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  • Welcome to the new site. Here's a thread about the update where you can post your feedback, ask questions or spot those nasty bugs!

Direct Print

Doug Kerr

Well-known member
It's been popular to make fun of the "Direct Print" feature (and the blue-glowable button that goes with it) on recent EOS cameras (as is true for onboard flash, P mode, automatic transmissions on sports carts, and the horseless carriage). I never paid a lot of attention to the feature,, since once I got a camera that supports it (now, my 40D) I didn't have a printer that did.

But we now have an Epson Stylus Photo R1900 (my God, is it big!), with a nice PictBridge USB port on the front, with the little double-slurp PictBridge logo staring me in the navel all day.

So I thought I would try the feature out.

It is really neat! For one thing, It worked right away. I plugged a USB cable into the 40D and the R1900. Next time I pushed the image review button on the 40D, there was a little doodad in the upper left corner of the screen letting me know that Direct Print was ready to go.

The menu system is well organized and easy to follow. Evidently, much of the work is done in the printer, and apparently different printers support different features, and advise the camera of what they support, since my setup does not have some menu items illustrated in the 40D manual.

You can easily crop the image before printing. Evidently, with some setups (not mine - maybe with a Canon printer) you can even rotate the crop frame.

Incidentally, you never need to touch the accursed blue-glowable button at all. (Yes, yes, I know, so it could just as easily have been made reassignable.)

I think it can be a really handy way to run prints when we have visitors and so forth. We may in fact invest in some 4x6" (or such) paper for the purpose.

So those of you who have the feature at both ends should probably give it a spin and see how it works. You don't need to tell anybody! And we know you leave the transmission in your Passat or Maxima in "automatic" anyway.
 

Cem_Usakligil

Well-known member
...You don't need to tell anybody! And we know you leave the transmission in your Passat or Maxima in "automatic" anyway.
LOL, real drivers do not drive automatic transmission cars, period.
As a matter of fact, we can expand this to a generic statement as follows:
Real .....(fill in the blanks here) do not do/use (or some other verb) .... (anything which is automated and/or too easy to use).

Some examples:
- Real drivers do not drive automatic transmission cars.
- Real photographers do not use the P mode
- Real chefs do not use prefabricated ingredients or semi-products
- Real fishers do not use sonar to find fish
- etc, etc

Cheers,
 

Daniel Buck

New member
I'd rather have a Mirror lockup button instead of a print button, or heck even a 'floating button' that could be mapped to anything! I think that would be great :) Interesting that the print button works really well, seems like everyone shuns it. I guess if you had a printer right there on set, you could do 'Polaroids' that could be passed around right there. hah! I bet that would actually be pretty nice.


I completely agree about the manual transmission though :-D haha! For years I have driven only automatics, thinking a manual would be to much trouble in-town. Then after having trouble with torque converters (the car making to much power and burning them out, they worrying how long the automatic would last until it decides to grenade) I decided to have a manual transmission put in the car. Wow, how much fun is this! Even driving slow in traffic, it's a ton of fun :-D It was interesting learning though, heavy clutch, sensitive gas pedal, steep gear ratio in the rear, and a lot of power on tap. haha!
 

Daniel Buck

New member
Well, I guess that means the current Bugatti models have to be driven by unreal drivers!

I'd say so! Never seen one really driving, usually just putting around in the slow lane, or parked at a car show. I don't think someone buys a bugatti to drive, they buy it just to have it :) Don't believe I've ever seen on driving around in the mountains either (there are alot of real nice driving roads in the Malibu hills/canyons!) I've seen alot of nice cars out there, but can't say I've seen a bugatti.

I could be wrong though, maybe it's just because there are so few of them, I've never seen one really driving. :-D
 

Mike Shimwell

New member
Daniel

I assure you that if I had a Veyron I would really drive it:), but there again I will never have a Veyron so perhaps that's the answer.

Actualy, I do prefer manual gearboxes over autos, althogh I'll admit the latter have their strengths.

Mike
 

Daniel Buck

New member
Daniel

I assure you that if I had a Veyron I would really drive it:), but there again I will never have a Veyron so perhaps that's the answer.

Actualy, I do prefer manual gearboxes over autos, althogh I'll admit the latter have their strengths.

Mike

If I had a veyron, I'd sell it and buy something I really wanted :-D

If I were doing mostly drag racing, I'd probably have a manual valve body auto, they are more consistent for drag racing.
 
That blue button on my 40D also functions as a "transmit" button for various kinds of file transfers, so you can have an excuse to push it without having to do direct print.
 

Kathy Rappaport

pro member
P for Professional

Sometimes when I am lazy, I might use the P mode to shoot - rarely but it can happen. I wish I had my 1973 Volkswagen Convertible sometimes that used the power shifter - it was manual. Did you know you cannot buy a 3 or 5 series BMW in California with a manual transmission without special ordering it? And the automatic has a clutchless shifter?
 
I have used Direct Print to a Selphy CP500 for a while now, but on a 1dsIII it is VERY slow - I am guessing is reprocesses from RAW for some reason. The options are limited, but some exposure and cropping is useful, esp for "instant" proof handouts to friends and family.

I now have a Pixma Pro 9500 still in the box waiting for me to rebuild the home office, and looking at the manual that has a lot more available to play with, sans PC, in the form of image post processing. While not portable, I think it may be a nice way of doing some basic proofing prior to sitting down and doing RAW conversions. We shall see.
 
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