Digital photography & design software: Saving great memories to a digital photo frame --need help
- 12/19/08 10:08 AM
Easy Solution for Scanning Photos
by Loraneb - 12/14/08 4:45 PM In reply to: Saving great memories to a digital photo frame --need help by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
If you have boxes of old pictures which need to be scanned, you might want to save yourself alot of work by using the service ScanMyPhotos.com. I haven't used them yet, but plan to. It's very reasonable. They also do film and slide scanning. I found out about this service from one of the blogs I read.
To scan photos, it's $50 for 1,000 photos. There are some shipping requirements (i.e., how they want the photos arranged, etc.) But how long would it take you to scan 1,000 photos? For me with my limited time, it would take days.
HTH,
Lorane
Amazing!!!
by onezavalar - 12/15/08 2:45 AM In reply to: Saving great memories to a digital photo frame --need help by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Barbara: First My hats off to you, you're a great daughter and second: when I read 70 years of marriage I went: WOW! these days you don't see that. There are a couple of things that I could tell you: I, myself was tinkering with my camera by taking pictures of pictures inside a translucent box (sold at camera stores which also come with a set of lights on the outside) rather than to scan them individually because of the speckles of dust that later on painstakingly you have to remove one by one, and my conclusion is: yes! it works! and there is hardly any visible speckles to remove! Mount the camera on a mini tripod, place the picture inside the box mounted on some kind of mini easel stand and make sure your camera auto focus is disabled and manually adjust your lens to get the sharpest image from one the best and well detailed and well lit picture you may have around this will be your template for the rest of your pictures; you don't have to keep adjusting the focus lens for each picture, if the picture to be taken is blurred there is nothing you can do to sharpen them ,just make sure you don't move your camera and then shoot! since the box is translucent it diffuses the outside lights, there won't be any reflexions of light hitting the picture to worry about. this to me is faster than scanning, later on you just download them to your computer, and if anything the only thing you may have to worry is any edges the pictures may have but you just crop them. Sure photo purist might argue about my procedure but this also depends how good is your camera. And besides think about this: how detailed the picture to display in a 5x7 or 8x10 frame should be? no much really and even less if the photo frame is smaller. Best of luck. Lord Bless.
One Suggestion
by JohnBoy1012 - 12/15/08 7:40 AM In reply to: Saving great memories to a digital photo frame --need help by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Try to find a frame that is "closer to square" shaped i.e. 800pX600p. Most frames are a widescreen format but most pictures are format like a film based camera (5"X3" or 6"X4"). The "closer to square" frame will allow you to use more of the display area of your frame without distorting the aspect ratio of the original picture. I bought a "widescreen" frame and have come to regret it.
Saving for web in Photoshop
by dbrad - 12/15/08 3:48 PM In reply to: Saving great memories to a digital photo frame --need help by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I don't have any experience with digital picture frames, so I can't recommend one model over another, but since they are all made to show photos transferred to them, I expect that the problems being reported are with the size of the photo files people are loading into the frames to process and display. There is undoubtedly a lack of processor power in these digital frames. If you minimize the file size of the photos in the same way that photos are prepared for web use, the frame should have no problem processing them.
Once you have performed the magic that Photoshop is known for and optimized the the pictures for quality, save a copy at the highest settings for your own records, so that you have the best possible quality digital copy (tiff format is commonly used for this since it is basically without any compression or loss of quality at all).
Then, after adjusting the 'Image Size' to match the appropriate size for the frame, choose the option 'Save for Web' from the file menu and make sure the preset is set for jpeg. Choose the 2-up or 4-up tabs at the top left of the window so that you can compare the compressed version to the original, and play with the Quality settings (0-100). You will see that the PERCEPTIBLE quality difference is negligible at even relatively small file sizes (notice the file size and download time for dial-up modem at the bottom left of the example), and you will be able to save a copy of the photo which is a fraction of the original scanned photo size but very close to it in apparent quality for that size frame. Try transferring a few different versions of one of the photos to the frame to see how they look in order to decide an overall Quality setting to use with the rest of the photos.
