My daughter is leaving for a “trip of a lifetime”, touring 4 European countries in two weeks. It’s two girls, mid twenties, flying into one country and out of the last, and packing very light as they will be carrying everything as they travel. They’ll be going to Paris, Venice, Florence, Madrid, to name a few.

I want her to take a digital camera and down load photos while on the trip – so here’s the big question – are there cyber café’s throughout these main cities where they can go and have assistance downloading their photos onto a CD? (And even E-Mail Mom and Dad a couple of times a week?) She doesn’t think she and her friend have the technical ability to do the downloading in new settings with different equipment and foreign languages. (I guess what I want for her is a Michael Gaynor and Chat N Browse in the cities they visit!) She’s dead set on a film camera so if the camera is lost or stolen, she’ll still have her film to develop. We don’t agree!

Has anyone had similar experiences with advice to offer?

Well, she is just taking holiday snaps, so she doesn't need huge file sizes. I would say either get her a camera with a cheap media like smartmedia, and just get a few cards for the trip. That should get her hundreds of snapshots.Depending on how many security points she has to pass, she would have to protect her rolled films anyway.
Another option would be an ipod; she could load the photos on the ipod herself with a transfer device, and also have tunes for the trip. It's going to be more trouble than it's worth on a whirlwind tour to seek out cyber cafes - that's not what the trip is about.
Good Luck.

PS there a lot to be said for a few judicious purchases of slides that you could never take yourself. Some of that stuff at the vatican, for example, was pretty cheap as I recall when compared to buying and processing film.

If they happen to go to The Netherlands, they can stay with us.
Ofcourse they can burn their CD with us.

I used google:
I searched for: cybercafe paris burn CD
and got amongst others in Paris:
http://www.atkielski.com/inlink.php?/main/ParisFAQ.html

You can try the same with other cities

A few thoughts --

First, get whatever camera they will use far in enough in advance so they can play with it. While I could go on about the great digital vs. film debate, I think it is as much personal preference than anything else. I also agree with Seb, trying to get pictures onto CDs as you hop around europe, while it can be done, seems like a big hassle.

If you go digital: Buy extra media. CompactFlash is pretty cheap right now (I think I got a 512mb card for about $40 a few months ago). Buy an extra battery (or get a camera that can use regular AAs) -- they run out at the worst times! Be sure you have power adapter(s) for any battery charger. A good digital camera review website is dpreview.com.

If you need lots more storage -- there are options. An ipod + a media reader (what I use). Cheaper (and perhaps better) are dedicated storage devices -- one spins the stuff to a CD while the other spins the stuff to a dedicated hard drive. Of course, if you lose the hard drive or...

If you go film: Film can be purchased everywhere but some camera batteries cannot. Carry a spare at all times. Carry more film with you at any one time that you think you might need. Remember that film and processing can be significant expenses -- and that you need to guard your film from certain conditions (like repeated x-rays, especially the kind that hit checked luggage).

Comparing the two: Digital allows you to confirm a shot (so you know everything is just right) while film does not (and most viewfinders on film camera are probably 80%ish accurate).

Film cameras are cheaper although film and developing add to the long terms costs. Film has superior resolution capacities (unless we are talking about upper end digital SLRs, then that is the subject to debate) but most digitals do fine for 4x6s (and larger depending on the camera). If you need a camera battery and/or replacement media, film is still easier to find than compact flash and AAs are still easier to find than a dedicated battery.



In the end, I suspect they would be happy with either choice. Most of all, I hope they enjoy it (camera AND trip)!