Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Once again, digital cameras are predicted to be one of the top selling Christmas gifts, so to help you plan for Christmas shopping and holiday gatherings, I've got tips on taking holiday photos and guides on what to look for when buying a new digital camera or printer.

Did you know you can turn your photos into US Postal Service-approved postage stamps? It's a really cool and creative way of making your holiday cards extra special. It's also great for weddings, graduations and other special events. Here is a link to my review of Photo Stamps. It really is a great idea, and there is time to order your stamps to send with this year's holiday cards.

Also, take a look at the great discounts I've compiled on photo printing services. You can get some big savings on printing holiday photo cards and photo gifts. Deals also abound on digital cameras and printers.

What to Look for When Buying a Digital Camera
Top Rated Photo Printers
Tips for Taking Holiday Photos
Digital Camera & Equipment Sales
Digital Photo Software Sales/Promos
Digital Photo Printing Services Sales & Discounts

What to Look For When Buying a Digital Camera

Today's digital camera's are smaller, have bigger LCD screens and more mega pixels than ever. Better yet, the prices are coming down. If your camera is a few years old, you may want to upgrade. My Nikon was state-of- the-art only three years ago, but now the small LCD drives me crazy, especially when I see the new models with 2.5 inch or even 3 inch screens! And of course, digital cameras make wonderful Christmas gifts, with models to fit all budgets. Here are some guidelines on what to consider before you buy:

MEGA PIXELS

Image quality is measured in pixels, and a megapixel (MP) is one million pixels. The more pixels, the higher the resolution, and the higher the resolution the more you can enlarge photos without losing quality. Digital cameras range from 2MP to 10MP (or more for digital SLRs). The most popular are in the 6 MP - 8 MP range.

SIZE

Today's cameras are smaller and lighter than ever before and many can easily fit in your pocket, purse, briefcase, glove compartment, ski jacket, etc. This makes them especially handy to take them with you just about everywhere. Unless you are a serious photo enthusiast and want a digital SLR, which is larger, you will love the compact size of the new camera models.

LCD SCREEN

The new generation of digital cameras have displays up to 2.5 inches, some even 3 inches, letting you see details and even zoom in closer. This is probably my favorite feature. Among other things, it's a great advantage for spotting the person with their eyes closed in a group shot so you can retake the photo.

OPTICAL AND DIGITAL ZOOM

Optical and Digital Zoom can be confusing. Here is a quick explanation. Optical zoom is the most important; it magnifies the subject without decreasing the photo resolution. An optical zoom of 10x or more is called a "superzoom" lens. Most compact digital cameras will have 3x or 4x optical zoom. Digital zoom basically crops the image, which zooms you closer but with less pixels, which means less resolution. Be careful when a merchant touts a high total zoom. You need to see how it breaks down. Total zoom = optical zoom x digital zoom. For example: 30x zoom = 3 optical x 10 digital.

Top Rated Photo Printers

I've put together some tips on what to look for when buying a digital photo printer, as well as a list of some top rated printers. There are some great models and the prices have come down. Click here for my printer buying tips and a list of some of the best photo printers.

Tips for Taking Holiday Photos

1. Excessive red-eye in photos is a major problem for many photo takers, but it can be greaty reduced by turn on your camera’s red-eye reduction setting. It is often found as an alternate flash setting. It works by sending out a burst of pre-flashes to dilate your subject's pupils. This reduces the amount of light reflected back at the camera when the flash goes off.

2. Use Your Flash. Indoor shots without flash often come out dark, blurry or with an odd color cast. Using your flash can greatly improve your photos. In addition to your flash, turn on your Night Mode. It extends the interval the shutter is open and works well with holiday lighting or candles in the background.

3. If you have a tri-pod, use it. It is great for setting up group photos and for avoiding camera shake.

4. Don't forget your charger or an extra battery so you don't run out of juice mid-way. If you don't have a large capacity memory card, consider getting one. It's not fun to run out of memory right before taking an important photo.

Digital Camera and Equipment Sales

» Current hot deals include brand-name digital cameras for less than $149. Hot deals include the Nikon Coolpix L3, now just $126.94. Other brands include Fuji, Olympus, HP, Kodak and Panasonic.