Did 6 Photo Frames last year-2007, very well received by all
by calcnet - 12/20/08 9:21 AM In reply to: Saving for web in Photoshop by dbradTo: Bbarbara C.
Our extended family was maturing, children in late forties, and early fifties, G'kids just finishing High School, and the bad was family members winking out. Picture albums weren't making it, and pics were piling up in everyones home computers, and yet seldom being looked at. We needed to refresh some of our roots, and where we started, and with whom we did it, both friends and family. I solicited, and nagged family members for their contribution of Pics.
The Photo frame I selected after much review of all that is out there, which this year is not much different, was the Westinghouse, 8 inch diagonal, Black wood frame, 800 X 600 pixels, which is 4X3 aspect ratio, and NO sound. Internal memory is 128MB, but, not really used for your Quick Change interchangeable Pic Albums, maybe for main stream keeper pics, but then you have to select which memory you will view, I would put those pics in all my viewable memory albums. Inputs are USB, for PC access, and Thumb Drives, and all the usual Camera Memory devices. Beside pic file, short video clips are displayed in a separate choice of viewing, mine were from a FuJI still camera, that also took videos, probably will display Cell phone videos as well. I shopped carefully and got very good prices for the 6 . The photo files to be inputted are .BMP, and .JPG, with .JPG preferred for file size. Pics do not have to be reformatted from as taken in the Camera, however, it is wasting memory space to not do so. A 5 to 10 megapixel pic is slower to play back and wastes memory, so reducing file size in an Image editor is a worth while endeavor, and it is not hard to do. I used Ulead,which is now Corel, as my editor to reduce image sizes to 800 X600. Likewise scanned film photos were over scanned at 300 DPI, and cropped for content, with DPI enabled to be reduced to as low as 100 DPI for the final photo frame images. Initially 170 photos were prepared in folders, depending on which which parental group supplied the images, and distributed on inexpensive 1 GB USB Thumb drives. The Westinghouse unit, will shuffle images if so set, so that it samples all folders nicely. In any event Folders will be ignored, so for pic management you may have as may as you need. The display is fast and display time is selectable. A nice feature is used by some family members is Mosaic display, where up to 4 images are displayed simultaneously, depending on their aspect ratio. Most pics although taken in the camera as Landscape are really vertical Portraits of people. (I rejected Wide Screen Photo Frames (16X9) since there would be insufficient vertical space to display good legible Portrait imagery. 800 X 600 pixel density in 8 inch(not 10 inch) diagonal screen provides sufficient sharpness of images, 640 X 480 was NG, to me.) You have to route your Photos through your Film editor to Crop out excess wide screen portions from your camera-prior to copying your final Photo frame Album of Keepers. Color balance, image brightness is just fine after a year of daily use, mine sits along side my PC, and is on whenever the PC is on, always reminding me of my loved ones, when times were great. I emphasized NO sound. If you think Pic editing is no fun, sound is much more difficult. Display time now is variable depending on the sound message or Musical theme. If there were sound on mine, I would never be able to concentrate on using my PC. Listening to the voice of a dear departed, would drive me to tears. Those kind of reminiscences are for private walk through(s) of your life, where reflection is intended. The Westinghouse operating system works just fine, never stalled, although it is not intuitive to me. I ended up making a Crib sheet to operate it, noticed that my G'kids picked up on it immediately.
Another batch of family pics has to be planned for 2009, should have done one in 2008, shoulda--woulda -you know how that is. Barbara, hope my experience helps.
calcnet
Prints to digital the easy way
by rheppert - 12/15/08 5:58 PM In reply to: Saving great memories to a digital photo frame --need help by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Face it, the digital photo frame is not that high resolution.
Take the prints to well lit daylight and take photos of them with your digital camera. Just be sure to use the right macro setting and be careful about glare. Use Picasa to clean them up.
