The Camera Maker May Update AC160's Firmware to Support Wi-Fi Enabled SD Cards
At NAB, Panasonic was seeking feedback on a technology that would allow shooters to wirelessly transfer footage to YouTube while they work.
The company's engineers have been looking at building support for Eye-Fi cards into the firmware of the AG-AC160 camcorder. Photographers know Eye-Fi as a maker of 4 GB and 8 GB SD cards that double as WiFi devices. Eye-Fi cards allow photographers to automatically send pictures from their camera to online photo-sharing services or a nearby smartphone or tablet as they work. Some manufacturers, including Canon, Nikon, and Sony, have built Eye-Fi features into camera software.
The cards can transmit video, too, which made Panasonic wonder if there was demand for Eye-Fi compatibility in a professional video camera. At the show, it was demonstrating Eye-Fi compatibility in the AG-AC160 camcorder that would automatically send footage to a specified YouTube account for remote review. Because the AC160 has two SD card slots, users could put a standard card in one slot for locally recording the file, and an Eye-Fi card in the second slot for transmitting it using the camera's simultaneous recording feature.
The file transfer wouldn't happen in real time, as the Eye-Fi's upload speed is limited to 5 Mbps, while the AC160's lowest-quality HE setting records at 6 Mbps. Further, the camera firmware is designed to stop wireless transfer while recording is taking place to protect the quality of the recording. In addition, AVCCAM files to be transferred can be no larger than 2 GB.
Shooters can already use Eye-Fi cards with the camera, but firmware support would add useful features like an Eye-Fi menu item and status icons on the EVF and LCD screen to show when transfers are happening, and when they're finished.
Panasonic officials said they think Eye-Fi might actually be a better solution than built-in connectivity, since the upload address is written to a given card. That means users could tie individual Eye-FI cards to certain projects or clients, and never have to change their upload settings as long as they make sure the correct card is inserted when they're on the job. (With built-in WiFi, users would have to remember to change upload settings for different projects.)
Panasonic is asking users to submit feedback on the idea via a Facebook page. Watch the concept video, below, for more details.
