It's highly likely you are one of the vast majorities of people who have converted from using tradition cameras to digital cameras. The idea of using regular photographic equipment with film that actually requires you to take it to get developed into prints seems archaic. It's hard to believe that only 10, even 5 years ago, many people still used this type of traditional picture-taking equipment. Despite the fact that most people now take and store pictures digitally, picture frames still mostly display printed photographs, not the digital ones we take and store.



However this is rapidly changing. Digital picture frames are one of the hottest new consumer electronic products, which allow digital pictures to be displayed in their true form – digitally. No longer do photos need to be printed to be displayed. Instead, by transferring them to a digital picture frame through the use of a memory device (SD memory card, memory stick, or USB flash drive), they can displayed as is on a LCD screen the size of a picture frame (usually somewhere between 5 inches and 15 inches in size).

What makes this more exciting is that once you go digital with you picture frames, many more possibilities open up. Instead of a digital frame displaying a single photo all the time, a digital picture frame can store dozens or even hundreds of photos, and rotate them in slideshow type fashion on your LCD frame. Thus your picture frame is now a dynamic digital display device that shows constantly changing pictures based on setting that you set - way more exciting than a static tradition frame that only shows a single image (until you get the motivation to swap it out). Putting new pictures on your digital picture frame is also much simpler in the digital realm, especially if you have a wireless capable digital frame that can accept streaming pictures from your PC and Flickr account.

Major manufacturers of digital picture frames like Smartparts, Portable USA, and Kodak are also adding new feature that open up even more possibilities. Digital picture frames now can also display other information such as a calendar, clock, or news and weather using free services that work similar to RSS feeds. So not only will your digital photo frame display crisp, clear pictures, but be another information portal in your home or office besides your computer and television. Many digital frames actually combine a collage of information (calendar, clock, photos) based on your setting on the screen at one time.

Besides the digital nature of digital picture frames, you can likely find a frame that suits all your other needs in terms of style and décor. There are so many manufacturers now that there are plenty of digital frame sizes, wood finishes, colors, and styles. Certainly this is a growing category of products, and selection will increase and prices will drop, but shop around and you will likely find one that matches the room you are trying to accessorize, or wall you are looking to hang it on. Speaking of which, digital picture frames are also getting larger and larger in size. It's not unusual to find digital frames up to 15 inches, and recently Smartparts released a stunning 32-inch digital picture frame that is less frame and more portrait.

So if you haven't started the process of converting your traditional frames to digital picture frames, you likely will soon. Unless you are one of the ones still using a regular film camera!