WFT-E1 a little pricey??? (Canon EOS Wireless File Transfer)

[jhankins]

Have been trying to determine the pricing for budgeting for the WFT device for the 1Ds mark II. Stumbled on this with a google search.

http://www.buytelescopes.com/product.asp?pid=8143

Found this....yikes! 999.00 seems a little pricey for a WIFI device. The radios for these things are a dime a dozen these days. Seems like the price could be a little more reasonable, especially considering this is supposed to work for the 20D at some point in December per what I've read. I was expecting less than half this price. Wow. I hope they drop in price! I'd expect they don't sell many at this price range.

[defordphoto]

Makes you wonder what Canon is smoking. However, this would be a for a fairly limited group. Would be great to shoot in the studio wireless and still be tethered.

I would have no use for this.

[NILOLIGIST]

Actually, it is hard to get. I don't think the price is a factor for those that want it like me. I finally found a place that has it and actually has stock of the item. I want to get it from B&H, I will see how long I can wait. LOL....

Jim, you need it just not right now. It would be a great addition, I will let you borrow mine when I get it and then you will have to buy me another one because you won't want to return it to me. LOL

NiL,

[CyberDyneSystems]

Buy more CF cards.. they are cheaper.. :lol:

[elbirth]

hmm, interesting.... I'd love something like that for my 20D. I've tried to figure out how to shoot and have my images download directly to my computer, but can't get Capture One to see that I have my camera hooked up...

Finding a way to do it wireless was something I had thought about, should have known they already had stuff to do it :)

[DwightMcCann]

elbirth, you still want to download to laptop with tether? I have been doing it without trouble and can chat you up.

[MadMesh]

?? I thought other companies made Wireless WiFi cards for the camera. Check this out , is this the same thing we are talking about?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5791441755&category=15004&rd=1

[DwightMcCann]

MadMesh, NO, that is just a CF card and card reader ... nothing to do with Wi-Fi. We are talking about this: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=365948&is=REG, which transmit an FTP stream, over the wireless network that you must have setup, to an FTP server. The two things are essentially unrelated.

[elbirth]

MadMesh, NO, that is just a CF card and card reader ... nothing to do with Wi-Fi. We are talking about this: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=365948&is=REG, which transmit an FTP stream, over the wireless network that you must have setup, to an FTP server. The two things are essentially unrelated.

I looked through the description of what MadMesh linked to, and it actually says it's a 128mb CF card with built in wifi to allow you to use it as a storage device as well as using it as a wifi card as well.

However, it'd just allow for wifi on your your computer, not the camera...

[DwightMcCann]

I guess I just looked at the picture rather than read the whole thing since I knew for that price that it was a WFT-E1 or equivalent, sigh. Sorry.

[MadMesh]

yes, the card does have 802.11b capability. But i wasnt sure how it would actually function. I see that canon device will connect FTP not P2P.

I would like a P2P connection since that way i can keep my laptop around, even in a backpack and have it send images to it while im doing a photoshoot.

That canon device is way overpriced. I too rather just go out and buy a small dell laptop for $800 or even just buy more CF cards. Dell 700m for $800 when the coupon codes come around might be a way smarter buy. Acts a sa normal computer, portable storage (60 gigs) and you can also use ur canon RAW software.

[elbirth]

yes, the card does have 802.11b capability. But i wasnt sure how it would actually function. I see that canon device will connect FTP not P2P.

I would like a P2P connection since that way i can keep my laptop around, even in a backpack and have it send images to it while im doing a photoshoot.

That canon device is way overpriced. I too rather just go out and buy a small dell laptop for $800 or even just buy more CF cards. Dell 700m for $800 when the coupon codes come around might be a way smarter buy. Acts a sa normal computer, portable storage (60 gigs) and you can also use ur canon RAW software.

you can easily set up your laptop to be an ftp server, you just need the software. check download.com for ftp server software, it's really easy to setup. does that device actually fit in your camera and work like that, though?

[pcasciola]

hmm, interesting.... I'd love something like that for my 20D.This device does work on the 20D as well.

I think this would be great for sports photography where magzines such as S.I. commonly use runners to get the cards up to the editor's desk during large events, thus moving the chimping off the camera and on the editor's desk where it belongs.

[elbirth]

I think this would be great for sports photography where magzines such as S.I. commonly use runners to get the cards up to the editor's desk during large events, thus moving the chimping off the camera and on the editor's desk where it belongs.

yeah, seriously.... I'll admit chimping has made me miss some shots (nothing overly important, luckily) and after seeing how some images actually looked on-screen and printed, I regretted having deleted some images that I thought turned out too bright to work with

[DwightMcCann]

I'm interested in using it on a remote camera such as located in the lighting truss over a boxing match or in the lighting above a live performance. Might even want two of them. I understand FTP but know nothing of Wi-Fi, so what would I need to add to my laptop to act as an access point, or would that piece need to be in some intermediary place?

[pcasciola]

what would I need to add to my laptop to act as an access point, or would that piece need to be in some intermediary place?I'm fairly sure you'd have to use at least a wireless access point somewhere in range of both the camera and your laptop, but it's usually the same price or cheaper to just get a wireless router because they are so common. A few companies like Netgear and Linksys have wireless travel routers that might work out well because they are more compact.

EDIT: Of course after typing this reply, I looked up the specs on the WFT-E1, and it does support ad-hoc mode, so you probably will not need an access point, since ad-hoc will allow it to talk directly to a laptop with a wireless network card in it.

[DwightMcCann]

Thanks, pcasciola! I have A LOT of expertise in this area sitting in the office next door to mine (currently on jury duty) and I will pursue it with him when he returns. Doesn't sound like anyone here at POTN uses this technology (and I guess I'm the only one using the timed shooting facility of the EUV) ... any idea of where the folks that do use it hang out? Sure would be nice if Canon had a White Paper on it, sigh.

