iPod Camera Connector Photo

[MacRumors]

Appleinsider posted a photo of the upcoming iPod Camera Connector which was announced on Wednesday.

The upcoming connector appears to be a small white adapter which connects directly to the iPod's dock connector one on end and a female USB port on the other end. A USB cable then leads to the Camera.

According to earlier comments, the new adapter will be available in March and be compatible with both old and new iPod Photos.

[Blackheart]

Pretty swank

[Dr. Pookey]

I guess that would be handy. I wonder if you could plug your iPod shuffle into it? o_O

[quackattack]

Looks great, it is the exact size I was hoping. Looks alot like a pocketdock. This may push me one step closer to an iPod Photo.

[J-Squire]

Hopefull Star Track Express will get me my iPod Photo by 5:30 today, so I can begin to prepare for the joys of portable digital photos. This adapter looks fantastic! So much handier than ye ol' Belkin adapter

[virus1]

Originally Posted by Dr. Pookey

I guess that would be handy. I wonder if you could plug your iPod shuffle into it? o_O

lol. would be funny, but unless there would be any use for it, i don't think you could do anything with it

it looks believable. the only thing i doubt is the place where the camera connects to the cord, the stupid flap thing.. that is very un apple like. i know its not apples camera, but it still looks ugly in apples picture, and apple doesn't normally do ugly

[Earendil]

The question is whether there is software/hardware inside the new Photo iPods that makes this thing work, or wether the new device handles everything its self. I would still like a way to get pictures from my camera to my iPod mini...
Are there details yet, perhaps someplace else, that either firmly include or exclude older or different iPods from using this device?

~Tyler

[jared_kipe]

Slick, only way that could be better is if the cable plugged directly into the ipod, but since the 3rd gen that hasn't been possible.

[cmx08]

why couldn't they take the current ipod USB cable and change the USB part at the other end.

I know that companies like Pentax have their own customed made cables but 29 for an adaptor like the PocketDock USB version is ... a rip the pocketdock is only 18.95

[timster]

Originally Posted by cmx08

why couldn't they take the current ipod USB cable and change the USB part at the other end.

Have a look at the Dock connector... there are MANY more pins than the 4 that USB carries.

It is likely that the converter needs to patch into something extra inside the iPod.

[joeyboy76]

Originally Posted by cmx08

why couldn't they take the current ipod USB cable and change the USB part at the other end.

I know that companies like Pentax have their own customed made cables but 29 for an adaptor like the PocketDock USB version is ... a rip the pocketdock is only 18.95

maybe there's some sort of chip/circuit board in that small device and not necessarily just a converter from the ipod connector to usb.

[mvc]

Originally Posted by virus1

it looks believable. the only thing i doubt is the place where the camera connects to the cord, the stupid flap thing.. that is very un apple like. i know its not apples camera, but it still looks ugly in apples picture, and apple doesn't normally do ugly

I expect that a) that flap is part of the camera not the cable and B) the cable is just some usb cable, not an Apple part

[Misplaced Mage]

Originally Posted by joeyboy76

maybe there's some sort of chip/circuit board in that small device and not necessarily just a converter from the ipod connector to usb.

My guess is that the adapter functions as a PictBridge compliant device from the camera's point of view (so the camera just "prints" pictures to the iPod), and a USB (or USB To Go) host from the iPod photo's. The latter capability would definitely require a small circuit board to add the necessary USB host circuitry, and can't be implemented simply as software. If true, then theoretically you could wire an iPod shuffle up to it.

[fossyy]

Cant't see why it will not work with 3g ipods

[usarioclave]

It sounds like the adapter is a PictBridge adapter. PictBridge doesn't specify the USB versioning, as it's an "application layer level specification."

It's unclear whether cameras support USB 2.0 high-speed. I seriously doubt it, and a quick read of the canon website shows that their cameras are USB 1.1.

This means that it'll take forever to pull stuff off of the camera, making the device less useful.

Is there something missing here?

[zv470]

I hope this is a joke. Doesn't look like an Ive masterpiece at all. Bleugh yuck.

[zyuzin4]

Originally Posted by usarioclave

It sounds like the adapter is a PictBridge adapter. PictBridge doesn't specify the USB versioning, as it's an "application layer level specification."

