Transfer and print photos from your digital camera.

There are far too many digital cameras, computers, and digital photo printers to give instructions for every one, but most work basically the same way, so here's a typical scenario.

1. Almost all digital cameras come with photo editing software, and these days, most new computers will also already have it installed. If you need to install the software specific to your digital camera, simply put the installation CD in your  CD-ROM drive, and select "install" when the menu pops up.  If for some reason it does not, click "run" on your start menu, navigate to the CD-ROM drive, and select "install.exe" or any other file with "install" or "installation" as part of the file name.

2. Most digital cameras also come with a USB cable that is used to to connect the digital camera to your computer or digital photo printer.  While some models may vary, generally speaking the smaller side of the USB cable connects to the camera, and the larger side is for the computer USB port connection.  Rarely, you may have to buy a specialty USB capable to connect your various digital devices.

3. Once your digital camera and the computer are connected, the camera's software usually pops up on your computer screen automatically.  If it does not, simply find your photo software on your Start Menu or Programs listing, double click the icon, and let 'er rip.  The software generally gives you the option to transfer all of your photos, or to select and transfer specific digital photos.

You can store your photos in any folder on your computer hard drive, but most people end up using the My Photos folder, since that is the default they are generally provided by the photo editing software.  That is fine, but if you feel like using a different folder, go ahead - just make sure you give it a name you will easily remember, such as "Photo Archive" or something similar.

The next step is editing and printing.  Good photo editing software allows you to crop your images, meaning you can choose to print only a section of your digital photograph.  You can also usually enlarge your photos, and often can change the color saturation and hue, to get exactly the appearance that you want.  Once you've done that, it's a simple mouse click to send your print to a photo-ready printer, if you have one.  Once expensive, these printers are often now found priced at or even below about $100 for a basic model, and at most a couple of hundred dollars for even the best models.  Epson and Hewlett-Packard tend to have the most popular models, but there are also excellent choices from other manufacturers.

As an alternative to having your own printer, you can also use one of several online digital photo printing services, which will create prints and enlargements for you at a very modest charge.  Most such services also give you plenty of space to store your photos in your online account, and many offer specialty services such as birthday cards, holiday cards, and business cards custom printed from your digital photos.  Two of the most popular such services are Hewlett-Packard's Snapfish, and RitzPix, from Ritz Camera.  Both offer an enticing range of photo printing services.  For novelty, you can also now personalize your postage with "photo stamps" featuring your own digital photos. 

Next some information about dust and waterproof digital cameras, and also underwater digital cameras