FC: Request for help: How to do wireless photojournalism?

From: Declan McCullagh (declanat_private)
Date: Thu Mar 27 2003 - 20:51:42 PST

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    After the Italian photophone fuss, I thought I'd ask the list for help with 
    a wireless photo project.
    
    Basically I'd like to be able to send photos wirelessly via email while I'm 
    traveling or at an event. The recipients would be my editors or a photoblog 
    I'm thinking of writing for mccullagh.org -- inspired by Joi Ito's Moblog:
    http://joi.ito.com/moblog/
    
    The three obvious choices seem to be: (1) Buy a cell phone or wireless PDA 
    with a built-in camera, (2) transfer photos to my laptop and transmit via 
    802.11 or other means, or (3) find a way to transfer images from my Canon 
    EOS 10D camera to a cell phone or wireless PDA.
    
    I haven't found a phonecam with close to reasonable performance and optics, 
    so option #1 isn't very attractive. I have a heavy laptop (the Sony GRX570, 
    with a 16.1" screen that makes it bulky, and a weight of almost nine 
    pounds) so option #2 isn't very attractive either.
    
    Does anyone know of any way to do #3? Since the EOS 10D uses CompactFlash 
    cards, I'd need a way to insert them or transfer them to a PDA-phone. The 
    Handspring Treo would be perfect except that it doesn't seem to have a 
    CompactFlash slot:
    http://computers.cnet.com/hardware/0-2709830-404-20252976.html?tag=pdtl-list
    
    The Sony PEG NZ-90 is an intriguing, odd, expensive beast. The wireless 
    capabilities seem to be Bluetooth and optional 802.11 but no cell phone. 
    The NZ-90 has a CompactFlash slot but, according to one report, it can't be 
    used to read data from other devices:
    http://www.infosync.no/news/2002/n/2870.html
    http://sonyelectronics.sonystyle.com/micros/clie/nx70vspecifications/PEG-NX70V.html
    http://computers.cnet.com/hardware/0-2709830-404-20790402.html
    
    There's the Palm i705 and Tungsten W (not a phone, just a wireless PDA) -- 
    but they apparently take only MultiMediaCard and Secure Digital cards:
    http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00005V63T/qid=1048824852/sr=1-3/REF_TAG(pd_sbs_e_1)/002-4300293-8446449?v=glance&s=electronics
    http://www.palm.com/products/handhelds/tungsten-w/specs.html
    
    Then there's the Sharp Zaurus SL-5500, which is wireless and apparently has 
    a CompactFlash slot, so it's pretty close, but it's not a phone too:
    http://www.outpost.com/product/3278031
    http://computers.cnet.com/hardware/0-2709830-404-8407129.html
    
    The Toshiba Pocket PC e740 falls into the same CompactFlash, non-phone 
    category:
    http://computers.cnet.com/hardware/0-2709830-417-20033518.html?tag=dir
    
    (All of this might be a lot easier if Canon put Bluetooth into the EOS 10D...)
    
    Any suggestions? Am I missing something obvious? Ideally this hypothetical 
    device would be both a PDA and a phone. Is anything on the market now, or 
    do I just have to wait? The EOS D10 does have a USB connection as well... 
    As usual, I'll compile responses.
    
    Thanks,
    Declan
    
    
    
    
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