A Special Wireless-Free Nikon Camera Is Publicly Available for the First Time • Hacker News Board

Re: A Special Wireless-Free Nikon Camera Is Publicly Available for the First Time

#21

Post by dylan604 » Fri, Jul 03, 2026, 4:29 AM UTC

i_am_proteus wrote: post #11

walrus01 wrote: post #4

I understand it's probably because the GPS functionality is integrated into the same RF chipset that's handling wifi/bluetooth, but it would be possible to make a "no transmit capability" camera that still has GPS metadata functionality, with GPS receiver chip and an antenna tuned for 1400-1600 MHz, since ordinary consumer grade GPS is a receive-only technology. But that would still possibly present a problem for ser…

>Can't have an antenna of any form in it. All wires are antennas...

But the short wires in a Nikon camera are not long enough to be a useful antenna. In fact, I doubt there's really anything one would consider a wire in a camera body. Everything is probably just traces on a PCB.

Re: A Special Wireless-Free Nikon Camera Is Publicly Available for the First Time

#22

Post by ButlerianJihad » Fri, Jul 03, 2026, 4:49 AM UTC

Seven years ago, I landed a fairly trivial job with a temp agency, and we were tasked with plowing through document archives and collating them all for the scanning team. Our client was a huge company, and though none of us were sworn to secrecy or anything formal, I figured I would do them a solid, and refrain from bringing in any device with a camera, microphone, or transmitter. At the time, this was possible because I didn't rely 100% on my smartphone for transportation and everything else...

So I delved into the fascinating and still-extant world of standalone MP3 players. I selected a SanDisk Clip Jam, and it had like 8GiB onboard, an sdcard slot of course, an FM radio receiver, and really cool firmware. It was very simple, robust, extremely light, compact and portable. It was the size of a matchbox and it could clip onto your sleeve or belt, or whatever.

And it met all the requirements. It had no BT, no WiFi, no sensors of any kind, and it did that job very well of music playback, however I found it. And it could indeed store arbitrary files, so being the kind of hacker I am, I stashed a copy of my password manager encrypted database, plus a full install MSI of the application. And I included some README.txt that would indicate who owned this thing and how to return it, if lost.

I really miss that thing for its elegant simplicity. With the Swiss Army Knife nature of smartphones, I still long for the specialization and compartmented functionality of separate devices.

Re: A Special Wireless-Free Nikon Camera Is Publicly Available for the First Time

#23

Post by thih9 » Fri, Jul 03, 2026, 5:35 AM UTC

linzhangrun wrote: post #12

Unitl 2016 cameras with GPS could not be sold in mainland China (old secrecy regulations), so this is not anything new. I guess modern integration has put Bluetooth and other devices together with GPS in one module.

No, most cameras, including a regular version of this model, don’t have a gps module. See also: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48770393

Re: A Special Wireless-Free Nikon Camera Is Publicly Available for the First Time

#24

Post by thih9 » Fri, Jul 03, 2026, 5:37 AM UTC

rationalist wrote: post #3

It's a shame it costs more. I'm sure there are people who would like the non-wireless option, but would rather "save" $400.

Economies of (lack of) scale.

Re: A Special Wireless-Free Nikon Camera Is Publicly Available for the First Time

#25

Post by throwaway81523 » Fri, Jul 03, 2026, 6:48 AM UTC

dghlsakjg wrote: post #19

tujux wrote: post #15

>Nikon tells PetaPixel that this is to evaluate potential market demand for similar products moving forward. Yes, evaluate market demand by making it more expensive and doing 0 marketing. /s Am I crazy in thinking that doing it this way is close to meaningless?

The article also explains that retailers have had customers ask for this, which is why Nikon is trialing selling this through those channels instead of direct, as usual. You don't really have to market something like this. There is a VERY small subset of users that NEED this feature, and they will seek it out. The kind of user that wants this is not as price sensitive as a consumer. A few hundred extra dollars doesn'…

I won't claim to NEED the feature (I'm not a 3 letter agency or anything) but I'd like to have it on general principle, and I'd pay extra for it, though probably not $400 extra.

This never gets old: https://biggaybunny.tumblr.com/post/166787080920/tech-enthus...

Will someone really pay me $1000 to remove the camera module from an 2020 iPhone SE? Are there some huge obstacles to that? I've disassembled the 2016 model (for battery replacement) and it was a pain, but not a $1000 pain.

