Viewers to Go

Another popular digital device is the portable digital photo viewer. Many are small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, but still hold 50 or more digital photos in memory.

Most models have a USB port to download files, and some accept multiple file types. (JPG and BMP appear to be the most common.) A few even come with sliding or hinged covers over the LCD screen. But the best feature of these miniature photo viewers is price: "Keychain" models start at less than $20. Slip one in your pocket or purse, and you can share your latest photos without worry.

And don't worry about running out of power. The small LCD screens on these photo viewers don't use a lot of juice, so they often last for 6 hours of viewing or more.

Phone in Your Photos

One small - and handy - device you can use to display your digital photos is your cell phone.

Today, phones are designed to do a lot more than take calls. Many also take pictures... and even record video. Photos taken with a camera phone can be viewed right on the screen. And, with an Internet connection, shared with other phones or home computers.

Camera phones are great for catching photos or videos of unexpected moments, and you can use them to capture some nice candids. But most camera phones are low resolution. Photos taken with cell phones don't enlarge very well. So if you're thinking of printing or enlarging your photos, be sure to bring your digital camera along.

The Portable Hard Drive Grows Up

There are a lot of options out there for portable photo viewers. Cell phones, PDA's, iPods... They all have their advantages. But for my money, there's only one way to go if you're a serious photographer: a portable hard drive storage device.

Though most of these devices are a little too large to comfortably fit in a pocket, they easily ride in a medium-sized camera bag or a backpack. And they provide enough storage space to download an entire vacation's worth of high-resolution photos - and then some.

While there are a handful of brands to choose from, when you consider features vs. price, I believe Digital Foci's Picture Porter comes out on top. The Picture Porter includes built-in slots for 10 flash memory card formats. It's compatible with five photo file types - including RAW files - four video file types and four sound file types - including MP3 and AAC.

For travelers, the Picture Porter can also serve as an entertainment system. You can download your favorite music and listen via the built-in speaker or with headphones. Plus, you can record video ( your favorite movies, perhaps) to the Picture Porter and play it back on the bright 3.6" color screen. There's even a built-in FM radio and direct audio-recording feature.

If you take a lot of digital pictures, or use RAW or TIFF formats, you'll go through memory cards quickly. A portable hard drive device such as he Picture Porter could be just what you need to store and organize your pictures on the go.

View Your Photos on Your TV

Most newer DVD players can read and play photos fromCD's or DVD's. So you can burn your photos to a CD, pop it into the DVD player and share your photos right on your TV. Think of it as your grandad's slide shows for a new generation.

Be sure to read your DVD player's manual. Not all models can read photos from CD or DVD... and you wouldn't want to get everyone gathered around the TV to watch a blank screen.

If your DVD player can't read photo files, you may still be able to use your TV as a digital photo viewer. Many digital cameras offer you another option: They connect directly to your TV and play back a slide show stright from the memory card.

This digital camera feature can be great fun at family gatherings. You can shoot the celebration, edit out the bad shots right on the camera, plug into the TV and play back all the fun while everyone's still there. (It's also an easy way tofind out who wants copies of which pictures.)