Are there any photo shops that can copy directly from a digital camera or CompactFlash card to a CD-R?

I am considering buying a digital camera (possibly Kodak DC-240 or DC-280) before a week-long trip to Orlando/WDW. I am thinking that I either need to borrow a laptopa dn buy a PCMCIA CF reader OR get a very large (64 or 128MB) CF card. If there is anyone that can copy directly to CD-R for me it would really simplify things.

-- Mark Pine (markspine@yahoo.com), August 16, 2000

Answers

Possibly, but I kind of doubt it...

You'd be more likely to find a Cyber Cafe or copy store(Mailboxes, Etc., Kinko's...) where you can rent a PC by the hour, possibly with Internet access. This'd allow you to transfer images via the internet(possibly to an online photo album/photofinisher) or perhaps simply email them to your regular email address.

The last time I was there(about 1992 or 3?) there were several shops around(inside) the place that sold film, it might be that they've upgraded and installed some photo kiosks or something like that. Perhaps you should check with WDW and see what they offer. They always impressed me as being on the cutting edge of things... especially when it came to finding new ways of separating people from their cash. :-)

The other two items you might consider are the Clik! drives or the new Digital Wallet. The clik! drives can often be found on Ebay at a fraction of the original price, and the 6GB Digital Wallet is new on the market.

The laptop does have an advantage in that you can use it to review and sort your images when you have a break and are looking for something "relaxing" to do.[Sorry, but the last time I visited WDW I found it anything, but relaxing... :-) ] I use a Smartmedia to PCMCIA adapter and a Mitsubishi Amity laptop with a 4GB drive I popped in after I bought it.

No matter which way you go, you'll probably want a good sized storage card or a couple smaller ones anyway.

Good Luck!

-- Gerald M. Payne (gmp@surferz.net), August 16, 2000.