Cameras & Camcorders

[vmorris]

Hi, I'm looking for recommendations on a camera & printer. I want to send the photo from the camera to the printer wirelessly. I have a wireless internet connection. Thanks in advance for any recommendation.

[Entropy]

In my opinion, "no-computer" wireless sharing with a printer is a gimmick, and most cameras that have such a feature are inferior to others in their price point in features that actually matter (flexibility, image quality, etc).

I strongly reccommend a printer that has a built-in card reader, and a camera that is designed to do one thing: take pictures (without the gimmicks, especially wireless features.)

If you REALLY need some sort of wireless functionality, I'd suggest looking into what the Eye-Fi (SD memory card with built in Wi-Fi capability) has to offer, as that will work with any camera meeting certain criteria (uses SD, saves as JPEG, might also work with cameras that save RAW.)

[vmorris]

Thanks for the response. I guess it might be helpful if I clarify why I was looking at wireless. Every year, my library has an event where we do pictures with Santa. We usually have about 200 kids in a two-hour period. In the past, we've used a Polaroid instant camera, but the film is no longer made, so I'm trying to find a suitable replacement where I can take a picture and immediately print it out and hand it to the child.

[Rrrrrrr]

Heres an option I've used. Dont know if P&S's can do this, but I can shoot my Nikon DSLR's tethered to my laptop. Saves directly to the laptop. There I can process the photo and print right from there. It also allows me to use the laptop to take the picture (full control of the camera via the computer). Canon more than likely also has a similar program for this. Nikons is called Camera Control Pro. Isnt the cheapest thing ($160) but it does everything its supposed to.

Have seen a wireless SD card that can save directly to a pc. It may work with a wireless printer, but I have no idea if it can do it that way. Its called Eye-Fi.

[Entropy]

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vmorris wrote:

Thanks for the response. I guess it might be helpful if I clarify why I was looking at wireless. Every year, my library has an event where we do pictures with Santa. We usually have about 200 kids in a two-hour period. In the past, we've used a Polaroid instant camera, but the film is no longer made, so I'm trying to find a suitable replacement where I can take a picture and immediately print it out and hand it to the child.

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You'll gain a LOT more in terms of options if you add a PC (can be a laptop, probably even a basic netbook) to the mix.

Given that the camera is going to be burning battery like crazy with that kind of usage, and your lighting setup is going to have to be wired (either continuous "hot lights" or maybe some monoblocs, nothing battery powered is going to last long through that kind of heavy use before needing a recharge), then you probably should find a camera that supports "tethered" operation with a PC.  Nearly all DSLRs support this capability.

If you have location restraints that require the printer to be wired, it becomes a lot easier when a PC is in the mix.  There are very few solutions for direct wireless between a camera and printer, but many printers have Bluetooth or WiFi for usage with a PC.

The Eye-Fi which myself and another poster mentioned might also do the trick, but in your particular situation, 200 shots/hour is going to tie everything to wall power, so you may as well use a USB cable to a PC.

Pentax calls their tethering solution "Remote Assistant", I don't know what it's called for Canon and Nikon - I'm 100% certain it exists, but as my SLR is a Pentax I am only familiar with their name for tethering of a camera to a PC.