Unbiased digital camera reviews, advice, and prices
Note: this camera was first sold in Jan 2006. There may be newer versions available.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ3
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ3
C
HQ Grade: C
A is outstanding and exceptional, rated in the top 10% of digital cameras.
B means they are good, with some standout features.
C means they are mediocre, and probably more trouble than they are worth.
D & F mean they are absolutely awful or old. Avoid at all costs.
  • 5 out of 5
"Awsome"
  • 4 out of 5
"thanks for the reviews"
See rating based on 149 user reviews
Submit your own Panasonic LZ3 review!
This camera is ranked
Ask

Have a question about the LZ3?
Enter it here: (You can enter more details in the next step)

Back to List
Question Answered!
S. Mattox 37 pts
October 29, 2006 3:51 PM
36 people rated this question helpful, 12 people rated this question not helpful Subscribe for Email Updates for this Question

Is a TRAVELER DC-8600 digital a good camera?

Never heard of the brand before but is advertised for $199.99 and it is an 8.1MP camera and kit. I am a novice and just looking for something inexpensive and easy to work...plus for selling on E-Bay. Thanks
Report Abuse Did you find this question helpful or not helpful?
Answers This question has been answered!
Brenda P (BrendaP) 28727 pts
October 29, 2006 8:35 PM
5 people rated this answer helpful, 27 people rated this answer not helpful
 
I'm far from being a camera snob, and I hate to say it but there's a reason there are "big names" in the digital camera world, and you get what you pay for. 8 megapixels for this price pretty much tells you what you'll be getting.

The thing is, people fall for megapixel-cramming all the time. The truth is that megapixels are amazingly cheap and easy to add to a camera, and with a high megapixel count someone out there will buy it. But chances are really, really good that the rest of the camera is junk.

I'm speaking from experience... I knew someone once who bought an off-brand digital and the thing ate up four packs of batteries in one day, then died for good. I'd buy a 4 megapixel Canon for around the same price if I were you. Trust me, it will be much better.

Here's a debate on this exact issue... sort of interesting. Even the same camera you mentioned.

If you need help choosing a camera, let me know. I can point you in a good direction depending on what kind of features you're looking for. And in the meantime, I suggest the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ3. Amazing camera for really cheap.
Best Answer
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Mark 134 pts
November 5, 2006 2:55 PM
136 people rated this answer helpful, 10 people rated this answer not helpful
 
I was not sure if Traveler DC 8600 was a good value or not, since I owned only top names in DC before. I must tell you I am impressed, really. What a great camera for the price. For people who have never owned one saying they are not good, they are WRONG. I am now trying to buy several for Christmas presants. Do not hestitate if your looking for a 8.1 with 6X optical. I am always unsure about Aldi electronics, but will not hesitate anymore.
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
M.Bonifas 14 pts
November 8, 2006 3:21 PM
9 people rated this answer helpful, 8 people rated this answer not helpful
 
I have a Traveler DC6000 6 megapixel. It's an off brand here in the US but popular in Europe. The camera works great. I've had it almost 3 years. The batteries that came with the camera last about 18 months and then need to be replaced. Got them for $10 on line.
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
M.Bonifas 14 pts
November 8, 2006 3:23 PM
11 people rated this answer helpful, 4 people rated this answer not helpful
 
Bought mine at Aldi's also. Since Aldi's is a German company, many of their electronics are European and considered "off brands" here in the US.
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Esther 12 pts
November 10, 2006 9:49 AM
15 people rated this answer helpful, 8 people rated this answer not helpful
 
My mother recently retired and bought herself this exact camera. She had no idea how to use it, so I took it with me for about a week and took a couple hundred photos. The good points are: antishake feature, video with sound, the HUGE preview screen, and I personally liked the different 'filters' you could use when taking the photo-the usual mono and sepia along with red, blue, green, yellow and purple. I got some really pretty shots with those. I know you can add the color later, but who does with snapshots? It made it more fun to use. Two other features I liked were the macro and super macro settings, you could take a good shot of something that was practically against the lens. Got some good 'bug and flower' shots with that. The other feature I liked playing with was the panoramic mode, where it guides you to line up a series of photos to join together.

With the various color settings, light settings and a fairly decent optical zoom, it is a good camera and VERY easy to learn to operate. I sat down with her last night and in twenty minutes, she could use the settings, upload the pictures and do all the other stuff like delete pictures from the camera that were no good and use the self-timer. It is a good 'first' camera for her situation.
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Tom 148 pts
November 21, 2006 2:27 AM
144 people rated this answer helpful, 3 people rated this answer not helpful
 
I recently did a lot of research on this camera before I purchased one at Aldi. You can download the manual for this camera at http://www.traveler-service.com/front_content.php?idcat=101 and it will explain everything. Also, in my research I discovered that this camera very well may be "rebadged" from the Vivitar 8600. You can google that information. Now that I have read in a review above that Aldi is a German company it all makes sence. The camera has a 3 year warranty. Any company that sticks their neck out that far with a product must be confident that it is quality.
The company support phone number is 1-800-270-5071. I called with two questions. Is the lens plastic or glass? Which battery should I use? The lens is glass and probably a vivitar lens. The batteries they recommend is either Panasonic, SanDisk or Fuji. It is a 1050mAh 3.7v DC rechargable battery. I could write more but I think you have the idea. This a great little camera at a very good price. The camera is still in the box. I am taking my time reading the 91 page manual that comes with the camera.
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Steve 5 pts
November 24, 2006 8:53 AM
8 people rated this answer helpful, 10 people rated this answer not helpful
 
I bought the Aldi Slimline X5, 5.2 Megapixel camera two years ago. I liked it so much, that I went back and bought 3 more, that is a camera for everyone in my family. I think I recall that I paid $149 for it, and to be honest it has been the best dang digital camera I have owned. The thing is small, and powerful, but still hampered by the 200 ASA hi end range, so low light situations are a problem. Over all I would rate the camera at a 9.5 for enjoyement and quality.
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Tom 148 pts
November 24, 2006 3:01 PM
10 people rated this answer helpful, 7 people rated this answer not helpful
 
In the last week I have used the camera. I am not a pro photographer but I work with photographs all the time in Adobe Photoshop. The sample shots I worked with were taken at 1600 x 1200 using the flash. If printed the size would be about 12 x 9! It brings "Brenda P's question of the quanity of megapixals. But, in talking to friends about this topic I found that this gives plentyful room for cropping. Also, in your prefered software you can adjust down in pixel size, going in the other direction is nasty. Give me the power Maw, I know where the brake is located! Be aware of people that report "not" to be snobs but toss their but-ts around. The manual states that a 1gb SD card will hold, at the highest quality (fine), 902 images. Holy Cow, for me that's a lifetime of photo journalism. All of the selections on the camera made me a little concerned. Could I figure out all these options? I found it very easy and well laid out. As a novice I was very impressed with customer service. They are right at the touch of the dial. In my three converstations I found them great. I'll give Steve his 9.5 rating. Very few times in my life have I purchased something that I can rate at 9.5. Hampered by the 200 ASA setting is something I probably won't get to too soon but I will be aware of his thoughts if I am challenged by this lighting situation. I appreciate the point made. It's a slam dunk on my end and I too would purchase this camera for family and friends. I give the camera a 9.5 as well. Heck, I'm a handsome guy but my feet are too big. So, there you go. Exactly, I have found enjoyment and quality in working with the Traveler DC 8600 camera. Isn't life all about enjoyment and quailty and not how many megapixels you have in the bank?
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Angie 1 pts
February 10, 2007 9:32 PM
1 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
I just bought a traveler camera from aldi's and never thought I would like anything better than a kodak or cannon but I love the camera it is easy to use and has some cool features on it. Would tell anyone t buy one and try it. This is a traveler dc 8600 and better yet it was on sale at aldi's an after christmas special.
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Tom 148 pts
February 11, 2007 3:07 PM
5 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
Great Angie,

I noticed on the packaging box that the camera accepts a 2gb SD card. In the manual it states 1gb. I called the customer service and I was told that the manual was published too late to change the information. The DC 8600 does accept a 2gb SD card as the box states. It's great that you received a discount. That was my intention but the Aldi store near me solded out the 7 they had for the Christmas season. The person at customer service I spoke with recommends a Sandisk, Toshiba or Panasonic brand you are going to use a 2gb SD card. Once again, I think the 3 year warrenty speaks for the quality of the camera and the company that makes the item.
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Chris 2 pts
February 24, 2007 10:05 PM
2 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
I, too, bought this camera and love it! I did have a problem with mine and called them. I explained the problem and they immediately told me to send it in. I sent it out and got my new camera within 2 weeks of calling them. They really stood behind their guarantee, too!
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
newby 1 pts
April 12, 2007 4:21 PM
1 people rated this answer helpful, 2 people rated this answer not helpful
 
Ricoh has some nice big-zoom camera's with stabilizer and wide-angle lens for around the same price.
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Rosemary Kelleher 8 pts
April 14, 2007 10:32 AM
5 people rated this answer helpful, 1 people rated this answer not helpful
 
