where there’s smoke there’s forum fire
I sure do! WiLAN has announced a multi-year licensing agreement with Nikon. So could this mean Nikon is going to move more of their products into the wireless realm? No more big bulky transmitters on your belt or the bottom of your camera!
WiLAN currently holds the patent for the "V-Chip" so maybe this just means you'll be able to program your DSLR to only take "G" rated pictures? ;^)
As patrick mentioned in the blog, WiLAN is more of a mobster than a solution provider. They make most their money selling licenses to dubious patent rights they purchase. The unfortunately likely event is here that Nikon has found it cheaper to pay off the protection racket than to undertake a costly court challenge.
Hopefully, though, it is protection money being paid for a new device (fingers crossed) and not protection money being paid for an existing one.
I would like GPS in-camera more than WiFi, though I wouldn't kick WiFi out of bed for eating crackers.
My laser rangefinder has a solid-state digital compass and inclinometer built in. That combined with GPS and focal distance information would allow the cat's meow of geotagging!
Who is Patrick? And what blog?
I would love Wifi in my Nikon. It would hopefully allow for the immediate uploading to a computer or my in home NAS.
Yawn. I don't miss not having WiFi. Do I want to pay a premium for it? No. I agree with SOAP that built in GPS would be worth my dollars more than WiFi.
I find the method of putting my SD card into the side of my computer just fine, not sure what wifi would do other than transfer photos. I suppose it would be kind of cool to not have to take the card out, but not really necessary. Maybe if I was shooting everyday it would be useful
This blog, and patrick is self-explanatory in that context.
Oh - and preemptive defense that WiLAN is anything other than a patent troll:
http://boycottnovell.com/files/trolltracker/20080528155021/
http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/01/wi-lan-claims-wifi-and-dsl-patent-infringment-sues-everybody/
If I could use it as a sort of wireless tethered shooting solution (or "untethered as it were) I'd be pretty jazzed about that.
I have more of a need for wi-fi than for gps. I don't need my camera to tell me where I am in the world when I take a photo. I don't need to have coordinates for clients either. I do however like having my pictures fly through the air and show up on a laptop instead of having to be tethered to it. Wouldn't it be sweet to have your photos show up on your laptop or iphone as your shooting? And what if you could update firmware by simply "logging on" and downloading straight to the camera without doing anything but push a few "OK's" from a menu?
The HDR crowd would have a field day with something like that.
I would love to have it, it is a must have item for me, I wonder if that Ipod/Iphone remote app would work directly with the camera without a computer like you need now
Pete
Even if this agreement is secretly a settlement, it still signifies that Nikon will be expanding wireless features in it's future products.
Not necessarily:
See Microsoft v. Tom Tom for a recent case where patent enforcement as a strategic move is made purposefully late in the game.
Be specific? What about that settlement applies to this "settlement"?
Noting about that settlement applies to this settlement. Everything about that settlement applies to your previous post.
You said "Even if this agreement is secretly a settlement, it still signifies that Nikon will be expanding wireless features in it's future products. " and I brought up the Tom Tom case to illustrate that a patent license agreement does not necessarily signify new products or technology by the settler, but often is in regards to previously sold products.
And while Microsoft is hardly a simple patent troll, selective enforcement of dubious patents (their FAT32 expanded name-space claims have never been defended in court) is a common leverage tool, and is a tactic WiLAN is famous for. (See my previous links for the tip of the iceberg.)
Then why call it a "multi-year licensing deal"? The Microsoft v TomTom case was closely watched and in that settlement it was agreed that neither party did anything "wrong" and they now live happily ever after. Well until they found out Google Maps Navigation beta was coming.
Because a perpetual license is rarely offered on a patent?
Do you honestly expect Nikon to issue a press release saying "We paid protection money."?
I strongly feel there are no safe conclusions re:products which can be drawn from a settlement* such as this.
*Called "settlement" and not license deal as WiLAN seeks you out - you don't go to them. ;)
EDIT: I don't mean to be such a skeptical bastard, but the entire agreement is confidential, everything we're going to hear is speculation, and WiLAN is a known patent troll.
Wi-Fi is clearly in the cards for digital cameras in general, but this is likely evidence only of the unfortunate cost of doing business, not anything else.
Well I still think the "future" is with more wireless features in more cameras regardless of what this agreement/"settlement" means.
By the way, what will Nikon's in camera map/navigation/gps patent mean? Something like that could make use of an internet connection wouldn't it?
I also would like to have a wifi in my dslr, but only when there will be software that is capable of controlling my camera remotely. I set my cameras, take iphone, push a button, and voila can control any camera I have, even simultaneously.
As for GPS, don't need to have maps on my dsl - have iphone for that :D, but wouldn't mind to have a build-in geo-tagging.
No GPS no geo-tagging, or so they say ...
Wi-Fi? Wi not.
Yea. I'd only want GPS so that the shots would be geo-tagged. If you only do studio work, I guess you always know where you are. When you work often in wilderness areas or take a series of photos as you travel (up the coast of California, for instance), it's nice not to have to write down where each photo was taken.
WiFi - well, it would be easier to have the photos fly through the air to a laptop, and someday I may want to pay for that opportunity (added cost of camera), but right now I just don't think it's worth it to me. As I said above, I would RATHER spend my $$ on built in GPS (for geo-tagging).
For now, I think the best solution for GPS is add a bluetooth adapter on camera. I use AK-4N bluetooth adapter on my D300S, my camera acquire GPS data from a bluetooth GPS receiver wireless. It's quite convenient without any thick cord.
how does the batter behave once You connect the bluetooth device?
No thanks, neither GPS or wifi would help me take better images, nor simplify my life. I'll go for lower cost and smaller.
adamz said:
how does the batter behave once You connect the bluetooth device?
Exactly as if you were connected via the serial/accessory (10 pin) port. I have a buddy with one of these, it's slick.
http://www.aokatec.com/Product.html
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