|
|
|
| December 03, 2007 |
|
If you are wondering what it's like at the beach today but are not able to be there, did you know that the beach is just a mouse-click away? Web camera technology makes it possible to get a live view of your favorite beach. Although not all beaches have web cams, more are popping up all the time.
What exactly is a beach web cam, you ask? It's nothing more than a camera (still or video) that is connected to a computer. The camera is pointing at the beach. The computer is connected to the Internet. Special software on the computer allows the camera images to be viewed on a web page. So all you have to do is visit the web page of the camera and you can get a live view of the beach at that moment! Pretty neat.
So even if you are freezing in Snow Drift, Minnesota, you can visit a beautiful beach in Florida through the wonders of Internet technology.
One of the things Florida visitors enjoy about some beach cams is that they can stand in front of the camera and wave to their friends and family back home while talking to them on a cell phone. If your hotel or resort has a beach cam this is easy to do. Of course not all hotels have a beach cam. To find out, just ask at the front desk or the concierge. The more requests they get, the more likely they are to have one installed. One day, nearly all beach hotels will have beach web cams.
Another great way people use beach cams is to check to see if the surf is up. Now surfers can monitor the surf in some locations by simply visiting a website.
Most beach web cams provide a fresh snapshot every minute or so. Other cams have video images, although the video has a very low frame rate, so it isn't like watching television.
Most beach web cams have a fairly low-quality image, but some of the cams are quite good. The down side to beach cams is that some of them require that you download and install free software before you can view the cam. Some images take a long time to appear in your browser, and some cams are notorious for not working reliably.
Still, I have some favorite cams that I'll share with you. Here is a great web cam for checking the surf conditions in the Cape Canaveral area of the Florida Atlantic coast. It has nice quality images that are refreshed every few seconds.
Over on the Gulf side, one of my favorites is at the Sanibel Holiday Inn. This beach cam has a beautiful view of a sandy path through the coconut palms to the beach. Be patient with this cam, it may take a minute to appear, but it's worth the wait. There is also a great beach cam on Captiva Island at The Tween Waters Resort.
A little further north on the Gulf coast is a nice view of Vanderbilt Beach.
Northwest Florida offers a few nice beach cams as will. How about this one on St. George Island.
Beach cams require maintenance and attention and are dependent on various technological factors. Websites get redesigned and pages are renamed and moved, so it can be difficult to find a good list of Florida beach web cams. I've put together a list of my favorite Florida Beach webcams and I try to keep it as up-to-date as possible. What's your favorite beach cam?
See you at the beach! |
|
|
|
|
 Forward to Friend |
|
|
| A late afternoon stroll on the quiet beaches of St. George Island, Florida. |
| Credit: David McRee, VISIT FLORIDA Beaches Expert |
|
| Comments |
|
Melbapn
|
|
favorited this one, brother
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
