The Wi-Fi camera crew

By Lori Grunin on 08 February 2006

The Wi-Fi camera crew With only four models available, it's premature to start talking about a wireless revolution in digital imaging.

And based on the models we've seen from Kodak, Nikon, and Canon it looks as if there'll be a generation or two of refinement -- in both the interface and the features -- before we can comfortably recommend them to consumer snapshooters. But if you've simply got to have the latest thing, these qualify. Here's how they compare on their cutting-edge capabilities.

	Canon IXUS Wireless	Kodak EasyShare One	Nikon Coolpix P1 / P2*
Wi-Fi implementation	Integrated 802.11b	802.11b via SDIO card	Integrated 802.11b/g
Copy photos to PC	Yes	Yes	Yes
Control camera via computer	Yes	No	Yes
Upload photos to online service	No	Yes	No
E-mail photos from camera	No	Yes	No
Browse photos online	No	Yes	No
Print	Yes (only to Canon printers, via optional adapter that plugs into PictBridge port)	Yes (only to Kodak EasyShare Printer Dock Plus Series 3 and with optional adapter)	Yes (via optional adapter that plugs into PictBridge port)

Canon IXUS Wireless
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The Canon IXUS Wireless, the company's first Wi-Fi consumer camera, is based on its popular IXUS 50.

Resolution: 5 megapixels
Display: 2 inch Low-temperature polycrystalline silicon TFT colour LCD
Zoom: 4x digital; 3x optical
Dimensions (W x D x H): 99 x 54.4 x 21.7 mm
Weight: 130 grams

Kodak EasyShare-One
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The EasyShare One offers a 3-inch LCD display, Wi-Fi capability, and excellent sharing options -- but what about traditional camera features?

Resolution: 4 megapixels
Display: 3 inchtouch screen
Zoom: 3.3x digital; 3x optical
Dimensions (W x D x H): 103 x 63 x 26 mm
Weight: 225 grams

Nikon Coolpix P1
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The Nikon Coolpix P1's good image quality offsets its novel but limited Wi-Fi capabilities.

Resolution: 8 megapixels
Display: 2.5 inch TFT LCD monitor with brightness adjustment
Zoom: 4x digital; 3x optical
Dimensions (W x D x H): 91 x 60 x 39 mm
Weight: 170 grams

Nikon Coolpix P2
Read review

We love the Wi-Fi properties on this Coolpix P2, but we are sure the camera could have done better if it allowed us to connect to the Internet as well.

Resolution: 5 megapixels
Display: 2.5 inch TFT LCD monitor with brightness adjustment
Zoom: 4x digital; 3x optical
Dimensions (W x D x H): 91 x 60 x 39 mm
Weight: 170 grams

* The Nikon Coolpix P2 is the little brother to the Coolpix P1, with a 5-megapixel CCD to the P1's 8-megapixel CCD, and a scant 16MB of internal storage to the slightly less scant 32MB of internal storage in the P1. Both cameras have the same 3.5X Nikkor zoom lens and 2.5-inch LCD.

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