Hello - I too own the Traveler DC8600 bought from Aldi 2006.
It is a great camera, 2.8 LCD screen and best of all Macro & Super Macro facility. I won't consider buying a camera unless it has a Macro feature as I take a lot of close-up flower shots. I have had great results with this 8.1 MP. No problems at all with the camera itself - however I have 1 extra lithium battery that we got from Aldi plus the 2 that came with it but 2 of the 3 after having charged them ok ( I thought) aren't working. I have just put the 3rd previously working one on charge but don't know if it will take the charge, so whether the charger is faulty or not I'm not sure until it comes off charge. I am searching the web for a spare replacement rechargeable lithium-ion battery but can't find the correct one - does anyone out there know where/who I can buy one from please ? If & when Aldi's have them in stock they are about 50 euro here in Ireland, I am trying to find a cheaper one.
(Located one - See below)
I would not swop this DC8600 camera - only to update to more MP's if they do one in future. Also - does anyone out there know how to get the video-clips onto the computer please ? I am not very technical.
I highly recommend this camera, it's great !
Some news which may be helpful to others out there - After a frustrating, fruitless search on the web for batteries and getting no-where I have found out today (17th April) that my batteries have not died completely. The battery charger is faulty. My husband obtained a different Tel. No. for Traveler support from Aldi's here in Cork, Ireland. I rang the support No. and was told to charge the battery IN the camera using the charger lead (AC Power adapter - Page 24 in Manual). I didn't know the battery could be charged in the camera. Page 24 says the LED light flashes green when charging and lights green (steady) when it's completed.
So hey-presto - my battery IS flashing so it's not dead after all. The support line lady was very helpful and said if I tried this way first it would prove if the charger was faulty or not. It is the charger and she said to phone them again if it was not working and they would send me a replacement. So for anyone who needs another support No. to ring it is (00) 800 78772368.
I am delighted that it's the charger and not the bats as now it is on charge ok it will be ready before some tree paeony buds open so I will be in business again as usual getting close-up and personal with some flowers.
So don't throw away your batteries until you have tried charging them IN the camera first before you give up. Hope this was helpful.
Bit more news - Yesterday evening I rang the 1800 2705071 support line and was advised that the Acer Model No. CR-8530 is the correct battery for the DC8600 from www.star-battery.com @ $14.98 but it was 1100mAh not 1050mAh so not sure if this one will do.
Guy in a camera shop today said it wouldn't make much difference the extra bit of power.
Evening 17th - Just taken it off charge via the AC Power adapter with bat IN camera and it works !
Sorry this info is rather long but want to share what I have learned in last few days.
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
juan argentina 0 pts
April 20, 2007 1:42 PM
0 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
la camara es muy buena y la consegui a tan solo 60 dolares
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Rosemary Kelleher 8 pts
April 20, 2007 6:12 PM
0 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
To Juan - Argentina - Sorry I don't speak Spanish so don't know exactly what you have written.
I can only guess at what some of the words mean
"The camera is my good? .... only 60 dollars ?
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
freddyzdead 2 pts
May 19, 2007 3:58 AM
2 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
I was pleased to see all the positive comments here. This is a very good camera as far as I can see, although I've only had it a few days. Brenda P should keep her mouth shut concerning things about which she knows nothing.

The camera has a lot of features you only find on expensive Nikon, Canon, etc., such as aperture/shutter priority, manual focus, backlight correction and so forth.

I would recommend it to anybody.
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Paul_London 2 pts
May 27, 2007 7:12 PM
1 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
I also have the Traveler DC8600 and it's superb quality, but I have a problem!
I lost the charger while on holiday and I can't find one anywhere on the net for it? 5 volt 3 amp, nothing out there with the right plug. Any ideas?
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Rosemary Kelleher 8 pts
May 28, 2007 1:12 PM
0 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
Hello Paul London :
Did you read my info above re my faulty charger ? I rang the support line and the lady was very helpful and said she would send me a new charger. I am still waiting to receive this
after 3-4 weeks so perhaps she got my address wrong or maybe it's still on it's way
so why don't you give them a ring and see if they will send you out a new one. They may send it out free or for a small fee - it would be worth trying. Meanwhile try charging the batteries IN the camera on the docking station that came with the kit with the power cable which you use with the charger.
Hope this solves your problem until you get a new charger. All the best - Rosemary, Ireland.
The two support line No's are
00 800 78772368 and 1800 270 5071.
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Dagmar De Kee 1 pts
June 3, 2007 4:41 AM
1 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
hello,
after making my first photo's on holiday I wanted to transfer them on to my computer.
after connecting the camera to the computer the USB screen appears correctly, but after pressing the SET-button nothing happens! my computer doesn't recognize the camera (windows xp). there's nothing under 'removable disk'. so I am not able to transfer the photo's I've made.
Is there anyone who can give me a solution?
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Paul_London 2 pts
June 4, 2007 11:46 AM
1 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
Thanks for the info recarding charger, I contacted the customer services number and they are sending me a free replacement power supply.

Take care
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
STL John 0 pts
June 13, 2007 5:14 PM
0 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
We bought two of these outstanding cameras in November of 2006. My 12 year old takes wonderful pictures with it, easy as pie. One of the two cameras stopped working suddenly, so I called the help line. They said to send it in. TWO DAYS LATER, we got a new replacement camera. If you can find one of these cameras still in stock at Aldi, buy it.
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Alice (aliceca9) 1 pts
July 19, 2007 1:46 AM
1 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
Does the Acer 02491-0028-01 Battery fit with this model? I find a battery in www.atbattery.org
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Rosemary Kelleher 8 pts
July 20, 2007 6:58 PM
2 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
Up-date on faulty charger -
After waiting weeks to receive a replacement charger for Traveler DC8600 which never arrived (perhaps the lady got my address wrong) imagine my surprise when on Thursday 28th June 07 Aldi's had an upgrade 10.1MP Traveler at an unbelievably far lower price (€199.99) (£134.49) than the DC8600. (€279.99) I bought one and was going to give my daughter the DC8600 and try again to get replacement charger for it, however as the DC8600 was still under guarantee my husband took it back 5 days later. Fortunately they had 1 DC-XZ6 left so he got a refund and bought it.
The faulty charger proved to be a blessing in disguise. Can things get any better ? Upgrade on pixels and much lower price.
Also Aldi's had 2GB SD cards on sale that day for €16.99 (£11.42) approx.
What a great deal - well done Traveler,
I am so pleased. They now have the support line Tel. No's on the box - very helpful.
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Jaap van Ganswijk 11 pts
October 8, 2007 1:10 PM
0 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
There is a new Aldi here in the Netherlands/Groningen/Hoornsediep 147-153 and they are offering some old products with quite big discounts and the Traveler DC-8600 is offered for 125 instead of 179 euro and I'm thinking of buying one. A lot of people here and on the other froum are very pleased with it and I very much like the quality of the photos (thanks!). I'm looking for a camera that can take macro pictures and this one seems to be able to do that (upto 2 cm!). I would prefer AA batteries/accu's, but having a spare accu might also work. The only thing I wonder about is the video capability. I read in a message that it can do 30 FPS, but at what resolution? Can someone post a small video somewhere? And how good is the audio?

Currently I have a 3 megapixel Kodak from several years back, which I got for free when changing my energy provider. It's a nice camera with a quite good picture quality, but it has no zoom, no macro, videos without sound at a low frame rate and low resolution.

I have also looked at low cost camera's from Kodak and Samsung, but they usully lack some of my requirements (BTW. I don't care much about zoom...).

In the analog era I had a SLR with several lenses, but I think that digital SLR is kitsch. The benefits are smaller than the disadvantages. (Except for professionals perhaps.)
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Ollie 0 pts
October 8, 2007 5:18 PM
0 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
I bought the camera today at the new Aldi, Hoornse Diep/Groningen/Netherlands and i read the reviews who seamed very positive. Also the service of the company seems to be good. So i'm glad i bougt it. But now i have to read the manual so i know pricisly how to use it. But Jaap if you want to buy the camera you must not wait to lang because normaly this kind of products are sold out quickly at the Aldi. But if i would you i buy one soon because al the aldi is cheap but the quality of the products is very good. Good luck
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Jaap van Ganswijk 11 pts
October 9, 2007 2:01 PM
1 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
Correction: It was priced down from 199.99 not 179 euro.

I bought the camera this afternoon at about 15:30 (local time) and have been playing with it, since I came home. It's a really amazing camera and so much better than the old (2001?) Kodak CX7310 that I'm used to. It also exceeds my expectations on all apects that I was looking for (and a lot that I was not looking for).

The picture quality is very good (as others already proved in the thread on the other forum site) and the macro capabilities are also amazing! The video quality is also very good (640x480 at 30 frames per second with sound!) and you can zoom during filming, although it upsets the auto-focus so it starts readjusting, but serious filmers almost never zoom...

(Btw. I have been checking the stats of similar Kodak and Samsung cameras and they never are as good.)

Thanks Ollie for your encouragement! I'm familiar with the Aldi problem of having too few items per shop on the famous wednesday morning (I also lined up outside a Aldi once before opening at 8:30), but in this case they have plenty of stock. I estimate that they still had about 250 cameras left today, which is not much less than yesterday, but perhaps they also have some stock in the back and fill up the stock in the store from time to time. I also didn't see many customers buy a camera, so sales aren't going that fast.

I disagree that Aldi only sells high quality products. I haven't bought earlier Aldi's Traveler camera's because of bad reviews on the WWW. But in general a store chain that sells one-off products that it's not specialized in will try only to sell good stuff because it doesn't want complaints.

But anyway this camera is so good that instead of giving my old Kodak to my mother permanently I suggested that she should buy a Traveler DC8600 too. Impressed by the photos I showed on her and my TV and the movie I showed on mine she is now seriously considering buying one too.

I have put some photos and a video here:

http://www.xs4all.nl/~ganswijk/traveler/

All the material is made without a tripod and my hands have become less steady over the years. The picture of my mother was done with flash. The macro picture of my keyboard was done with an about 9 watt energy saving bureau lamp from the left (yes, I don't clean my keyboard often enough ;-) and the movie was shot quite late in the day and using the 220V to 5V converter as power source because the battery gave up after all of my experiments. Still amazing how much power the accu still had after being in the package for probably several months!

As Ollie I now have to go study the manual in details to get to know every aspect of this amazing camera!

