Easy Shot

By Robert S. Anthony

Are you on a roll? Forget about your luck. The question is, When it comes to snapping pictures, do you still prefer roll-film cameras like the ones you grew up with? If so, you may be surprised to learn that you're far outnumbered by folks with digital cameras and that recent improvements have finally made them so simple that if you've been mulling a switch, you no longer have an excuse not to go ahead.

Kodak saw the light two years ago and began to exit the film-camera business. Maybe you should give the latest technology a look too, and discover the convenience of storing your pictures on a computer and sharing them with friends online. You can still make prints (it's easier than ever), and if you simply must process pictures at the drugstore, most stores now work with digital technology.

Digital cameras today have large preview screens. Gone are those hard-to-use tiny buttons and dials and those confusing icons. Replacing them are touch-control screens with plain-English menus. Even sophisticated digital cameras offer a "no brains" mode; the only things you need do are frame the shot and push the button. David Henderson, 62, of Alexandria, Va., remembers his early digital cameras. "They gave you a picture that looked like it was taken off a television set," he recalls. "Today's cameras are so good, they give anybody a chance to be a darn good photographer."

The $849 Samsung Digimax Pro815 is for serious shutterbugs. This 8-megapixel "prosumer" camera is just a notch below professional grade. It has a powerful zoom and big 3.5-in. preview screen.

A good midrange camera is Kodak's $399 EasyShare-One. It features a 3-in. flip-out, touch-sensitive preview screen. The camera has a wireless feature that makes it easy to send photos to a PC or printer. Another winner is Fujifilm's FinePix V10 ($349), which has comparable features, including a 3-in. screen and decent zoom lens. On the budget end, the $199 Norcent DC-520 provides a 2.5-in. screen, adequate zoom and picture quality comparable to midrange cameras.

How do you get your pictures out of your camera? Many drugstores have automated kiosks. Just insert the memory card and follow the instructions. In some cases, you can leave your memory card behind, and the store staff will print the pictures. And many of the labs where you used to mail your rolls of film now work with memory cards.

You can also make your own prints at home. Most of the color ink-jet printers do a fine job, though you'll get best results with photo-ink cartridges and photo paper. Some printers have built-in memory-card slots and their own preview screens, allowing you to print photos without a computer. The best names include Brother, Canon, Epson, HP and Lexmark.

Storing and sharing digital photos is easy through shutterfly.com snapfish com or photoworks.com But it makes little sense to go digital if your computer is from the Stone Age. If you're running Windows 98 or XP, or using a new Mac, you should do fine. Your old camera? That's another story--it's called eBay.