foogledricks Posted December 12, 2005 Report Share Posted December 12, 2005 My wife wants a portable digital photo viewer. Something that is easy and high quality. She suggested a crappy $50 device that I'd rather vomit on than buy, so I am considering more expensive, but BETTER options. So, is the PSP a viable option? Are the photo features good? Please tell me about it, I can't seem to find a lot of information on it. Plus, of course, the gaming and movie watching would be a bonus... for when I BORROW it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Camp Posted December 12, 2005 Report Share Posted December 12, 2005 I think the iPod would be a more convenient photo viewer. It's also much more portable than the PSP. Is there video out for displaying photos with an iPod yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
splunk Posted December 12, 2005 Report Share Posted December 12, 2005 Without researching this at all, I'd go with a Palm device that uses SD cards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zathras Posted December 12, 2005 Report Share Posted December 12, 2005 I would lean to a new Ipod myself - 30 gig and TV out. Though I haven't messed around with one. The problem with the PSP would be you would have to buy a huge memory card or multiples to store the pictures you would want to view. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan FB Posted December 12, 2005 Report Share Posted December 12, 2005 Wouldn't an iPod require you to have a PC in order to get the photos onto it though? With a PSP or other device with the ability to read the camera's memory format directly, she can just take it from the camera to the device without having to use something else to load it. My mPack does this (has a CF slot so you don't need a PC, nice sized LCD, HD to transfer photos to, TV in/out, etc.) but it's a bit more than a PSP (although you can get a refurb 40GB for about $350 from NewEgg). It makes a pretty good portable video player (supports pretty much everything without the hassle of conversion) and music player for when you "borrow" it from your wife, but there's really no games to speak of. I think Epson makes a similar device called the P-2000 although I haven't really looked at it. The HD capability on these devices would also make it so you wouldn't need too many memory cards/sticks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orpheus Posted December 12, 2005 Report Share Posted December 12, 2005 I personally think the PSP makes for a great portable photo viewer, and I have used it for that a few times since getting mine (I don't take or share alot of photos in general, if I did, I'd probably be using it more). The screen is large and bright, and the interface is very easy to navigate. The photo features are minimal but the ones you'ld really want: zoom, rotate, and slideshow. While zoomed you can use the analog stick to scan around the image. Shoulder buttons are used to move forward or backward to the next picture in the folder. All od this can be done from within an onscreen popup menu as well. Supports common image file types, haven't tried a few like .png or .tiff, I could if you want. I do have a minor complaint in that it doesn't display photo in order by name, but rather by the order they were written to on the memory stick, but I believe they fixed that in one of the newer firmware updates. I'm still using an older firmware version, so I have no experience with any changes and upgrades they have made since launch. As far as memory sticks go, the prices have dropped considerably, and are now relatively comparable to a SD card of the same size. 1gig cards are regularly on sale for $50 to 60, 2 gig cards for around 100 to 120. A couple questions for you would be what memory card format does your camera use and how much data does your wife plan on carrying at any one time. Is it jsut to show a sample of your photo library or does she want every picture you own with her at all times? If you looking for truly large capacity (more than 1 or 2gb at a time), I'd say look at something more like the Creative Zen Vision. You'll get the larger screen, tv out capabilities, but still have the larger storage capacity something like the larger iPod's have. My vote against an iPod or other mp3 players that display photos like the Zen Micro Photo and iRivers u10 is that the screens are just too small. The Palm device would be an option, but really only if a person needs and is going to use the functionality of a PDA, which most people I know who get one don't. We at least know that Keith would play games on the PSP when he steals, errr, borrows it from his wife. Movie playback is a big bonus feature as well, converting dvd's is rather easy, and there are a large number availalbe for purchase. Out of curiosity, what $50 photo viewer was she thinking of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orpheus Posted December 12, 2005 Report Share Posted December 12, 2005 Wouldn't an iPod require you to have a PC in order to get the photos onto it though? With a PSP or other device with the ability to read the camera's memory format directly, she can just take it from the camera to the device without having to use something else to load it. Unless they have a sony camera, the psp would as well. That Epson looks like a nice dedicated photo viewer if a person wants a device that only does one thing. Out of curiosity, are there any photo viewer options for the GBA? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foogledricks Posted December 12, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 12, 2005 Thanks everyone, your responses are very helpful, exactly what I was looking for. Humorously enough, when I mentioned getting a PSP to my wife, just for photo viewing, she was like "Doesn't that play games?" Then she proceeded to search on google for "PSP games" and got excited when she saw "Frogger" - not a GTA fan I guess. My wife has a PDA, so she doesn't want another one. And yes, our camera uses a memory stick, so that is an advantage. My wife would use it to show just a sampling of photos to doctors. She's a sales rep and baby photos are her best exploit for talking to doctors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iainl Posted December 12, 2005 Report Share Posted December 12, 2005 iPod to camera connector. If you're anywhere near an Apple Store, though, I'd recommend heading down there with your camera to confirm it works with that model first; I've had a devil of a time in the past with Sony cameras and USB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EnemaEms Posted December 12, 2005 Report Share Posted December 12, 2005 iPod to camera