I wonder if my mother will do the same should she buy one. As most women she tends to only use the automatic setting of cameras...
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Phil 0 pts
November 8, 2007 2:01 PM
0 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
I'm interested in possibly purchasing Travelers latest camera. The Traveler
DC-XZ6 10.1 megapixel digital camera. I'm wondering if this model is basically
the same as the DC-8600 but with added megapixels, or simply a better
upgrade. If anybody has tested this new model out, could you please let
me know of the overall quality of the camera. Phil
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Rosemary Kelleher 8 pts
November 9, 2007 12:14 PM
0 people rated this answer helpful, 1 people rated this answer not helpful
 
Hi Phil - I already have the DC-XZ6 10.1MP (see my posting of Fri. July 20th above) I am not very technical but as far as I know it is much the same as the DC-8600 with more pixels, plus usual Macro and Super Macro, so you can get very close.
I get excellent results with this camera, I don't have any complaints about it at all. It's like my right arm, I wouldn't be without it.
I usually photograph flowers and the camera records amazing detail when you view photos on computer.
If it's still available snap it up quickly before someone else does, it is very good quality, I'm sure you will be very pleased with it.
Aldi have another Traveler camera on offer this week (11th Nov) but it's only 7MP @ €119.00. Comes with 512MB SD card,
2 batteries/charger etc.
All the best - Rosemary, Ireland.
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
sid (sidfishn) 1 pts
November 17, 2007 7:32 PM
0 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
I have a Traveler DC 6900 that I took on a trip in the Canadian rockies. I took probably 800 pictures with it. The only problem I had, was A lot of the pictures were blurred. This was because I was taking them out of bus and train windows. Out of the 800 pictures, I got rid of about 75, so I don't figure that is too bad. I have had the camera less than a year, when they came out with the DC XZ6, so I went out and bought one of those too. It has a 6x optical zoom instead of the 3x that is on the other camera. I am still playing with that one, and trying to fina a spare battery for it. I love all three Traveler cameras that I now own.
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
CHARLOTTE STEYAERT (wilfried) 0 pts
January 14, 2008 1:22 PM
0 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
I HAD BUY A DC8600 ITS A VERY GOOD CAMERA BUT I HAVE A PROBLEM THE LENS WON4T OPEN IN HIS TATALITY
SO I HAVE PICTURES WITH A BLACK STRIPE
I WISH TO LET IT REPAIRED BECAUSE ITS STILL IN WARANTY BUT I DON4T NOW WHAT TO DO CAN ANYBODY HELP PLEASE


CHARLOTTE STEYAERT
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Rosemary Kelleher 8 pts
January 15, 2008 1:30 PM
0 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
To Charlotte Steyaert - Hello - First make sure the camera batteries are fully charged but if you have already checked this - either :-
Go back to Aldi's with your receipt and tell them the problem you are having with your DC8600. Ask them if they will contact the Traveler Support Line for you as the camera is faulty and they sold it to you (under your consumer rights).
They may just want to give you your money back and not a replacement if they haven't got one in stock.

Alternatively you can ring the Traveler Support Line ( I gave two numbers above) which are 00 800 78772368 or 1800 270 5071
the first number is to ring from Ireland but if either of these No' are no good, go online to their website
www.traveler-service.com or ask Aldi's to provide the correct telephone No. + codes for your country.

Or, ask for your money back from Aldi and wait until they have another upgrade Traveler camera.
See my entry above of Friday July 20th - I had the DC8600 and upgraded to the DC-XZ6 which is a 10.1 mega pixel camera.

Hope this will prove useful to you and you get the problem sorted out.
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
CHARLOTTE STEYAERT (wilfried) 0 pts
January 17, 2008 11:35 AM
0 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
hi
my question is my digital camera 9 months old and i don't now where i have to send it for repair the lens doesn't open whole so i have pic; with a black stripe
can someone help me with that

charlotte tkhs
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Phil 0 pts
January 17, 2008 1:17 PM
0 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
Hi Charlotte
To find out where to send your Traveler DC8600 for repair,
Their is a USA number which is 1-800-270-5071. Their is also
an international number which is 01 1800 7877 2368. The
internet support address is www.traveler-service.com
I've been real impressed with rhe traveler digital cameras.
Great prices too. I'm getting ready to purchase the new
10.1 megapixel model. Good luck Phil
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Nat 0 pts
January 30, 2008 10:47 PM
0 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
Does anyone know of anywhere in Australia where I can purchase a charger for a Traveler DC8600 (8.1mp) digital camera as ive lost mine.
cheers
nat
x
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Ken 13 pts
February 3, 2008 7:01 AM
1 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
I'm interested to learn what owners of Aldi Traveler digital cameras think about the lack of a manual viewfinder to supplement the large LCD screen. As I understand it, in bright sunny situations, most LCD screens are unviewable for taking photos, hence the need for a manual viewfinder. So from experiece, have owners at times found it to be a problem? TIA. Cheers.
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Rosemary Kelleher 8 pts
February 4, 2008 12:40 PM
0 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
Hi Ken - I agree that in bright sunlight it is difficult to view the subject in the LCD screen but speaking as a person who has to use glasses I have never found a small viewfinder to be of much good as I can't see what's in it, the subject is too small.
Some months ago I bought an LCD screen hood from 7-Day Shop UK which is made from black material and velcro and sticky tape which fits over screen like an open box to shade it from sunlight but it's not very good. There is another brand of camera (A Fuji I think) which has an integral metal hood which one can open and I wish Traveler would do something like this. It may be worth writing to them and ask if they can manufacture a metal hood to fit their cameras, then the camera would be perfect.

All the best - Rosemary.
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
ken 1 pts
February 4, 2008 5:27 PM
1 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
Hi Rosemary, thanks for the reply. I think I've partly solved your problem ... contact lenses lol.
Viewfinder-less cameras have been around for quite a while now so you would think the penny would have dropped by now in the R&D departments of camera manufacturers.
Then again ... probably not. Expect they're all blokes.
Which leaves me with the quandary about buying or not an Aldi Traveler DC-XZ6 this coming Thursday here in Oz. Cheers.
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Rosemary Kelleher 8 pts
February 5, 2008 8:53 AM
0 people rated this answer helpful, 1 people rated this answer not helpful
 
Hi Ken - Thanks for your suggestion re contact lenses - good idea but better than that I'd like to get my eyes lasered to restore better vision.
Why don't you buy the Traveler DC-XZ6 anyway although it doesn't have the desired viewfinder - if you don't get on with it you can always take it back for a refund. For the money I think it is an excellent camera and I've never had any problems with the camera itself. Let's hope Traveler are working on an integral pull out LCD hood for their next one.
I may very well contact them and put that suggestion to them.
Long may the sun shine on your LCD screen in OZ !
We don't get so much of it here in Ireland.
Cheers - Rosemary.
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Ken 13 pts
February 6, 2008 6:33 AM
1 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
Hi Rosemary, like any surgery, laser treatment carries a risk, so please think carefully first and also select a top practitioner for the procedure. Anything less is a bigger risk. I imagine laser surgery in Ireland would be pretty expensive too.
Interesting discovery on the US Aldi site ... goto http://aldi.us/index_ENU_HTML.htm. Under the menu heading "Special Purchases/Now available while stocks last", they are selling off the leftover cameras for $US200. Now that is only $AU220 or 135 Euro or 101 UK pounds. But they're selling it here tomorrow for $AU299!! So I'm thinking to take a gamble and they may drop the price here as well after the initial selling week has finished and they have leftover stock. I know they do this here as well from time to time. Anyway, as with most Aldi gear, if you miss the present model of something, simply wait a bit longer for the next updated you-beaut model to arrive.... probably with an LCD hood too ... haha
I could be wrong but my understanding is that Aldi prescribe the specifications they want in a product and they get someone to make it. So then that product is exclusive to Aldi and not available in that exact form anywhere else under a different badge. I know there are similar models available, but not necessarily exactly the same. So what I'm saying then is, probably requests to change specifications of a product, ie LCD hood, would have to be put to Aldi first, rather than the manufacturer.
Ireland eh. I was there all too briefly in 2002. The very morning I arrived on your shores at Dublin in my hire car, I inadvertently discovered a common practice of your school kids on their bicycles .... riding down the middle of the road where there is queued traffic. I had reason to do a quick u turn and yes ... you guessed it, collected a girl on her bike, she tore straight into the side of the car. Seems the Irish are made of pretty tuff stuff, she got up, regathered her composure, got back on her bike and was off like a shot, never to be seen again. Welcome to Ireland ... lol
So yes Rosemary, if you want sunshine and lovely beaches to photograph ... come on down! ... lol. Cheers. Ken
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Rosemary Kelleher 8 pts
February 6, 2008 12:32 PM
0 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
Dear Ken - Hello again - Thank you very much for your concern re my eyes. I can't afford to have them lasered at present, it's just a wish to be able to see better without any manmade lenses of any description between me and the world. Of course if I did get them done then I would be very careful who I chose to do them. I was told by a camera shop guy in UK that Traveler cameras are made by Vivitar. It is interesting what you say about Aldi requesting the specifications first. Yes, I agree the longer you wait the better the camera gets. I am not Irish, my husband is but he lived in UK for 36 years before we came here. We are selling up this spring and going back to UK. Regarding your experience in Dublin (the girl on her bike whom you scooped up) here in Cork the pedestrians are suicidal, they recklessly cross the road without looking to see if anything is coming, it is rather scary but none of them seem to get run over, the drivers must be used to it. Different thing at night though as we are quite rural out of Cork city -
quite a few people get killed on the roads because they don't bother to wear any reflective gear, they think they are invincible.
I'd love to visit OZ, maybe one day, I could do with some sun and I could take scores of photos with my trusty Traveler camera.
Next time I go to Aldi I will ask them if it is so that they call the shots re the camera specs. - meanwhile I hope you pick up a bargain priced Traveler - happy snapping and thanks v. much for the info. I will now visit the website you posted.
All the best - Rosemary.
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Ken 13 pts
February 7, 2008 7:52 AM
1 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
Hello all, just an update on internet research on the Traveler DC-XZ6 digital camera.
It's possible this camera is manufactured by a Taiwanese company called Premier Image, their camera brand name is Foxconn.
They have a "Power Zoom Series" of small footprint cameras, in particular the model .. Foxconn DS-A650. For more info, goto: http://www.premierimage.com.tw/product/PZS/DSA650.htm . This seems to be the exact same camera.
For a test report of the Traveler DC-XZ6 camera, there is a german site that has a rough english test possibly worth a read, goto: http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?hl=en&u=http://www.test.de/themen/bild-ton/schnelltest/-Digitalkamera-von-Aldi/1597922/1597922/&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dfoxconn%2Bds-a650%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG
So who really DOES manufacture this camera? Who knows. Maybe time will reveal all. Cheers. Ken
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Rosemary Kelleher 8 pts
February 8, 2008 2:57 PM
0 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
Hello again Ken - Just went to the test report site that you posted above to see what they say about it. Did you read it yourself or understand what they are saying. Although it's in English it's like gobbledygook, only a few sentences make any sense, other phrases and words are rather amusing so I couldn't understand what they were on about, there is a lot lost in the translation.
I think one would have to be a perfectionist to complain about this camera. I find it very good for the use I want to put it to and get great results. Thanks & bye for now.
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Ken 13 pts
February 9, 2008 7:14 PM
1 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
Hi Rosemary - yes like I said before, it's "rough english". I find it novel to see online test reports from users who have put the camera through its paces and come up with pretty much diametrically opposed views on it. Without having yet had the opportunity to try it myself, I tend to think any fair-minded person would accept that for the money, it's a steal. Go to review most of the "name brand" cameras of a similar footprint and discover plenty of problems there, usually for a lot more money. So at the moment, I'm hanging out for a "clearance" price locally and all being well, hot foot it to Aldi then.
Cheers. Ken
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Tom 0 pts
February 13, 2008 2:53 AM
0 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
Try looking at the MINOX DC 1022 ... I think you'll find it matches this new Traveler 10.1 Mp (DC-XZ6) camera exactly.

