Reading mode: Light Dark

in-camera storage, fast charging and USB 3.0?

Go to last post
G

gn28

Active member
Messages
61
Reaction score
5
dear gents and ladies,

for years now every smart single phone has had a substantial amount of fast internal storage (16-64 GB), a USB 3.0 port and the ability to use fast charging.

how come we do not get the same 3 features in all new cameras?

I would love to be able to fully charge my camera while having a coffee somewhere via a micro USB 3.0 port. that way I can use the same cable as for my phone.

also, it would be really nice to transfer files fast via USB 3.0 and to use the SD card as a back-up for the internal memory. that way I would never worry about losing my files when the SD card crashes, and it is always a question of when not if.

what do you think?
 
Regarding the battery issue, surely a large sensor digital camera, particularly one with autofocus and a rear screen and possibly other power draining features like onboard flash and/or an EVF, requires a much larger battery than a pocket sized smartphone?
 
gn28 said:
Most entry level DSLRs and compacts do not have a 2nd SD card slot so you are 100% dependent on one SD card's reliability. Surely having another internal backup option cannot hurt especially with high speeds memories being so cheap.
Click to expand...
If a manufacturer is not willing to put in a second SDxC card slot, what makes you think they would be willing to put in lots of more expensive high-speed flash memory? For a market that by and large doesn't care about either feature?
 
yardcoyote said:
Regarding the battery issue, surely a large sensor digital camera, particularly one with autofocus and a rear screen and possibly other power draining features like onboard flash and/or an EVF, requires a much larger battery than a pocket sized smartphone?
Click to expand...
And?

Large cameras with internal charging already exist. Some can even operate under USB power. I'd like to see more of them. I don't get the resistance against this.

As for storage, I could've used it when I forgot to put the card back in the camera. :-|
 
gn28 said:
dear gents and ladies,

for years now every smart single phone has had a substantial amount of fast internal storage (16-64 GB), a USB 3.0 port and the ability to use fast charging.

how come we do not get the same 3 features in all new cameras?

I would love to be able to fully charge my camera while having a coffee somewhere via a micro USB 3.0 port. that way I can use the same cable as for my phone.

also, it would be really nice to transfer files fast via USB 3.0 and to use the SD card as a back-up for the internal memory. that way I would never worry about losing my files when the SD card crashes, and it is always a question of when not if.

what do you think?
Click to expand...
No, I don't want to pay for internal memory. It will cost 3x as much as an identically sized SD card. I'll carry an extra card or 2, thanks. I also don't have a problem charging batteries overnight.
 
I'm not arguing that a large camera battery couldn't be charged via USB, but that it would certainly take a heck of a lot longer to do it than charging up a smartphone via fast charging while you eat a meal. And if it's going to take hours, you wouldn't be able to use your camera during that time since it is tethered to the wall. Surely it's easier just to carry a spare battery or two? Though I suppose even overnight wall recharging without a separate charger would be a a convenience for some.
 
gn28 said:
dear gents and ladies,

for years now every smart single phone has had a substantial amount of fast internal storage (16-64 GB), a USB 3.0 port and the ability to use fast charging.

how come we do not get the same 3 features in all new cameras?

I would love to be able to fully charge my camera while having a coffee somewhere via a micro USB 3.0 port. that way I can use the same cable as for my phone.

also, it would be really nice to transfer files fast via USB 3.0 and to use the SD card as a back-up for the internal memory. that way I would never worry about losing my files when the SD card crashes, and it is always a question of when not if.

what do you think?
Click to expand...
Better off having a spare battery and charge them on a dedicated charger.... in case something went wrong with the battery while charging and destroy the camera.

3.0 usb would be good, but file transfer would be more likely quicker with a dedicated reader. Transferring 64 gb via usb 3.0 still isn't that quick. Put it in a reader and walk away.
 
yardcoyote said:
I'm not arguing that a large camera battery couldn't be charged via USB, but that it would certainly take a heck of a lot longer to do it than charging up a smartphone via fast charging while you eat a meal. And if it's going to take hours, you wouldn't be able to use your camera during that time since it is tethered to the wall.
Click to expand...
Power banks.

