Until we get the negatives, slides and prints out of storage and scan them all the pictures on the web site that we took were with a digital camera. One exception is we have been known to buy disposable underwater cameras for snorkeling pictures.
Up into June 2004 all the pictures were taken with a Canon Powershot G1, here is an old review. It is a 3MP (mega pixel) camera with a 3X zoom. It takes 320x200 movies and saves in AVI format, but Bill normally changes these to WMV to upload since they are smaller files. This camera now lives in the car so if we forget the new camera, we have it ready. Every once in a while we recharge the batteries. Diane sometimes uses this camera while Bill is using the new camera. Bill takes 99% of the pictures, but Diane is fully capable of taking pictures when she wants to.
In June 2004 we bought a Nikon Coolpix 8700 and here is a review. This is an 8MP camera with an 8X zoom (35mm to 280mm) and we have add-on lenses that make it go down to 23mm and 560mm, but the optics on the add-on lenses are not as good as the main lens. It takes 640x480 movies and saves in MOV format (Quicktime). 8MP is really nice, 8X is really nice, this camera handles most things we want and allows us to crop small sections for the web site. We need really good light for the 8X to be useful because the camera sensor is small and needs the light and because the camera does not have anti-shake and we rarely lug a tripod with us.
During our trip to Alaska in 2006 and other times when we have dealt with wildlife the two cameras were very frustrating to use. Both take a while to start up or wake up when they go into power saving mode. They also take a while to take a second shot. Wildlife doesn't stay still so the delays were irritating. For Christmas 2006 Diane bought Bill a new Canon A710 IS since it is small and very fast. It is a 7.1MP with a 6X zoom (35mm to 210mm) but also has anti-shake. Here is a review. This camera gave Diane's family something to buy for Bill for Christmas since it needed rechargeable AA batteries, SD memory cards, and a new camera bag. The camera is not as capable as the Nikon 8700 since it is a cheaper and smaller camera, but it is close in specs and very fast. The only time it is slow is when using the flash, it takes a while to charge the flash and a long time to recharge. Anti-shake is really nice. For wildlife this should be the camera used, that is why we have it.
The newest Camera is a Canon SX10 IS. Here is a review from dcresource.com. Group review of super zoom cameras on dpreview.com that includes the SX10 IS. This camera was a Christmas present for 2008. This camera can do about everything the other cameras can do and more. It has image stabilization like the A710 IS, it has more zoom range (28mm to 560mm) than the 8700, it is a 10MP camera which is better than than 8700, and it has about every mode and scene mode the other cameras have.
The Nikon 8700 now stays in the car as a spare camera. The Canon G1 might not be used again. The Canon A710 IS is small and handy and does great videos so it still finds use even with the SX10 IS now being the main camera.
Bill's computer can directly read/write to SD (and SDHC) memory cards so he uses it to download the photos and videos from the Canon A710 IS and SX10 IS. He uses a Compact Flash reader to download the photos and videos from the Canon Powershot G1 and Nikon Coolpix 8700. He does not connect the cameras directly to the computers.
On the website the videos are mostly Windows Movie Viewer (WMV) files since they take up much less room than the AVI files the Canon G1 and A710 IS take and the MOV files the Nikon and Canon SX10 IS takes. We convert the MOV to AVI using Adobe Premiere Elements 1.0 even though it makes them 720x480 when done. The AVI files, either directly from the older Canon cameras or converted from MOV, are converted to WMV files using Microsoft Movie Maker, a free program that comes with Windows XP. How much smaller are the WMV files? A recent 640x480 AVI from the Canon A710 IS was 9.21MB and the WMV version was 599KB, about 1/15th as large. A recent 8700 MOV video went from 16.5MB to 3.33MB, about 1/5th as large.
Now a few photos are taken with an HTC Thunderbolt phone or our Acer Iconia A500 tablet. Videos from these are saved in 3GP format and converting them does not make them smaller.
When we get to the slides and negatives there will be pictures taken with two different Minolta 35mm SLRs and a Fuji APS point-n-shoot.
Sample Photos from all four cameras.
Sample photos to compare the Canon SX10 IS to the HTC Thunderbolt phone's camera and the Acer Iconia A500 tablet's camera.