» Top selling digital cameras:

Canon PowerShot SD600 6MP Digital Elph Camera with 3x Optical Zoom - $219.93
Canon PowerShot SD800 IS 7.1MP Digital Elph Camera with 3.8x Wide Angle Image-Stabilized Optical Zoom
$361.49
Canon PowerShot SD700 IS 6MP Digital Elph Camera with 4x Image Stabilized Zoom - $295.49
Canon PowerShot A540 6MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Zoom - $177.14
Canon Powershot SD500 7.1MP Digital Elph Camera with 3x Optical Zoom - $249
Canon PowerShot SD630 6MP Digital Elph Camera with 3x Optical Zoom, 3" LCD - $262
Sony Cybershot S500 6MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom - $144.94

Go to Amazon.com

» Walmart features lots of internet-only sales on digital cameras, printers and equipment that change regularly.

» Purchase a KODAK EASYSHARE V705 in Absolute Pink and receive 50% off the Pink V-Series kit with coupon code VP7NKL6V. This Dual Lens Digital Camera is the world's smallest ultra-wide-angle zoom digital camera and is embedded with KODAK RETINA Dual Lens Technology, 5x optical zoom and 7.1 megapixels. The V-Series kit includes a pink camera case, pink and silver wrist strap, and pink and silver neck strap. Thru 12/24.

» Save 25% on Bags, Batteries and more with the purchase of any KODAK EASYSHARE Digital Camera. Thru 12/24
» Save 25% on the P20 Zoom Flash with the purchase of any P-series Camera - $37.48 in savings. Thru 12/24
» Save up to 20% on all accessories.Thru 12/24
» Purchase a new KODAK EASYSHARE digital camera, get a cash rebate for your existing camera
» Get a FREE Travel Printer Dock Bag with any Printer or Printer Dock purchase - $39.95 in savings. Thru 12/24
» Free standard shipping on purchases over $50 thru 12/19
» 12/1-12/3 ONLY: Spend $150, get $75 in Future Savings at the KODAK Store.

Shop the Kodak Store

» Canon Power Shot A430 Digital Camera - Best Price on the net! $109.99
» FujiFilm FinePix A500 Digital Camera $109.95
» Nikon D40 Digital Camera (DSLR) w/EF-S 18-55mm II Lens $599.99
» Nikon Triple Rebate program - the more you buy the more you save. Buy 1 eligible item and get single rebate -
   2 different eligible items get 2x rebate -3 eligible items get 3x rebate

Go to RitzCamera.com

» Free Standard Shipping thru 12/31. Coupon: C609-38-5164-21 
» Free Photo Book - $12.95 value.Coupon: C440-38-5161-81
» 25 FREE Photo Cards FREE ($18.75 Value) Coupon Code: C772-38-5112-51. Offer Ends: 12/31/06

Go to Photoworks.com

» Spend $50 and get 20% off Martha Stewart products with coupon code MARTHA20 Thru 12/15
» Buy 10 or more Martha Stewart Holiday Cards and get up to 35% off No coupon required.
» Get 20% off your order of $10 or more with coupon code POSTMYPHOTOS Thru 12/15
» Get 10 FREE Photo Print Cards, when you buy 10 or more Thru 12/11. Use coupon code FREESET
» Buy 4 Photo Print Cards sets and get one set FREE with coupon code AECARDS Thru 12/15
» Spend $75 and ship your Kodak Gallery gifts for free. Use FREESHIPPING at check out. Thru Dec 2

Digital Photo Software - Sales, Rebates

Here are the current sales/promos on digital photo editing and organizing software as of Nov 30.. They can change at any time. There are several rebates available too.

ACDSee Photo Editor (reviewed here) is $69.99 direct with instant download.. Click Here to get a FREE 30-day trial .

Adobe Photoshop Elements 5 for Windows (reviewed here) is $89.99 full or $69.99 upgrade at Adobe.com. Get a free 30-day trial. Free Shipping Worldwide: Exclusive for the holidays, starting December 4th through January 4th, receive free shipping worldwide on all Adobe products.

Corel Paint Shop Pro XI is $24.23 with free shipping at Amazon and a rebate.

Corel Photo Album 6 Deluxe is $19.99 at Amazon after rebate plus free shipping. Great program, too.

Microsoft Digital Image Suite 2006 is only $61.98 with free shipping at Amazon

PhotoImpact 12 - photo editing software is $89.99 or $49.99 to upgrade from prior version. Special Offer: Buy any version of Ulead PhotoImpact 12 and get FREE VideoStudio Movie Wizard (Download). Plus FREE shipping* or 10% off all downloadable software** only with Coupon Code: 2006merryxmas. Download a free 30-day trial. This is an excellent photo editing program and easy to learn.