Originally posted by banana
Guys, I'm really ignorant about digital cameras. Do you save them off to your computer using a USB cable? Yes with most of the good digital cameras. Imagine taking a family photo and 5-10 mins later actually holding the photo in your hand. With most of the better digital cameras and most of the decent photo printers, you'll have a print good enough for framing.
You'll never go back to film again.
Do they come with software to organize your pics? As Dinger said.
You'll want to purchase a separate dedicated, full program.
I would recommend any of the following for starting out:
Microsoft's Digital Image Pro is one of the easiest programs to use. Lowest learning curve. Only real drawback is no panoramic stitching.
Adobe Photoshop Elements is a really good program and very reasonable.
Jasc Paint Shop Photo Album is good also. Nice if you want to correct a lot of images at once. It's panoramic stitching isn't as good as Adobe's though.
There are other good programs out there but I don't have experience with them.
For advanced/professional work:
Adobe's Photoshop. The standard. Steep learning curve though because of all the features. Too expensive for most at $400. - 600. (I don't have/use this program as it's too expensive)
Good alternative is Jasc's Paintshop Pro 8.0. Around $95. - 109. Steep learning curve as well. Best deal for the money. It'll fix barrel distortions, pincussion distortions, perspective angles, man too many to list. Has a useful background eraser. Unlimited tech support.
How much RAM is enough to get quality pics? The more, the merrier. Depends on the file sizes and quantities of images involved. Ideally, 512MB and up RAM as well as a video card w/ 64MB and up.
Also FreeMemoryPro is very helpful. Think I paid 19.95 for its license.
What type of shots are you interested in taking? How many shots at a time?
What is your total budget for the camera and accessories?
No matter what you decide on, a good tripod is a necessity.