A disgruntled D500 owner has taken out a legal warning against Nikon advertising the camera as offering ‘integrated Wi-Fi.’ In the equivalent of a cease-and-desist order. Andreas V, from Butzbach, Germany says, that the term is misleading, given there are unusual restrictions to using the function.
In the case of the D500, you need to use a compatible Android device with Bluetooth LE and the Snapbridge app to enable Wi-Fi: a restriction that is not commonly shared by other cameras, including Nikon’s own D750 and D7200 models.
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| The D500 does have integrated Wi-Fi, but you can’t necessarily use it in the way you might expect. |
As highlighted in our review, although the D500 does have integrated Wi-Fi, it is distinctly reluctant to make use of it, mainly relying on the low bandwidth ‘Bluetooth LE’ technology for file transfer. At present even this system is available only to users of compatible Android devices, since an iOS app will not be available until later in the year. Unlike the D7200 and D750, there’s no way to directly make use of the camera’s Wi-Fi: it can only be initiated using Bluetooth from the Snapbridge app.
Part of the customer’s complaint was that it was reasonable to assume he’d be able to use his camera in the same manner as he had his D7200, and that the labels on the box indicating compatibility with Apple devices implied the function was already available to users of such devices. He goes on to highlight that it would be possible for Nikon to offer a simpler (and more readily accessible) Wi-Fi system via a firmware update.
The story, first reported in the German magazine Digitale Fotografie, and subsequently on Nikon Rumors, has attracted mixed responses. While there have been plenty of predictable ‘he should have done his research’ comments, there have also been words of support from people who believe Nikon should have made the system’s limitations clearer (or made the Wi-Fi simpler). What do you think?
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)