While at the PhotoPlus Expo this year, I was running late for a meeting. Walking quickly through the show room, I stopped in my tracks when I saw this amazing framed print. The colors were so vibrant, punchy and sharp. Kind of reminded me of a print you would find in a Peter Lik gallery. Then something strange happened… the photo changed. What I was looking at wasn’t a print… it was a huge digital frame! I’m talking 35”. Let me remind you, I was already late for an important meeting. However this was amazing and I needed to learn more. To find out this company up in Canada called “Memento Smart Frames” has just come out with this new 4k digital frame on Kickstarter. Matter of fact, at the time of this writing they achieved over 100% funded!
So let me tell you about this frame that has easily made it to our “PhotographyTalk Top Pick of 2015” list.
To start, let’s take a moment to realize something that has been in front of our eyes the whole time. Each time you look at your awesome photos on your full HD computer or TV screen, you’re actually viewing them at a measly 1.7megapixels. That’s right. That 36MP file gets scaled down to a resolution that reminds us of digital photography prehistory.
Memento has finally changed that. Digital frames are not new, but this is something revolutionary that can be enjoyed properly and doesn’t have to sit on your nightstand.
The available sizes are 25” and 35”, both generous enough to make viewing photos on the Memento a real joy.
There is a lot of brilliant technology behind this decorative frame. It is first of all a 4K ultra-HD display. That sounds normal so far, but obviously there’s a lot more to it.
The frame uses the proprietary Print Display that gives you the illusion you’re actually looking at a photographic print. Trust me, I print a lot of my photos in large sizes and this thing had me fooled from the first moment I looked at it.
For the first time you can view your images at 7 million pixels rather than 1.7. But unlike conventional screens, the pixels on the Memento are indistinguishable. The actual resolution is 3240 x 2160 and the 3:2 ratio is optimized for photography.
There are 1.07 billion vibrant colors that will make your photos look just as good as on paper.
Needless to say, the Memento is Wi-Fi controlled and the storage capacity is 3000 photos.
The app that controls it is very easy to use and it lets you choose what photos to display from the ones already saved on your phone, tablet or PC. The app also automatically resizes and crops and lets you make settings to personalize your viewing experience.
Installing the Memento is a breeze thanks to the power cable that’s as thin as paper. It’s also paintable so you can literally make it disappear.
Now for the real surprise that sets the Memento apart from any other display product on the market. The proprietary Print Display technology I mentioned earlier continuously measures ambient light with extreme precision and makes the necessary adjustments to ensure optimal viewing parameters. It also turns off automatically when you turn off the lights in the room.
Memento is a not the future. It is the awesome present and a new, revolutionary way of preserving and enjoying your memories and portfolio shots.
Learn more about Memento here.