http://www.minox.com/index.php?id=206&L=1

Minox used to be the maker of specialty and "spy" cameras. Don't know how they stack up today in the digital world. Since this carries a different brand name, the actual specs may differ from the Minox version ... or maybe not. ;-)
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Ken 13 pts
February 14, 2008 10:50 PM
1 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
Gday Tom,
Yes the Minox seems to be exactly the same camera and with a named MINOCTAR lens, whereas we don't really know the maker of the Traveler lens. The same? Of course, Aldi's version also has more accessories than what's available with the Minox, which makes the Traveler a more complete and workable package.

Rosemary, I went back to Aldi the other day to check availability and found they only had the display one left so I bought it there and then, worrying I'd miss out. So I'm trying it out and the more I delve into its capabilities, the more I'm impressed. Plus 3 years warranty and a 60 day trial return policy by Aldi aint half bad eh. Cheers. Ken
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Rosemary Kelleher 8 pts
February 16, 2008 4:01 PM
1 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
Hi again Ken - So glad you snapped one up. I saw a lone DC-ZX6 the other day in Aldi's sitting in their display cabinet at €169.99. Their leaflet for 17th-21st shows they will be having a Traveler DC7900 7MP on Thursday 21st Feb, price at €89.99 so that will be a good bargain too, although a step backwards in MP's but ok for some folks use.
I only hope Charlotte Stayaert above sorted her camera problem out -
perhaps she will let us all know how it turned out for her.
Just looked at the Minox DC 1022 that Tom gave info on - at €329.00 I think I will stick with the Traveler brand. Hope you get some good shots with yours. It would be nice if we could post some of our photos on here so others can see what good results the Traveler gives then I could see your sand & surf pics (if you will be taking beach scenes) . I haven't had time yet to come to grips with all the different settings etc on mine.
If I did though the results would probably be a lot better. I'm thinking of the anti-shake feature and the sport setting - because I was in too much of a hurry to capture a moment (moving children) I didn't concentrate on focusing and many pics were out of focus so there is yet a lot to learn about it and try to remember all the available settings.
Anyway, happy snapping and bye for now. Hope you let us know what you think of your camera soon. - Rosemary
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
sid (sidfishn) 1 pts
February 16, 2008 8:18 PM
0 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
While playing with my DC XZ6 camera, it hung up on me. It wouldn't do anything including turn off. So, I pulled the battery out and that solved the problem. When I put it back in, everything worked fine. The only problem I have, is that I paid 200.00 for the camera. I walked into the store a month ago and they had it marked down to 129.00. I haven't inquired as to whether it is the original display model or just the last one they have. Also, I read on the internet that the same battery that fits the 8300 will fit this camera. Has anyone tryed an 8300 battery in a DC XZ6?
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Ken 13 pts
February 16, 2008 9:36 PM
1 people rated this answer helpful, 1 people rated this answer not helpful
 
Hi Rosemary, thanks a lot for all that ... I look forward to our exchange of thoughts and ideas. Well it now looks like we're both on a similar learning curve ... lol. Might have to start the "R&K S.I.G." here ... haha
170 Euro eh. We was robbed here! .. lol. That's about $AU275. We paid $AU299.
Charlotte's camera problem. Has she lost the warranty doccos that came with the camera? I expect each country has a supplied phone link to a helpdesk. Failing that, romp up to the nearest Aldi and ask for assistance. If the camera has been damaged, hence not covered under warranty, then the warranty people would still fix it but at her cost.
Now Rosemary, I declare the R&K S.I.G. is now in session, please stop slouching and pay attention!! haha ... joking.
From what you are telling me, my first thought then was "practice makes perfect". You and I are going to have to put in to get the results we'd like with this compact camera. We can mess about with the settings all we like, but the most fundamental requirement to taking a sharp photo is keeping the camera as still as possible when the camera clicks. Also, getting it focused first (that's the push to halfway and stopping on the shutter button) is mandatory. Try taking a few photos without stopping halfway first and you'll see what I mean. So recapping, camera (and you) movement when the camera clicks gives you blurry pics, plus not allowing the camera to auto focus gives you out of focus pics. Now do those 2 naughty things together and you've got a dogs breakfast. I guess it comes down to figuring out what's comfortable for you to set yourself in a braced/balanced stance or lean against something fixed or use a tripod to get the fundamentals working in your favour. Practice, practice, practice is what's needed here during the learning curve stage. Think outside the square, ask questions etc.
Sport setting. Yes well just leaving the camera on auto for an action shot will give you blurry subject matter in the pic. That's not necessarily a bad thing, because at times, you may want to show the subject is moving, hence the blur. Otherwise, change the camera setting to SCN/sport. The other thing to try (using various settings) is to pan the camera during a shot ie., stay on the moving subject as you take the shot, then see the results ... see if the subject is in focus and with a blurred background. Just try it ok.
The other setting I haven't used yet is SCN/splash water. Must be different but it does suggest movement too.
Anti shake. Ok well let's try this together and see if we can see a difference. Try taking pics both ways, firstly in the usual way of auto or sport setting or whatever whilst improving technique of holding/keeping still the camera during the camera click. Then do the same but use anti-shake setting. Check the results both on the LCD and transfer to your PC to view on the monitor. Report back. Game on?
Showing pics. I've not mastered uploading pics to forums such as this so I don't know about that yet. In any event, it's early days yet, need to practice first to see about improved picture making techniques and getting results worth showing. Sure I can do beach shots, sand and surf here etc., just so long as you lot don't all emigrate here and clutter the place up ... haha. Heh Rosemary, I'm down to about 56 days left to practice before I decide whether or not to get a refund ... lol
Talking about the Li-ion battery for this camera, has anyone delved into trying to find a source for it?
So far, I can't find one worldwide online, nor could Aldi's helpdesk here in Oz for this camera. They've agreed to make enquiries and get back to me (don't hold my breath?). Let me be clear on this. There are batteries available that have lower mAh's ie, 1050 and 1100mAh, but NO 1250mAh batteries, 2 of which capacity came with the camera. Reason I'm persueing this is because I tend to agree the camera seems to be a tad power hungry, hence you could run out of power during a prolonged photography session. For your info, in case it's different to yours, the battery supplied here in Oz is Model no. DS8330-1 3.7volt 1250mAh Li-ion battery, Part no. 02491-0054-06, made in China. Go check for yourselves please, see if you can find a source/link for a 1250mAh battery that fits. I'd appreciate feedback.
Cheers.
Ken




Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Ken 13 pts
February 16, 2008 9:44 PM
2 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
Gday Sid,
The other thing to try re your camera problem, although it may not apply for a Li-ion type battery, is to fully discharge/recharge the battery several times, particularly when newish. Try it, won't hurt.
Also, dirty or inadequate contact continuity between the battery and the camera can cause a problem. Happens also in phones and MP3 players.
Sure the 8300 battery fits ... but it's less mAh capacity than what's supplied with the DC-XZ6 ... in Oz anyway. Not good enough IMHO. It'd be one of the lower capacity batteries mentioned in my post above.
As far as I can deduce from my online searching, NO ONE has a replacement 1250mAh battery listed for the Traveler DC-XZ6. Now if you can prove me wrong, I'd love to hear from you. Suppliers? ... HELP!! Cheers. Ken
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Reg 2 pts
February 18, 2008 11:50 AM
1 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
Hi Rosemary
Have you looked at putting your pictures on www.panoramio.com you can put the camera details olongside.

