Posted by Mark Mizen on February 03, 2010 at 07:44 AM in Digital Photos, Printers | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
From: Lea Ward
Date: January 30, 2010Hello Mark, This is very interesting information. I read some more on the Library of Congress website and actually read some on metadata, I hope you will explain a little more about this and how our Memory Manager Software is using metadata and how that can be a selling point. If I were a professional photographer for instance, would storing digital images on MM 3.0 and adding their copyright info. or their licensing rights on each photo, protect those images once distributed on disc or through e-mail? Thanks, CM Consultant, Lea Ward
| metadata | |
| noun | |
| data about data; "a library catalog is metadata because it describes publications" |
Posted by Mark Mizen on February 01, 2010 at 09:18 AM in Digital Photos, Software | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack (0)
The following recommendations are included in Preserving Your Digital Memories from the Library of Congress:
Family memories and special events that future generations would value are increasingly documented as digital photographs. But 10 years from now current memory sticks and cameras will most likely be obsolete, trapping the images in unusable or unsupported storage media.
Because digital photographs require specific hardware and software to view, it is important to migrate files to the latest storage media using freely available formats. Make several copies of digital photographs and keep them in different places. To help manage your photos, it helps to label the photos with easily recognizable names and to embed tags and other information in the photo files. Saving copies of your photos on Web sites and printing copies with archive-quality ink and high-quality paper are also options for preservation.
Posted by Mark Mizen on January 27, 2010 at 01:17 PM in Digital Photos | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
Posted by Mark Mizen on January 27, 2010 at 07:12 AM in Cameras, Video | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Posted by Mark Mizen on January 27, 2010 at 06:22 AM in Cameras, Digital Photos | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Hey ... can you share any thoughts/facts you might have about using SD cards to transfer images off your camera vs. using a cord or wireless connection to upload photos? I'm sure all that popping-in/popping out has got to wear down an SD card over time, yet it's the method my family and I are used to. I would need a strong argument (from an expert like you!) to convince them to break this habit. Well, I guess the strongest argument would probably having one get damaged and losing a bunch of precious pictures, but I'd really like to prevent that with some words of wisdom from our CM expert! Anne Marie Gross, January 21, 2010.
In general, the greatest chance for damaging a memory card is if the card is removed without properly turning the camera off or using the remove hardware feature on your computer. If a memory card is removed while data is being written, it may very well become corrupt. Given, these warnings, I personally transfer images from a camera to the computer by removing the card and placing it in a card reader. Your suggestion for using a cable or wireless connection to transfer data is certainly safer, although it may be less convenient.
Posted by Mark Mizen on January 25, 2010 at 11:56 AM in Cameras | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)
StoryBook Creator 3.0 Plus is a great tool for creating photo books, page prints, and calendars. It can also create other products through the use of Custom sizes. This information is not currently well publicized, but you can use StoryBook Creator 3.0 Plus to create custom cards, mouse pads, mugs, photo panels, and t-shirts. Project sizes are given below and complete instructions are available online at CreatingCustomGift.
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Width |
Height |
OR |
Width |
Height |
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Cards – 4x8 |
4.00” |
8.00” |
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8.00” |
4.00” |
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Mouse Pads |
9.75” |
8.34” |
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Mugs – 11 oz |
8.25” |
3.85” |
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Mugs – 15 oz |
8.50” |
4.47” |
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5x7 Photo Panels |
5.25” |
7.25” |
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7.25” |
5.25” |
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8x10 Photo Panels |
8.25” |
10.25” |
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10.25” |
8.25” |
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11x14 Photo Panels |
11.25” |
14.25” |
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14.25” |
11.25” |
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T-Shirt (Any Size) |
13.5” |
10.5” |
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10.5” |
13.5” |
Posted by Mark Mizen on January 25, 2010 at 11:04 AM in Photo Gifts, StoryBook Creator | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
I would love to be able to recommend a specific brand of DVD for storing video; unfortunately it is not that easy.
Standardized tests that are available for DVD lifetimes are fundamentally flawed. These tests currently use extensive extrapolations based on relatively limited data points to produce misleading results. Furthermore, no manufacturer consistently tests every lot to ensure that actual production lifetimes match laboratory predictions.
Lifetime predictions for the newest technology, Blu-Ray DVDs, are equally difficult. These discs are proprietary and no standard test method exists.
CDs are a bit better in that the technology is better understood and the tests for predicting lifetimes are generally more reliable. Testing has shown that Gold phthalocyanine CDs, such as Creative Memories' My Memory Archive CD, will last longer. Unfortunately, these discs have relatively low capacity and are not intended for video applications.
Because of the uncertainty surrounding various technologies, the best strategy for preserving videos and other digital files is to not rely on any one solution. For example, my videos are currently stored on DVD, my hard disk, and YouTube. If one technology fails, I will still have the remaining copies.
More details on CDs and DVDs are available at A Consumer Guide to Recordable CDs and DVDs.
Posted by Mark Mizen on January 20, 2010 at 02:46 PM in ISO Standards, Video | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
I received my holiday StoryBook yesterday. It was a 7x5 soft cover book created without a camera or at least without a traditional camera. I took all the photos on my iPhone, transferred them to my PC, and brought them into StoryBook Creator Plus. With autofill and some journaling, I quickly had a completed StoryBook. Here are some tips on using camera phone photos in a StoryBook.
If your camera phone photos are still on your phone, now you have the tools to create great StoryBooks. The first page of my Christmas 2009 StoryBook is shown to the right and the complete book is on Facebook.
Posted by Mark Mizen on January 12, 2010 at 01:35 PM in Facebook, Mobile, Photo Books, StoryBook Creator | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
As I indicated in a recent post, Video, the Value of Memories, and a New Year's Resolution, I transferred a large number of movies from film to DVD over the holidays. I learned a few things, and by the way, I am not recommending Yesvideo, which did the transfers. Here are the questions I wish I had asked:
I hope these tips help. I am glad I had my movies transferred to DVD, in spite of the questions that I wish I had asked.
Note: I realize a lot of my difficulties would have been avoided if I had sent in each movie real as a seperate order. At least that way the original organization of the movies would have been retained, and in fact much of the cost of the transfer is dependent on the length of the film so there is little cost advantage to combining multiple rolls of movie film on a single DVD. [Added 1/9/2010]
Posted by Mark Mizen on January 08, 2010 at 06:55 AM in Video | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)