I've carried around 16 batteries between two cameras and a Gopro on backpacking trips. Now I use a slow USB charger, a power bank and a single spare for one camera. It's a lot lighter and easier to manage, and cheaper. Ditching the charger would make things even easier, especially with multiple cameras and chargers. Not everyone backpacks but lots of people travel and are used to charge via USB. I get in my car and plug my phone instinctively, same when I get home. I don't always do this with the camera battery for some reason.
yardcoyote said:
Surely it's easier just to carry a spare battery or two? Though I suppose even overnight wall recharging without a separate charger would be a a convenience for some.
Click to expand...
You bet!

What I really want is a working camera while plugged in for time lapses. Only Sony does this as far as I know.
 
gn28 said:
dear gents and ladies,

for years now every smart single phone has had a substantial amount of fast internal storage (16-64 GB), a USB 3.0 port and the ability to use fast charging.

how come we do not get the same 3 features in all new cameras?

I would love to be able to fully charge my camera while having a coffee somewhere via a micro USB 3.0 port. that way I can use the same cable as for my phone.
Click to expand...
My Panasonic GX85 uses in-camera USB port for battery charging. But I never use it and purchased an external battery charger instead. Because my camera must be switch off during charging... I rather carry spare batteries for continuous shooting. In fact, I can use a coupler and power it by the USB external power bank if I don't mind the inconvenience to carry the cable and battery etc...
gn28 said:
also, it would be really nice to transfer files fast via USB 3.0 and to use the SD card as a back-up for the internal memory.
Click to expand...
Yes, I used an OTG USB card reader to communicate between the SD card and my smartphone/tablet/PC.
gn28 said:
that way I would never worry about losing my files when the SD card crashes, and it is always a question of when not if.
Click to expand...
I also worry about it but so far no one SD card ever fails since 2003.
gn28 said:
what do you think?
Click to expand...
When I shot with the old film slr, I had to put in a roll of film to shoot. Should we also do so by putting in a memory card into our camera for the job? Having a limited size internal memory for just a couple of shots or few minutes of video is not really helpful I think.
 
Erick L said:
yardcoyote said:
Regarding the battery issue, surely a large sensor digital camera, particularly one with autofocus and a rear screen and possibly other power draining features like onboard flash and/or an EVF, requires a much larger battery than a pocket sized smartphone?
Click to expand...
And?

Large cameras with internal charging already exist. Some can even operate under USB power. I'd like to see more of them. I don't get the resistance against this.

As for storage, I could've used it when I forgot to put the card back in the camera. :-|
Click to expand...
I never understood statements like this on this forum.

You'd like to see more of them. So what? Manufactures are in it to make money not give a small portion of the camera buying public more choices.

Unless those choices will make them more money don't hold your breath.

I'm also guessing the camera manufactures do a whole lot more research on what the public wants than asking a handful of users on an internet forum.
 
gn28 said:
dear gents and ladies,

for years now every smart single phone has had a substantial amount of fast internal storage (16-64 GB), a USB 3.0 port and the ability to use fast charging.

how come we do not get the same 3 features in all new cameras?
Click to expand...
Because if you had that with what's possible right now, you either wouldn't pay the extra for the feature's inclusion, or you'd be dissatisfied with how it performs.
 
When charging my cameras I want to keep shooting...on inportant shoots I take 2 batteries with me, when travelling I pack 4 batteries in case I'm not near a charger. I do own a 360 degree camera that NEEDS to be charged via USB, and I hate that I can't use the camera while it is charging.

USB charging is too slow; charging 7.2v battery with a 5v source? Wouldn't be an issue if they had been smart and made USB 12v in the beginning.

Using one battery to charge another battery is wasteful. Even my cellphone, I got one with a decent battery that only needs to be charged once or twice a week.
 
I'm talking about cameras like the RX100 or the d5500 which only have an SD option. These are not high end cameras with 2 SD card slots or anything faster, so they would benefit a lot from also having a 32-64 GB internal storage that is really fast in addition to the SD card that can act as backup.