Reg
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Rosemary Kelleher 8 pts
February 18, 2008 1:33 PM
0 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
Hello Reg - Many thanks for giving me the website above.
I may try posting some photos there when I have a bit more time to do it and if it's easy to do. Very helpful, thanks. Rosemary.
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Rosemary Kelleher 8 pts
February 18, 2008 2:23 PM
0 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
Hello again Ken - Firstly , the batteries supplied with the DC-XZ6 here have exactly the same model and part no's. as yours in Oz. I just did another fruitless & frustrating web search for spares to no avail.
Even the Traveler website doesn't show them. I'll have to make a phone call to the helpline. It's nice to have a spare or two for emergencies.
Thanks for your advice which I will put into operation and see what results I get. I think the problem I had was that I just clunked the shutter down fully without doing the halfway focusing bit.
I love your sense of humour, you make me laugh. No, I won't be emigrating to Oz. Even though I'd like more sun I think Oz would be much too hot for me. My brother went there once and left after about 3 days because he couldn't stand the heat. Perhaps that was because he lives in much colder climes in Canada. If we can't clutter your beaches with our persons perhaps we can clutter up the Panorimio website kindly given by Reg with the stunning results of our Travelers (if I can manage it.)
I am a techniphobe - why do these technical buffs make things so complicated for ordinary mortals. Why can't all these gadgets be controlled by voice command. These days one has to have a mental library of all the abbreviations for so many gadgets, DVD-R or RW, CD-R or RW, MP3's etc. the list goes on and on.
I've only just learnt how to burn my video clips onto a disc.
We still can't set up our TV to record to HD or DVD and I just about manage to make a call on a mobile phone. I need a team of 5 year olds to get everything going.
Returning to the digital cameras - a few years back before I had one I took some photos using a roll film camera of my pet wild rabbit eating ice-cream.
I had about 15 rolls stuffed in the fridge because I couldn't afford to get them developed and gradually got them developed as and when hoping to see the rabbit photos. I went through the whole lot but no rabbit. I think the film must have come out of the spool and so I was taking nothing.
I lost precious unrepeatable shots because of that and the rabbit later died.
If I had had a digital camera at that time it wouldn't have happened.
I think that is one big advantage with digital, you can see instant results whether good or bad and know that you have your subject photographed.
Meanwhile I will try the Sport & Splash Water & Anti-shake modes and see what I get and let you know. All the best for now - Rosemary.
Hope we won't get chucked off the DA forum for being too lengthy.
Re Charlotte - The camera is under guarantee for 3 years so won't her till receipt still cover it as it sounds as if the camera was faulty and not because of any damage she did to it.
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Reg 2 pts
February 18, 2008 3:49 PM
1 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
Hi Ken
Have a look at www.watchbattery.co.uk they have a lot of camera batteries,it is a question of matching it up to the camera.
Reg.
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Ken 13 pts
February 19, 2008 5:28 AM
1 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
Gday ALL .... and Rosemary lol,
Reg, I checked out www.watchbattery.co.uk but with no joy. Actually I found it a pretty difficult site to navigate and search ... seen much better user-friendlier sites than this one.

Well surprise surprise, a rep for the camera helpdesk rang me back last night, he tried to find a 1250mAh battery online while we were talking but with no joy either. Fancy that eh. Essentially what I gleaned from what he was telling me was that for the camera, their stance was that they are responsible to consumers for the camera and camera specific accessories, but not for "consumables", for example, the soft camera pouch and the battery. So they say if we need "consumables" for this camera, that's for us to find a suitable source in the marketplace, not them. So there you have it ladies and gentlemen, we're on our own. I guess an analogy would be that when you buy a new car, there is a vehicle warranty but not on tyres, battery, fanbelt etc etc. They are consumables, they wear out and have to be replaced by you the owner when needed.
I guess my gripe is that despite there being a known Chinese manufacturer of the 1250mAh battery that marketers/manufacturers have chosen to fit in this camera, the same people haven't bothered to go the extra step to ensure the battery can be sourced somewhere on this planet as a consumer replacement. Probably take one phone call to do that. How good are they eh?
On a brighter note, he did say that for the duration of the 3 year camera warranty, in the event you have a problem with any of the camera specific accessories, [possibly drop them, lose them, defective etc., [spin em a yarn etc.]), they will send you a free replacement.
Now here's something re the battery you may consider pursuing in UK ... a 1200mAh battery from http://www.dc-battery.co.uk/advanced_search_result.php?categories_id=&keywords=02491-0028-00&search_in_description=1
The confusing thing about this though is that if you do a search on other camera battery source websites for this part number, they usually list its capacity as 1100mAh, NOT 1200mAh. Try this please and see what you come up with, also try an email enquiry to the dc-battery UK website and see if they will confirm that it is 1200mAh capacity. I've tried doing that here on the dc-battery Oz website but have yet to receive a reply. Please let us know how you get on.
Rosemary, re Oz. I'm wondering where your brother was he couldn't stand the heat for 3 days and left. All I know is this place has been overun by UK migrants (and others) over 200 years, only a confused few have gone back. In recent years, we hear news about summer heatwaves in UK where the natives have been dropping in the street like flies. So there you go ... lol.
Camera speed setting. Just read a bit more in the camera docs. The other (manual [advanced]) setting you can also try for a moving subject is "Tv" on the top rotary dial. These manual setting combinations of shutter speed/aperture size roughly equate with what photographers are familiar with if they have had experience manually setting older film type cameras, SLR's etc. Maybe something for you later on after more experience.
I look forward to hearing from you about the Sport and Splash Water and Anti-shake modes, Rosemary. Cheers. Ken




Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Rosemary Kelleher 8 pts
February 19, 2008 8:12 PM
0 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
Hi Ken - Thanks for the website re the batteries, I'll take a look tomorrow as it's a bit late now. It seems incredible that Traveler don't supply spares.
SD cards are consumables and they sell those from time to time so why not the bats ?
Re my brother in Oz - I forgot to mention he was only there on his hols,
he didn't emigrate which was just as well really. Shame he didn't give his body thermostat more time to adjust, perhaps he just didn't fancy dying of heatstroke.
My pre-digital camera was a Minolta SLR and I never did use it to it's full capacity. I didn't have time to wade through all the technical stuff but fortunately it was auto-focus and so I managed ok.
My above mentioned brother is a photographer - he posts some of his work on www.smugmug.com If you put in the search facility either -
naturalwestphotoramas or john w hall you will get him up.
He does supersize panoramic photos of the rockies etc and also photos of the First Nations people when they have their festival in Banff.
I just looked and it seems he hasn't posted anything this year.
I'll have to search for a moving subject down town, cars, people etc as nothing much on the move in the garden yet to try out the differnt modes.
I'll report back soon - all the best - Rosemary.
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Ken 13 pts
February 20, 2008 8:49 PM
1 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
Hi Rosemary,
Well fancy that .... my Traveler is replacing a Minolta SLR too ... model SRT Super or else known as SR-T303. Great minds think alike eh ... lol. The cost of films and film processing have pretty much killed it off. Museum piece?
If anyone has something to add to the battery debacle debate, please feel free to comment here. Aldi, where are you hiding?
Cheers. Ken
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Jaap van Ganswijk 11 pts
February 21, 2008 12:15 PM
1 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
Please note that the capacity of an accu isn't a functional requirement, so it doesn't matter if the accu is 1100 or 1200 mAh or whatever and perhaps the first supplier is just being more honost, because it's hard to measure the exact capacity of an accu. Just make sure that the format and the voltage is the same. BTW. Beware of Chinese fake products! I prefer to buy camera's etc. with standard AA or AAA-cells so I can use the latest/cheap accu's but in case of the Traveller DC-8600 I made an exception because the camera came with two (DS8330-1) accu's (3.7V, 1250 mAh). Smaller, higher voltage accus like these allow the designers to design smaller, slicker camera's. And I read that people managed to find replacement accu's.

As regards all the settings: Yes, I'm also still learning but at least there is a lot to learn! Usually I start by using the standard settings and check by zooming in if the result is sharp enough etc. When not I'll try other settings depending on the situation. When you are using a tripod and have a subject that doesn't move you can for example increase the shutter time to say 0.5 s and still have a very small diafragm for optimum sharpness over a large depth area. (Very useful for close-up shots).

BTW. I think I described that I also persuaded my mother to buy the same camera, but she feels it's way to complicated and might better have kept using my old 3.1 Mpixel Kodak camera. Well, she still can... BTW. Before I made her use that she didn't want to use a digital camera anyway but kept buying analog camera's. The advantage of having two of the same camera is that we can share the loader and the accus and the knowledge about the camera...
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Jaap van Ganswijk 11 pts
February 21, 2008 12:34 PM
1 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
As regards SLR's: I still have my good old Practica Super TL2 which was amazing technology back then (around 1976) although it came from Eastern Germany. (Richer people could afford Olympus, Canon and Nikon camera's and even more poorer people than me had to do with Russian Xenix (?) camera's) SLR's were great for film and the only way to go, but I don't think they are still as useful in the digital era. There are several apects: First of all in a digital camera the foto-element is also used to provide the viewer with it's image so one doesn't need a mechanically moving mirror (and with a mirror the cutout is never exactly the same as that of the foto-element. Furthermore it's impossible to watch the image as it's being recorded which makes recording movies for example impossible.
And then there is the element of dust on the foto-element. With analog film it would be removed every frame when you transported the film, but on a digital foto-element it will accumulate.
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Ken 13 pts
February 22, 2008 3:47 AM
1 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
Gday Jaap,
Thanks for your imput about the subject of a replacement battery. I agree caution is needed in the selection of a battery, some may be duds and even dangerous, others, and I assume the battery that came with the camera is amongst them, are fine. Being merely an end user of this camera, I think it shouldn't be rocket science trying to sort which battery to buy, hence if I stick with the original battery model/brand, find a supplier, buy it and then get on with my life. Seems that may be too much to ask. Still, from what you say about mAh claimed capacities, at this stage, I'm thinking then the battery available at the supplier at http://www.dc-battery.co.uk/advanced_search_result.php?categories_id=&keywords=02491-0028-00&search_in_description=1 is the best I can find so far.
I see from your previous post that you bought the Traveler DC-8600. So I'm wondering what is different about it to the Traveler DC-XZ6 I just bought? One thing (I think) is that yours has a viewfinder of some sort, either digital or optical ... yes? If so, I would have liked that. Anything else important? Cheers.
Ken
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Jaap van Ganswijk 11 pts
February 22, 2008 11:23 AM
1 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
I guess all of those batteries are OK as long as the partnumber is correct and you're buying it from a reliable brand (as all seem to be). They will probably have a single source so it doesn't make much difference which one you buy. My camera uses the P/N 02491-0054-04 which has a slightly different shape but is probably very similar. BTW. My original batteries were also made in China. I'm not saying that products from China are bad, but that you need to get them through a reliable channel (ie. a Western company with a reputation to loose).

