Digital picture frames, looking for help.

[Jim O'Dell]

LOML and I are thinking about one of these for my parents. They have more "stuff" than they know what to do with. They will be selling their retirement home and moving into a retirement village 2 bedroom apt. soon, and will have to get rid of a lot of this stuff when they do. So we thought that this would be a good present. Big problem is my family never does extravagant gifts, so this has to be on the low end money wise. 50-60 bucks max. I have found one Kodak online in that range, but all the others are no names I've never heard of. Any ideas on a decent unit that is easy to program and use and tips on what to look for in one of these would be appreciated. Thanks! Jim.

[Lee Schierer]

I purchased a Smartparts SP-1000EF for my wife a year ago.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/312Ev%2BGVLRL._SL500_AA280_.jpg
It was easy to set up and has worked reliably ever since. It has a built in timer that will turn it on and off at desired times so it doesn't run 24/7. The picture quality is very good. We thought it had better resolution than the Kodak and cheaper brands. I think Amazon sells it.

[Jeff Monson]

I bought a kodak for my wife last year and I'm really not that impressed with the picture quality, it is also a pita to program, it goes ok when you get the button pushing sequence down but, try to remember that a month later.

[Pat Germain]

I purchased a Smartparts SP-1000EF for my wife a year ago.

Great info, Lee. Does that model have internal memory? Or, does it accept a thumb drive or SDRAM?

Thanks.

[Jim O'Dell]

pat, I did some searching on that one earlier. quote"
Memory / Storage



Flash Memory Cards Supported SD Memory Card
Integrated Flash Memory 128 MB

Here is the site I looked at: http://review.zdnet.com/product/digital-photo-frames/smartparts-optipix-sp1000ef-digital-photo-frame/33436045

Looks to be a little above the range I need to stay in, but I could tell a little white lie and say it was on sale. ;) Ya'll won't tell on me, would ya??:) Jim.

[Lee Schierer]

Great info, Lee. Does that model have internal memory? Or, does it accept a thumb drive or SDRAM?

Thanks.

It has internal memory and accepts plug in memory of several types. However, I've been unable to get it to display from plug in and internal at the same time. We are using an SD card at the moment and it works just fine. You'll need to do picture orientation prior to uploading the photo to memory.

Smartparts (http://www.smartpartsproducts.com/content/nhome/opti_frames.php) has a pretty decent website.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

We bought one for my MIL. It takes several types of memory...isn't too bad to program. Word to the wise. Make a copy of the operator's manual for use at your home when the picture frame is at your folks. It makes telephone support easier.

It's kind of neat though. My wife bought an extra memory chip. She loads it with new photos and mails it to her Mom. Mom puts it in and she's got a new batch of photos.

We bought the one we got at Costco and it was reasonably priced there.

[Brian Effinger]

I've been wondering if there is a frame, where you can take the cheap black plastic off and attach a nice hand-made wooden frame. Does anyone know if there is one like that?

[Josh Reet]

I've been wondering if there is a frame, where you can take the cheap black plastic off and attach a nice hand-made wooden frame. Does anyone know if there is one like that?

Kodak advertises that they have one that does that, I can't remember which model though.

FWIW, I have been happy with my Kodak frame and we just bought one for each of the great-grandmothers to see photos of their toddler.

I would tell people to keep in mind that many of the frames are 16:9 aspect ratio, like a HD tv. this is fine and all, but most photos from digital cameras are either 4:3 (like a old style TV) or 3:2 (like 35mm film). So you end up with a lot of wasted space displaying them on a 16:9 screen. Kodak and a few other companies do make a few 4:3 frames.

I would stay away from anything that has a wireless connection. From what I ahve heard, they are not ready for primetime yet. Particularly if you are trying to use them to leave at an older (or non tech-savvy) person's house.

[Jim O'Dell]

Thanks for the replies! I just ordered the Smartparts 12" unit. It was only 10.00 more than the 10". The shipping from Tiger-Direct was 15.19. I thought that was a little high, but I've bought computer stuff from them before and had good service. Did a search on Amazon for the same part #, and they have it for the same price, and it ships through Tiger-Direct, so no free shipping. But, the shipping that way is only 5.37! :eek: That's weird. So I was able to get it for the same price as the 10" shipped, go through the SMC/Amazon portal and help the Creek some too. Win/win situation! Oh, and it has 256 mb built in memory instead of the 128 the 10" has, and it has a remote control. Like any of us need another remote. :rolleyes: Jim.

[Tim Morton]

And like in Seinfeld, you can tell them you bought it on the street in NYC...maybe it was stolen;)

[Myk Rian]

Just bought a 10" Kodak frame at www.beststopcamera.com (http://www.bestopcamera.com) through E-bay for $89. It's a refurbished unit, and was delivered the day after I bought it.

[Jim O'Dell]

Ordered about 2:00 pm Sat, and the unit shipped that day! Can't get tracking info yet, though. Maybe tonight. Jim.

[Jim O'Dell]

I've been wondering if there is a frame, where you can take the cheap black plastic off and attach a nice hand-made wooden frame. Does anyone know if there is one like that?

Brian, the Smart Parts unit we got for my parents, came in UPS yesterday, appears to have 4 keepers on the back that you can take the screen out of the frame it's in. The factory frame is decent, doesn't look like plastic. Behind the frame's glass is a bevel cut mat, then the LCD screen. Looks very nice. Jim.

[Brian Effinger]

Thanks for the tip Jim. Is this the one? http://www.amazon.com/Smartparts-SP1200-Digital-Picture-Frame/dp/B001K2JTRW/ref=sr_1_36?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1261092153&sr=1-36

I'd like to make a frame and couple it with this for Mom's day. And yes, it will probably take me 5 months to make the frame.