Are there any good camera phones on the market. I am trying to decide between a digital camnera and a camera phone. i thought that if i had the camera phone i might be able to do some journal entries from it as well as take pics. any ideas or suggestions greatly appreciated. looking for at least 3 megapixel. Are there any other devices that would allow journal entries and pics both to be taken or is transcriber only way to go??
buzzsaw
I have always carried disposable cameras. I would be too worried about breaking an expensive digital camera, or having it get soaked through or frozen. You can always get a cd made of your film in town and use that to post on your journal and then send home. This is what I plan to do. I do have a camera phone, simply because they all seem to come with them now, and I plan to use that to supplement any photos I take with the disposable.
Doc Holiday Inn
I used pocketmail for my 04 thru hike. That seems to be the most popular method for journal writing. That device is super sturdy and the batteries last so long you forget it actually runs on batteries. I journaled everynight and only had to replace the batteries about once a month. The pocket mail device is actually a loner from another thru hiker. Im the third thru hiker to use it, and all who have used it have completed thier hikes. It was also nice to type out journals once and send them via phone when in town. The call is a 1-800 number and phones in towns are very easy to find. Had a copy of my personal email sent to the pocket mail so I could read encouraging words from friends and family wihout having to track down an open libray. I can tell you more about it if you have any more specific questions.
As far as using a camera I used a Pentax 95WR 35MM. The camera never failed me. The camera never suffered any water damage. I just kept it in my fanny pack for easy access. Its nice not to have to keep it in a waterproof bag that never seem to last. You can check out my trail journal pics and see the quality of this cam. I do wish I used a digital cam, but am also glad that I can put all my pics in an old style scrap book for safe keeping. My next hike will be with a weather resistant digital camera. I don’t recomend using a cell phone. I was without a cell phone until NY. Looking back I was only able to use the phone in about five locations since my cell coverage was poor. The only nice feature was to arange a hostel transprot to pick us up at a trail head.
Get yourself a good calling card that does not have a connection fee. I used onesuite.com and was very happy with it. Be sure to give someone back home your account info so they can recharge it when it runs out. If you use it from a pay phone there is a $.50 charge per call. If you let the other party hang up the phone first you will still be connected to the calling card and can place another call without paying the $.50 charge. This charge is only charged if used from a pay phone as this is the law. If you use the calling card from a home or hostel phone no charge will be incured.
Be sure to keep a good journal because you will look back at it in years to come, also its useful so you don’t have to tell everyone on the phone the same story over and over while hiking. Just refer them to the journal.
Captain Hook