Can you recommend a good digital camera with printer dock?

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witchymand

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My partner wants to buy me a digital camera, but I would like to get one that I can print out photos instantly with a printer dock. What one would you recommend, also do those printer only print a certain size photo e.g 6"x4", also is the photo paper easy to get?
Thanks a million.
 
witchymand said:
My partner wants to buy me a digital camera, but I would like to get one that I can print out photos instantly with a printer dock. What one would you recommend, also do those printer only print a certain size photo e.g 6"x4", also is the photo paper easy to get?
Thanks a million.
Click to expand...
The printing is separate from the camera. There are two ways to print on those small photo printers:
  1. You take pictures on a memory card within your camera, than take the card out and insert it into the printer. You then typically scroll through the pictures on a small display on the printer or else print all photos on the card (works best for small cards or when there are not many pictures taken).
  2. You use a USB cable called a PictBridge cable to connect the camera to the printer. In this case, you can scroll and select a picture on the camera's display and choose Print from the camera's menu.
For the former, you need to pay attention to the type of memory card. I personally recommend MMC or SD cards as an inexpensive and common format. Sony cameras will tend to come with a proprietary and more expensive format called Memory Stick. However, many people swear by Sony cameras so this might not put you off. I would personally stear clear of the xD card format as it is only used by a few manufacturers. Compact Flash is obsolete - don't buy one of these.

Most modern digital cameras come with PictBridge support.

Apart from all this, you want a camera with at least 3.2 and preferably 4 or 5 megapixels (the more the megapixels, the bigger prints you can make), a decent optical zoom (not digital zoom) e.g. 3 x optical. After that, it's subjective; you will pay more for compact designs, big screen, top brands (Canon, Nikkon, Sony, etc.). 7 or 8 megapixels will cost more and may not be relevant unless you plan to print on big A4 paper (which won't be supported by your little photo printer anyway).

You can't go wrong with any of the above brands - pick a price-point and see what features you can get for this money.
 
I hate to state the obvious, after such a thoughtful/detailed reply, but have you done a quick already? Lots of good advice there...

If you really must have a compact, PC-free, quick-and-convenient printout solution, then the Kodak Easyshare range seem to have something of an edge in that market. But I think you might regret it in a year or so — those mini-printer docks usually only take (expensive) proprietory ink cartridges, and the ongoing cost of replacing those can mount up very rapidly...! :eek: Whereas — since you obviously have an internet-connected PC at your disposal — you can have 'proper' 6" x 4" prints run off at about €0.09 a pop on the likes of www.foto.com and/or www.photobox.ie — or simply drop in your memory card to the local Boots, etc. And, tbh, they'll look a lot better and last longer than any inkjet DIY print, too...

I occasionally print off hard copies on my own printer — if I want/need it 'in my hand'/'right NOW!' — but I'd always prefer the solution I've described above, if it's not absolutely urgent. You could better spend the money buying a decent camera (+ loads of memory!). Check out www.dpreview.com for lots of good advice — or even your local , for a current offer on an 8.1Mp camera bundle with a no-quibble 'bring-it-back' guarantee...
 
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