Windows Me and a digital camera: the perfect photo opportunity

Digital cameras have become increasingly affordable, are simple to use, and have plenty of advantage over traditional cameras. Today’s digital imaging technology even produces pictures near the quality of traditional film. Hook a digital camera up to a computer running Windows Me, and you can organize, edit, send, and work with your digital photos. Windows Me manages the details, leaving you free to release your inner shutterbug.

You're in charge
If you’ve ever lost a set of pictures because you loaded the film incorrectly, accidentally exposed a roll, or had an important shot ruined by redeye, you’ll appreciate the possibilities a digital camera provides:

• No film, and no waiting! Your camera stores the pictures you take. When you’re done shooting, download the images onto your computer and you can begin working with them right away.
• Choose your shots. Most digital cameras have liquid crystal display (LCD) screens that act as the viewfinder, instantly displaying your shots as you take them, so you can decide which ones to keep or delete. If someone’s eyes were closed in the picture, take it again.
• Fix your photos. Developing digital photos takes place on your computer, so you can do everything—from resizing or cropping shots, to fixing flaws or adjusting the contrast—yourself.
• Share your masterpieces. When satisfied with your shots, you can e-mail them to friends or family members, post them on a Web site, or create an online photo album.
• Print your pictures. Not everyone has access to a computer, so you can make traditional snapshots for Grandma by printing your pictures using a color printer. (You can even buy photographic paper for your printer, or have pictures printed by a photo lab.)

How they work
Digital cameras use an electronic sensor to capture images that are then saved on storage media such as floppy disks, smart cards, or your computer hard disk. These images are made up of a grid of hundreds of thousands, even millions, of tiny elements called pixels. Each pixel represents a value that specifies the color and brightness of that particular piece. The quality of a digital image (or the "resolution"), whether printed or displayed on a computer screen, depends largely on the number of pixels that comprise the picture.

Buying a camera
Prices for digital cameras range from around US$150 to well upwards of US$2500. What’s the difference? Generally, higher resolution (and better image quality) means a higher price. The most expensive digital cameras capture images with more than a million pixels, and produce pictures that are difficult to discern from traditional photographs. The least expensive cameras create images that are suitable mainly for e-mailing or posting on the Web. Additional features that contribute to the price of a digital camera include options such as video capabilities, a motorized zoom lens, manual exposure settings, or a larger LCD screen.

When shopping for a digital camera, you might also consider battery life and what type of storage media the camera uses, and then compare the price against your needs. Prices tend to go down as time goes on, so if you don’t have to have the very latest model, you can probably find a reasonably priced older camera with plenty of useful features.

Let Me help you
Most of the work you do with your digital pictures—storing them, sending them, editing them—happens on your home computer. If you use Windows Me with a compatible camera (Check the camera's documentation to make sure it’s Windows Image Acquisition (WIA)-enabled.), all the tools you’ll need for transferring and editing your images are built in.

Windows Me lets you preview full-resolution representations of pictures from your camera on your computer screen without having to import them to your computer. You can then transfer only those you want to use. If you plan to send the images to someone else, you can import pictures directly into your e-mail program or word processor without saving the images to your hard disk.

Get yourself organized
Once your photos are on your computer, the My Pictures folder in Windows Me helps you get organized. You’ll see thumbnail views of your pictures, and you can use buttons in the preview window to zoom in and out of an image, view the picture in a larger window, or rotate or print it. You can even view your pictures as a full-screen slideshow in a single click.

With your digital camera and Windows Me, you are your own photographer, editor, and lab, so you can say goodbye to overflowing photo albums and stacks of smudgy, fading snapshots.