Storing & printing photos w/o a credit card or CD burner

June 27, 2007 7:58 AM

I've bought a digital camera for a friend who is not a legal resident of the US, has no credit cards or bank accounts, and doesn't have much money to buy computer hardware. How can I help her store and print the photos she takes?

She has access to a computer, but doesn't own one. And she's a bit of a technophobe; I just know she wouldn't be receptive to learning how to burn CDs, for example, even if she could afford to buy the equipment. I got her a 2 GB card to go with the camera, but that'll fill up soon enough.

Would an online service be the way to go? It'd have to be something that didn't require any credit cards, and there'd have to be a way she could get prints using only cash. Or is there some other way to swing this so she has permanent access to her photo archives and can print them as desired?

posted by ROTFL to Technology (8 answers total)

Best answer: Maybe she'd deal with a flash drive better? It can stay on her keychain and it's really not much different than an old-fashioned disk. My mother can't really get the hang of CDs but she's fine with the little SanDisk. However, for long-time storage, she should probably use some online service - Picasa? Flickr? Anything she can get the hang of.

Printing-wise, you can bring any media (camera card, flash drive, CD) to a CVS and print them out for cash. Other drugstores likely have similar kiosks and services.
posted by cobaltnine at 8:06 AM on June 27, 2007

Best answer: What cobaltnine says: Just take the card to Wal-Mart or CVS or just about any drug store. They can print the photos, and make a CD copy for her. Then, she can erase the card and start over.
posted by The Deej at 8:11 AM on June 27, 2007

Best answer: (If she is totally a technophobe, she can hand them the camera. They will remove the card for her, and erase it when they are done. Remember, they did this with film in the past (and still do); people would take in their film cameras, and they would wind the film, remove it, and put a fresh roll in.)
posted by The Deej at 8:14 AM on June 27, 2007

My first thought was, that without the use of a computer, your friend could get an inexpensive photo printer and print the pictures she wants directly from the memory card.
posted by SoftSummerBreeze at 8:34 AM on June 27, 2007

I third cobaltnine's suggestion. My sister is slightly technophobic and didn't want to figure out how to get the pictures onto her computer. She was able to get prints and a CD at CVS with little fuss. The salesperson helped her figure the process out.
posted by cabingirl at 8:58 AM on June 27, 2007

Flash cards are getting so cheap, that depending on the volume of photos she takes, you could just show her exactly what kind of cards to get and have her keep buying more cards. If you keep an eye out for sales you can get a 2GB card for $20-$30. At a less than maximum resolution, you can get over a thousand photos on a 2GB card. Printing can be done with a card-reading, LCD-equipped printer, or by taking to any camera shop or drugstore.
posted by Rock Steady at 10:36 AM on June 27, 2007

Printing the photos at CVS/Walgreens/Wally World/Wherever is far cheaper than you could do yourself, and the results are also going to be better, since they use purpose built equipment. You can get some darn good prints using a quality photo printer, but not anywhere remotely close to the 20 cents per print you'll get at a processor. Have them burn the CD for you when they make the prints, and there ya go, instant archives.
posted by azpenguin at 10:48 AM on June 27, 2007

Response by poster: Belatedly -- thanks! Great suggestions all. Because it's simple to do, and because CDs are relatively durable, and because she lives near several chains that offer the service, I'm going to instruct her to go the "CVS will burn a CD and print your photos" route.
posted by ROTFL at 12:41 PM on July 2, 2007