*** From the Archives ***

This article is from July 24, 2001, and is no longer current.

Marty’s Camera Bag: Iomega FotoShow Adds Zip to Your Shoots

What I thought I was getting when I ordered my Iomega FotoShow Image Center was a device for showing my digital photos on a TV. And, in one sense, that is what I got. But my initial confusion when trying to use it for that purpose turned to pure bliss when I discovered that the $249.95 FotoShow (plus a $50 rebate until September 1, 2001) is much, much more.


The Iomega FotoShow Image Center.

As a photographer who relies almost exclusively on digital cameras and equipment, I’m always on the lookout for the next nifty gizmo or gadget that will make my life easier. Portability, versatility, and commonly available media — these make my short list. The FotoShow delivers on all these and then some.

At its heart the FotoShow is an external, USB Zip 250 drive. But wait, there’s more! You also get SmartMedia and CompactFlash (CF) slots on the front and S-Video and RCA jacks on the back. But that’s not all! The drive comes complete with internal software — well, firmware technically — that lets you view, sort, adjust, and otherwise manipulate digital images without the use of a PC. And Iomega even throws in a handy remote control for accessing the Image Center software on your TV.


The FotoShow accommodates Zip 250 disks and both CompactFlash and SmartMedia storage cards.

The rear panel of the FotoShow drive module provides S-Video and composite outputs for connecting the unit to a TV.

But lets not overlook the FotoShow’s most useful feature for the flash-happy fotog on the go: a little clear button labeled “COPY.” Paired with an optional $14.95 car power adapter, this unassuming little button has made life on the road a joy for at least one photographer.

Let me give you an example.

Pictures in Purgatory
I recently attended the annual Blossom Festival in nearby Hood River Valley, as is my habit. As usual, I had two Epson digital cameras (the 2.1MB PhotoPC 850Z, and the 3.3MB PhotoPC 3000Z) around my neck and three Lexar CompactFlash cards (two 32MB and one 16MB card) in my pocket.

When I shoot digitally I take full advantage of the fact that the media is erasable. Experimenting with white balance, focal point, zoom level, and more, rarely do I turn away from a subject without multiple shots of it. Of course, even a 32MB card fills up quickly with as much experimentation as I do. In the past, when the cards were full I would retreat to a shady spot and play God, squinting at the LCD and deciding which images would live and which I would cast out. Not only did this suck precious battery juices, but it was tedious and didn’t give my images a fair shake. I mean, at that size, it’s pretty hard to judge the quality of a shot. Had I been able to get them on the big screen before deciding, some images may have been redeemed.

I’m happy to say those days of rash judgments are over, thanks to the FotoShow. This year at the festival, when each of my CompactFlash cards had had its fill of apple and pear blossoms and spectacular Mt. Hood vistas, I simply popped it into the FotoShow drive (which held a 250MB Zip disk and was plugged into my car’s cigarette lighter) and pressed the magic Copy button. Incredibly, just 90 seconds later, 32 megabytes of images were on the Zip and I was ready to refill the CF card with photos. The only thing that would have made it more convenient would have been an Erase button. Even so, it wasn’t too much trouble to select Erase All from my camera’s LCD menu.

Jack of All Trades
The FotoShow isn’t the first device to provide ultra-portable on-the-fly downloading from camera media. Minds@Work‘s Digital Wallet offers pocket-size hard drives in three capacities: 3GB ($349), 10GB ($449), and 20GB ($549). NixVue recently began shipping its Digital Album, a 20GB ($599) hard drive that will also offer PC-free operation with a TV and remote, but at twice the FotoShow’s price (a 10GB, $499 version is scheduled for shipment soon). The Digital Wallet and Digital Album both offer a single PC Card slot and require a caddy for flash media. And, unlike the FotoShow, both can be powered by rechargeable batteries (NiMH and Lithium Ion, respectively) or by an included AC adapter.

But the FotoShow’s further ability to serve as an external Zip 250 drive makes it infinitely more flexible, despite its markedly lower capacity (megabyte as opposed to gigbytes). While the competitors’ multi-gig drives can store more images initially, you’ll ultimately have to download them to your PC. With the FotoShow, you can simply archive full Zip disks and, as Zip disks are readily available at discount prices, buy some more. What’s more, Zip disks can be used for all your computing needs and aren’t restricted to photo transfers, and the FotoShow is admirably sturdy and easy to use.

Once the FotoShow’s Zip disk held my photos, accessing them was a breeze. At home or at the office, the included USB cable let me simply plug in the drive and begin viewing and editing my entire trip’s worth of photos. I was free to leave the images archived on the Zip disk or move them to another drive using the usual Windows drag and drop. The included audio-video cable, on the other hand, lets me do much the same thing anywhere there’s a television, though the process isn’t nearly as fast.


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