Disposable Digital Cameras Have Arrived

damiangerous writes "American chain Ritz camera has begun offering disposable digital cameras for $10.99. The price includes 4x6" prints and a Photo CD of the camera's 25 photo memory. Pictures can be deleted, but there's no LCD."

Comments

It's not disposable... it's reusable.

[JohnGrahamCumming]

It's not _disposable_ it's _reusable_. The camera is returned to a
Ritz Camera store where the pictures inside are downloaded to a CD
or printed. The camera itself is kept by Ritz and recycled to another
customer. In other words your $10.99 is a _rental_ of the camera
with processing of the pictures included in the rental price.

There's a picture of one of these cameras here.

The USA Today article has some more details
on the camera and its use including the fact that it is likely to be sold at Walgreens
and Walt Disney theme parks (seems like a good idea to me).

The camera has a 2-megapixel sensor.

John.

Re:It's not disposable... it's reusable.

[Martin Blank]

I asked her a short while ago when she got home from work, and here's how it works...

The camera costs $10.99, and then the photo processing is another $10.99. The camera contains no LCD, but you can delete the last picture taken. The image is still stored on regular film, and the capacity is 25 images. There is a self-timer on it for when you want to take pics and have yourself in it. That's pretty much it. The camera's film is unloaded by Ritz personnel, and the empties are sent back to the manufacturer to be reloaded with new film.

Aside from the ability to delete the last picture before it's stored on film and the self-timer, there's nothing new about them. However, the ability to kill that picture you know sucked might be worth the extra dollar or two.

Found out how they do that.....

[Creepy Crawler]

Well, there's either 2 ways (2 models).

One is properity IR connection. The other is a headphone jack that somehow sends/receives data. And it DOES connect through a usb dongle to either type of camera.

More information and pictures here

[jonhuang]

What it says. looks like a fairly small camera, flash, plastic, "Dakota" brand?

In Japan for at least 18 months

[Richard W.M. Jones]

The Japanese have had fairly low-resolution (640 x 480) single use digital cameras since at least Nov 2001. I saw them there on a trip to Tokyo.

Rich.

Real price is $21.98 for 25 prints

[morcheeba]

I just rushed out to the store and got their catalog. I'll just transcribe the best parts:

New! Available in June in selected areas
- Delete & Retake last shot
- self timer
- Return the camera to Ritz Camera or Wolf Camera and get:
-- 25 hires prints
-- index print
-- Your pictures on a Big-e CD

$10.99 Camera Only
Digiprint processing package: $10.99 (Frequent Foto Benefits not applicable)

Avalable at selected stores in the following areas: Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Birmingham, Chicago, Dallas, North Carolina, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Tenessee, Washington DC.

I talked to the lady in the store, and she said that only the stores with a Pioneer system would be able to process it (whatever that is). There was only one store in the RTP area that had this, and they were already closed at 7:45 pm.