[pcasciola]

I figured a bunch of people over at sportshooter.com would be using it, but I just searched and didn't get many hits. Now that I think about it, I haven't seen a post anywhere of anyone actually using one of these things, just people chatting about it like we are doing right here.

[DwightMcCann]

Well, one is on my equipment plan but it looks like next Spring or Summer ... I will probably give my wife my current laptop and get the latest/greatest technology with the best Wi-Fi I can at the same time. I will try to learn as much more as I can before then and if no one else here gets into it first I will start a thread ... but that's a long way off!

[gmen]

Well, one is on my equipment plan but it looks like next Spring or Summer ... I will probably give my wife my current laptop and get the latest/greatest technology with the best Wi-Fi I can at the same time. I will try to learn as much more as I can before then and if no one else here gets into it first I will start a thread ... but that's a long way off!
Dwight... Here's an article on ss.com that might be of interest: http://www.sportsshooter.com/news/1356

I've been considering one of these little widgets for a while now as it would be an ideal way to retrieve images from a remote camera in real time rather than running around to grab the card out of it. Working on deadline at a football match and needing to transmit some shots just 20-30 minutes into the game can make the remote camera an unwanted hassle.

However, the idea of the remote's images popping up in a folder on my laptop as I take them sounds very appealing.

It's the ideal way of getting the images back to a central point (e.g. photo editor/assistant/laptop) for captioning etc. without the leg work and time implications of collecting cards from various cameras at an event.

It is a sizeable investment for what is little more than a glorified wi-fi card, but I factored one into the business plan a few months back :confused: We shall see what happens *lol*

Also... just remembered this 'amusing' WFT-E1 link from the guys at the Flash Centre... http://news.theflashcentre.co.uk/C1760656329/E20050628163536/

[DwightMcCann]

Gmen, yes, I have factored one in, too, for next year. I'll check out the article(s) when I get a chance. I think they are pricey because they will sell relatively few of them and only to the high end people. The parts may be cheap, but tooling up, developing and deploying the firmware, etc., is all done by expensive people who would like to take home a check. Sure wish you were near me in the Colonies ... I think we'd have a grand time. :-)

[Miyamoto Musashi]

Nikon has been doing this for years! It's about time Canon caught up.

Disclaimer - I am not a fan of Nikon, just read about it.

Canon all the way, whoo hoo!

[LoneKnight]

This device does work on the 20D as well.

I think this would be great for sports photography where magzines such as S.I. commonly use runners to get the cards up to the editor's desk during large events, thus moving the chimping off the camera and on the editor's desk where it belongs.



But to me the price does not make sense if similar or nearly the price of the 20D itself?
Do you thing so or there would be an independence vendor whom sell the similar WTF for 20D with low price.

[DwightMcCann]

The only value of the Wi-Fi pathway is if you have material that is so time sensitive because of exclusivity or deadlines that the extra cost is simply not a factor. I recently spoke to the photo editor of your largest local paper and he says that the back end editing required would simply overwhelm his tiny department. The folks he knows who make good use of this technology are wire services and catalog photographers. My blustering about getting one simply reflects that I have a very large budget for a freelance photographer and simply want to position myself to be able to respond to the greatest range of opportunities ... I may actually never make use of it for an event. In fact, I solved one of my bottlenecks by getting an Epson P2000 ... I now fill a 4 GB card, swap it for another and shove the full one into the P2000 and start it downloading. If I am at the end of an event I put it into my Pelican case while it is still running so when I get back to the house and unpack the images are ready to transfer very rapidly into my computer. In addition, I can then take the P2000 to my day job, having formatted the CF cards and returned them to my case, and have access to the images in case an editor wants something else beyond the initial few shots I have emailed from home. But again, even the paper I shoot for that receives via FTP does want a direct feed of everything that comes out of my camera! :-)

[Speed Grapher]

What sort of laptops do you guys carry on you? I was planning on getting an ultra-portable laptop (10-11 inch screen) to make it easier to travel like a Sony TX series or equivalent. It has only a 1.2 Ghz processor though. Do any of you know if this is good enough to handle tasks like working with software like Photoshop CS2?

[pcasciola]

What sort of laptops do you guys carry on you? I was planning on getting an ultra-portable laptop (10-11 inch screen) to make it easier to travel like a Sony TX series or equivalent. It has only a 1.2 Ghz processor though. Do any of you know if this is good enough to handle tasks like working with software like Photoshop CS2?This is a little off topic for this thread, so here's a link to a thread I started which might help you a little. I am debating between the Dell Inspiron 6000 and the ultra-portable 700m. I saw one a few weeks ago, and the screen is just incredibly sharp and bright, even though it's only 1280x800. Ron says it was much slower than he expected, but BottomBracket says it works well for photo editing. I'm still torn between the 700m's ultra-portability and the 1900x1200 15" widescreen of the 6000.

http://www.photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=113961

[Jon]

What sort of laptops do you guys carry on you? I was planning on getting an ultra-portable laptop (10-11 inch screen) to make it easier to travel like a Sony TX series or equivalent. It has only a 1.2 Ghz processor though. Do any of you know if this is good enough to handle tasks like working with software like Photoshop CS2?
Sorta depends on how much photoshopping you want to do. First thing to worry about is how much memory it'll take. A slow machine will really benefit from a gig or more of RAM. If all you want to do is simple spotting, noise reduction, or the like and you're not in a great rush, a 1.2 GHz processor (this is Pentium M,not P4,right?) will do. But if you intend to do a lot of local masking or other fussy work, you'll drive yourself nuts.