A fingerprint scanner views a picture of the little ridges on your fingers to identify the unique pattern that is yours alone. You can make a digital camera into a "thumb scanner" that will save a picture of the fingerprint taken. The procedure relies on the macro setting of the digital camera -- selected from the menu settings -- which enables the lens to focus extremely close-up to an object. The digital camera will not be damaged in any way by using it as a thumb scanner.
Instructions
1. Open the battery compartment lid of the digital camera and insert new batteries. Close the lid. Open the memory card slot on the side of the camera and insert a compatible memory card into the slot. Close the lid. If the battery compartment also has a space for the memory card, skip this separate step.
2. Press the digital camera's "On" button. Press the "Menu" button that is typically located on the back of the camera next to the LCD viewing panel.
3. Select the "Lens" menu or a comparable menu -- the actual name will vary depending on the make of the camera. Select the "Macro" setting. Press the "Menu" button again to exit the settings.
4. Press the "Flash" button, or press the tab next to a flash icon to temporarily discontinue the use of the automatic flash feature. In some cases, activating the macro feature will automatically turn this off.
5. Place the camera on a table with the lens facing up. Place one of your thumbs in front of the lens, a few inches away. Press the shutter button on the digital camera halfway down to lock the focus of the thumb -- typically a "beep" will be heard to indicate that the focus is now locked.
6. Press the shutter button the rest of the way down to take a picture. Stand the digital camera up after the picture has been taken. Press the "Menu" button. Select the "Playback" feature and on the LCD screen you can see the picture that was just taken.
7. Select the thumb picture from the rest of the thumbnail pictures displayed on the LCD screen. View the picture of the thumb to verify that it is in focus -- if the thumb is not in focus, try taking another picture, moving the thumb closer or farther away than before. The thumb scan that your digital camera "thumb scanner" has taken can now be transferred to a computer via the memory card and viewed on a larger monitor screen or used with any security scanning program that you might have.
Tags: digital camera, memory card, Menu button, Press Menu, Press Menu button, thumb scanner, battery compartment