For that matter, what about just attacking the camera from the front, with a drill?

Re: A Special Wireless-Free Nikon Camera Is Publicly Available for the First Time

#26

Post by ryukoposting » Fri, Jul 03, 2026, 7:33 AM UTC

aleksejs wrote: post #17

walrus01 wrote: post #4

I understand it's probably because the GPS functionality is integrated into the same RF chipset that's handling wifi/bluetooth, but it would be possible to make a "no transmit capability" camera that still has GPS metadata functionality, with GPS receiver chip and an antenna tuned for 1400-1600 MHz, since ordinary consumer grade GPS is a receive-only technology. But that would still possibly present a problem for ser…

The camera (even the regular model) does not have its own GPS receiver at all. It relies on a smartphone to transmit GPS coordinates over Bluetooth. This is pretty common in modern cameras, presumably because most photographers expect to be able to turn their cameras on and off very rapidly, and it would be difficult to maintain a GPS fix with that usage pattern.

I don't think it's impossible. We aren't talking RTK here, you should be able to get a usable fix quickly. You also have some other advantages. For starters, the GPS coordinate doesn't need to be taken at the exact instant the photo is taken. If it takes a second to get the coordinate, that can be done in the background while the photographer continues to do their thing. Another advantage is that people never hold their cameras upside down, so the antenna can be pretty directional.

Re: A Special Wireless-Free Nikon Camera Is Publicly Available for the First Time

#27

Post by inemesitaffia » Fri, Jul 03, 2026, 7:37 AM UTC

dylan604 wrote: post #21

i_am_proteus wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Can't have an antenna of any form in it. All wires are antennas...

But the short wires in a Nikon camera are not long enough to be a useful antenna. In fact, I doubt there's really anything one would consider a wire in a camera body. Everything is probably just traces on a PCB.

There's enough space for one.

Re: A Special Wireless-Free Nikon Camera Is Publicly Available for the First Time

#28

Post by eichin » Fri, Jul 03, 2026, 7:49 AM UTC

Scene_Cast2 wrote: post #8

ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #6

> no Nikon SnapBridge Unless they significantly improved that app, in the last eight years or so, it may not be a great loss.

Huh. When I rented a Z7 ii about 5 years ago, I found their Android app to be pretty great. (My next big camera is likely to be a Nikon, in part due to the nice app)

I don't use it for my primary workflow, but I use the Android app all the time for "grab a couple of interesting shots to send to friends, from the parking lot right after a hike/nature shoot", and it's fine for that (and for firmware updates.)

Re: A Special Wireless-Free Nikon Camera Is Publicly Available for the First Time

#29

Post by jcft2 » Fri, Jul 03, 2026, 7:55 AM UTC

ButlerianJihad wrote: post #22

Seven years ago, I landed a fairly trivial job with a temp agency, and we were tasked with plowing through document archives and collating them all for the scanning team. Our client was a huge company, and though none of us were sworn to secrecy or anything formal, I figured I would do them a solid, and refrain from bringing in any device with a camera, microphone, or transmitter. At the time, this was possible becau…

The original iPod shuffle was essentially a USB stick with an audio port and some buttons, and I used it in just the same way as this. I think it was only £20 or £30 in price, a great product.

Re: A Special Wireless-Free Nikon Camera Is Publicly Available for the First Time

#30

Post by m01 » Fri, Jul 03, 2026, 8:00 AM UTC

dghlsakjg wrote: post #19

tujux wrote: post #15

>Nikon tells PetaPixel that this is to evaluate potential market demand for similar products moving forward. Yes, evaluate market demand by making it more expensive and doing 0 marketing. /s Am I crazy in thinking that doing it this way is close to meaningless?

The article also explains that retailers have had customers ask for this, which is why Nikon is trialing selling this through those channels instead of direct, as usual. You don't really have to market something like this. There is a VERY small subset of users that NEED this feature, and they will seek it out. The kind of user that wants this is not as price sensitive as a consumer. A few hundred extra dollars doesn'…

At least the earlier Fairphones continued to work even if you removed some modules (like the camera & microphone), and all you needed for that was a regular-priced Fairphone, a screwdriver and a few minutes of time. I not sure if it's still the case for the current Fairphone, but I don't see why it should've changed either.