It's unclear whether cameras support USB 2.0 high-speed. I seriously doubt it, and a quick read of the canon website shows that their cameras are USB 1.1.

This means that it'll take forever to pull stuff off of the camera, making the device less useful.

Is there something missing here?

it will take the same amount of time that it would to pull stuff off the camera and to your computer

[madrobby]

Originally Posted by zv470

I hope this is a joke. Doesn't look like an Ive masterpiece at all. Bleugh yuck.

What are you expecting from a 1 1/2" piece of adapter which dangles on the camera cable most of the time and is connected to the iPod only for transferring images?

It looks like a larger version of the iPod end of the sync cable, so?

[madrobby]

Originally Posted by usarioclave

It sounds like the adapter is a PictBridge adapter. PictBridge doesn't specify the USB versioning, as it's an "application layer level specification."

Why shouldn't the iPod act like if it where a Computer and is using the camera as a drive? The USB HW on the iPod is USB2, and everyone will have a good laugh on Apple if they don't support it with the connector (I mean, 5-7 MP cameras are becoming the consumer standard...).

Maybe it's possible to attach a small card reader/writer.

[Analog Kid]

That's what I want-- now just give me a little bit more control of my pictures once they're on the iPod and I'm a happy boy. I want to be able to zoom and pan my shots, and being able to display them on a TV without having to go through the computer would be nice.

I'm guessing the computer-before-TV restriction is because something has to be reformatted or re-sized before display and the little µP can't take the load, but there's got to be a way...

Any word on whether this will pull movie files over too? Better, or it's useless...

Ok, maybe there's still a lot more that I want...

[Squire]

Originally Posted by virus1

lol. would be funny, but unless there would be any use for it, i don't think you could do anything with it

it looks believable. the only thing i doubt is the place where the camera connects to the cord, the stupid flap thing.. that is very un apple like. i know its not apples camera, but it still looks ugly in apples picture, and apple doesn't normally do ugly

As mvc stated above, that's just the plastic/rubber port cover on the camera. All or most digital cameras have them, I believe. The camera pictured is a Canon (as are most featured in Apple material) and has the flap in the exact same location as my Powershot G2. In order to show the device in its intended application, that flap would have to be included in the picture.

As far as I'm concerned, though, this is just ho-hum. I'm sure pro photographers are overjoyed but I couldn't even fill a 512 Meg card on my recent 2-month trip. And now, with the cheap prices of CF cards, I can't see this enticing as many people as it would have a couple of years ago. It sure beats that Belkin monstrosity, though.

Squire

[john1123]

Originally Posted by Dr. Pookey

I guess that would be handy. I wonder if you could plug your iPod shuffle into it? o_O

yeh i'd like one for the shuffle as well

[Kilchzimmer]

This little USB adapter could fill a gap for those who want a faster portable storage for photos in the field. There's not much of a selection to choose from in this category at the moment.

The ability to view uploaded camera RAW images on the iPod Photo (w/o having to first import and convert in the computer) would be a very important feature to add. This is not possible at the moment. Without RAW support, they lose a huge photographer market.

- Tim

[TBR]

But all I really want to know is will it work with the 3G iPod? I'm not even a hobbiest photographer and I find it easy to fill a 128meg card in an afternoon so this would be great for holidays and such. It's a pretty decent size, not too big.

And people saying that the cable looks crap it'ss because it's the camera's cable, not apples.
People say it looks crap and I agree it's not great but it's for a reason. First of all I have access to two camera's and both have a different connecter at the camera end of the USB so apple doesn't want to include multiple cables for multiple camera's when the camera's already have a perfectly working cable. And the other it that the crappy cable is so un-apple that it reinforces my previous point.

But if it's iPod Photo only then alot of us 3g owners are going to be miffed. And not all of us can afford to upgrade to an ipod photo after only a year or so.

[Loge]

Originally Posted by madrobby

Maybe it's possible to attach a small card reader/writer.

That's what I would like, as my cameras have different cables. But does the power for this process come from the camera, or the iPod? If it's the camera, then I guess it would rule out using a reader/writer.