Recycle Digital Camera

The most popular cameras being used to take photographs are: Mobile Phone Cameras, Compact Digital Cameras and Digital SLRs (Single Lens Reflex). If you are about to recycle your old one here are some ideas on what to get next.

The most photographs taken and put on the web these days come from cameras built into mobile devices, most commonly mobile phones, but now they even come in tablets and iPads. Even some of the cheapest and most basic mobiles have one built in because they are so cheap to manufacture.

Compact Cameras have been around for decades and have allowed anyone to take quick, decent photographs leaving the camera to do everything automatically. All the user has to do is point and shoot. These cameras, while easy to use like mobile phone cameras are a bit hit and miss when it comes to results. Being able to review and delete pictures on the spot certainly helps come up with a better photo before say, sharing it to Facebook or Twitter.

Digital SLRs and the more recent mirrorless digital cameras are more aimed at the photographer who wants more control over how an image is captured. These types of cameras have interchangable lenses which usually have much higher quality optics than compact or mobile cameras. Because the lenses are much bigger they let in more light. Light is the most important thing in a photograph and the more of it you can get into the camera the more light ‘information’ will be captured.

The best thing about cameras built into mobile phones is that whenever you see a photo opportunity just whip out your phone. It may even be in your hand already! Typically these built in cameras give less than satisfying results. Unless you are outside in daylight, they will often come out dark and dull. This is because of the tiny lens and cheap hardware.

More recent phones, especially smartphones have greatly improved hardware that pick up low light better and even have things like LED flashes allowing better illumination of a dark subject. These phones are more expensive however.

Compact cameras are always being improved with things like anti-shake, face detection and HD video. Smartphones are usually just one step behind this. Compact cameras are very good for things like parties, to pass the phone around your friends, to take pictures and look at the ones already taken. I doubt many of us would be happy passing our mobile phones around like that! Compacts are more social and they are easier to use because they focus solely one taking great snaps.

SLRs are expensive, bulky and heavy, but if you feel limited by not being able to control things like ISO, aperture, focus and shutter speed easily then an SLR may be for you. It allows more creative control over capturing the light bouncing off your scene or subject. They may be bulky but with the right experience can give great results. Even without much knowledge about how cameras work the AUTO feature on SLRs will give the best results out of any camera simply because of the optics and hardware inside.

Hopefully by now you’ve made up your mind. If you want to recycle your old digital camera to raise funds for your next one or to make sure it is disposed of correctly, then using a recycling service like Boots, O2 or selling it on Ebay is a good way to go.

So, what type of camera should you go for?

If you want to spend very little and travel extra light but are not too bothered about quality, then just use a mobile camera. Wait until your contract expires and you might get a decent one in your next phone. They can give pretty good results, are cheap and convenient.

If you want something that is fun to use, costs about 100 or 200 quid, great for snapping pictures allowing you to have fun and not get bogged down with settings, then a compact camera would suit you great. Passing cameras round with your friends without a worry can be way more fun that holding onto your expensive smartphone or SLR. Letting your friends take pics can leave you with a memory card full of funny surprises.

If you want the ultimate camera, the one that captures the most light and can really bring to life your subject then go for an SLR. You have to be pretty serious about photography to buy one of these expensive babies but the results can be stunning.

(These images of examples of types of camera.)

Happy snapping, capturing and composing!

If you’ve recently purchased a new digital camera and have recycled the old one or are looking to purchase a new one and are a complete beginner, have a read through the following tips to help you become the next David Bailey:

1. If you are a beginner to photography and its your first camera that you are looking for don’t go mad and spend a fortune on one. If you spend a lot its likely that it will be much too complicated with features that you will rarely ever use.
2. Consider buying a cheap tripod with your first camera. Tripods are great and will help you get much better pictures especially if you have slightly shaky hands.
3. Carry your new camera with you everywhere you go. You never know when you will come across an unexpected ‘Kodak moment.’
4. If you don’t want to carry your camera everywhere then take a notepad out with you so you can note down anything that you want to photograph at a later date.
5. Browse through library books, photography magazines and websites for inspiration and tips.
6. Try using different settings camera to see what the different effects are like. To get help with what all the little symbols mean it will be useful to read the manual that comes in the box or is available online.
7. If you just starting out in the world of photography then try to take at least one picture everyday.
8. Be bold when taking photographs – If your afraid of taking someones pictures then go and ask them if it’s OK, get them to sign a release and offer a free print in return. If your taking pictures of wildlife try to get in places where nobody else goes to get the most interesting photographs.
9. Shoot first, ask questions later. When you are taking pictures make sure you are quick so your subject doesn’t move, fly away or just get tired of waiting for you. Practise taking pictures as fast as you possibly can.
10. Move in closer, after taking your first pictures, move in a little closer and take another, repeat this until you are sure that you’ve got the best shot possible.

