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The last link jumps to one of my rocketry pages. I combined model rocketry and aerial photography for this one:

Rocket Photography

Okay, I'll admit that I've been an avid user of disposable cameras for many years. (I just realised I should be referring to them as "single-use cameras".) They take acceptable photographs in most cases and occasionally a really good one. They will also survive fairly harsh treatment, e.g. being shoved into the nose-cone of a model rocket and impacted at high speed with the ground (see my section on aerial photography)! Of course the optics are fairly crude and there's no facility for any adjustments, but they are good value overall. The picture quality is still better than some of the really cheap reloadable cameras around.

Looking at it another way: I don't think digital cameras are currently the most cost-effective way to put images onto a computer, unless you really need to bypass the developing & printing process. If you want to do web graphics on the cheap, use a basic scanner and a disposable or other economical camera like I do - and learn all the image-enhancement features in your favourite photo-editing program. If you've got a few more dollars to spend, buy a decent compact or SLR camera (you'll have more fun with it) and a good flatbed scanner. A scanner is one of the most useful peripherals you can buy if you want to make Web graphics or even just send pictures with your emails.

The only serious problem I've experienced with the single-use cameras is overexposure. The reason for this? Well, at least two of the major film manufacturers use 800 A.S.A. film in this type of camera. Using this type of film doesn't seem to make much sense, in the daylight cameras at least. As the manufacturers recommend use in daylight conditions and the shutters are not particularly high-speed, this type of film is likely to become overexposed. Most photo labs will compensate for this problem as much as possible but the end result is often washed-out looking prints. So if you are trying out disposable cameras for outdoor shots I would advise choosing brands with film of 400 A.S.A. or less. (Sometimes this might mean buying the generic or house-brand one.) Of course if you have a 35mm compact or SLR camera you can simply select whatever film you want, but a disposable camera is still a neat choice for many uses. It's fine for those without a lot of photographic experience or who don't take photos very often, as well as being handy for situations where a camera could get damaged.

A bit of editing does wonders for scanned pictures. Sometimes you might get images which look great just as they are, other times you will need to use a few tricks to get good results. Photos with washed-out colour or fogging can often be turned into crisp-looking black-and-white images, for example. (Hey, I happen to like monochrome images - and you don't see too many on Web sites!) Sharpening or edge-enhancement of the pictures can also help a great deal; some experts advise this is necessary for virtually all scanned images anyway. The precise range of effects will depend on what image-editing program is used, but the "Unsharp Mask" is one of the most versatile.

A few other tips I've learnt which you might find useful:

• Single-use cameras will usually take a shot closer to the subject than the instructions tell you. For example you will find a couple of images where I've photographed myself, or somebody else has done similar, simply by holding the camera at arm's length or less.

• A slightly unusual lighting effect can be produced by taking a picture towards the sun but with an object such as a tree or bridge pylon between it and the camera. This can be particularly useful when the sun is low on the horizon.

• Scanning at more than 400 dpi doesn't much improve the appearance of Web graphics unless you have a really high-end scanner. Also, 50-percent compression is fine for most .JPG files and won't visibly reduce the quality. I keep these settings as defaults when working on images for the Web - excessively large files take too long to load.

• You can take a photograph through a window or car windscreen, as long as the glass is clean. Holding the camera close to the glass will usually minimise reflection. (If you have to use the flash, position the camera at a 45-degree angle to the glass so the flash does not reflect back to the lens.) However you can create the opposite effect and make a kind of merged image by standing back from the glass in bright light.

• A flash-type disposable camera is often useful for daytime use where reduced light levels exist - using it as "fill-in" flash. If you don't mind the extra cost then you can use the same camera for non-flash images as well, just beware of over-exposure as previously described.

• You can make a simple animation by taking a number of photographs of something moving, scanning them then converting the sequence into an animated .GIF file. (If you really want to, that is...)

• Need to take a photo with a single-use camera looking into sunlight, where the excess glare might cause overexposure? Use the lens in your sunglasses as a filter for the camera lens. The colours might look a little different but it will work okay.

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