what kind of digital camera should i buy for undercover work?

what kind of digital camera should i buy for undercover work?

some mystery shops require the use of a digital camera.

they have a basic digital camera at the store for $55.00, but you can clearly tell that it's a digital camera when used.

am i better off getting a phone with a camera option built in, so as not to look obvious taking pictures in a store?

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I use my samsung vibrant Android phone for sneaky pictures during shops. It has a 5.1 megapixel camera and takes great pictures.

There are even apps which let you take pictures without the camera app being visible on the screen while you do so.

[market.android.com]

And of course it depends on whether you want the ongoing expense of supporting a camera phone. Yes, my little old flip phone takes pictures, but I am not paying for the service to be able to email them anywhere, so if I use that phone I need to use the cable and software to upload them to my computer. Digital cameras are cheap and with a push this year for folks to "get rid of their desktop, laptop, digital camera, etc." because it can all be done by their phone or their pad, there are lots of gently used digi cameras available--even at Goodwill--for next to nothing.

I use my digital camera alot for my gas shops. I haven't bothered to learn to take pics with my phone yet because I can do so well with what I already know. I like the convenience of taking the chip out of my camera and plugging it into my netbook and my pics being right there for me.

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Flash Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> And of course it depends on whether you want the
> ongoing expense of supporting a camera phone.
> Yes, my little old flip phone takes pictures, but
> I am not paying for the service to be able to
> email them anywhere, so if I use that phone I need
> to use the cable and software to upload them to my
> computer.

i already have a samsung camera phone that is about a year old. it takes pictures, but the only way to transfer the pictures to the computer is by emailing them. the phone has no chip or USB cord to transfer the pictures directly to the computer. and i no longer use the phone service itself, because i really don't need it that badly. basically, i just use my samsung phone for the calendar, notepad and alarm clock, for which it serves me quite well.

and i really don't want to buy another phone either. i might just get an inexpensive digital camera.

however, i'm wondering if i'm going to need something a bit more covert for the digital camera shops. otherwise, i imagine that i'll look pretty obvious if i'm snapping pictures with a digital camera in a store. (by the way, is it illegal to take photos in a privately owned store?)

I have a Samsung reality phone that takes awesome pictures. I act like I'm sending a text and its a slider so while my fingers are "texting" it looks like the finger on top is steadying the phone (meanwhile thats where the button is). My phone is about a year old from Verizon and after figuring out how to get the pix to the PC I use it all the time. The one time I had to use my regular digital camera to take pictures at a gas station I was terrified as the guy was staring at me the entire time and lets just say he was not friendly when I went in to even buy a cup of coffee.

suzieboz Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I have a Samsung reality phone that takes awesome
> pictures. I act like I'm sending a text and its a
> slider so while my fingers are "texting" it looks
> like the finger on top is steadying the phone
> (meanwhile thats where the button is). My phone
> is about a year old from Verizon and after
> figuring out how to get the pix to the PC I use it
> all the time. The one time I had to use my
> regular digital camera to take pictures at a gas
> station I was terrified as the guy was staring at
> me the entire time and lets just say he was not
> friendly when I went in to even buy a cup of
> coffee.

is there a way for me to buy a camera phone without having to sign up for the phone service?

the phone salespeople think that i'm strange for wanting to buy a camera phone but not wanting phone service with the phone. then they just go on to the next customer.

my current cell phone can only send pictures via email, but i have to pay extra just to send emails. it doesn't support a memory card or USB cable.

My flip phone required purchase of software and a special cable. This was available on eBay at about 25% of what the cell phone place wanted for the same thing. On some of the shops I was told that one could not purchase the smart phones without purchase of all the additional services. I would suspect that you can pick up a smart phone on eBay that the service has been discontinued and if it has a memory card, just use the thing as a camera without any phone services at all.

Flash Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> My flip phone required purchase of software and a
> special cable. This was available on eBay at
> about 25% of what the cell phone place wanted for
> the same thing. On some of the shops I was told
> that one could not purchase the smart phones
> without purchase of all the additional services.
> I would suspect that you can pick up a smart phone
> on eBay that the service has been discontinued and
> if it has a memory card, just use the thing as a
> camera without any phone services at all.

thanks, i'll check that out.

You could also try Craig's List or a pawn shop; you never know what you'll find there!

suzieboz Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> You could also try Craig's List or a pawn shop;
> you never know what you'll find there!

i just found this brand new phone for $50. it was originally $80.

the Samsung A187 cell phone with camera and full querty keyboard:

[www.radioshack.com]

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/26/2011 04:13AM by vince.

You may say I'm a bit behind in the technology department in what I'm about to ask.When submitting my purchase receipts for shops on my desktop,I'm an ace,(scan,save,browse...submit!) I'm planning on investing in a laptop so that I can submit my shops while out in the field, especially when traveling a distance from home.My question is,"how do I go about submitting a receipt from a laptop?" I feel this could be a great time saver not waiting to return home to submit a report requiring a receipt. Thanks all.........

Fareal2, you will need to either photograph your receipts and use a card reader to load the picture files to your laptop or get a portable scanner you can use with your laptop's USB port. I find my little Sony Cyber-Shot point and shoot takes great shots of receipts.

I have a Casio Exilm that I use most of the time. It is really great for just about everything. It has a simple setting for taking 640x480 shot that many MSC's (Maritz) want. It can take shots up to 12.1 megapixels, so if you need a high-quality shot which some jobs require, you can do that, as well. Plus, I have an iPhone. It comes in so very handy when you need to take something a little bit more covertly... you can make it look just like you're texting and get a nice picture.

Steve...

Fresno, CA - and shopping all over the middle part of the state!

Unless I'm on an overnight road trip, I simply leave the receipt submission until I get home to my scanner. When I'm on a road trip, the digital camera does just fine. What is more of an issue on a road trip is any printing I may need to do, and for that I tend to load the pdf to a thumb drive and stop by an office supply place. But if I am on a road trip at the request of the company, they can jolly well let me have time to get home to submit receipts. I see no reason in my business to scan while on the road.

At home my printer/scanner/fax is set up wirelessly, so I use my laptop at home, often out on the screen porch, and can scan directly to the laptop from the scanner wirelessly.

Do all photos require a day and time stamp on them???

Never did them myself and wondered if all camera phones
have the above feature.

Many Thanks

Not all jobs require time-stamps on photos. The only one I know of that does is the Exxon/Mobil shops. I have seen some jobs that do not want the time/date stamp on the photos. Just make sure you read your instructions!

Steve...

Fresno, CA - and shopping all over the middle part of the state!

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