Wireless Tethering

[Mike Buckley]

The very small size of my makeshift studio has made it impractical for me to use tethered shooting at least insofar as my very limited knowledge of available products is concerned. However, this new wireless product combined with my new two-in-one (tablet and laptop combined) might be practical.

Does anyone know of a similar wireless product that I should evaluate or any inherent issues I should be aware of when using this product category?

It's a good thing my negotiations with my wife for this year's photography budget was postponed.

[chauncey]

Where's the downside Mike...Amazon has a liberal return policy should you not be satisfied.

[Dave Humphries]

Watching the video (recommended) suggests that you connect your tablet to the Cam-Fi network instead of your normal Wi-Fi network, but if you're busy taking photos, that probably doesn't matter, although potentially other running apps on your phone(?)/tablet may resort to cell tower data connections, using up bandwidth allowance - not that I know for sure, I'm just guessing, as I have no personal experience. Just trying to anticipate that downside

Looks interesting though, Dave

[Mike Buckley]

Where's the downside Mike...Amazon has a liberal return policy should you not be satisfied.

The downside is the time and energy required to determine that it's not a good solution, much less the best solution.

[Mike Buckley]

Good point, Dave. I would have to learn how to connect my two-in-one to the Cam-Fi network and then reconnect (if that's the correct term) to my normal Wi-Fi network. Considering that my wife has set up the Wi-Fi network, I would have to ask not only for her budget approval but also for her assistance.

[Manfred M]

Mike I have the CamRanger (an awesome piece of technology) but I do not use it for tethered shooting, but rather for its remote control functionality. Connecting to it is quite easy as once it is switched on, your computer sees it and all you have to do is connect to it. The CamRanger uses a hard-wired password when you connect, and of course once you have finished working, you can just reconnect to your home network.

When using the CamRanger, I shoot basic jpeg + raw; the raw files are stored on the camera's memory card and the jpeg shows up on the phone / tablet / laptop. I generally use my iPad of Android tablet to control the camera. My windows laptop works as well, but is too large for the way I use it. If this WiFi device you are looking at is anything like the CamRanger, I expect you will like it.

For tethered capture, I do not use the CamRanger, but rather a tethered cable connected to my laptop. I don't own CaptureNX, but rather use Phase One Capture One. I find Lightroom to be quite unreliable. I connect the camera to my laptop with a Tethertools 25ft cable; my D800 uses USB 3.0 so the data transfer is quite fast.

[Mike Buckley]

Thanks for that information, Manfred.

My main reason for considering the product is so I can wirelessly transfer the images from my camera to my two-in-one located in my makeshift studio. That's rather than having to go to the opposite end of the house, download the images from the memory card and review the details of each image on my desktop computer only to realize that I need to return to my makeshift studio, change the setup, capture the new set of images and start that entire process all over again. Often repeatedly!

The details of using the software to control the camera would be nice but are secondary in importance.

Tethering via a cable is definitely out of the question due to the constraints of my makeshift studio. In fact, seeing your comments about tethering, I'm not even sure I'm properly using the term, tethered.

If you know of another way to accomplish my goals described above, that would be helpful. Neither of my cameras has built-in WiFi, so I'm only looking for a way to wirelessly transmit the captured images to my two-in-one while I'm still in my makeshift studio. I'm thinking that using the Cam-Fi device and its built-in network might be a good way of accomplishing that task.

As I write this, I just now wondered if I only need to use a Wi-Fi-enabled memory card to make that happen. I know they exist but I don't know how they work. EDIT: I just now went into my makeshift studio with my smart phone and immediately determined that my Wi-Fi in my house doesn't penetrate the myriad walls and doorways leading to my makeshift studio. So, using a Wi-Fi-enabled memory card is not a solution.

[Manfred M]

As I write this, I just now wondered if I only need to use a Wi-Fi-enabled memory card to make that happen. I know they exist but I don't know how they work.

I used a Eye-Fi card with my 4MB P&S jpeg only camera. Slow but not too bad. With raw data and a 12MB - 36MB DSLR; the transfer just took forever. I suspect that you might find that this constraint is going to be an issue with what you are trying to do.

While I do my edits on a desktop, when I shoot tethered, I have the camera connected to a laptop that is a couple of steps (at most) away from my camera location. Speed is acceptable, but I have to transfer the captured data between the laptop and desktop.

