cmaw63's Full Review: PhotoCo PhotoShareâ„¢ 7 (DAF7NBR) Digital Picture ...
I received the PhotoShare Portable Digital Photo Album as a Christmas present from my brother. What a neat little machine it is!
We (my brother & I) played around with the Album before cracking open the instruction booklet. It's that easy to get started with it. The Album can be powered with either the AC adapter that comes with it or a lithium-ion battery that has to be purchased separately.
Viewing your photos or AVI's (motion jpegs), on the 7 inch screen, can be done by inserting a SD or MS memory card with pictures you've already taken with your camera or inserting a memory card and downloading from your computer onto the Album. (Either way you need a memory card inserted and one doesn't come with the Album)
There's an on/off switch on the top side and 3 different buttons to work with your photos. Top button is "esc"(escape) it will take you back to the start-up screen or out of the tools area when pushed. The big round button in the middle is directional, up, down and to either side to quickly get thru thumbnails of the photos being viewed. The bottom button is "Sel" (select) which when pushed while viewing photos will bring up Zoom, Rotate, Delete, Slideshow & Set-up Menu options.
The set-up options include:
Language: English is default.
Slide Duration: how long the photos appear before going to the next in the slideshow)
File Description:You can display or hide the picture information
Folder Mode: Yes-Both files & folders are viewable
No- only files are viewable.
TV Type: NTSC or PAL
Aspect Ratio: 16:9-Widescreen (photos resize to fill screen) or 4:3-Traditional-No resizing
I've noticed, in other reviews of all Photoshare Digital Photo Albums, that people are complaining that their photos are fuzzy and stretched out. Change the aspect ratio. The 16:9 is the pre-set option. When you go to the 4:3 the pictures will have better quality.
Another problem with photo clarity/color can be resolved by not viewing the photo's with the Album laying flat. Prop it up against something or buy the frame for it. The Album shouldn't be flat to a surface, anyway, as the ventilation holes in the back, to prevent overheating, should not be blocked.
Folder mode allows you to arrange different photos to groups that you wish to be viewed together. Click on the folder that holds the picture or AVI (movie clip) you wish to view and all the photos in that folder will appear. If you do not want folder mode ALL photos will appear and it's just as easy to scroll thru and find the one you want.
A video cord comes with your Album to allow you to view your photos/AVI's on your TV. Connect the cord to the TV's video input and your Album and turn the Album on. Your album screen will now be displayed on the tv.
We hooked it up to my brothers 52" bigscreen. We were surprised that the photos still had good quality, with a minimum of fuzziness and distortion.
Uploading photo's from a pc, with the included usb cable, was a little confusing at first. The steps in the instruction manual are right on, but what it doesn't tell you is that the screen will be entirely blank. I kept waiting for some form of acknowledgement that the Album was receving pictures...or well...even that it was on. So be aware that the screen is black and appears not to be on, but it is downloading. I ended up d/l'ing my photos twice due to the blank screen. The good part is that no additional software is needed. If your running any recent form of Windows the Album will be automatically detected. There are special instructions for Win98.
One thing I do have in common with the others less satisfied with this product is the battery door is hard to open. Once the battery is inserted, tho, you shouldn't have to open it again for a long time. The lithium-ion battery is recharged whenever the Album is plugged in.
Overall, this is a great little photo gadget. Learn the little tricks to viewing good pictures on it and you'll be happy. I'm an amateur photographer with hopes of becoming semi-professional and I'm pleased with how this Album presents my pictures. Mine did come with the leather case, not the frame. The leather case is nice-looking and has all the appropriate cut-outs to insert the memory cards and cords.
7-inch TFT-LCD screen; selectable 4:3 or 16:9 aspect ratio and 480 x 234 resolution No PC required; supports SD and Memory Stick formats Playback mode...More at Amazon Marketplace
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