Problems with Digital Photo Frames
by waytron - 12/18/08 2:44 AM In reply to: Saving great memories to a digital photo frame --need help by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I was not going to bother replying to this email because I have never really had major problems displaying photos on digital frames. I do have to admit that I have always used Corel Photo-Paint rather than Photoshop, so maybe that has something to do with it. My mother is an artist, and last Christmas I gave her a digital frame with several hundred digitally scanned, cropped and resized images as well as digitally created title pages and had no problems. Earlier this week, I set up 2 digital frames for a client without any problems as well. I did run into some problems with a few earlier frames when they first came out that required placing the photos into specific folders and seemed to have problems with larger file sizes as well as some issues with file formats other than JPG. In general, I would recommend the following:
1. Try to keep the final image size less than 3meg per photo.
2. Save photos in JPG format.
3. Keep images in similar aspect ratio as the frame.
4. Avoid high compression modes.
Maybe others who have had similar problems can shed light on this problem.
Dana
Wayland Computer
RE: Problems with digital photo frames
by xarophti - 12/19/08 8:27 PM In reply to: Problems with Digital Photo Frames by waytronI think Dana is onto one of the key factors with item #2: Save photos in JPG format. I've found when working with Photoshop, it often wants to save "projects" in its own proprietary Photoshop project format, .PSD or .PDD unless you use the drop down arrow and specifically tell it to save as .JPG. I'd be willing to bet this is what causes the frames to choke.
xar
I'm a photographer and a digital frame owner - here's my .02
by jwilli4834 - 12/19/08 8:35 PM In reply to: Saving great memories to a digital photo frame --need help by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
1.) Buy a frame with supporting software. Kodak easyshare has a tool specifically for optimizing photos to be displayed in their frame. It works very well by the way.
2.) Picture size should be very small in the end show - 400k is typical on my frame.
3.) Picasa is a great tool to "feel lucky" and optimize a shot for display.
4.) Removable memory is a lifesaver. Faster uploads on usb 2.0, buy 2 and swap it out every time you visit. Gives you longer to process images, and keeps the frame from becoming boring. In the end, 70 years of photos, will never fit on one card anyway. When you have completed the project, copy onto several cards or thumb drives and let her swap them as she gets bored etc... Could do seasonally themed cards for easter, christmas, halloween. As we get older, it helps to have this type of reminder. My wife works in geriatrics and this is very important for quality of life.
5.) Have fun! I wish my parents were still around to do this for.
How about a digital photo frame with pictures THAT MOVE!
by fuelmagic - 12/20/08 10:55 AM In reply to: Saving great memories to a digital photo frame --need help by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
If you want to give a gift that really keeps on giving try a digital photo frame that has some video playback capabilities with it (video camera footage not required). This will allow zooming in and panning of photos instead of just static shots and will draw the viewer into the pictures and add life and interest. Compare this concept to something you might find on the History Channel. They take an old painting or drawing and keep the camera moving as they narrate to really draw you in. Yes you can do this at home with still pictures and it is EASY and FUN!
Here's what you need (or at least what I used):
A VIEWSONIC 8" DPX802BSL. This model has a video mode as well as standard slide show features(plus 800x600 resolution, rechargeable battery etc.)about $120.
An application called PROSHOW GOLD (about $80) that allows you to drag and drop digital photos into a timeline, then pan and zoom, fade and dissolve between frames etc. You can find it on the internet and download a trial copy. (It's so easy you'll be hooked.)
This solves many problems at once:
1) You can use and mix any file sizes from your computer to create the show. The software will automatically re-size it to what it needs during the final show processing phase.
2) It doesn't matter what size or shape the original picture is because you decide what is important in the picture by zooming into it or panning across it. A picture of a tall building is not a problem--start at the base of it and tilt upward to the top. Same thing with group pictures or broad scenes--you decide what is important and zoom in on it drawing the viewer in, or reverse by showing a point of interest then zooming back to reveal the entire scene.
