There is no pleasure quite so intense as the pride of a cat lover over his or her cats, and no better way to share that pleasure with other cat lovers than with pictures. We show off our pictures online in blogs, online photo galleries, and forums. You can also always spot a true cat lover by the number of cat pictures displayed in her home, and these products provide everything needed to make the most of those cat photo displays.
1. Sony DCR-HC30 Mini DV Digital Camcorder
Photo Credit: Courtesy of PriceGrabber
2. Canon PowerShot A95 Digital Camera
Canon is a well-respected name in cameras, and the A95 is the latest of its (reasonably low) price range. Five megapixels allow for superb image quality, the 21 shooting modes add flexibility and pizzaz, and its 3X optical zoom is adequate for my purposes. This camera provides many features of more expensive digicams, and it's at the top of my list for an upgrade to my old Olympus C2020 Z, which was top-of-the-line when I bought it almost five years ago.3. Canon Pixma MX850 All-In-One Printer
Photo Credit: Courtesy of PriceGrabber
The MX850 uses four individual color cartridges, and one black. The automatic document feeder holds up to 30 originals, which is great for copying multiple documents. I also like the fact that there are two paper trays, so I can have plain paper in one and photo paper in the other. I can tell you how many times I've accidentally printed a store receipt on photo paper, when forgetting to change the paper.
The final plus for me is that this printer is network-ready for wireless.
4. Canon SELPHY CP760 Photo Printer
These direct from camera to postcard-sized printer are the handiest technological development I've seen yet. This printer is a lightweight at 2.8 pounds, but a powerhouse in photo printing capabilities. It can be used with any digital camera, printing directly through a USB connection or from a memory card. The CP760 can also print directly from any Pictbridge-capable cell phone with clear-to-life results.Canon's new dye-sublimation process is said to produce better quality photos than inkjet printers. The CP760's real value is that you can take it with you on trips, to business meetings, parties and other get-togethers and give the printed photos to your companions. I already know of three different occasions I soon plan to use mine.
5. Jasc Paint Shop Pro
As a photo software nerd who could never master the intricacies of Photoshop, I've used Paint Shop Pro from its very first iteration, and presently am using version XI. PSP has evolved over the years, and version 11 offers many of the features of the more expensive PhotoShop, including filters, plugins, paintbrushes, layers, and tubes, along with a fairly shallow learning curve.
With the huge number of reader-submitted photos I handle, I'd truly be lost without PSP, and I recommend it highly for mid-level computer users. Be sure to read the review by Sue Chastain, our Guide to Graphics Software.
6. Personalized Pet Blanket
Photo Credit: courtesy Keepsakes Etc/Janet Crosby, DVM
These pet memory blankets are woven and the colors are true to life. My fellow Guide and friend, Janet Crosby, DVM, Guide to Veterinary Medicine, inadvertently led me to this marvelous site after reading her review and looking at the photos of her blanket. Janet says in part, "The blanket is a high-quality woven throw. The photo image on the blanket seemed more photo realistic than my photo. Beautiful depth and color, woven into the design. No iron transfer to peel off or wrinkle. The image is the blanket."
Taking Janet's lead, I ordered two of these blankets. As she remarked in the review, the staff at Keepsake, Etc., were extremely helpful when they called me with a problem with one of the photos I'd submitted.
7. Cat Picture Frames
These cat-related picture frames run the gamut from a rustic brown wood from with "Pick of the Litter" inscribed at the top, to a Pawprint desktop frame that can hold a custom metal imprint of your own cat's pawprint, to several sizes of pawprint frames. One of my favorites is a pewter colored metal picture frame with a matching business card hold and letter opener set.8. Other Media for Displaying Cat Photos
CafePress.com provides users a free "store," where you can upload your digital photos and have them printed on clothing, mugs, posters, canvas bags, mousepads, clocks, and a variety of other items. If you want to sell your products to others, you can open a "Pro" store for a very low monthly price. A terrific opportunity for personalized gifts with photos of your own or the recipient's cats.9. Strait-Line Intersect Laser Level
Okay, so why is a carpenter's tool on a cats site? If you're like me, you'll want to cover your walls with photos of your cats, and crooked photos are annoying. I have the regular Strait-Line level already, which is great for lining up wallpaper borders, but the Intersect goes one step further. It lines up both vertical and horizontal lines for picture-perfect hanging of those cat pictures. It "sticks" to the wall without damaging it, so you can use both hands for adjusting that picture frame.