If you have a digital camera then you can delete any photos that you don’t want, learn from your mistakes but above all photography is about having fun.

The Vtech Kidizoom Twist Camera is made specifically for kids aged 3 and over and would be a perfect Christmas present for children who want their first camera.

The Kidizoom Twist is a real digital camera that allows children to take pictures like any other digital camera. The main feature is a twisty lens that can be twisted to take a picture of themselves and then twist it again to take one of their friends.

It features a 2 megapixel camera with a twisting lens, an integrated LCD screen, a voice recording feature that can be played back, a 4x digital zoom, interactive funny face editing software and video recorder.

The camera comes in pink or blue colours and has rubber ends so can be dropped numerous times without any damage. It is designed to be durable and extra tough. It also has 256MB of internal storage which can store around 500 photos, an SD card slot that allows you to expand the memory and a built in flash.

It works on two AA batteries that are included free in the pack.

The camera has simple to use buttons, fun built in games and should grab any kid’s attention really quickly. Priced at around £40 the Kidizoom really is good value for money, it won’t break like a normal digital camera if dropped or thrown on the floor and will provide hours of fun for the next budding David Bailey.

It’s likely that the Kidizoom Twist will be very popular this Christmas due to Kidizoom camera’s being the best selling toys of 2011.

Buy the Kidizoom Twist digital camera for £37.49 at Amazon here

(Price correct on October 2011)

Digital Camera manufacturer, Eastman Kodak Co (EK.N) shares fell by 25% to a 38 year low this week after the company announced that they would be borrowing £103 million ($160 million) for ‘general corporate purposes.”

Kodak who have not made a profit since 2007 have struggled to adapt to the digital age. The company has been well known for film photography for well over 100 years.

Instead of playing down investor concerns about borrowing the money Kodak heightened them by declining to comment on their current cash position. On 30th June 2011 Kodak had $957 million on their balance sheet.

A Kodak representative, Christopher Veronda would only say that “we have certainly not consumer $957 million in cash since June 30th.”

A Technology Analyst with the Davies Murphy Group, Chris Green said “Kodak is in danger of becoming obsolete in the digital age.” He added “Unless they keep pace they won’t survive.”

It’s possible that Kodak are burning to much cash and trying to grab at anything that is available.

One possible lifeline for the company is their patent portfolio which is valued at £2 billion. They have already announced the sale of 10% of this portfolio back in July.

Popular electronics and camera manufacturer Canon have recently announced their new Powershot S100 to replace the discontinued Powershot S95.

The S100 will look very similar to the S95 apart from the shutter button being silver and the ring function being put on the back. Other changes to the look of the previous model is a thumb grip on the back and a finger grip on the front left.

The main features of the S100 include Canons digic 5 image processor which allows full HD movie capture and a burst shooting mode. Other features include a 12 mega-pixel camera compared to 10 mega-pixel on the S95, a 24mm wide-angle lens, 3.0 inch LCD, dynamic and intelligent image stabilisation, smart auto detect, multi area white balance correction, auto red-eye correction and 5x optical zoom.

The camera also has a HDMI port to allow images and video to be displayed on a high definition TV and stereo sound sound to guarantee crystal clear CD quality audio every time. It has GPS built in to enable location data to be recorded, tagged and logged for future use.

Easy web upload software is included in the box so videos and clips can be uploaded to social media websites including YouTube and Facebook with just one click.

The box contains a wrist strap, battery pack, batter charger, ac cable, interface cable for USB and a user manual. Other accessories that are compatible for the camera include a soft leather case, a HDMI cable and a waterproof case to allow it to be used at up to 40m underwater.

The Canon S100 will be available to buy in the UK on November 25th priced at £439.

Pre-order your Canon Powershot S100 at Amazon here

The Freeloader Pro is an extremely powerful solar charger that will charge pretty much any digital camera and loads of other electronic gadgets.

Whether you are on the beach, up a mountain, on a ski slope or anywhere else in the world the Free loader Pro is a great device to have with you.

To charge it’s internal battery you can either plug it into a USB slot or use the solar panels on the outside which takes 7 – 9 hours in good conditions. Once it’s full charged the Freeloader Pro will have enough power to give to give a mobile phone up to 70 hours standby time, a digital camera 100% charge or an e-book reader 5000 page turns. It can even charge MP3 players and power hungry SLR camera batteries.