This may sound complex but it really isn't because this particular software (ProShow Gold) is intuitive. You can actually guess how to zoom in and out, pan, tilt, dissolve, fade, etc. because it is laid out in an intelligent fashion. You get instant feedback as to how each picture looks and can make changes readily. It is actually fun. You'll be able to throw together a motion picture slide show very quickly and with little study. Do you want sound--that's possible too.
When your show is finished rendering you use the "collect files" menu to bring all of the pictures into one file that can be transferred onto a thumb drive, SD chip etc. or directly into the photo frame. Now run it as a video, continuously loop it if you want.
Doesn't that sound a lot more interesting than a steady stream of still pictures one after another? You bet it is!
Oh, and did I mention that this is really FUN?
help choosing your digital frame
by mpwaren - 12/27/08 6:25 AM In reply to: Saving great memories to a digital photo frame --need help by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
You could buy a digital photo frame. Choose with high resolution up to 1024x768 pixel, If you can adopt with photoshop (CS or CS2). You can manage your picture with 72 pixel per inch. Use this link= http://www.lacor.com/hk/ (copy and paste to address).
I like the design , you can change the cover too. Include with slide picture and multi media card reader and stylish is a must.
You can contact me for other information (other digital frame ). I have other technology too. Many user don't understand the meanning of technology and memorial of life time.
Best Regards,
Sanjaya
Digital Photo Frame response
by Mike A. - 1/12/09 10:16 PM In reply to: Saving great memories to a digital photo frame --need help by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
You're on the right track, but don't need fancy software. I used HP printer/scanner/copier to scan old photos in plain JPEG format with software provided. The, cut, paste and adjusted to my liking. Mixed and match with my normal digital pix. Look for Memorex or Kodak digital frames. Memorex uses digital camera cards or a jump drivr to load the pix. Great for if you want to easily send updated photos on occassion. You get what you pay for with these frames, so $99 - $129 is good price. Plus, the more expensive ones also show video clips and play audio files in the background. Check places like Officemax or Office Depot.
Best Photo Frame
by esubi81 - 2/14/09 11:29 AM In reply to: Saving great memories to a digital photo frame --need help by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
It's difficult to recommend a specific brand as they frequently change their models. Here are a few general pointers. Pick out a frame with a 4:3 ratio so that it is compatible with your camera's image size. A wide screen frame only wastes picture area. You may prefer to buy one with its own software which will automatically re size and rotate the photos to fit the frame. You can do your touch up work in Adobe then transfer the image to the frames software. Also, if you desire to have the pictures show in a special order, you will need to renumber them while in Adobe. Make sure you start with a 1 followed by zeroes such as 100, 101, etc. Remember that photo frames do NOT have separate folders, so your grandmother will always be viewing the entire set (Smartparts did make a photo frame that allowed for different folders. It was sold under the Bro0kstone Store name but has been discontinued). Your grandmother may find it easier to work a frame with buttons rather than a touch screen, which can be very temperamental. Finally, visit the different manufacturers websites and take a look at the manuals. They will give you some good insight about the frame.
Good luck!
Try a Ceiva
by Gita T - 2/26/09 3:15 PM In reply to: Best Photo Frame by esubi81I think Ceiva frames are one of the only ones with the 4:3 aspect ratio, which means your photos won't look all stretched out and weird—really common with digital frames! I have three Ceivas in my family. When you sign up for the membership, they provide free software for touching up any of your photos. They also have a low cost photo scanning service so you can get all your prints scanned in high res, which they send back to you with a CD of your digital photos. They even send the digital photos from your prints to your digital frame for you so you don't have to load them. Also, with my Ceiva, I can email photos to the frame. I also send them from my iPhone, which is new for me. The frames connect to the network every day to receive the next slideshow, so you could send photos to your Mom's frame and she can view them without having to bother with any buttons or anything. Your mom won't need a computer or internet like a lot of connected frames because she can plug her Ceiva into a phone jack. My mother-in-law loves hers!
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