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Question

looking for digital cameras with voice annotation capability

by Jul 19, 2011 12:52PM PDT

I am looking for digital cameras with the capability to speak a few words that will automatically attach to specifically chosen picture/file

Discussion is locked

9 Posts
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Answer
Annotation
by Forum moderator Jul 20, 2011 12:21AM PDT

That feature was never very popular and has been dropped by most camera makers.
Those that have it, do not advertise that feature.
So, there is no database that I know of that show which cameras have the feature.

Nearly all of the older Canon SD model cameras had the feature.
While they are out of production, you can still find new Canon SD cameras.

The newer Canon Elph cameras do not list such a feature in their User Manuals.

Anyone know of any new cameras with the Annotation feature?

..

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Answer
Subject title (required, 60 characters max):
by Dec 28, 2011 6:44AM PST

I've been hanging on my 8 year old Fujifilm s602 and have acquired several spares precisely for this reason. It is essential to my work to be able to take a picture of a subject and comment what it is about. The Fuji makes it easy, simply take a picture and press OK after to start recording a comment to it. No other camera that I know about has this automatic sound with picture recording function and very few have that feature period (which is usually buried many levels deep in the menu system).

A picture may be worth 1000 words but people still need to know what it illustrates, or what it means. I this visual age it plain baffles me that this feature, essential for in site documentary work, has been dropped by so many cameras.

Let's keep our fingers crossed, folks, and hope some hacker unlocks this feature in existing cameras Happy

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It's back!
by r. proffitt Forum moderator Dec 28, 2011 6:53AM PST
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But what about real cameras?
by 83bj60 Dec 28, 2011 10:17AM PST

Great and encouraging response! Now if only camera makers would learn a lesson from it and give us back what we used to have on the first generation digicams!!!

Canon, Nikon and all others: don't you think it's high time to have an open OS attitude that would allow independent software writers to write custom apps for your hardware, just like we have with most other modern devices?

When is 'Programmable' (in cameras) REALLY going to mean 'Programmable', as in 'User Programmable' like we have had for decades in computers?

Hmmm... Things to ponder!

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Answer
Video capable digicam.
by Dec 28, 2011 11:32AM PST

Why not use your video capable digicam audio? Snap a shot switch to video say your piece, done.

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Intriguing!
by 83bj60 Dec 29, 2011 12:08PM PST

I was put off this response at first but... Flick of a lever, get in video mode, record, get back in picture mode, and during processing, convert all avis or mpgs into wav... Then rename by date and time so that each wav file has the same number as the corresponding wav for slideshow presentation... Should work! I take 200 pictures a day with one audio comment with each picture, hmm, that would definitely add quite a bit to the work load unless I can find an automated video to sound file converter. I'd only need to rename each sound file with the same name as the jpg it is attached to so as to work with a slideshow. Not easy if some pictures have no audiio coment, but might be possible. Definitely worth investiagting!

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Updates on camera software with voice annotation?
by NIS3717 Feb 20, 2013 7:48AM PST

@83bj60- did you figure out a way to voice annotate pictures efficiently?
I've been looking for some application to run on windows ultrabook that will let you take the picture and add brief annotation to each of them in real time. I'm thinking of using Dragon Naturally speaking for adding annotation. Please let me know if any of u know of a open source software or anything close to it.
Thanks,
NIS
<div nuan_tabactive="true" id="nuan_ria_plugin"><object style="position:absolute;z-index:1000" type="application/x-dgnria" id="plugin0" height="0" width="0"><param value="ff-tab-64" name="tabId"><param value="1273" name="counter"></object></div>

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Why no cameras with voice annotation?!
by 83bj60 Sep 22, 2013 5:48AM PDT

So, it seems that indeed, voice annotation with pictures is extremely unknown/unpopular, since my occasional search on the topic brings me back to.... This old thread that I already looked at and went nowhere Sad

My cameras are getting really old and I still have not found a solution to this dilemma. I just hope I will still have one of them in operating condition before I retire. I litterally depend on this feature on a daily basis. I just cannot fathom how other folks manage documenting their work: How do the police record crime scenes for meaningful information?

In other words... It would seem that our only option so far is to scrounge for and hoard any old camera that had this feature and make do with their increasingly glaring limitations.

Am I the only one to find that most new products out there are junk not even worth looking at?

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Are Android cameras a go?
by r. proffitt Forum moderator Sep 22, 2013 6:13AM PDT
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