As regards the Traveler DC-XZ6: This thread is about the DC-8600 and not any Traveler camera. ;-) I have just tried to find something about your camera, but couldn't... Please send us a link to a relevant site. After my camera had been sold here at a new branch of Aldi for quite a long time (and many of them were left over) they tried to sell a similar camera with 10 Mpixels instead of 8.1 but for 175 euro instead of 125 euro. I think that 8.1 Mpixels is already more than you need in 99% of the cases so I'm very happy with my camera. In fact I have reduced the resolution setting of my mothers camera quite a lot to save harddisk space but still allow 10*15 cm prints of enough quality. She has a 4 Gbyte harddisk. I have two 500 Gbyte drives (mainly for games...). Of course I'd gladly help her transfer her OS and data to a new harddisk if only she would make her mind about needing a bigger harddisk. I also installed one of my old CD-writers so she can put the photo's on CD-R's. But she seems to think it's too complicated. Mothers! ;-)

As regards the viewfinder: No, my camera doesn't have one and I think it's the right way to go. I never used the viewfinder on my old Kodak digital camera (which I got for free when switching my energy supplier ;-). Once you have an LCD on the back showing you more or less exactly how your picture will look, why use a viewfinder with all of it's problems? And I don't even wear glasses. ;-)

Another problem is zooming. How can you ever show zooming in a viewfinder (except with a mirror reflex camera (SLR) of course), but that has other drawbacks as I tried to describe.
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
sid (sidfishn) 1 pts
February 22, 2008 11:36 AM
1 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
Be careful with battery co's. I tried to order a battery from Zbattery co. on the internet last night, and along with the credit card #, they also wanted the security number off the back of the card. Thinking this to be strange, I called the credit card co. this morning and asked them about this. The guy from India told me that that was very unusual and he would not reccomend giving it out.
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Jaap van Ganswijk 11 pts
February 22, 2008 12:25 PM
1 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
The problem with credit cards is that there was no password except for the expiration date and that is easy to guess. In the old days you'd give your credit card to a clerk and he would check your number with a list of withdrawn cards (or hw would phone the credit card company), make a copy with a special device and you'd have to sign that copy (as far as I know from TV ;-). For payment over the internet that all doesn't work so the security number was introduced. I see it as a pin code/password. Of course you should only give it to people that you trust, but consider that credit card companies know about these problems and companies claiming money from them are scrutinized quite thoroughly. Also consider that the credit card companies factor in quite a big factor for fraud losses and therefore charge more to their customers (mostly the providers of goods and services because they are more professional about the percentages involved).

I think that you can safely give the 'security' number to companies that you trust.
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Rosemary Kelleher 8 pts
February 22, 2008 4:47 PM
0 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
Hi Ken - The only difference as far as I recall between the DC-8600 & DC-XZ6 is the MP's - The DC-8600 is 8.1 mp's
The Minolta I have (still) is a 7000. There is something wrong with the shutter, it sticks and I haven't bothered to have it repaired.
As you say - a museum piece.

Hi Jaap - Sorry, we (Ken & I) are losing the plot & straying from the thread re the DC-8600 but it all seems helpful and entertaining and if only owners of the DC-8600 can post info what are owners of the DC-XZ6 going to do, just watch and keep quite, ha ha
I'll just keep it short and sweet in future - (I hope)
All the best 2U both - Rosemary.

Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Raj 0 pts
February 23, 2008 6:30 AM
0 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
Please help me if I can use 8 GB memory card in my Traveler DC 8300 8.1 megapixel digital camera which I had purchased from Aldi, Sydney Australia about two years back. It is working well with 512 SD Memory card which came along with the camera when I had purchased it ?
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Jaap van Ganswijk 11 pts
February 23, 2008 1:03 PM
1 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
Please consider that 2^32=4G so with a 32-bits processor you can expect to get problems at 2 G (when using signed integers or a memory split in system memory and user memory or whatever) and at least at 4G.

My DC-8600 seems to work fine with a 2 Gbyte SD card though...

Why push your luck, just try if a 4 Gbyte card works and otherwise buy several 2 Gbyte cards.

Why would you need a 8 Gbyte card? At 3 Mbyte per picture you can take 2700 pictures. Earlier generations of people died of old age before taking that many pictures! And have you considered how long it takes to read or write such a card even over a USB 2.1 connection? ;-)
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Ken 13 pts
February 24, 2008 8:51 AM
0 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
Gday all,
For specs etc. on Traveler cameras goto: http://h8349.serverkompetenz.net/htdocs_traveler/uk/front_content.php?idcat=51
Traveler website states DC-8300 supports 1Gb SD card. Interesting though, Traveler website states DC-8600 also supports 1Gb, yet earlier in this thread, Tom (11/2/2008) found out it supports 2Gb. So who knows, maybe the DC-8300 does as well. Try it and see.
At best, Raj's 8Gb SD card would be handy as a portable data storage device.

Jaap, in answer to a comment you made earlier about viewfinders, my wifes digital camera has a viewfinder capable of being focused to suit ones eye and importantly, also zooms in and out, gives a similar view then to the LCD display, only smaller. So its very good in bright light situations where the view on the LCD screen is impossible.

Rosemary, I see what you mean about Aldi selling SD cards but not batteries ... a 2Gb SD card is available in Aldi UK at the moment.
Maybe it will eventually be available here in OZ too. A query I have though is about the write speed rating of SD cards on offer. It isn't stated anywhere what is the maximum speed rating of an SD card the Traveler camera supports. Obviously it would make sense to use the fastest memory SD card the camera supports, but we don't know what that is. For instance, an SD card I would consider buying is the Sandisk 2Gb Extreme III SD card, but I don't know if the camera supports that writing speed. Similarly, the 2Gb "High Speed" SD card Aldi is selling at the moment .... what does that mean ... "high speed"? Compared to what? Specs? Who knows. I understand not all digital cameras support the higher memory write speeds. Yet it is important to exploit the write speed a camera supports, to do otherwise simply means hanging about falling asleep while the data is being written to the memory and you can't do a thing until it's finished. So the quicker the write, the quicker you can get on with doing the next task with the camera. Clues anyone?
Cheers. Ken

Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Rosemary Kelleher 8 pts
February 24, 2008 6:46 PM
0 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
Hi Ken -(and Tom) As I remember we were told by an Aldi lady that on the DC-8600 box it was supposed to have stated that it supported a 2GB SD card but it only said 1GB because because the boxes were printed too early, so people thought it wouldn't take a 2Gb card which it did.
I have in the camera at the moment another brand of high speed SD card, Dane-elec (133xs which I think is high speed) and it is working fine, but as you say high speed compared with what.
I got it from www.7dayshop.com (uk) I looked for the battery on here too but they didn't have it.
How are you liking the camera so far - have you had good results ?
Bye for now - Rosemary.
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Jeannie 0 pts
February 26, 2008 12:49 PM
0 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
Hi Ken & other,
Hope this helps you out. I have a Traveler DC-Xz6 digital camera that I just ordered batteries for. The website is http://www.star-battery.com/DIGITAL_CAMERA_BATTERY/ROLLEI/DRL002.htm. First I t/w the company to make sure this battery fits and I ordered 2 because they are on sell for $11.09 and minimum shipping is $8.00 (if you get one or two, same price). I purchased my camera after seeing my niece's pictures that she took w/her camera. ALL her pictures look like postcards and they all are of professional quality, with details that are fabulous! She had an DC8600 1st then upgraded to the DC-xz6 and says she will continue to use both. Some of her pic's of bumble bees and flowers she has had blown up in size and framed. They look better than any picture you could by in a store and they were taken in her own back yard. So beautiful with details. She also has pic's of jet's flying that are unreal. (no blures)
One of the things I like about the DC-XZ6 is that you can use it as a video camera for up to 2 hours, never needing the big video camera again. Just ordered batteries that should be here in 5 days. (Rollei- DP 8300 or DS 8330) DRL002 Hope this helps everyone!!

Jeannie
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Ken 13 pts
February 27, 2008 4:03 AM
2 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
Gday Rosemary and Jeannie and ALL,
Rosemary, no I haven't done much lately, still getting to know it mostly. The feature I really like on this camera that I haven't seen before is in photography mode ... the quick method of "reviewing last photo/delete option." Just pressing the SET button brings up the last photo to view, if you want to delete it, hit the trash button, hit the set button ... and its gone. Very efficient. I also like the way multiple thumbnail photos can be viewed together and you can mark all the photos you don't want and do a bulk delete in one go.

Ok well I have yet to decide on a 2Gb SD card, the Sandisk Extreme III is available here so I'm tempted to go that way at the moment.

Jeannie, it seems to be unclear how much credence should be given to stated mAh capacity of these batteries, your new one is listed as 1100 mAh whereas the battery that came with the camera states 1250mAh capacity. It may be interesting if you could report back here after you've used the new batteries for a while, whether or not you can discern that your new batteries generally last as long between re-charges as the original "higher capacity" ones. Cheers. Ken

Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Reg 2 pts
March 1, 2008 10:40 AM
0 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
Hi Rosemary, I have come across a site that is listing Traveller batteries, it may be of some use.

