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Techno-files
Picture the future: It’s digital!

By Riley Gay

If you were to ask most computer and electronics retailers, they’d tell you that one of the fastest growing segments of their market these days is digital cameras. According to them, if you don’t already own one, you soon will.

Taking pictures with a digital camera, and getting them out of the camera, though, is a very different exercise from what you’re probably used to from using a film-based camera.

For most people, using the ubiquitous point-and-shoot film camera is simply a matter of taking a quick snapshot, dropping off the film to be processed, then picking up the finished prints later that day or the next.

No muss, no fuss unless, of course, your friends and relatives want reprints after they’ve had the chance to see them. Then it’s back to the lab and another wait. That is, if you can find the negatives.

It can be a hassle but, since we’re used to it, we generally don’t complain all that much.

Once you go digital, though, you’ll find that picture taking is a whole new ballgame.

On the downside, there’s a learning curve involved with just taking the picture. With almost any consumer digital camera, for instance, there is a lag between the time you press the button and the time when the shutter releases to allow for all the needed computations and adjustments. While usually only a second or two, it does take some getting used to.

Of course, even after you’ve mastered that, the whole process of viewing your cherished shots and getting them off the camera and onto paper might seem, at least to the uninitiated, like something of a challenge.

The fact is, though, that this is where having a digital camera really gets to be fun.

Whereas film-based cameras make you wait until the prints come back from the lab before you can see your shots, digital cameras allow you to view your photos as soon as they’re shot.

They can be viewed right on the camera, or on your desktop or laptop computer. Most cameras are even equipped with a video-out port that allows you to show your just-snapped shots on your TV.

When it comes time to transfer and print your pictures, there are several options from which you’ll need to choose.

Nearly all of the digital cameras on the market today include a USB cable for transferring your photos from the camera to your computer. While this generally works quite well, there are a couple of major drawbacks -- it’s slow, and it tends to drain your camera’s batteries.

A better method is to use a special device to read your camera’s removable storage media -- compact flash, smart media, Sony memory stick, or other media -- and then transfer the images to your PC. Memory card readers generally run anywhere from $30 to $50, but you’ll save both your time and your batteries.

Another option is to buy a printer that can read the memory card directly, bypassing both the camera and your computer. HP’s psc 950vr printer includes slots for the most popular types of storage media, and sells for around $400.

Additionally, several photo-processing companies, such as Kodak and Polaroid, have begun installing convenient automated kiosks just about everywhere. These self-operated processing centers can accept several types of storage media and deliver your prints on the spot.

Before you print your shots, though, you’ll probably want to do a little processing of your own. One of the best features of digital photography is the control you have in just how well the finished product comes out, and there are a lot of fun things you can do with your images before they go to print.

Having the right photo-editing software will not only make touch-ups simple, but it will let you unleash your creativity in ways you could never dream of with your old film-based camera.

While all digital cameras come with some type of application to let you transfer, organize and enhance your digital photos, you may prefer to pick the one that best suits your particular needs.

Several good consumer-level programs are available in prices that range from about $50 up to around $80. Choosing the right one for you will just depend on what you want to do with your pictures and what your level of expertise might be.

For novices, and anyone looking for simplicity and ease-of-use, Microsoft’s Picture It! software ($49) is a good choice. This application has been around for years and is designed with the average user firmly in mind.

A newcomer to the photo-editing field is Jasc Software’s After Image program ($49). From one of the leaders in graphics software, this consumer-oriented package offers a full range of features from basic editing to creating slide shows and panoramas.

MGI’s PhotoSuite 4 ($49) is another good choice that includes a whole host of special effects to add pizzazz to your creations. ACDSee4 ($49) is a terrific image organizer that also includes photo-editing capabilities.

For more advanced tools, try Ulead’s PhotoImpact 7 ($89) or Adobe’s Photoshop Elements ($79). Besides offering simple one-click editing tools, these programs will let you have more control over the whole image-enhancement process.

One of the joys of taking photographs is being able to share them with friends and family, and, as it happens, there are programs and websites aplenty to help you share your digital treasures.

One way to do this is to put your digital photos on a removable storage medium, such as a Zip disk or CD-ROM, and share them as a slide show or album. Any of these programs will let you do this, but you’ll need to have a CD burner or Zip drive.

As an alternative, you can easily store your photos on the Web and share your albums online. Both OfotoNow (www.ofoto.com) and Shutterfly (www.shutterfly.com) will let you accomplish this and can process and deliver high quality prints of your digital images to you and anyone else you want to share them with. Registration is free and includes online storage space as well as basic image-editing software -- with Ofoto you get their Ofoto 3 application and Shutterfly gives you Adobe’s ActiveShare software.

These programs give you a good selection of basic tools for enhancing, cropping and resizing your images. Best of all, both products are offered free, with the hope that you’ll want to take advantage of their processing services.

The cost for prints may be slightly higher than that of prints made in your local processing lab from negatives, but the convenience is well worth it. In addition, it may be a good solution for those who don’t happen to have a printer capable of producing high quality prints.

One final caveat: Be sure to back up your photos, either on some type of removable media or online. Since there are no negatives that you can stash away in a safe place, you have nothing to fall back on should your hard drive fail for any reason. Anyway you do it, backing up your valuable data is a good habit to get into.

If you crave instant gratification, or if you’re just someone who likes control over your photo processing, digital cameras have it all over their film-based counterparts. And having the right hardware and software to go along with it can make using your digital camera even more enjoyable.

Riley Gay is Wrangler’s director of technology services.

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