With new baby #3, I'm on a bit of a "digital capture" tear. We don't have any family nearby so basically all photos and videos must be shared electronically in some form, sending them from Cape Cod to Korea.
For sharing photos I have a few options:
Ceiva - I bought my Dad one of these a couple of years ago (and i have one on my dsk at work). It is just a picture frame with an LCD panel and a modem in it. He plugs it in and I can "deliver" photos to it from a web page on a PC. The frame dials into a local phone number every night to check teh web site for new pix and then downloads them. You can also augment the photos with captions, etc. The frame itself is about $150 and there is an annual subscription fee of about $50. Really the easiest, best way to saher pictures with non-tech family members
Ofoto - there are others but I find Ofoto to be pretty darn good in both ease of use and print quality (they are owened by Kodak). Upload pix, let relatives browser the album and they can order their own prints. Nice place to order framed prints etc. for the grandparents!
Email - In a pinch, it works, but the viewing/resizing options are poor.
Camera phone - I sent a picture of our new baby by phone to a few folks from the hospital - talk about real-time! However, the image quality is poor, usually due to inferior lenses on these cameras, especially in low light (indoor) conditions.
Microsoft Plus! Digital Media - my brother sent me a cool "movie" that comprised a numerous stills from his recent trip to the Beijing Auto Show, along with a soundtrack. Panning, zooming and very compelling, using Microsoft Plus! Digital Media software, which costs about $20. One hitch - file sizes are typically larger than 10Mb, which prevents them from being emailed using Yahoo or Google.
Finally, I did buy that DVD burner a while back, but I haven't really done anything with it yet! Burning and mailing seems pretty old-school, but might be a good solution for non-tech family who don't have a Ceiva.
Another site you might want to check out is SmugMug (www.smugmug.com). Unlike Ofoto and other similar sites, it allows your guests to download full resolutions pics.
Posted by: Keith | July 29, 2004 at 08:46 AM
if you want a really neat way to capture and share baby pictures...take a look at www.memorylinc.com
Posted by: mike | August 03, 2004 at 06:05 PM