There ought to be a statutory warning that comes with all digital cameras — that it could lead to trigger-finger-itis (yes, we made that one up, but it is a possible illness). It’s a fact: give an otherwise sane person a digital camera and you can be sure that you’ll get back at least 100 pictures the next time they come across a likely looking blade of grass.
And after that marathon bout of clicking, they upload and send all the photos to unsuspecting e-mail contacts.
When it comes to online albums, do people look beyond Picasa? Essentially, as Google says, “it’s fast, easy and free”. That covers all bases as far as triggerhappy users are concerned.
Of course, there’s the seamless transition from online to offline, the amount of storage space, the ease of organisation, etc. But there are those who yell blue murder about the intrusion of privacy. They prefer the safety of picture viewers such as Irfanview (www.irfanview.com) or online albums like Flickr (www.flickr.com).
Although many of these do not offer the editing facilities that Picasa does, users are happy to compromise on that for increased security. But it’s always nice to see your best efforts framed or sitting pretty in a real album. But more often than not, photo studios don’t follow your erratic schedule. You’re lucky you live in the wired age — several websites offer printing services and home delivery. All you have to do is upload the photos and pay online.
Most of these sites also print your favourite picture on coffee mugs, T-shirts, mouse pads or calendars. The cost ranges from Rs 2.95 for a 4”x6” photo card to Rs 350 for a personalised coffee mug.
Several sites also offer discounts for bulk printing orders. Prints, customised gifts, home delivery: you don’t have reason to move away from your computer — except when you want to take more photos, that is.
A free multi-format graphics viewer that offers file search, e-mail option, basic picture editing functions and a multimedia player. A paint option allows you to to draw lines, circles, arrows, etc. There’s also a print option and you can save your photos as a slideshow and burn it on a CD.
Free online photo management and sharing application, that comes with an offline tool so you can upload photos directly from your file system. Offers an option to set up privacy controls when sharing pictures, and functions as a social networking site.
Free site that lets you store up to 10,000 still photographs as well as hours of video. It also offers tools to make slideshows of photos and videos with music. Users can post photos directly on pages hosted by MySpace, FaceBook, etc.
Free software download that locates and organises all photos on your computer. Comes with built-in photo-editing tools. Offers the option to print, publish photos online, or e-mail selected photos. Allows password protection of specified albums.
Basically a social networking site that also allows members to upload and share photographs and videos. Works purely as an online album that you can share with friends and contacts; it does not offer any photo editing or uploading tools.
Offers unlimited space to store photos online, as well as a free trial (10 prints free). Prices start at Rs 4 for a 4”x6” print to Rs 999 for a 24”x36” poster. Also offers to print on coffee mugs (Rs 199), photo cards (4”x8”, Rs 13) and posters. Shipping charges start at Rs 35.
Free online storage for up to 12 months. Prices start at Rs 5 for a 4”x6” print to Rs 65 for a 10”x12”. You can also order customised coffee mugs (Rs 350), T-shirts (Rs 350) and photo calendars (Rs 300; A3 size). Shipping costs start at Rs 50.
Share photos online or order prints. Prices start at Rs 4 for a 3.5”x5” print and can go up to Rs 60 for an 8”x12”. There’s also Doodlepad, an online tool, that lets you design your own T-shirt (Rs 400 on) or mouse pad (Rs 200). Shipping costs start at Rs 30.
Free sharing and storage online. Prices start at Rs 2.95 for a 4”x6” print and go up to Rs 899 for a 20”x30” poster. Also offers printing on mugs (Rs 195), T-shirts (Rs 399), mouse pads (Rs 149) and key rings (Rs 99). Shipping costs start at Rs 50.
Unlimited free storage and 10 free trial prints. Prices start at Rs 2.99 for a 4”x6” print, going up to Rs 45 for an 8”x12”. Coffee mugs cost anything from Rs 300 to Rs 500, photo T-shirts cost Rs 400 and calendars cost Rs 400 each. Shipping costs start at Rs 36.
