I notice Scoble’s testing Nikon’s S51C camera that has wifi built in.
This has prompted me to write what’s been on my mind about the usefulness of cameras having wireless connectivity – of any kind.
I use a Dopod 810 PDA. It’s my work and personal diary, phone, mobile web browser and doubles as a personal alarm/contact method being hung around my neck most of the time where I can get at it. It’s great for me and I’m thankful for it.
Recently, I’ve been using the inbuilt 2Mp camera. It is the only digital camera I own (well work own it, I don’t actually personally own a digital camera) – even so, I’ve been finding it useful, if a little limited. I even found a timer on it which means I can wrangle and fidget to set the timer going and point it in roughly the right direction myself. (examples here)
That ‘myself‘ there was no simple sentence-ender. It’s important that any technology I have has design and features that as much as possible enable me to use it on my own. Now obviously this isn’t always possible but it’s a huge factor of when I look for anything.
Aside from the taking of the photos, a feature I’ve found fabulous is that being in a PDA I can use the Bluetooth to transfer photos to my computer. So this means eve if I have somebody else take a photo for me that I can grab those photos straight from the Dopod while it’s hanging around my neck or sitting on my bench, unattached to my computer. No having to get someone to plug it into my computer or take out the memory card and put in the card reader, top have to then get them back again to return it. This is another function I can do all on my own – transferring the photos and manipulating them and whatever I want – bliss.
So, I figured any camera I buy will have to have some form of wireless connectivity in it. Bluetooth in a camera seems to be something a few have thought of a bit (at least a quick searh shows Soy and Kodak have). The increasing availability of cameras incorporating wifi makes me happy. Even if it’s not necessarily to be used in the manner anticipated.
This is another example of what I think Lifekludging is about – context shifting. The ability to see and make use of a technologies function that might lay outside the sphere of it’s intended use or design parameters.
So if anyone’s listening who can influence these things – please make sure the wifi being built into cameras has the applications able to support the transfer to a computer being controlled from the computer as sometimes those who can control a computer can’t control a camera. This doesn’t mean they can’t make use of one.
In the scheme of things that feature you add that you think is for one little purpose may just open the possibilities in a different context that mean the world of difference in someone’s life.
Dave
[tags]nikon, camera, bluetooth, wifi, scoble, pda, dopd 810, digital camera[/tags]
life tools 