Handy but limited iPod accessory

Author's Rating:

Pros: Provides greater storage than most digital cameras through an iPod

Cons: Media reader support limited, no power/charging connector

The Bottom Line: 
If you aren't able to access a computer but do have a compatible iPod, this device lets you expand your temporary photo storage capacity.

Author's Review
I purchased the iPod Camera Connector as a means to download digital camera photos during a long trip. Since I was not taking a portable computer with me, the Camera Connector allowed me to use the extra space on a 60 GB Apple iPod fifth-generation (5G) to store photos. This gave me the peace of mind of knowing I had at least one backup of my photos, and the leeway I needed to erase a memory card if necessary.

The Camera Connector is only rated to work with the iPod photo and 5G iPods with color screens. The requirements do not list other iPods, including the nano.

Overall, I rate this device harshly because I was hoping it would do more in conjunction with the iPod (see my notes about slideshows below, for example). This is especially true given its cost. However, I fully realize that it is basically a one-trick pony and that, for its intended purpose—transferring photos from a camera to an iPod—it does the job well.

It is entirely possible that future iPods or even firmware updates to today's iPods will bring the operation of the Camera Connector more in line with my higher expectations.

Physical form

The Camera Connector is a small--and in my case, easily lost--iPod Dock Connector device. It's about the same size as one of those small tins of overpriced Excedrin you might buy at a newstand when you have a horrendous migraine. Likewise, the Camera Connector also helped alleviate the headache I developed when trying to imagine how I'd manage my photos and memory cards without a computer.

One end of the white device is an iPod Dock Connector, of course. The other end sports a full-size USB A (the flat one) female connection. Each end is labeled with an icon, and the printed side goes "up" so that it's visible when you are plugging into an iPod whose screen is facing up.

Operation

First, let me say that I read as many reviews of the device as I could find before I bought it. Most of those were magazine reviews of limited usefulness, and the Camera Connector did not even appear on Epinions until I requested it.

Based on those reviews, I purchased the Camera Connector knowing full well that it might drain the batteries of my camera during downloads, that it likely wouldn't work with my current USB 2.0 media reader, and that there would probably be other drawbacks. However, I figured it was worth a try, since I could return it to a local Apple Store, and that it might be the only good way to use the other equipment I already had to store my photos while I was traveling.

So, to use it, you plug it into the iPod. The iPod recognizes the Camera Connector, and when you attach a USB 1.1 or 2.0-based camera (or, presumably, a compatible media reader, if you can find one), it further recognizes this to let you import photos directly to the iPod hard disk.

Once you select the "Import" command, you just let the process run. Your camera does need to have enough power--either AC or batery power--to last throughout the entire transfer. Since I was used to USB 2.0 speed transfers with my SanDisk media reader, the much slower transfers directly from my camera were hard to take; I hadn't done that with the camera in quite some time. Surprisingly (based on reviews of the Camera Connector I read before buying it), a full charge of the four NiMH AA batteries in my Olympus camera were quite sufficient to allow the transfer of at least 512 MB of mixed photos and video from one XD Picture Card. I had no problems with loss of power during transfers, which probably amounted to 30 to 45 minutes.

Repeated imports of the same cards--assuming you have not erased or deleted pictures from them in the interim--result in duplication of any downloaded files. Depending on your perspective, you can get the additional peace of mind of having extra copies of your photos on the same iPod drive, or you waste space with extras of those files.

Once you have the photos on the iPod, you can set it up in disk mode (on the computer you normally sync with, so I would recommend doing this in advance). That lets you connect the iPod to a computer to transfer the downloads to a system where you can do more with them.

I don't use the various print marking features of my camera (i.e. PictBridge support), so I don't know if those marks transfer over at all. I'm not sure if I would expect them to, or if there would be an advantage to that. However, if I get feedback about it, I can test that out.

I was also able to run a slideshow of the photos on the screen of my 5G iPod. The MPEG-4 movies captured by my camera were downloaded but could not be played back on the iPod itself. They can, however, be viewed in QuickTime Player on my Mac OS X systems.

Unfortunately, the downloaded files are not immediately available to play as a slideshow output to a TV. Therefore, if you already have the AV cable for a 5G iPod (the same cable you'd use to play back iPod-quality video on a TV), it isn't currently integrated with the Camera Connector's features. In order to play such a slideshow, you have to manage the photos within iTunes--effectively synchronizing them back down the the iPod, which makes little sense to me. However, my camera can display images (and slideshows, I think) on a TV, so this really doesn't make a difference to me in most circumstances--it's just one of those "gee whiz" things I was hoping to do with the 5G iPod.

Compatibility

I have successfully used the Camera Connector with an Olympus C-750 Ultra Zoom. Of specail note, I used a Windows XP computer to upgrade the firmware on my C-750 to support direct printing, a feature which it didn't provide out of the box. I have not used it with other cameras with the Camera Connector at this time.

I did try to use it in conjunction with my SanDisk 8-in-1 memory card reader, and that did not work. The iPod displayed an indication that it was an "unsupported device." I suspect that the Camera Connector only supports a specific USB profile. I had found a list of potentially-compatible card readers (at Wikipedia, I believe), but no longer see that article.