Upgrades for less than $100: Complete product indexĪdobe Photoshop Elements: $90 (or free with Canon CanoScan N670U scanner), 4.5 stars.On the downside, the N670U lacks accessories that other scanners in its price range offer, such as a transparency adapter (useful for scanning slides or negatives from a film camera) and an automatic document feeder. The N670U's design does away with the bulky power brick accompanying many scanners instead the unit draws power from the USB connection to your PC. It's slim and light, and the model's front panel has three quick-start buttons for scanning, copying, and e-mailing. It produced good-quality color scans but was a tad slow. If you'd rather scan the shoeboxes of photos that are currently stacked in your attic, the $99 Canon CanoScan N670U scanner is a good bet. But with a maximum resolution of 640 by 480 pixels (compared with 1200 by 1600 for models in the $350 or above price range), the SiPix won't produce Ansel Adams-quality photos. And if you take pictures in a sunny setting, the camera should produce images that are bright enough for satisfactory prints on 3-by-5-inch paper. Still, I was satisfied with my SiPix snapshots they looked nice enough to e-mail to friends and post on a Web site. As you might expect, the StyleCam lacks features typically found on more expensive cameras, such as a built-in flash, an LCD, a zoom lens, and a slot for a memory card. It runs on two AAA alkaline batteries, stores about 60 shots in its 8MB of internal memory, and connects to a PC via USB cable to transfer photos. This no-frills, point-and-shoot model is about the size of a box of Altoids. SiPix StyleCam: $70, 2.5 stars (out of five)įor starters, I found the slim and simple SiPix StyleCam digital camera for only $70. Fortunately, you don't have to dish out that kind of cash to join the digital photography revolution. Digital photography: Cheap shotsĪre you the type of shutterbug who loves disposable cameras and gets excited by the corner drugstore's free double-print offers? If so, the idea of spending $400 or more on a fancy digital camera may not provide quite the same rush. Best of all, these add-ons are simple to set up and give you a lot of bang for your buck. Each of the products we recommend costs $100 or less.
So we've rounded up plenty of ways to extend your computer's capabilities - whether it's into the area of digital photography, Web conferencing, audio, or networking - while keeping a watchful eye on your bank account. (IDG) - Now more than ever, everyone's trying to spend money intelligently.
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