Tech Support Pits:

From Fran===
Dear Webby,
I tried to buy a digital camera, the Canon G3 that you had
recommended last year. The local salesman told me I would
be stupid, and an obvious novice if I didn't buy this and that
and the other thing with it. Do I really need all that stuff?
Fran

Dear Fran
Tell him to stuff his stuff where the sun don't shine, and buy
the camera on-line for a lot less money and no hassle.

With a G3 you don't need anything else.
The battery seems to last forever. For a two week trip I don't
bother taking a spare battery. And even if you run it down,
it charges back up in the time it takes you to have a shower.

If you buy it with a 256 MB memory chip, you can put 250
Megabyte pictures onto it. If you plan to take more pictures
than that between downloading to a computer, get another
memory chip on-line from whoever has them on sale. That
is not likely to be a camera store.

Adapters and extra lenses, don't bother. Unless you do some
REALLY specialized photography, you won't need them.
Never buy an extra lens unless you have found out
personally that the camera alone won't quite do the job
without it. Chances are very good that that camera will do
it just fine.

If you want to spend extra money, get a sturdy surveyor's
tripod. Combined with the remote control, that comes with
the camera, that produces much clearer long distance shots
than an expensive tele lens and no tripod.

Have FUN!
DearWebby