Can I use my digital camera as a PC camera?

Hi everyone.. I have a ton of pics on my pc.. I take many many pics with my Digital Camera.. my pc is really Bogged down ! can alot of pics do this?.. and.. can I use a disc or many discs ha ha.. to transfer pics onto? if so. which kind do I use? thanx

• Answer:

  Whether having a lot of pictures will bog down your system depends on the size of your hard drive, the resolution of the pictures, and how many pictures you have; but, I guess theoretically speaking, it could happen. I find that a 4MP picture (the lowest resolution needed to print crisp 8x10 pictures) tends to be just a little over 2MB. So, at that resolution, I would need just under 500 photos to get 1GB (just to put things into perspective). Check the space remaining on your hard drive. If your drive is just the C drive (non-partitioned), then you'll just want to click on My Computer, and hover the pointer over the C drive. That should give you information about Free Space and Total Size. If you have a lot of space remaining, chances are, something else is bogging down your system. If you aren't using one, I'd recommend using an Adware/Spyware detection program such as Spybot and Adaware. They can be downloaded for free from CNET's download site (http://www.download.com/). If storage space is indeed an issue, I would recommend using a DVD+/-RW disc (if you have a drive capable of rewriting for photos. You won't be able to use this disc anywhere, but you can add, delete, and move photos around (as you can on a hard drive). These discs will cost you a bit more than the standard DVD+/-R discs, but I believe for photos, this is the way to go (because you never know what photos you may not want in a few years). But another option that I might recommend for you is purchasing an external hard drive. The great thing about these is that you won't have to worry about scratching up the disc and you can use this on any computer like you can with DVD+/-R discs.