We bought a digital photo frame yesterday. Today he found some photos from his hikes when we lived in California. I don't know if he remembers the hikes or the fun, but I've just scanned in the best 30 photos and I'll be making up a group of photos for the frame in the next couple of days. They are going to take some work before they can go on the frame and they are also going to need another memory card. I've set the frame up so he can see it from where he sits on the couch. I can set up multiple groups of photos on each card, and can also have multiple cards, so I'll just keep the set I already have as well.
Starling - what brand of photo frame did you get, and where? I looked for one, but all I could find was one that had to plug into my computer, which limits where I can put it.
It is a Philips 9FF2. It is a 9 inch frame and frankly was more money than I thought I ought to be paying. But the frames that are on sale are actually half that size. They would work great if you wanted one for your desk at work, but not for across the room.
This one has some across the room problems too. It is sitting at eye level and they have it leaned back on its stand. I had to prop the stand up or the screen was too dark. I also lightened all of the photos. I do a lot of Photoshop scrapbooking, so I've got the tools to do this stuff.
What I've done so far is gather photos into a folder on my computer and move them onto a Compact Flash card. I'm using the automatic settings, but there are a lot more things available, including moving photos directly onto the frame. I have a funny feeling that I'm basically going to build the slideshows on a series of Compact Flash cards since they have gotten very cheap. It is possible to put more than one slideshow on a card, but I haven't worked that out yet.
One problem is that the battery life on the frame is only 1 hour. Basically I've got it plugged in. I'd love it if I could plan on working it from the battery, but I can't. But you do have the option of detaching it from the wall cord and letting someone hold it while they look at the photos.
Marsh...these frames are all over the place! Wal Mart, Sam's, Target, Toys r' us, Sears...it's hard not to find them!
You usally have to plug them in to your computer to download the pictures, but after that you unplug it, attach the wall adaptor, and good to go. 24/7 pictures! Expect to pay about 120 for a decent one, over 150 is plain not necessary. Under 80 and it's either on a whopping sale or you're going to get a piece of junk.
The $120 ones are about 7 inches. The 9 inch frames cost around $200 which is what I paid. If a 7 inch frame will work for you because of where you can locate it, then go for that one. I am very happy with the Philips brand and they do make the smaller 7 inch frame and it is available at a good price.
I wouldn't buy one of the 5.4 inch frames which is what you get at the $80 point unless you will be using it at a desk in your office. You would need to be right up on it to be able to see the photos. Go somewhere you can see the frames working. I literally recognized that I didn't want the small frame at Walmart where they had multiple frames set up and working. Because of Mother's Day most of the bigger ones were not actually available. They had sold out.
I ended up going to the camera store where we had bought our last two cameras. There was someone there who could answer questions, like questions about resolution, which is another factor in how much the frame is going to cost.
And they happen to be really good people who are helpful even when you DIDN'T buy the camera from them when you get into trouble. Which is why we keep going back even though they don't have discount prices.
Could I have gotten a cheaper frame? Yes. Would I have been as happy with it? Possibly not. Would it have been as easy to use? Again, possibly not.