Reviews/ Xtreme Camera, July 2000

Xtreme Camera, July 19, 2000

Sometimes, if your lucky, you’ll find a new and really cool piece of technology that will excite you. Remember the first time you used a good digital camera? That’s what I’m talking about…that "wow…this is very very cool". This week, the staff of Xtreme Camera were saying the same thing about a new product we got the chance to review.

Digi-Frame (http://www.digi-frame.com) has released the Digital Picture Frame and it’s an instant winner with everyone that has seen it in action. Now you can display all your digital images taken with your digital camera or created on your computer anywhere you want, in a beautiful display.

The Digi-Frame Digital Picture Frame uses your Compact Flash Card or SmartMedia Card as its source for the images it will display. Simply snap images with your digital camera, insert the card into the Digital Picture Frame and watch the show. It is literally that simple.

Before I go on and list the great features of the Digi-Frame Digital Picture Frame, I want to make certain that for all the professional photographers and digital artists out there that you are not limited to displaying the images you take with your digital camera.

As a digital artist myself, I take a lot of digital pictures with my digital camera and use those images as a starting point in the creative process. I will take the images I shot and bring them into PhotoShop and create my finished work. Since my work has started as photographic images and ended up as something else I needed the Digital Picture Frame to be able to display my ‘finished work’ and not the raw images taken with my camera.

With Digi-Frame Digital Picture Frame all I had to do was save a copy of my hi-rez finished work (Digi-Frame suggest lo-rez images) as a 640X480 image at 72DPI in a high quality JPEG format. Then I simply drag the images onto the Compact Flash Card (hooked up to my computer via my USB SanDisk ImageMate), remove the card and insert it into the Digi-Frame. Presto! I’m now showing my best work in the Digital Picture Frame.

We reviewed the Digi-Frame DF-560 for this review and will soon be reviewing the DF-390 in the next issue. The DF-560 is the larger of the two digital picture frames with a display size of 5.6 inches. The Digi-Frame™ Model DF-560 comes complete with three interchangeable decorator frames; a delightful wood-grain finish, a steel translucent blue and a striking metal-look frame - you can change them whenever you want, depending on your mood or your environment.

By using Digi-Frame's easy-to-use graphic on-screen menu system, you can choose which images you want to display in the slide show. The menu allows you to set ‘transitions’, display time, and much more. Digi-Frame can be placed vertically or horizontally - the image rotates automatically when you turn it and the frame comes with a 3-position stand.

Since a 72DPI, 640x480 image is no larger than 50K you can fit a huge amount of images in the smallest compact flash card or SmartMedia card. I strongly recommend that you pick up an inexpensive card to use exclusively with you Digi-Frame. A small investment allows you to have a dedicated card for your finished images.

As a professional photographer and digital artist I want to use the Digi-Frame in my waiting room, as a source of entertainment to my clients that are waiting for their session to begin. I also want to use one on my desk to show pictures of my wife and kids, and another in our home to show a continuous slide show of the family. The uses for a Digi-Frame are many and once you get one you’ll want to get a couple more.

All my clients and my business contacts that have seen my Digi-Frame has commented how much they love the Digi-Frame and wanted to know where to get one. For a direct link to Digi-Frames ‘Where-to-Buy’ pages click this link: http://www.digi-frame.com/where.html. You’ll find that they are available in many stores and through mail order, like Neiman-Marcus, Wolf Camera, B&H, and J&R. Ritz Camera will soon be stocking Digi-Frames as well.

My bottom line:

If you’re looking for a way to show your images, whether captured by your digital camera or created on the computer, in your studio, office, and home, then the Digi-Frame is the ONLY way to go. We were impressed with the quality of the workmanship, the detail of the ‘users manual’, the 5-YEAR WARRANTY, and the easy-to-use features.

I cannot wait to pick up a few more Digi-Frames to use in the office and at home. If you own a photo studio you owe it to yourself to have a least one Digi-Frame displaying your work. If you are interested in showing your family snaps taken with your digital camera you’ll find the Digi-Frame a must-have accessory to your camera.

In the Software business they have a term for a piece of Software that EVERYONE will want…it’s called a "Killer App" (PhotoShop for instance). I strongly believe that Digi-Frame is a "Killer Device", one that every photographer, pro or beginner, will want to have, and I am sure that millions will be sold as the word gets out about this marvelous product. I rate Digi-Frame a solid "10" out of "10". I asked our staff to rate the Digi-Frame as well. Out of 12 staffers each rated the Digi-Frame a "10" as well... You can't get a higher rating then that! Great job guys!

Reviewed by John Manzione, Publisher.