Regards Reg.

http://www.payless-batteries.co.uk/products/info2.php?fb_babrand=TRAVELER&fb_bamodel=DC-8300&fclasscode=3&fb_macode=1252714
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Reg 2 pts
March 1, 2008 11:04 AM
0 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
Hi Rosemary, Back again, found another site, this one has an Australian link as well.

Regards Reg.

http://gogo-power.co.uk/product_info.php/cPath/3_530/products_id/3019
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Jaap van Ganswijk 11 pts
March 2, 2008 1:38 AM
1 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
As regards the speed of SD-cards. I looked into this issue some time ago and the speed is expressed in CD-drive speed (!) which was originally 150 kbyte/s, which is enough for hifi stereo audio data. As most of you probably know CD-drives never got faster than 52x and that is because a CD can explode when spun around faster. Modern SD-cards are usually 66x as of december 2005 but high-speed SD cards can be something like 133x (but of course this keeps increasing).

You can find more details here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secure_Digital_card

As regards the cameras not being able to 'support' a fast SD-card: Any device will support any high speed SD-card but is it capable of providing the data fast enough? Well 133x=133x150 kbyte/s=20 Mbyte/s and a modern processor (as used in these cameras) should be able to provide the data with that speed.

BTW. The given speed is probably the read-speed and not the write speed.

Here are some other useful remarks about which speed card to buy:
http://www.gadgetspage.com/cameras/understanding-sd-flash-memory-card-speeds.html

I fully agree with him that when a high speed version only costs 25% more you should go for that but also cosider that the slowest versions usually are already high-speed (50x or more). This is typically a market where some parties try to make money by selling 'quality conscious people' the 'best quality' by just putting an ultra/gold/platinum sticker on some of the standard products...

(As a technician I prefer to buy the cheapest product or to see concrete specifications...)

BTW. When you have trouble reading an SD-card with a certain universal card reader, try another one. I have found that some are better than others and sometimes a very cheap one (no brand, sold in the Wibra here in the Netherlands for about 8 euro) is better than a more expensive one (Sweex, sold for about 15 euro).
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Rosemary Kelleher 8 pts
March 2, 2008 10:27 AM
0 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
Hello Jaap - Just went to the gadgets page you posted above and found it very interesting re speeds of cards. I am rather confused about the replacement batteries for the Traveler cameras. In your posting of Thursday Feb 21 you say the capacity doesn't really matter, that it can be lower than original battery. What will this mean in use - does it mean that the battery will just deplete it's power faster and need a recharge more frequently ? Will it work as well as a 1250 mAh ? Being of the older generation and not very technical I don't understand all the specifics of batteries and SD cards. I can well understand your mother being confused about all the complexities of these things.
Reg ; Thanks for the websites re batteries but not sure if any of them are suitable, trying to find out from Jaap above. The Part No. for my Traveler is 02491-0054-06 (1250 mAh)
Thanks to you both - Rosemary.
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Reg 2 pts
March 2, 2008 11:02 AM
1 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
Hi Rosemary, Re the battery life, the difference between 1250 and 1100 is that you have just under nine tenths of energy in the smaller, this means it will not last quite as long before reqireing a recharge. the voltage is the same in each case which is more important, it would be nice to locate a 1250 battery all the same. Regards Reg.
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Jaap van Ganswijk 11 pts
March 3, 2008 12:10 AM
2 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
Yes, Reg is right. Capacity is like a bucket of water. When you have a ten liter bucket it contains ten liter, but when you have a bigger bucket it contains more water. In this case the batteries are the same size but because of better technology (they claim) it contains more energy. The only thing that is relevant for the camera is the voltage and cameras have to be very tolerant because as the battery empties, the voltage gets gradually lower. The battery is nominally 3.7 V but a full battery is probably say 4.2V and an empty one is probably around 3.2 V. (If you want to know for sure buy a 'multimeter' for say 4 euro (5 dollar) and turn the dial to a scale 20V of voltage and measure it between the + and - poles. (I gave my mother such a multimeter already years ago but she doesn't dare to use it...). By the way I saw an auto-ranging multimeter at the local 'Action!'- store lately for 4 euro I think. I should have bought it, just to learn from it! (In that case you'd just select the voltage mode and it will determine the range itself.)

BTW. As regards batteries, there are much more serious problems than the (hypothetical) energy capacity. Some batteries (NiCd for example) lose capacity when you don't fully charge and discharge them each time. This is called the memory effect. They will remember the last levels of charge and discharge and won't go outside of those borders the next time. NiMH which is often used in recharchable AA and AAA batteries doesn't have the memory effect, but loses it's charge at a rate of say 5-10% a month, which makes it hard to store loaded batteries. (A solution is to keep the battery in the loader all of the time where it is being trickle-fed).

I don't know much yet about the Lithium Ion battery technology used in our batteries, but as I understood the batteries seem to age quite fast. (That is losing their capacity over time.) That means you will have to buy new batteries every 5 years for example. Suppose the capacity loss is 10% per year, that means that a 1250 mAh battery will become a 1125 mAh after a year (of laying in a warehouse for example).

Personally I prefer cameras that use standard AA or AAA rechargable batteries because you can keep a pool of cheap, recently recharged batteries for all kinds of devices and use a semi-professional loader. (Batteries are currently 5 euro per 4 AA/AAA batteries at Aldi). Another advantage is that the batteries can use the latest technology. And yet another advantage it that you can also take some regular (non-rechargable) batteries along as a backup or you can buy them localy, for example when you are on vacation. My mother took my old Kodak 3.1 Mpixel camera (which uses 2 AA batteries) on a boat trip to Norway last summer and recharging the batteries in foreign situations can be a much larger problem than just buying non-rechargables (which have a higher voltage and a much larger capacity by the way...).

Well, considering all of this I bought the Traveler DC-8600 because of it's other merrits and the fact that it came with two accus/batteries and a loader and a pouch and cables etc. whereas a lot of other brands seem to charge an excessive amount extra for the optional 'extras'.

And of course because of the specs that I'm interested in:
- enormous macro-zooming (I want to be able to photograph
a single flower close up)
- semi-serious movie-making (640*480 at 30 fps with sound)
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Rosemary Kelleher 8 pts
March 3, 2008 7:50 AM
0 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
Hi Reg & Jaap - Thank you both so much for explaining about the capacity of the batteries in terms I can understand. Jaap, your analogy to a bucket of water was very helpful, you have educated me.
I will read your info again & again.
As I said somewhere above, I won't consider buying a camera that doesn't have a Macro facility and that's the reason I bought first the DC-8600 and then upgraded to the DC-XZ6 both with Macro & Super Macro as I photograph flowers more than anything else. I've had stunning results with both cameras. When you import the photos to the computer you can see details which are invisible to the naked eye, hairs in foxglove throats, bristles on flies, pollen grains etc. Iris petals look like white prawn crackers, crisp and glistening. The cameras open up a whole new world which is truly amazing to see. Many thanks again 2U both - Regards, Rosemary.
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Jaap van Ganswijk 11 pts
March 4, 2008 11:03 PM
1 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
I used to have a Practica Super TL2 mirror reflex camera (from Eastern Germany, and therefore affordable) and making macro photos was very cheap: for about $10 one could buy a set of low-tech rings (11 mm, 20 mm and 30 mm) that you could screw between the lens and the camera. (You could also combine several for up to a total of 61 mm) and that would turn your camera almost into a microscope! ;-) But it's nice that it's now incorporated in quite a low cost camera like ours. It saves a lot of screwing time and having to slep the rings around.

As regards seeing details that you can't see with the naked eye: Scanners are also quite good at this: The human eye is quite compatible with a scan of 300 DPI (dots per inch) but modern scanners can scan at about 2400 DPI which is equal to using a magnification of 8! Try scanning a black and white 'photo' in a newspaper!

They were selling a Traveler microscope at Aldi here (well it was in the folder) for about 50 euro, but I had already bought a Bresser one from Lidl (for 60 or 70 euro) some years ago which seems to be slightly better. Both microscopes also have an ocular with a digital USB camera but it has quite a low resolution (at lest on my Bresser: 352*288 or such). Besides the USB ocular the microscopes are quite good on a just below professional level. It's similar to or better than we had in high school and what a chemistry student in a university would have had. When you have never used a microscope it's really a good introduction! (But read the manual very carefully, it's easy to push the lens through the specimen glass...). BTW. if anyone knows where to buy a better USB ocular for the Bresser microscope or a ring to attach our camera to it let me know. BTW. one of the biggest improvements for microscopes like these is the use of bright LEDs to illuminate the specimen from the top and/or the bottom. When I was young it had to be done with a bright 60W lightbulb and a mirror bellow the specimen and that created quite a lof of heat (cooking your sample) and you couldn't move the microscope even a mm or the light would change... That is all much simpler now but it's still a lot of work to make nice pictures.

Here some pictures from another (French-speaking) user:
http://users.skynet.be/chricat/uscope/uscope.html
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Rosemary Kelleher 8 pts
March 5, 2008 8:11 PM
0 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
Hello Jaap - What a strange series of coincidences - above (Feb 21st 08) you mentioned that you had/still have a Russian Xenix SLR
Well, tonight I just dug out of a dusty old plastic bag two (shamefully dusty) old Russian Zenits - one is a Zenit-E with Helios-44-2 2/58 lens (SLR I think, it's quite bulky) and the other a Zenit 3M with Helios-44, 2/58 lens not sure if it is SLR, both are quite heavy.
I think the shutter is stuck on one of these Zenits and not sure if the other still works. Both with viewfinders which Ken would love.
Next coincidence, also in bag are three (equally dusty) screw-in extension rings which you mention above to facilitate getting closer to image/object. One is about 1" in height including screw thread, next is just over 1/2" and last is just under 1/2" making a total of 2+1/4" including all knurled edges of rings.
I remember using them once trying to photograph a bug of some sort, it turned out ok but focusing at close range was very difficult.
Both the cameras & rings belonged to my father. He had a collection of old cameras. If he were still alive today he would be amazed at the advanced technology and would love all the digital cameras and their capabilities and ease of use.
Next, I had given me last year a BioLux microscope 40x-1024x from Lidl. I used it briefly but hadn't put the software into computer as not sure if it was safe, then the bulb blew and we couldn't buy right size to replace it, then a few days ago my husband found a spare in the box. I haven't had time to try it again - I suppose the software disc is safe to run ?
Tonight, I only just looked at your video clip and photos of your (dusty) keyboard ha ha, so we have that in common too.(dust).
I don't know how I missed them before but I could not find the photo of your mother. By the way, flowers & bugs are much more interesting than dusty keyboards.

