Belkin’s Digital Camera Link vs. Apple’s iPod Camera Connector

“The iPod Photo has opened the door for gismos such as Belkin’s Digital Camera Link and Apple’s iPod Camera Connector, which allow you to download photos to it,” Dave Bullard writes for The Herald Sun. “As a journo, this got me pretty excited: I take quite a few photos to accompany my articles, and have always wanted to be able to free up space on my digital camera by moving the pics to an iPod.”

“The battery-powered Link, which is slightly bigger than the iPod itself, has a cord that plugs into the lower data port on the iPod. The camera lead then plugs into the Link’s USB port, and two presses of a button begins the speedy picture download. A big disappointment is the fact these pictures can’t be displayed on the iPod screen. The Link doesn’t generate thumbnail pictures to display, so you have to transfer the images to a computer using Apple’s iPhoto or PC equivalent,” Bullard writes.

“From there, you can always reimport the low-resolution thumbnails to the iPod. After this, looking at the iPod Camera Connector gave me another ‘Apple moment’ — when you realise why Apple is a market leader in form and function,” Bullard writes. “The iPod Camera Connector is tiny — just 3cm square and 1cm thick — and doesn’t need batteries. Just attach one end to the iPod and the other to your camera’s USB lead, and the iPod displays an Import menu. Press the centre button on the iPod’s scroll wheel, and Bob’s your uncle. The screen shows thumbnails of the pictures as they’re imported. Yes, that’s right. You can view the pictures imported using the Apple iPod Camera Connector — an essential feature of a device like this, I would have thought. The Apple is a clear winner over the Belkin on all counts, including price [US$29.00].”

Bullard also looks at options for recording conversations or voice notes on Apple iPods in the full article here.