In today’s connected mobile world, instantly sharing a photo or short video from your smartphone online to Twitter, Facebook or YouTube is a great way to keep in touch while away. It also keeps backups of your favourite travel photos online.
But, more digital cameras are including wireless connectivity too, for transferring pictures to your smartphone, other devices or directly to Internet services to compete with impressive smartphone cameras.
Most camera brands use WiFi, connecting to other wireless devices, much like modems do at home. This means being able to directly transfer pictures to smartphones, tablets, iPads, laptops or connecting to the Internet through a public hotspot, like a café or airport.
You can even control some cameras with smartphones. After transferring them to your mobile device you can organize and edit pictures with your phone’s software and email attachments before being sent online.
But not all wireless cameras are the same; they vary in their functionality. Here some examples.
Most new WiFi enabled cameras today transfer photos to iPhone, iPads or Android phones or tablets using free downloadable applications for each. Some, like Fujifilm – as well as its FinePix models – use a simple interface for just that. Simply beam up your pictures to your smartphone.
Sony
Other cameras like the new 20.2 megapixel Sony RX100II, let you operate it with your cellphone, including the camera view from your smartphone screen. That’s great for setting the camera close to wildlife and firing its shutter up to 50 meters away. It makes for better self-portrait or group photos as you can see the camera’s viewfinder from your phone. You can also change camera settings like flash on or off, zoom and turn the self-timer on.
Samsung
Other cameras like Samsung models, including the newest interchangeable lens mirrorless 20.3 megapixel NX300 and NX2000, are loaded with wireless software and features. They use WiFi to transfer pictures to any device and near field communication (NFC) to connect by tapping to any NFC equipped phone for remote viewfinder.
You can email pictures directly from the camera with text, or send pictures and messages directly to Facebook, Microsoft’s SkyDrive, Picasa, or videos to YouTube. Samsung’s Allshare Play lets other nearby Samsung phones, tablets and HDTV’s see camera photos on their screen. Its Auto Backup feature backs up your latest pictures to your nearby laptop.
OLYMPUS
Owners of the popular OLYMPUS E-PL2 camera can use the small dual-function PENPAL PP-1 attachment (C$75), for transferring pictures via Bluetooth to any similarly equipped device such as a smartphone, tablet or laptop. It can be set to transfer three photo sizes and can conveniently store and back up more than 2,500 images in its own memory.
For cameras with no wireless features, the Eye-Fi is an SD fast Class 10 card with built-in WiFi.
Its newest Mobi model with 8GB memory for $49.99 and 16 GB memory (C$79.99) connects via WiFi to Mac or PC phones, tablets or laptops with a simple setup. You can set instant sharing from camera to nearby device, even as you take photos, ensuring a safe backup in case something happens to your camera.
There is also a Pro X2 card for more serious users with the capability of uploading professional RAW files and optional cloud storage. That’s amazingly smart technology bringing your older camera to the mobile age.
It’s best to see what WiFi features a camera supports, along with its software, when deciding on your next purchase.
Follow Steve’s weekly GlobalTV Sunday and Morning News Tech Talk segments and blog on www.techuntangled.ca
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