And finally, back to the Traveler cameras, in Aldi's here they still had (a couple of days ago) one of each of the Traveler DXZ-6 10.1mp €169.99 & DC-7900 7.1 mp €69.99 but they haven't restocked with the DC8600. Wonder what will be next ?
We haven't heard from Ken for a few days - are you still out there Ken and just busy with your Traveler ?
All the best - Rosemary.
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Jaap van Ganswijk 11 pts
March 6, 2008 1:27 AM
1 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
Ah, yes it was Zenith (or Zenit? ;-) and not Xenix (which was an early Unix version). But I have never had one. Fortunately my parents were modestly rich enough so I could buy a Praktica. East European cameras were much better than Russian stuff. BTW. I did have a 6x6 cm box-camera from Russia with two lenses at the front, the lower one for the actual camera and the upper one for the part with a static mirror which had a mat glass at the top. The lenses were coupled using tooth-wheels (?). It was an interesting concept but not perfect. I bought it for about 22 euro just for fun, but later when I studied Industrial Design a fellow student and friend wanted to buy it from me, so I sold it to him. Because of the 6x6 cm negatives you could use the camera to produce big foto posters. Professional cameras for magazines and posters always used 6x6 cm negatives but used the mirror reflex camera mechanism instead of two lenses and a static mirror.

The shutters of the Zenith's were made of a kind of asphalted cloth and very prone to failure (a friend in high school had one I think). BTW. The much more sophisticated metal shutter in my Praktica also had to be repaired later.

The Zenith camera's also used P-thread (Praktica-thread) I think. The first standard for lenses. It was very easy to find cheap lenses and other parts because it was all very standardized. Later Olympus, Canon and Nikon etc. all introduced their own 'standards'. Well bajonet connections can save a lot of time when exchanging lenses and the camera's got more and more electronical and less mechanical of course.

Focussing at close range is always very difficult and that is where a mirror reflex camera can be very handy, but not when the subject is moving. I hat I lot of tame mice back then and they tend to move. Our Traveler camera's have a setting where it takes 3 photo's in rapid succession or keeps taking photo's in rapid intervals. I haven't experimented with it yet. Of course you can't use flash at close range so you need to set-up a well lit scene which takes quite a lot of planning. I bought two 5 dollar bureau 12 V halogen lamps some time ago but both have died in the mean time because the internal transformator gave up. I'll buy some more of them later, hopefully of a better quality.

As regards the software for the Biolux: I think you can trust that. BTW. the driver for the camera is generic I think, so it's already present in Windows XP and Vista and you can also use other software to capture the images or the 'movie' from the camera. I have several programs from other webcams, scanners, videocards etc. so I'm not sure if I used the software that came with the microscope. But I always trust software from serious companies. Most software that comes with products like these are downgraded versions of the professional version. I think that this microscope came with Ulead's photo-express SE (special edition). You can probably also download it from their site for free.

With the bulb that blew, you mean the LED? It's amazing how powerful and multicolored LED's have became over time. As far as I can oversee I think all of those kinds of LED's should be compatible and shouldn't cost more than say one dollar. I'd worry more about getting a LED that emits enough light and in all colors than if it uses the 'correct' amount of power. The power unit should be able to accomodate any LED. Most LED's need a voltage of about 1.5V I think. BTW. I didn't find a spare LED in the box...

Anyway, a LED blowing up is very unlikely unless perhaps you reverse the current. (But I'd have to check that. Does your husband tend to experiment with these things?)

The photo of my mother:

http://www.xs4all.nl/~ganswijk/traveler/BILD0002.JPG

About the dusty keyboard: Well I was impressed by the macro
capabilities of the camera and these were all photos and movies
made soon after buying the camera. Sometimes when I see
demo photos I doubt that an amateur could make them within
say a week.

As regards keyboard hygiene: I have seen much worse keyboards
in my life because I have used a lot of second hand keyboards
over the years... (I'm using another second hand keyboard in the
mean time by the way...)

As regards Aldi and their cameras: I think that the DXZ-6 and DC8600
are too similar to keep offering them both but they seem to think
that a cheap non-zooming camera with only 7 megapixels for 70
euro might appeal to part of the 'masses' and my mother would
probably like it's snapshot-camera-like qualities. And frankly, a
moving lens is way to expensive when you can replace it with a
(in the mean time cheap) multi-megapixel sensor that most people
don't need and with which you can do the zooming digitally?

Most people don't seem to be smart enough (as we are) to
appreciate the macro capabilities of cameras. ;-)
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Rosemary Kelleher 8 pts
March 6, 2008 6:22 PM
0 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
Hi Jaap - Ah yes, I just viewed the photo of your mother - the problem before, I did not wait long enough for it to come through completely so I saw just the wall above your telephone. Your mother looks to be a very nice lady. I can see that you are a bit of a bookworm too. Re the LED (?) that came with the microscope, the one that blew is a screw-in bulb (well, it looks like an ordinary tiny light bulb to me) and it's about the size of a thumbnail but round with two little filaments inside. The spare found in the box is smaller (size of little finger nail). Tonight a second tiny bulb has been found so we are thinking that perhaps the bigger one that blew must have been the wrong bulb and we have come to the conclusion that the guy who gave me the microscope (my husband's friend) must have had a go using it and put the wrong (bigger) bulb in it. He's the type of guy who would mend your car with a hammer so no wonder it blew. The spare was found in a small round recess in the polystyrene packing (inside) so have another look in your packaging if you still have it. What is the difference in appearance between a tiny bulb and an LED ? I have a resin gingerbread house that lights up with (I presume) LED's ? but haven't looked at them at close range.The tinier bulbs have two filaments in them also and are stamped in the metal part with SE 12V 2.2W. We just tried viewing a horse fly's leg and it's in focus ok.
Talking of the mechanics in the old cameras, I'm just looking at the Minolta manual and a blow out of all the works inside the camera -
about 7 circuit boards or more plus numerous sets of cogwheels etc. I haven't a clue what's inside a digital camera but I guess it's nowhere near as complex as SLR's. Thank God I don't need to know what inside to be able to use a digital.
I have plenty of dead butterflies that didn't make it through hibernation over the years so I'm going to take some "dust" off a wing and have a look under the microscope. I've seen them before and they look like roof tiles in different shapes and sizes.
Re the dust, it's everywhere, one can't get rid of it even if you dust each day it comes back down again, very frustrating and not worth bothering about really. My brother once had a 3d camera - I don't know how frequently he used it or what happened to it.
I often wonder if someone will invent a holographic imaging camera /+ tv's so we can see things in 3D, maybe it's impossible but reminds me of a sci-fi film with Walter Pidgeon in it, Robby the robot. The evil side of his conscience manifests itself as the monster of Id. Can't remember the title but he spins a disc on a table and a 3d image appears for a few moments.
Sorry, strayed from the thread again re the DC-8600 so maybe you can keep it going telling us about your results.
Thanks for all the additional info - Regards - Rosemary.
PS - I remembered the film title - it was Forbidden Planet.
Also in my posting above of Wed March 05 I made a typing error, the price of the
DC-7900 7.1mp Traveler was €89.99 not €69.99 - sorry if I misled anyone.
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
Ken 1 pts
February 8, 2009 8:44 AM
0 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
Gday All, For the Traveler DC-XZ6 camera, the specifications state a maximum 2Gb SD memory card is supported.
I have just tried a 4Gb SDHC (Class 6 Higher Speed) memory card and it does recognise the full capacity! Be aware, it is possible a standard speed 4Gb SD card may not work, I cannot confirm this as I don't have one.
Also, I haven't yet tried any higher capacity cards than 4Gb. Good news I think anyway.
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
keith taking photos of a night time 0 pts
April 6, 2009 3:27 AM
0 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
i have a dc-8600 camera can anybody tell me how to take photos of night time. daytime i can see my screen clear but of a night time i cant see who i am taking photos of, is there a mode you have to go into if so can someone let me know please.
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?
fred 1 pts
August 27, 2009 8:18 PM
1 people rated this answer helpful, 0 people rated this answer not helpful
 
hello Keith,
there is a good Forum exact for the Traveler Digital Cameras. Traveler-forum.de it is german, but most
do quite write English well.

Traveler dc-8600 for night short, I would turn to the "red hand" and not on automatic "A"
That increases the the sensibililty. But you must hold it very quiet as you might know. Best a stativ or wall
or so..
Hope this helps
fred


for batteries: http://www.amabilidade2002.com/cellphone12.htm Traveler DC-8300, DC-8500, DC-8600
Traveler DC-XZ6 etc..
Report Abuse Did you find this answer helpful or not helpful?

This Question is Answered. If you have further information you may add it here.

Need to add formatting or links? Use BBCode.
Spell-check
Start Here!
Most Popular
  1. Panasonic FZ35
  2. Canon SD1200 IS
  3. Canon 500D
  4. Canon A1000 IS
  5. Canon SX20 IS
  6. Panasonic FS15
  7. Samsung SL30
  8. Canon 50D
  9. Nikon D90
  10. Canon SX120
Camera Brand
Price Range
Camera Type
Camera Line
Megapixels
Hands-On Reviews
Latest Cameras
Top Searches
Our Other Sites

Close
Loading