Nikon announced a new WiFi camera, the COOLPIX S7c, and a hosting service, the COOLPIX CONNECT, this week at Photokina 2006. Nikon’s currently available WiFi equipped P3, an 8 megapixel shooter, requires a nearby PC and lacks the direct email capability of the new S7c.
The COOLPIX S7c camera ($349.95), is a slim, point-and-shoot with Vibration Reduction, 7.1 megapixels and a 3x Zoom-Nikkor ED glass lens. It will be available nationwide in September 2006.
The built-in Wi-Fi provides built-in 802.11b/g WiFi to enable photographers to send pictures from the camera’s memory to a computer on demand.
For wireless shooting, it lets users transfer each image to the computer as soon as it is captured. Wireless printing sends images directly to the printer for printing on a PictBridge-compatible printer.
The COOLPIX S7c also connects to Nikon’s all-new COOLPIX CONNECT service.
That service lets users take pictures and then e-mail them directly from the camera, wirelessly. No computer necessary. You select recipients from the in-camera address list (up to 30 addresses may be entered), then send them straight away, using the camera’s built-in Wi-Fi.
The COOLPIX CONNECT hosting service is compatible with most open domestic Wi-Fi access points, including T-Mobile Hotspots in the U.S.A., which Nikon has a deal with. Whether or not the camera will work directly with other photo sites (like Flickr) is not yet clear, but without an ftp option, it seems unlikely.
The service enables a total of up to 50MB of images to be sent to the Nikon COOLPIX Connect server and stored there for up to two weeks. It also sends an email to each specified recipient with a thumbnail and a link to the page, allowing users to invite friends and family members to view the images right away, and download the images to their own computer or enjoy them as a slideshow.
The Nikon S7c might be just the ticket for event coverage. The 160×120 movies stream without glitches over a 256Kbps connection while larger 320×240 and 640×480 movies (at either 15/30 fps) provide better quality.
Every Nikon COOLPIX S7c includes one year of complimentary T-Mobile Hotspot Wi-Fi service (for digital cameras) with the opportunity to connect in over 7,000 T-Mobile locations in the U.S.
T-Mobile and Cingular also have Windows Mobile 5 phones with miniSD slots, along with Bluetooth, WiFi, EDGE, a thumb keyboard, and a (lousy) 1.3MP camera. T-Mobile’s revised unlimited data plan costs $29.99/month (up from $19.99) but adds unlimited use of T-Mobile HotSpots.
The Oregonian covered the Hood to Coast run with video clips using a Sanyo Xacti solid state camcorder. They put the SD card in a cellphone then beamed it up at dozens of spots along the race.
A Nikon S7c could do the same thing (without the zoom). Canon’s new A710 ($400), without the WiFi, and Canon’s SD 430 with WiFi ($400) have a good variety of movie sizes and frame rates as well as 24mm equivalent wide angle adapters ($140). Canon’s new A-Series can record 36 minutes of 30 fps VGA movies using high-capacity 4GB SDHC memory cards. An image stablized Canon S2 ($280) should do a decent job too.
At $350 a pop (probably less on the street) and with T-Mobile (or private) wireless connections straight from the camera, Nikon’s S7c WiFi camera might be the handiest device yet for event bloggers (with the possible exception of a cameraphone).
Sprint’s EVDO Rev A card provides faster upstream connections and is backwards compatible with the existing EVDO Rev 0 network. The card is $99.99 with a 2-yr Sprint contract, and 174.99 with a 1-yr contract.
Might be handy with the $250 Kyocera KR1 Mobile Router (below).
Add a Nikon D-50 with an 18-200mm zoom, a laptop with DVD burner and a wireless router linking to your local municipal WiFi service, and you’re good to go. Throw in a little Web 2.0 for good measure.
Mobile WiMax (from Sprint and Clearwire) may take event coverage to a new level.
DailyWireless has more on Nikon’s WT-3 WiFi, KR-1 Mobile Router, Nikon’s D200, Nikon’s $500 WiFi Cameras, Wireless Canon, Camphones For Journalists, Webcam Situation Report, How To Spend Your Homeland Security Check, Software for Wireless Camera, Wireless Netcams, Mobile Hotspot How To, Wireless Still Photography, Wireless Photography, Podcasting on cellphones, Portable Photostories, On The New Media, Rebuilding Media, Quicktime 7 for Windows, Akimbo Does VideoBlogs, The Podcast Hotel, Video Search, Video Blogging, 360 Video Blogs, 360 Degree Surveillence, Wireless 360 Video, Maxtrix The City, Panoramic EventCams, Nextel Does Photos, Video Wardriving, How To Phone Blog, Video Blog TV Channel, Revolution in Mobile Services, Cellular Insurgency, Tsunami Warning Ideas, Pocket Podcast Software, Newsbreak RSS for Phones, MultiMedia Travel, and Event Blogging.
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