I own both of those cameras and I lost my photos 3x so far because of faulty SD cards.

Maybe this makes no difference to people that have really expensive cameras with 2 SD card slots, but for the rest of us mortals in the affordable cameras range I think a fast backup option would help a lot.
 
gn28 said:
I'm talking about cameras like the RX100 or the d5500 which only have an SD option. These are not high end cameras with 2 SD card slots or anything faster, so they would benefit a lot from also having a 32-64 GB internal storage that is really fast in addition to the SD card that can act as backup.

I own both of those cameras and I lost my photos 3x so far because of faulty SD cards.

Maybe this makes no difference to people that have really expensive cameras with 2 SD card slots, but for the rest of us mortals in the affordable cameras range I think a fast backup option would help a lot.
Click to expand...
I've been using digital cameras since 1999, and only in the last 3 years have I owned a camera with 2 slots. however, I still do not use it as a backup. I've only had 2 failures on cards, both times pretty much right out of the box so no image loss. Compacts are already losing to smartphones; making them more pricey by adding internal memory isn't going to help.
 
Bob Tullis said:
gn28 said:
dear gents and ladies,

for years now every smart single phone has had a substantial amount of fast internal storage (16-64 GB), a USB 3.0 port and the ability to use fast charging.

how come we do not get the same 3 features in all new cameras?
Click to expand...
Because if you had that with what's possible right now, you either wouldn't pay the extra for the feature's inclusion, or you'd be dissatisfied with how it performs.
Click to expand...
 
gn28 said:
I'm talking about cameras like the RX100 or the d5500 which only have an SD option. These are not high end cameras with 2 SD card slots or anything faster, so they would benefit a lot from also having a 32-64 GB internal storage that is really fast in addition to the SD card that can act as backup.

I own both of those cameras and I lost my photos 3x so far because of faulty SD cards.

Maybe this makes no difference to people that have really expensive cameras with 2 SD card slots, but for the rest of us mortals in the affordable cameras range I think a fast backup option would help a lot.
Click to expand...
Then when a camera goes bad there's no way to get your last session of images. You've had a more unfortunate experience than most. It could be the cards you buy or the way they're utilized. In 15+ years w/o a dual-slot camera, I've lost maybe 10-20 images due to A faulty card (granted, I don't shop for bargains when it comes to media cards).
 
Mark B. said:
I've been using digital cameras since 1999, and only in the last 3 years have I owned a camera with 2 slots. however, I still do not use it as a backup. I've only had 2 failures on cards, both times pretty much right out of the box so no image loss. Compacts are already losing to smartphones; making them more pricey by adding internal memory isn't going to help.
Click to expand...
Compacts are losing to smartphones, but not the higher end ones, like the RX100, the RX10 or the canon G1x. These are higher end cameras that provide a lot more than any smartphone. So, since we agree to pay 800-1000$ for one of them, why not also get a bit more out of it? Also, asking for fast charging, USB 3.0 or an in-camera cast storage 16-64gb chip means little to nothing especially to a company like sony who already produces their own chips or has really good licensing deals for these technologies for their phones / tablets.

Cameras are losing out to phones and almost none of the camera vendors is trying to bridge the gap on basic functionalities. Maybe that's also where they are losing out. Everyone thinks of photography as people with full sensor DSLRs carrying around 5 killos of lenses, tripods and extra batteries. Most of the young consumers expect modern specs like we get in all our phones and a fairly light and small package. I can swap the battery in my tablet and phone, but that's only as a last minute option, not a first choice because it will run out half-way through my day.

So, what's so bad about expecting your camera to be closer to what your phone can offer as long as you pay a premium price for it?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Keyboard shortcuts

f
Forum
m
My threads
Mobile site
About
Editorial content
Cameras & Lenses
Community
All content, design, and layout are Copyright © 1998–2025 Digital Photography Review All Rights Reserved.
Reproduction in whole or part in any form or medium without specific written permission is prohibited.
When you use DPReview links to buy products, the site may earn a commission.
©GPS Media - Guides, Products, Services.
Back
Top