Digital Photo Frames
Digital photo frames aren’t just neat gadgets, they’re great conversation starters. So if you’re thinking about getting one, be prepared to talk about your photos and the digital frame itself with curious and admiring friends and family. We’ve done a little research to help you sort through all the options available.
Although the digital photo frame concept is fairly simple, there are many different varieties of digital photo frame models in prices ranging from $50 to over $300. Just spending 5-10 minutes reading this guide should make you a much savvier buyer and bring you a whole lot more purchasing satisfaction.
The 3 biggest things to look for when you decide to buy a digital photo frame are:
- a good quality picture
- great usability
- a price that fits your budget.
The first element may seem like a given, but remember, as with TV’s, computer monitor’s, etc. there are varying degrees of picture quality amongst different models, and you want your photos looking great. Also, you should definitely pay attention to the photo frame style because there is a lot of variety in frame shape and color, so don’t settle for something that doesn’t catch your eye or that you wouldn’t want prominently displayed in your home!
The second element, great usability, is absolutely critical. While the digital photo frame concept is a simple one, there are certain models that are just plain easier to get from in the box to on your counter top displaying your photos. This is especially the case if you’re buying the frame for a grandparent or if you are looking for special features like being able to stream photos wirelessly across your home network.
Price is always important and we will cover it throughout this article.
Note that there are a ton of other digital photo frame features that can become overwhelming as you begin your shopping process - internal storage capacity, audio slideshow and movie playback capability, etc. We recommend that you simplify the process by focusing on the 3 core elements we’ve outlined first. Once you’ve narrowed your search down to a couple of models, then you can start to compare their feature sets and decide what’s really important and what you can live without.
Picture Quality
Let’s talk picture quality. Many of the frames that are available for $50-$75 have lower resolutions (i.e. usually 480×234), which, even on smaller 6.5 inch or 7 inch displays, can look somewhat grainy or digitized. 2007 saw the release of a handful of 6.5 and 7 inch models with higher resolutions (at least 720×480) and excellent picture quality, and in the last few months those models have dropped in price significantly to where they’re now just over $100.
One of our favorite models in the smaller size is the Philips 6.5-Inch Digital Photo Frame. This frame is available now on Amazon for $99.99 and it consistently receives rave reviews all around and especially for its picture quality. It’s also a very attractive frame with a clear glass border that looks great, but is subtle so the emphasis remains on your photos. Again, you can certainly get a 7 inch frame for $50 or so, but we really think that you will be much more pleased with the overall result from a frame with a better picture quality like the Philips. It should be noted that people rate the Philips line of frames highly across all of their models on Amazon.
For frames larger than 8 inches, you definitely need at least 800×600 or preferably higher resolution in order to avoid having pictures that appear grainy or digitized at close range. You can certainly purchase some 9.5-10 inch models at just over $100 on Amazon from Coby and Pandigital and other manufacturers, but again, if that is your price point than we suggest stepping down in size slightly and going with the previously mentioned Philips 6.5 inch model.
One large frame that is an outstanding value and features 1024×768 resolution is the Aluratek 10.5 inch High Resolution Digital Frame. It’s available on Amazon for $179.95 which is a truly a good price given that equivalent Kodak or Philips frames run over $200 and can’t match its resolution. The Aluratek comes in 2 attractive frame styles (one in traditional woodgrain, and one in modern sleek) and includes 256mb of internal memory, which is enough to hold 200+ pictures depending on the image size. 1 gripe about the Aluratek is that some users have had difficulty displaying videos on it, which it is supposedly capable of doing. We think that video or not, this is an outstanding frame value given its high quality display.
Usability
Surprisingly, many digital photo frames are just not that easy to use and this is where Philips has everyone else beat. Philips frames include Memory Card Manager which is built-in software for memory cards that automatically resizes (and properly rotates) your photos. This is huge because many frames that claim auto-resize functionality actually end up cropping or distorting the photos.
With the Philips, there is truly no extra preparation required, just put your camera’s memory card into the frame and start your slideshow. Additionally, Philips frames offer a wide variety of features that you can run right from the frame, like making photos black and white, etc. So, if you’re buying a frame for a not-so-tech-savvy parent, grand parent, neighbor, etc., you definitely won’t go wrong with a Philips.
Some people also have had good experiences with the usability of the Kodak Easyshare line of frames, but responses tend to more mixed than with the Philips. Some Kodak Easyshare frames have wi-fi capability, meaning that you can stream photos from your computer directly to the frame if you have a wireless network. This feature is not perfect because it requires you to load all of the pictures you want to stream to Kodak’s Easyshare online gallery, rather than streaming them directly from your hard drive.
Additionally, we aren’t crazy about the actual screen size on the Kodak frames, as a large part of the frame space is taken up by frame rather than screen. However, if you must have wi-fi capability, Kodak frames are an okay way to go and much better choice than Ceiva which are expensive and require you to pay a monthly fee.
The Aluratek (same for frames from Coby, Pandigital, etc. other non-Philips/Kodak brands) line of frames are not as user-friendly as either the Philips or Kodak, so we wouldn’t necessarily recommend them for grandparents as they may require slightly more patience during set up. Additionally, some of the multi-media features (i.e. movie playback) may function in a quirky way. But if you want a large frame that looks outstanding, then this is a great way to go.
If you’re getting ready to make a purchase, we’ve suggested some models to look at and some important things to keep in mind. So use that information as a starting point and remember to look at a lot of models on Amazon so you can get a feel for how the many different styles of digital photo frames will actually look in your home. Happy shopping!
Here are a few additional resources for digital picture frames:
How they work
Comparison chart
Some basic advice