Originally posted by illdefined I've managed to pair my GRIII on bluetooth w iOS but not sure what it's supposed to do, just transfer location information? The instructions plainly state it doesn't support capture or image transfer..
I can't say specifically for the GRIII, but the "normal" use of Bluetooth on cameras is to automate connecting to new Wi-fi sources. Instead of manually entering a passcode to connect to the Wi-fi network, once the camera is paired with the network router (in the most common scenario, a Bluetooth equipped smartphone that can function as a Wi-fi hotspot), security credentials are passed over the Bluetooth connection. The bandwidth of Bluetooth connections is too narrow to transmit images in acceptable lengths of time.
You might be wondering, "why bother" and I would agree with you, but this is very similar to the function of NFC, which plenty of compact cameras had been equipped with. NFC was supposed to allow you to bring your phone very close to the camera (like tapping it) and the "normal" Wi-fi connection would be set up without having to enter a passcode. NFC was also intended for use as a digital wallet, but security holes and flaky implementations put a quick end to that application. NFC is virtually dead, I don't think any new smartphones have that capability anymore and every smartphone has a Bluetooth radio built in, so new cameras that want to offer the latest features in connectivity (and connectivity is what all the expert camera reviewers are pining for) come with Bluetooth radios as well as the 2.4 GHz microwave Wi-fi radios (5.2 GHz Wi-fi is similar to 2.4 GHz Wi-fi, with faster bandwidth and shorter range).
This doesn't add much in security (especially if the passcode for pairing is 0000), but broadcasting the availability of a Bluetooth connection uses much less battery power than 2.4 GHz Wi-fi, requires the two devices to be closer to each other (so someone parked on the street can't hijack your Wi-fi network) and is in the skill-set of almost all smartphone users, which can't be said for conventional Wi-fi devices.