The colour of the charger is piano black and it is made up of a tough aluminium which is extremely light weight. It comes with a Camcaddy that will accept almost every single type of camera battery due to it’s slider bar and adjustable pin contacts. It accepts many different types of camera batteries including compact, SLR and video cameras.

Buy the Freeloader Pro for £49.50 at Amazon here

A new video has been released by the Environment Agency to show how the UK is currently tackling the huge e-waste exports problem.

The Director of Environment and Business at the UK Environment Agency, Ed Mitchell said “There’s been a lot of investment in facilities in this country to be able to recycle that e-waste, such that the whole quantity can now be recycled within the UK. The problem is that a proportion of that waste is being diverted by criminal activity away from those legitimate, safe, secure, environmentally responsible businesses and is being diverted abroad illegally.”

The Environment Agency is currently working with 42 organizations around the world who share intelligence on where illegal e-waste is being dumped.
Anyone who exports illegal e-waste in the future can expect to be chased down and prosecuted by the Environment Agency. 4 people have already been prosecuted this year and a further 6 people in the last 3 years, many investigations are also on-going.

E-waste is one of the fastest growing waste streams and can include anything from old TV’s, Refrigerators, mobile phones, digital cameras and many other electronic products.

You can do your bit for the environment and recycle small electrical items such as camera’s and mobile phones at sites including O2 Recycle or Boots Recycle.

By recycling your old digital camera or other gadget at O2 Recycle not only can you earn some extra money but all profits that are made are donated to O2’s Think Big Initiative.

The Think Big Initiative finds young people with great ideas and helps them get going by giving them the funding and training to make their ideas work out. As one of the biggest companies in the UK, O2’s initiative will back young people, invest in them, campaign for them, give them a platform and a voice. Think Big helps to turn around the lives of young people from many different communities.

At O2 recycle you can sell digital cameras from many different manufactures including Canon, Casio, Fuji, GE, Kodak, Nikon, Olympus, Panasonic, Pentax, Samsung or Sony. Payments are sent in cash via cheque or bank transfer within 5 working days.

Recycle your old camera at O2 Recycle here

There are many different types of batteries in almost all electronic devices including digital cameras, portable cameras, mobile phones, laptops, watches and loads more, all these batteries can and should be recycled correctly.

The batteries that come out of regular household items contain chemicals like mercury, cadmium and lead. If these are thrown in the bin and end up at landfill they will release toxic chemicals into the soil which can pollute water and be a health risk for humans and animals.

At the moment in the UK only 3-5% of batteries are recycled correctly although government targets are now in place to increase this figure.

Not only does recycling batteries help the environment by stopping so many going to landfill but it also helps re-use thousands of tonnes of valuable metals silver, cobalt and nickel. This helps to save the earth’s natural resources.

Batteries from cameras or other electronic devices can be recycled at a number of places including collection bins in the shops and supermarkets where batteries are sold. A ‘Be Positive’ sign will be displayed in shop windows that offer this facility. Many local councils will also have battery collection bins at their recycling and waste centres.

To find out more about recycling your used camera batteries visit Battery Back here.

Anyone looking at recycling their old digital camera in order to buy the latest model may be excioted to hear that Sony are releasing a new model towards the end of this year, the DSC-TX55 from their cyber-shot range.

The new Sony DSC-TX55 will feature loads of new technologies including ‘By Pixel Super Resolution’ that will increase the camera’s zoom range to 10x without loosing quality, it will also have a ‘picture effect’ mode which will further expand your artistic qualities without having to go through any traditional editing software and the camera’s auto focus will let you lock onto your subject in just 0.1 seconds.

The design of the camera is extremely stylish and very slim at just 12.2mm thick. On the back there’s a 3.3 inch OLED touchscreen which allows you to control the menus. Other features include a 16.2 mega-pixel CMOS sensor that can give you intense image detail and really low picture noise no matter if you are shooting still images or even recording HD video.

The DSC-TX55 is not a DSLR but will still be able to deliver DSLR picture quality.

Also the DSC-TX55 digital camera will be able to shoot 3D images with just one lens. It will achieve this by taking two shots at once with the first image being used to estimate the depth, so that a 3D image can be created.

The black version of the camera is expected to be out in the UK in September this year priced around £215.

Have an old digital camera to recycle? Sell it for cash or vouchers at Boots Recycle or SpeedSell.