[Waterman]

Greetings.

I'm looking into getting a digital camera in a few months and was wondering if there are any models out there that support FireWire instead of USB. As the cameras are getting up into the 5M pixel range (ie, Nikon's Coolpix 5000), I would imagine the USB transfer rate is going to feel a bit slow.

Plus, I think it'd be really cool if there could be a way to use the iPod as a temporary storage place for digital photos from a FireWire enabled digital camera. That could help solve the problem of saving huge files on a 32MB flash memory chip in the camera.

Hopefully before this summer when I plan to buy a camera, someone will tap this amazingly brilliant idea.

[phantomdragonz]

ipad, lol. cameras dont have firewire yet, i dont think.

P.D.

[Eug]

Originally posted by Waterman:
<STRONG>Greetings.

I'm looking into getting a digital camera in a few months and was wondering if there are any models out there that support FireWire instead of USB. As the cameras are getting up into the 5M pixel range (ie, Nikon's Coolpix 5000), I would imagine the USB transfer rate is going to feel a bit slow.

Plus, I think it'd be really cool if there could be a way to use the iPod as a temporary storage place for digital photos from a FireWire enabled digital camera. That could help solve the problem of saving huge files on a 32MB flash memory chip in the camera.

Hopefully before this summer when I plan to buy a camera, someone will tap this amazingly brilliant idea.</STRONG>

??? Just get yourself a couple of 256 MB CF cards and Firewire CF reader.

Works fine. (I have 4 MP camera and the pix are in the 1.6 MB range. 256 MB will hold about 150 JPEG pix at the highest setting.)

[Severed Hand of Skywalker]

Originally posted by phantomdragonz:
<STRONG>ipad, lol. cameras dont have firewire yet, i dont think.

P.D.</STRONG>

Ya, their is, but it costs $4000.

[Waterman]

Ahh, yes, Severed Hand. I just found the one you were referring to (or one like it). The Nikon D1X seems to boast 5.3M pixels and the elusive 1394 port. But, like you mentioned, the price is a bit steep for non-professionals.

[fourstarcltv]

Originally posted by Waterman:
<STRONG>I'm looking into getting a digital camera in a few months and was wondering if there are any models out there that support FireWire instead of USB.</STRONG>

currently, only the professional digital cameras support firewre, such as the nikon d1 or the canon eos-1d, but they come at quite a price (between us$5000 - $7000).

here's hoping some of the pro-sumer models start supporting this standard. i have a sony dsc-s75 myself, and transferring 60 or so 1.6meg images takes a few minutes, which isn't too bad i guess.

[OverclockedHomoSapien]

Wouldn't it be freakin' awesome if one could plug a digital camera into the iPod and dump a day's worth of photos onto the HD? 5 Gb could last a whole vacation, and no need for expensive flash memory!

I think that if this could be done the iPod would be even more sought after by Windows drones. Apple should implement this capability, either by adding a USB port to the iPod, or by providing an adaptor that converts USB cameras so they can plug into Firewire ports.

I just think that would be dead cool!

[jedakroub]

It's funny that this thread started. I was just going to post a thread like this on regarding an idea I had for a new Apple Digital Device....

The iLense (ot something like that). Think about it. Now that iPhoto is available, the "Chain of Pain" is almost painless, however the real pain now lies in choosing a camera from the never ending sea of digital cameras. What do all the specs mean? What is the difference between a SmartCard and a CompactFlash card? What are all of these confusing settings?

Now take Apple and their legendary ease-of-use. Think iPod here. Here is what we get:

1. 1-2GB (or more!) Hard-drive based digital camera
2. Firewire port for transferring/charging the camera (uses the same charger as the iPod)
3. 4 (or higher) Megapixel camera - 640x480, 800x600, 1024x768, 1600x1200
4. 1.8" swivel LCD display
5. Scroll wheel to navigate menus (just like the iPod, but smaller)
6. Styling would be similar to the iBook/iMac. White front with a brushed metal back.
7. Attached analog zoom lense with digital zoom as well.
8. Once touch autofocus
9. Simple in-camera effects like black/white, sepia, etc.
10. More ideas?

