The needs of the traveller are somewhat different than the needs of the professional so keep in mind that I voice my opinions from the traveller point of view.

Had you asked me a few years ago which type of camera I would take on an overseas trip I would have had no hesitation in saying film. At that time there was no digital camera (in my price range) that could compare with film for picture quality. However, things changed and before my last trip in '04 I bought a digital and am now firmly converted to the electronic form. The purists may cringe but I have found my digital camera to be so much better, for so many reasons, than the film SLR I used to carry that there is simply no competition.

The camera I ended up choosing was a second hand Sony F707 that I bought on Ebay for a good price. It may look a little odd with the massive lens when compared to the tiny cameras of today but it has a good solid feel to it and looks almost impressively professional. It was a couple of years old when I got it and was already being overtaken by other, cheaper cameras but every review I read online raved about it and I have to agree with them 100%.

Without going into too much detail: it's 5 megapixels, has a 35mm equivalent zoom of 38-190mm, takes a rechargeable battery that can be charged in-camera and has so many other features that I'm better off just pointing you to a really good review here.

But I'm certainly not enough of an expert to start comparing cameras or give advice on what anyone should get, there are enough sites out there that can do it properly, like Imaging Resource. I'm here to explain why I find digital to be better than film for travelling.

1. Sticks vs Rolls. When you are spending any amount of time living out of a pack the last thing you need is anything taking up extra space or creating extra weight. Real estate in that bag is at a premium and if you want to take enough film with you, and obviously bring it back, then those little black canisters take up space. My Sony camera uses memory sticks for saving the photos and when I went to China I took 6 X 256mb sticks. That 1.5gb of memory was enough to store the 600 shots I took, at the cameras best quality, with room for more. The equivalent number of film rolls, at 36 to a roll, would be 16. May not sound like too many but it is a significant amount of space compared to the 6 cards. Another advantage of memory cards is the speed at which you can change to a fresh one compared to a roll of film and the fact that you can do it under any conditions.

2. Instant Feedback. Anyone who has come back from a trip and been happy with every photo they've taken is much luckier or more talented than the rest of us mere mortals. I used to get my film developed and invariably find shots that I didn't remember taking and others that were missing heads, feet or even the entire thing I was posing in front of. Giving your camera to someone else to take that once in a lifetime shot of you living your dream is fraught with danger. You can ask them to take a number of shots 'just in case' but wouldn't it be great if you could instantly see if it was any good? But of course you can with a digital camera and it's saved me from losing a magical 'in front of shot' a few times. Another advantage of that little screen on the back of your camera is one I didn't think of until I had need of it. Taking shots of people is always best done with a polite request (mimed if need be) and any denials should always be respected. How would you feel having your picture taken while you were doing your grocery shopping? I found that being able to show the subject the shot immediatley after I'd taken it helped to break the ice and in a couple of cases brought on a flurry of posing just so they could check out how they looked.

3. Record Keeping. You get home, have those hundreds of precious memeories developed and then sit there wondering what half of them were and why on earth you took a shot of it. In the back of my diary I devoted pages to keeping a record of what I had photgraphed. It was simply a matter of sitting down for a few minutes at the end of the day and scrolling through everything I'd taken on the little screen and making a quick note of what, where and why. Perfect for putting names to faces and places weeks later when you get home.

4. Safety. Ever been worried about having all your eggs (or rolls of film) in once place? The thought of losing all the photos I've taken is enough to make me break out in a cold sweat but as digital cameras become more of the norm it's now easy to take your memory cards into a photo developing store and have everything burned to cd's. Even in the most remote of places you'll find it increasingly more available and by making a couple of discs you can keep one in one bag, one in another and even mail one home, just in case. If you can't find a store that can do it then have a word to the operator of your nearest internet cafe (and if you can't find one of those these days then you must be really remote) and they may be able to help.

5. Post Trip Processing. One of the first things I used to do when I got home was drop my film off for developing, usually on the way home from the airport. It was exciting to open up the little envelopes and see what I had, but damn it was expensive. With the digital camera it's simply a case of hooking it up to your computer and there you are. To be able to see your shots on screen is much more impressive than holding a little snap shot and you'll find yourself noticing little details you weren't even aware of when you took the photo. Most cameras these days even come with cables that enable you to connect it straight to the AV connections on your TV, giving you the ability to put on slideshows at will. Have a web site, blog, or relative with a computer who wants to see your shots? Already having them in electronic form makes it so much easier to email them or burn a cd. The best free software that I've found for keeping track of your photos and even doing simple corrections, crops and effects is Picasa. it comes from the good people at Google, is free and is easy to use. You can record captions and labels for each shot and it will even let you burn cd compilations with the push of one button. If you have a couple of favourite shots that deserve printing and hanging on the wall then it's an easy matter to go to any photo developing place and get just the ones you want printed. No more having to pay for the out of focus ones. If you have a good printer or one of the specialist docks then you can even print them yourself.

Optional Extras I probably should have called them vital extras because each of the following is something I would reccommend taking with you.

• A rubber lens hood. If your camera is like mine and the lens doesn't automatically retract behind a little cover then a rubber lens hood is a must. It not only prevents lens flare if you're shooting into the sun, it also protects the lens from bumps and knocks. Do a search on Ebay, they're really cheap, just make sure to get the right size for your lens.
• Something else that is only useful if you have a lens thread like mine is a circular polarising filter. It screws onto the end of the lens and it will cut down on glare and reflections as well as protecting the actual lens from scratches.
• A small tripod. You can pick these up cheap from camera shops and, unfolded, they only stand 8 or 9cm tall but provide a stable platform that can be combined with the timer function of your camera for hands-off rock steady shots. They fold up neatly and take up very little space.
• A few cotton buds. Much better for cleaning the dust off the lens than the corner of your shirt. A cheap lens care kit from a camera shop will also include a little plastic air blower and brush.
• Spare batteries. This may be obvious but if your camera uses standard AA or similar then always have a few with you and don't rely on being able to recharge rechargables if you use them. My camera uses a specialist battery and I charge the one in the camera at every opportunity and have a fully charged spare as well. Do a google search for your type of battery if its a specialist one to see if it suffers from 'memory effect'. If you do use rechargable batteries then make sure the charger can handle a varity of voltages.
• Plenty of memory. Another thing that should be obvious. The debate over fewer large cards or more smaller cards is one I won't enter but you're better off with too much than not enough. After all, the cards can be used over and over so they will pay for themselves in reduced developing costs in the long run. If you plan on taking a lot of photos then maybe think of another memory source like an external harddrive or even an ipod. But I'll be looking at those options in another section.