Digital Focus: More Goodies for the Holidays
More battery power, more memory, more ways to repair photos, more, more, more.Dave Johnson
Feature: More Goodies for the Holidays
Ah, the holidays: Snowy days, long nights, fragrant wreaths, colored lights, and tinsel. I love this time of year. As I write this, it's still mid-November and I'm putting together my holiday shopping list. In my research, I've found some digital photography goodies that you might want to add to your own list.
More Battery Power
Digital camera batteries run out far too soon. You can stick yet another set of nickel metal-hydride rechargeable batteries in someone's stocking this year, or you could go for something really unusual: a Quantum external battery.
Quantum makes battery packs and cables for many common cameras, everything from the Kodak DC 4800 to the Nikon CoolPix 4300 to the Olympus C-5050. These packs give you about five times the runtime that you'd get from an ordinary set of alkaline batteries--and they can power an external flash, too. Prices vary, so you'll want to visit the Quantum site for a complete rundown of how they're priced and what models are supported.
Slide Shows on TV
You've seen pictures on your PC; now watch them on TV. A set-top box like the SanDisk Digital Photo Viewer accepts just about any kind of memory card and plays images in slide show format on a television. Even if your digital camera has a video cable, you might want to put this one on your wish list--it has a remote control for operation from the comfort of your couch. It costs $79 at the SanDisk site, but I found it for only $50 at the PCWorld.com Product Finder.
Photo Repair Made Easy
About a year ago, I recommended DigitalCustom's Image-Edit & Art as a cool service that enhances and repairs your digital or print photos. The online service professionally corrects, enhances, and restores pictures for a fee.
Now you can give the equivalent of a gift certificate for the service. For $70 (plus $5 shipping), you get a prepaid FedEx mailer that can be used to send a photo to Image-Edit & Art. In 3 to 5 weeks, the sender gets their original back plus an 8-by-10-inch print of the restored or enhanced photo, along with a CD with the digital version. You can order the mailer from Amazon.com.
More Memory
No one is ever satisfied with the memory card that comes in the box with the camera. Put a smile on someone's face this year with a big honkin' memory card. Be sure you know what kind of card to get--CompactFlash, Memory Stick, Secure Digital, SmartMedia, or XD Picture Card. But I'm sure you'll be pleased to find that all memory cards are more affordable than ever. For example, I found a 1GB CompactFlash card for less than $200 at our Product Finder.
You can get a 256MB Secure Digital card for chump change compared to what these cards cost a year ago: When I checked our Product Finder at press time, I found it for less than $70.
Fast, Easy Prints
Professional photographers sometimes complain that switching to a digital camera means losing the ability to quickly and easily get prints; it's a pain, after all, to transfer pictures to a PC, then crop and print them via an image editing program. But there are many quick-print alternatives. If you've got a Kodak printer (or know someone who does), then I highly recommend the Kodak EasyShare Printer Dock, a $200 gadget that lets you print just by slipping the camera into the dock and pressing a button. I found it on our Product Finder for about $170.
Or look into any of the Epson or Hewlett-Packard printers with memory card slots--they all make it easy to print. I'm fond of the Epson Stylus Photo 825, for example, which has a slot for all popular memory cards. I checked our Product Finder and found it for less than $100.
Books
Is someone on your list new to digital photography? Then give them a book to help them learn how to get the most out of their new camera. A book puts a lot of the information a committed student needs in one place. A good book puts a lot of the information a committed student needs in one place--it can offer far more value than more-expensive gifts. Here are three titles that I often recommend to new digital photographers:
Dave's Favorites: Photo Tips From ACD Systems
Many of you already know about ACD Systems. The company makes some very good image editing software, including the superb ACDSee 6.0, a photo organizer that includes a solid array of image editing tools. The reason I mention ACD this week is that it publishes a surprisingly useful digital photo newsletter. For solid advice on editing techniques, photography tips, and tricks on how to better use image editing software, check out ACD's online newsletter.
Q&A: Is Windows XP Degrading My Digital Photos?
When I rotate a JPEG in the XP Picture and Fax Viewer, the picture retains the new orientation when I reopen the file. Is XP resaving this picture? Is this degrading the quality?
--Michael Robbins, San Antonio
Yes and yes.
Whenever you use Windows XP's built-in Picture and Fax Viewer to rotate a sideways picture, Windows truly is rotating and then resaving the image for you so that it's permanently rotated to the new orientation. This is a convenient feature, since you'd otherwise have to open an image editor like Adobe Photoshop Elements and use menu commands to do the same thing. The Picture and Fax Viewer, on the other hand, gives you a pair of handy rotate icons at the bottom of the screen.
It's not all just hugs and kisses for Microsoft, though, because your images are being resaved without any warning. That's a big no-no in the image editing universe, since every time you change and resave a lossy file like a JPEG, there's some additional image degradation.
And rotating an image can be even worse, since the process often adds unique errors into a picture. These are usually not noticeable to the naked eye, but they're there--and they might be visible when you print or magnify the image.
To its credit, the Picture and Fax Viewer warns you when it thinks the image you want to rotate will have visible artifacts as a result of the rotation process. Here's the bottom line: If you don't see that dialog box warning you about the rotation, you're probably pretty safe, especially if the picture is sideways and you'd have to rotate it anyway. But don't rotate the same image over and over, since that'll compound any problems.
Hot Pic of the Week
Get published, get famous! Each week, we select our favorite reader-submitted photo based on creativity, originality and technique. Every month, the best of the weekly winners gets a prize valued at between $15 and $50.
Here's how to enter: Send us your photograph in JPEG format, at a resolution no higher than 640 by 480 pixels. Entries at higher resolutions will be immediately disqualified. If necessary, use an image editing program to reduce the file size of your image before e-mailing it to us. Include the title of your photo along with a short description and how you photographed it. Don't forget to send your name, e-mail address, and postal address. Before entering, please read the full description of the contest rules and regulations.
This week's Hot Pic: "Green Boat," by Ted Brindle, Indianapolis
Ted captured this beautifully tranquil scene at Peggy's Cove in Nova Scotia using an Olympus C-2100 digital camera. He left the camera in its default program mode, and demonstrated a great sense of composition by aligning the fishing boats to the right of center. Great work, Ted!
We want your feedback! Send your comments, questions, and suggestions about the newsletter itself to comments@bydavejohnson.com. If you have a question that you'd like to see answered in the weekly Q&A, send it to question@bydavejohnson.com.
For back issues, visit our Digital Photo Tips archive. Sign up to have the Digital Focus Newsletter e-mailed to you each week.