[Mike Buckley]

I'm assuming perhaps incorrectly that I can configure the device to copy the image files from the memory card to my two-in-one. If I find a satisfactory image file, I can then take the memory card to my desktop and download the image as usual.

As I think this through more, I won't ever need to transmit raw files via the device. I'm assuming I could shoot raw+JPEG and only transfer the JPEGs to my two-in-one. It wouldn't matter in that case whether I move or copy them. If I find a satisfactory image, I would take the memory card to my desktop and download the corresponding raw file.

[Manfred M]

I beleive you have assumed correctly Mike. If the device works the same as the CamRanger, and you set the device up the way you describe, that is exactly what you will get. When I use the CamRanger, I shoot basic jpeg + raw and the basic jpeg are the smallest size files that the camera produces. These can be reviewed on the screen and if you are shooting and walking slowly enough, the files should end up on your PC by the time you get there. The raw files are stored on the camera's memory card and these are transferred the "traditional" way.

[Mike Buckley]

I downloaded the software but can't access the settings configurations without also having the hardware. I read everything provided at the website including the PDFs and reviewed the video. No details about the settings configurations are provided.

I have sent an email to the manufacturer asking if I can configure the settings to send only the JPEGs when shooting RAW+JPEG. I will also contact the reseller during normal business hours to determine their return policy, as this item is subject to it.

Though the PetaPixel article explains that the product costs $200 through Amazon, it actually only costs $135.

[Mike Buckley]

I have sent an email to the manufacturer asking if I can configure the settings to send only the JPEGs when shooting RAW+JPEG.

Less than an hour later I received an email confirming that I can do that.

[russellsnr]

Hi, Maybe of help and a lot cheaper than the CamRanger http://dslrdashboard.info/
I use with a 600D and TP-LINK TL-MR3040 - Battery Powered Wireless N 3G Travel Router or my 6D with the inbuil wireless option.
Russ

[loosecanon]

another vote for dslr controller - much cheaper, and I use it with my 10inch or 7inch android tablet - they are very cheap so I keep the 7inch in my camera bag and use it tethered as a remote / adjustable screen for my 7D and 5D III .
One can see the accuracy of focus so ideal for macro work or copy work where the large screen enables one to "square up" the image easily.

[russellsnr]

another vote for dslr controller - much cheaper, and I use it with my 10inch or 7inch android tablet - they are very cheap so I keep the 7inch in my camera bag and use it tethered as a remote / adjustable screen for my 7D and 5D III .
One can see the accuracy of focus so ideal for macro work or copy work where the large screen enables one to "square up" the image easily.

Hi, Not being picky here but the trouble with the DSLRController is that it is not supported anymore by the developer (must be two years or more since there was any movment in making the effort to update the app) where the DSLRDashboard is being updated and users requests for new features listened to by the developer. I used to use the DSLRController but moved across to the Dashboard.
Russ

[Mike Buckley]

Do I understand correctly that the dslrDashboard requires a camera with a built-in Wi-Fi in order to send data wirelessly to a Windows computer? I ask because using a cable is a deal breaker for me due to the constraints of my makeshift studio.

[Mike Buckley]

I've decided that I'm not interested in the dslrDashboard. That's because I'm not technically minded and don't want to have to bother with buying a router and cable and configuring everything properly. The potential hassle for me (though probably not a hassle for others who understand and even enjoy this stuff) is not worth it to me to save probably about $70. Additionally, unlike all routers I considered, the Cam-Fi device can be stored on the hot shoe. That's a handy feature when I'm not using the hot shoe for other purposes, which is most of the time.

The company selling through the Amazon platform that I would use has a reasonable 20% restocking fee plus I pay cost of shipping if I return an opened box. I'll have to open the box to determine if the item meets my needs. My contact explained that nobody has returned the item so far. They have been selling it about three months.

I'm not surprised that the company had a sudden increase in sales of the item yesterday. That's surely because of the PetaPixel article (my contact was unaware of it) published yesterday accessed using my link in the first post.

[Mike Buckley]

Thanks to everyone for your help!

I was pleasantly surprised about the negotiations with my wife. Not only did she approve the purchase now already made of the Cam-Fi device, but she also explained that since she isn't going to let me use "our" two-in-one in the makeshift studio, I have her permission to buy a cheap tablet if our little netbook is insufficient. Yowza!

I do wonder if the CamRanger is going to quickly become less expensive now that the Cam-Fi has been released at less than half the price.

[Mike Buckley]

I posted my review of the CamFi system here.