connector[/url']. If you're anywhere near an Apple Store, though, I'd recommend heading down there with your camera to confirm it works with that model first; I've had a devil of a time in the past with Sony cameras and USB. What kind of problems Iain? I have a Sony camera as does my g/f, and we use nothing but Sony cameras at my work....not one time have any of them been a problem with USB. -Dean- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTello Posted December 12, 2005 Report Share Posted December 12, 2005 My wife has a PDA, so she doesn't want another one. This begs the question, why do you need another device? Wouldn't it be easy enough to use the PDA she already has, rather than lug around another device just for viewing photos and playing Frogger? (BTW, I bet you can find a great emulator for the PDA that can play Frogger, Donkey Kong & Mouse Trap. Wouldn't this save money too, because I don't think they are giving PSP games away for free yet?) Also, I'm not sure whipping out a 'kids gaming machine' to show family pictures to doctors would be the most professional option for a sales rep. Using the PDA she already has would allow for a more natural, "Oh, by the way, now that I'm done showing you this bar graph on my PDA, let me take a second to show you that picture of my baby drooling on her daddies Xbox controller, it's soooo cute." I guess what I'm saying is that choosing to purchase another geeky device that will do the same things that can be done on devices you already own seems a bit excessive. In fact I will go a step further and say it's downright selfish. The root of this issue is that you in fact need to justify your wasteful video game spending habits. You WANT a PSP, and now that your wife thinks she needs something other than her current PDA, your more than willing to mislead her so that your own 'adolescent' desires can be satisfied. And by the way, don?t you need to feed that kid of yours and put her through college? I guess you could just Ebay the PSP if the baby gets really hungry. Yeah, let's call the kettle black, a spade a spade and get to the point. Go ahead, buy that errrr, "picture viewer." You have our blessing as a forum community devoted to portable picture viewing. LCVG,... Large Community of people who View pictures on Gaming devices. That's us! You knew you were coming here for an unbiased evaluation, so why waste another word, hurry, hurry, purchase the PSP that your wife NEEDS!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EnemaEms Posted December 12, 2005 Report Share Posted December 12, 2005 :rotflmao Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTello Posted December 12, 2005 Report Share Posted December 12, 2005 I almost forgot, before you you run out to EB, for a little more purchase advice check out this thread. http://www.lcvg.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7542&highlight=regret Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iainl Posted December 12, 2005 Report Share Posted December 12, 2005 What kind of problems Iain? Nothing spectacular, just that they don't (or at least didn't) allow you to access the memory card as a mass storage device, and Sony's Cli? PDA wouldn't look in the relevant folder for pics either. The latter was particularly annoying when we had a Sony Camera putting pictures on a Sony memory stick which then couldn't be viewed in a Sony PDA without editing them with a PC first (and the PC was back home on a different continent). Apparently our camera will indeed work with the iPod camera adaptor, but after the earlier problems I'd like to test it before I spend all that money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foogledricks Posted December 12, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 12, 2005 This begs the question, why do you need another device?Been there, argued that. And whether I agree with her or not, she does not want to use her $400 GPS PDA in doctor's offices because A) She wants to leave this device installed in her car for its true purpose, navigation. Doesn't want anyone touching her GPS, as it is second only to our baby C) Doesn't want to "mess" with the device by using it for multimedia purposes, exhausting the battery, using up all the memory on photos, causing it to crash by running other applications when she just wants it to function well as a navigation device. So, she was adamant about all of these things, to the point where it wasn't a matter of debate, she is unwilling to use her Palm GPS for this purpose. So, with that off the table, along with purchasing an Ipod (she has a mini), we're left with purchasing a PSP, Creative Zen Vision, or a dedicated photo device like those previously mentioned. Left with that, there truly is no obvious answer. PSP seems a ridiculous purchase for this purpose. But when looking at the alternatives, I smile at the relative logic in the purchase. As for Joel's disgust for Kim having a PSP while he doesn't, well, I expected that. But, I have that same disgust. The idea that Kim will be taking the PSP with her, HER DEVICE, warps my mind to no end. Still not sure what to do, and I'm completely open-minded for a solution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foogledricks Posted December 12, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 12, 2005 Oh, one more thing. How does the PSP handle the aspect ratio of photos. Does it stretch? Have an options for a "normal" setting? And is there a utility for down-rezing photos to the PSP's native resolution, so as not to waste memory space on a 2MB photo when it could be 200k. I have my own means to do this, but was curious whether there was an automatic conversion process or if I had to handle it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EnemaEms Posted December 12, 2005 Report Share Posted December 12, 2005 One thing I learned from this thread........Keith does not wear the pants in his marriage. It sounds like he is lucky to even get a sniff of the underwear. -Dean- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foogledricks Posted December 12, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 12, 2005 One thing I learned from this thread........Keith does not wear the pants in his marriage. It sounds like he is lucky to even get a sniff of the underwear. That's it. I don't like any of you. I'm taking my underwear and going home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTello Posted December 12, 2005 Report Share Posted December 12, 2005 What Keith meant to say,.... That's it. I don't like any of you. My wife's taking my underwear, pulling it over my head and I'm going home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.