System and method of processing a digital image for user assessment of an output image product

1. A method of processing a digital image to generate a substantially accurate digital representation of an image product having the digital image transferred thereon, comprising the steps of:

(a) accessing the digital image using a digital camera having a viewing member;

(b) selecting, among a plurality of selectable image products, the image product on which the digital image will be transferred using a transfer process;

(c) the digital camera automatically digitally reducing a resolution of at least a portion of the accessed digital image in response to the step of selecting the image product, the step of automatically digitally reducing being based on a resolution limitation of an image product production device using the transfer process when transferring the digital image onto the image product, thereby lowering the resolution of the digital image when the digital image is transferred onto the image product, wherein the step of automatically digitally reducing includes generating at a reduced resolution the substantially accurate digital representation of the image product for display on the viewing member to represent the accessed digital image transferred onto the image product by said image product production device; and

(d) displaying, using the viewing member, for assessment by the user, said reduced resolution digital representation.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of accessing the digital image is accomplished by capturing the digital image using the digital camera.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of accessing the digital image is accomplished by accessing the digital image over a communications network.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of accessing the digital image is accomplished by accessing the digital image from a removable media.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the viewing member is a display on the camera.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the viewing member is a printer adapted to produce a hardcopy print and is in communication with the camera.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of selecting the image product is accomplished by defaulting to storing a captured image in the digital camera.

8. The method of claim 1 further including using the viewing member to zoom in to a portion of the reduced resolution digital representation image to enable user assessment of whether sharpness, focus, or resolution of the reduced resolution digital representation is adequate.

9. A method of processing a digital image for user assessment of an image product that incorporates the digital image, comprising the steps of:

(a) accessing the digital image using a digital camera having a viewing member;

(b) selecting, among a plurality of selectable image products, the image product intended to incorporate the digital image;

(c) the digital camera automatically digitally modifying at least a portion of the accessed digital image, the step of automatically digitally modifying being based on a resolution limitation of a transfer process of a preselected image product production device when it transfers the digital image onto the image product, the transfer process being incapable of reproducing the resolution of the digital image as captured by the digital camera onto the image product thereby lowering a resolution of the digital image when the digital image is transferred to the image product, including modifying a parameter of the accessed digital image so that the accessed digital image substantially accurately represents, when viewed on the viewing member, the digital image incorporated on the image product after the digital image is transferred to the image product by said output image product production device, the parameter selected from the group consisting of color, hue, and contrast; and

(d) displaying on the viewing member, for assessment by the user, said at least a portion of the modified digital image.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein a second parameter is further selected from the group consisting of sharpness, content, tone scale, saturation, dust, red-eye, scratches, clipping, anomalies from compression, density, and dynamic range.