SanDisk Digital PhotoViewer

SanDisk Digital PhotoViewer
Review by Adam Cochran

UPDATED by Rick Castellini January 2005

The handy remote allows you to rotate photos and operate your slideshow without effecting the photos.

The delete key will erase images from the card so make sure that is what you want to do.

The remote will also allow you to zoom into your photos and see their photos in fine detail.

My Grandpa is a hobbyist photographer and has documented every vacation, holiday and family event on film - mostly slides. I loved going over to Grandma and Grandpas and "watching slides."

Until recently, digital photography kind of took away the ability to share photos with large groups.

Now, SanDisk (www.SanDisk.com) has a great little device called a Digital Photo Viewer (http://www.sandisk.com/consumer/dpv.asp). SanDisk was kind enough to supply us with a review unit and a few units to give away to our listeners in upcoming shows.

This device is a box a little smaller than a VHS tape that sits on top of your TV and plugs directly into your TV or VCR video input. The Photo Viewer accepts all forms of digital camera memory with the exception of XD and floppy disks.

Using the remote, you can view your photos on the TV. The remote also allows you to rotate and zoom into your photos. The best part is that your photos are not changed in any way. All data is preserved on the memory card.

The device is small enough that you can carry it with you on vacations and plug it into your motel or family member's TV and view all of your memories together. Setup involves only plugging the supplied video cable into your VCR or TV and plug the unit into a power outlet.

If you have a friend or family member who doesn't own a computer - by hooking the Photo viewer into your VCR - you can record the photos onto video tape and share it with them.

The Photo Viewer allows you to run slideshows either manually or it will run in a slideshow mode which changes photos every few seconds.

The device runs around $70 (less online) and does a wonderful job.

I have posted a link to the Photo Viewer at Adam's Digital Darkroom at www.HelpMeRick.com/darkroom.htm (look under Extremely Useful Gadgets). I have also updated the page with a few newer devices and useful gadgets.

Overall, the SanDisk PhotoViewer is a wonderfully designed and easy to use device that can bring back those slide show memories of yesteryear...and you can leave the lights on! With digital media prices falling, you can pick up a handful of smaller disks (like the anemic ones that come with most cameras) and keep some slide shows permanently available for viewing anytime. Check out the links in this article for even more information.

JANUARY 2005 Update!

SanDisk recently released an updated version of the Photo Viewer we reviewed last year. It is now known as the SanDisk Photo Album.  Not only did they slim up the device slightly, it now supports all popular digital camera media formats, including CompactFlash® Type I and II, Memory Stick™, Memory Stick PRO™, SmartMedia, xD, SD™ and MultiMediaCard  AND USB flash drives.

In addition, this new model also doubles as a card reader when plugged into your computer.

The Photo Album is as easy to setup and use as its predecessor AND adds the ability to play music with your slide show if you copy a few songs to your memory card before plugging it into the device. San Disk has made a good product even better and the price is right at under $40 retail.