Let's face it, most photography is horrid. The iLense would be designed to enable anyone to shoot a good picture, transfer it to their Mac, crop it, and share it however they choose.

What do you think?

[Waterman]

Well Jeda...

I think Nikon and Canon and some of the other camera makers have a little bit of an edge on Apple in the camera realm. I don't know... even as a big Apple fan, I would rather buy a Nikon than an Apple camera.

However, I would like to see the iPod take on more Pod-like duties, like storing tons of photos as Overclocked mentioned. I looked at CF memory and it is a bit pricey for a decent amount. As long as you've got the 'Pod, you might as well use it.

So, I am wondering... if iPhoto has the ability to recognize a camera and then pull off the photos, perhaps this functionality could be brought to the iPod's little OS, too. I think this would be huge, and I'm sure it's up Apple's sleeve. They're probably just waiting for consumer cameras to start using FireWire. I bet there are enough pros using the D1Hs and D1Xs to make this a worthwhile venture right now.

Anyone know how we would begin writing a little app to do this? Would we need new drivers for all the cameras? Actually, it would be pretty doable since there are so few cameras that use FireWire at this point. Hmm. Research time, methinks.

[MadMacs]

[Eug]

Originally posted by jedakroub:
<STRONG>It's funny that this thread started. I was just going to post a thread like this on regarding an idea I had for a new Apple Digital Device....

The iLense (ot something like that). Think about it. Now that iPhoto is available, the "Chain of Pain" is almost painless, however the real pain now lies in choosing a camera from the never ending sea of digital cameras. What do all the specs mean? What is the difference between a SmartCard and a CompactFlash card? What are all of these confusing settings?

Now take Apple and their legendary ease-of-use. Think iPod here. Here is what we get:

1. 1-2GB (or more!) Hard-drive based digital camera
2. Firewire port for transferring/charging the camera (uses the same charger as the iPod)
3. 4 (or higher) Megapixel camera - 640x480, 800x600, 1024x768, 1600x1200
4. 1.8" swivel LCD display
5. Scroll wheel to navigate menus (just like the iPod, but smaller)
6. Styling would be similar to the iBook/iMac. White front with a brushed metal back.
7. Attached analog zoom lense with digital zoom as well.
8. Once touch autofocus
9. Simple in-camera effects like black/white, sepia, etc.
10. More ideas?

Let's face it, most photography is horrid. The iLense would be designed to enable anyone to shoot a good picture, transfer it to their Mac, crop it, and share it however they choose.

What do you think?</STRONG>

Given that iPhoto doesn't work all that well, so far I'm not totally impressed and there's no way in hell I'd buy an Apple camera if it's as overpriced as the G4 PowerMacs, especially considering your specs offer nothing new (except Firewire) to what's currently available.

As for the camera specs: 1600x1200 is only 2 MP, not 4, and all of the features you've mentioned already exist in cameras available today except for the Firewire in non-prosumer cameras, and of course the iBook look. The 1 GB hard drive costs extra though - IBM Microdrive - and I don't like them because they eat power and are potentially more fragile than solid state memory.

Everything else I have in my Canon G2 4 MP (2272x1704) camera, plus a whole lot more. Picture downloads are easy as pie - plug in the camera and everything can be set to be automatic (or not), both on my PC and my Mac. It's USB though so if I use and fill up my 256 MB card, then I have my Firewire card reader. Charging off the Firewire cord here would be useful but not as useful as you may think. Personally, if I'm gonna be gone for a weekend with my camera, I'd much rather carry an extra battery +/- charger around than my laptop to charge the camera. And, I just sold my Kodak DC4800 3 MP (2160x1440) which is about the easiest to use 3 MP camera ever made. It's not quite in the same league in picture quality as the Canon G2, but it had most of the important features you mentioned plus more, despite being several years old. And this camera too had seamless integration with Apple hardware. When I bought my iBook, I simply plugged my Kodak in. No drivers or nothing.

I suggest you reinvestigate current digital camera technology. It has moved WAY beyond what many people may have thought. Why all the confusing specs? Because that's what we want. ie. Buy a Canon G2 if you want to have a super-configurable camera, or buy something like a Kodak DC4800 if you want superb ease of use.