Digital cameras have transformed photography. Millions of consumers have replaced their film cameras with disposable digital cameras. Shutterbugs also have flocked to cell phones with built-in cameras. This trend during last few years has almost totally eliminated film sales.Digital cameras are all very attractive, but what if you can't afford one? Today I'm taking a look at a new alternative i.e. disposable digital cameras for those of you who want digital pictures without having to buy an expensive toy. Kodak advertises "disposable digital cameras" and you can find similar advertisements for other brands, such as Fuji, at major camera stores. The cameras are actually regular disposable digital cameras.

Disposable digital cameras are mainly produced in China. After the consumer uses them, they are shipped by the retailer to a recycling facility in Chicago, where they're refurbished and repackaged. One can not say how many times the cameras are recycled, but the industry average is five to eight times.

Kodak

You'll pay about $10 for Kodak's Plus Digital 35 mm one-time use camera. Expect to pay approximately $12 to develop your film. You'll receive hard prints as well as a PhotoCD. When you develop film from a traditional disposable camera, you're looking at development costs plus $7.99 for the

Fuji

Stores such as Wolfe's Camera offer similar deals on Fuji's disposable cameras and they're a little less expensive than Kodak's. You'll pay about $6 for a camera with 27 shots. Get your film developed at the store where you bought the camera to get your free picture CD with developing.

If you're going to buy a disposable digital cameras and order a picture CD anyway, shell out a little extra dollars for the more expensive disposable digital cameras. The price difference is usually less than the cost of ordering a CD separately, saving you a couple bucks in the long run.

However, if you want digital, buy digital cameras only. As with a digital camera you can instantly delete unwanted images and print the ones you love instead of paying to develop an entire roll of film sight unseen. Plus, you can print on your home printer or save some ink using a service such as Fuji Frontier. From the photo CD, users can rotate images and edit captions. The software allows shutterbugs to e-mail pictures, save them on the PC by automatically creating a folder on the Windows desktop called Photo CD, print photos, and create a slide show. Once the prints have been developed, it returns the camera to Pure Digital for recycling. Much like the method for film disposables, Pure Digital refurbishes each camera for resale