megapixels in selecting a camera but since a 5 Mp is so cheap you might as well get the better camera which includes a better lens and more options all for a very reasonable cost. I have used the Canon coolpix 900 and I now have the Canon coolpix 5000 with 5.1 Mp. I wanted the features and the close focusing capability more than the extra megapixels. Also the 900 was a battery hog whereas I can shoot all day with two batteries using the 5000. I have read that the human eye sees up to 1024 x 1024 pixels which equals roughly 1 MP per sq inch but as soon as you expand that image to a 17" screen then you are at a point where if the image fills the screen you will see pixelation. You need to take into consideration not just how it looks at a 1:1 ration but how it will look at a 17:1 ratio. If you buy a camera and you are not happy with it then you will need to buy it again so a mistake is never a bargain. With digital cameras I feel you should buy the best one you can afford.

Hi ... using my wife's call sign. I am in the process of digitizing my slides and will eventually digitize a boat load of my father-in-law's (60+ years worth). I did some research and found that, as mentioned, scanners will do the job, but they're very slow. So, if you're digitizing a few rolls of slides, they'll work fine. But, it's probably takes too much time if we're talking about hundreds or thousands of slides. I have a DSLR, a Nikon D80, and some old slide copying equipment ... a Nikon PB-5 bellows and a Nikon PS-5 slide copier. I attached to this set up a Nikon 28-85mm zoom lens, set at 85mm. With this set up, I can take a digital image of a 35mm slide without cropping (see the picture in the link). You need to use a lens longer than 50mm to avoid the APS-C sensor cropping. My 85mm may not be ideal (a Nikon 105mm Micro/Macro is probably better), but it's what I have available. So, how's this work? Images are OK, not as sharp as the original slide but acceptable. Speed is outstanding. If you don't need to alter the exposure, it's a matter of popping in one slide, hit the trigger, pop in the next. I can digitize a 36-exposure roll in about 15 minutes. I also understand you can use a macro lens (attached directly to the camera body ... no bellows) along with a extension rings in front of the lens, attached to a slide copy holder. Here's a link: http://www.scantips.com/es-1.html Here is a link that might be useful: Digitizing 35 mm slides - Nikon D80

Most likely, the format of the card has been corrupted. The images may or may not be recoverable. If you are lucky, extremely lucky, the only problem may that the last file written to the card is open (not properly closed) and the 'end of file' marker is missing. Depending on what the person at the resort photo desk did, the card may be unaltered, or permanently messed up. Your best bet is to take the card out of the camera and insert into a card reader connected to your computer. If you can view some of the files, copy these to your hard drive or CD. [That's 'copy', not 'move'] Do not perform any operation that writes to the card including delete. This could compromise the format. Many camera makers use a properitery format not understood by conventional PC equipment. To insure the card does not get written to, set its slide switch to 'lock' or whatever verbage they use. With the switch moved to lock, the card can not be written to, only viewed or copied. Be sure to move the switch back before inserting into the camera. After you have copied as many images as you can, clean up the card by formating in the camera. Make several shots and view these in the camera. Erase these shots and repeat. If the card performs well, it is probably ok. However, if it is the least bit flaky or you are not secure with it, discard it and go with a new card. Memory cards have come down in price. Things that can corrupt a card: 1. Pull it out of the camera when it is busy. 2. Pull it out of the camera with the camera 'on'. Many cameras likely provide a safety feature and keep the card closed until needed, but we can not be sure how the operating system si written. To be safe, never insert or pull a memory card when the camera is on. 3. Do not touch the card contacts. Static charges can harm. Also, a fingerprint on a contact may interfere with it making an electrical circuit. 4. Never allow a 'write' operation to the card while in other equipment. Writing to the card may comprimize its format. You might get by with a 'delete', but we can not be sure about this. 5. Old card. These cards do go bad with age. Many of these cards have an internal "keep alive" battery, usually a lithium cell good for maybe 10 years. A tiny amount of charge is required for the memory junctions to retain their state. When the battery dies, the card does too. When you buy a card, look for its date of manufacture or warranty expiration date to get a clue of how old the card is.

CD storage is ok if burned to a quality CD. A few years ago, some inexpensive CDs had a problem with the reflective backing. Also, you must protect CDs from elevated temperature. Higher than normal room temperature may allow the media to relax and dull the data pits. Copying data to a new CD every 5 years is recomended practice. Archival quality CDs should be used if you can find ones with this identification. Your instructor recommended flash drives (AKA thumb drives). I disagree. Flash drives are only a little better than CDs. Flash drives may have evloved since they were first introduced, but I have not heard anything to the contrary. Before I retired, I watched their development in trade magazines and this is my information (15 years old). Flash drives have a "keep alive" battery inside. A voltage source is required to maintain the states of the storage junctions. The current draw is very little, but the data will dissappear if the voltage fails. A lithium-ion battery technology was chosen because it was one type that can hold a charge for a long time. Typical life is 10 years. After that, the thunb drive may become unreliable. Recommended practice: Copy data to a new flash drive every 7 years and toss the old drive (after it has been cleaned of data or destroyed). When buying a flash drive, make sure it is a new one and not one that has been sitting on the shelf for several years. Keep in mind that the life of the unit depends on the life of the internal battery. The jucntions of flash drives do wear out. A junction is good for about 10,000 rewrites and then it may fail. To address this problem, there is an algorithm built in that causes data writes to move around the chip such that all of the storage area gets used equally. Therefore, your archived data should be put on flash drives that are not used very much. Flash drives used as a hard drive experienceing thousands of writes/rewrites will eventually fail. The smaller the capacity, the sooner it will fail. Very large capacity drives will last longer since each junction gets written less often. Do not store your data on a flash drive that is used for games. Thousands of rewrites can occur over the life of a game. Static charges imparted to the electrodes of a flash drive can destroy it, or at minimum, corrupt the data.