7DMkII Satellite Time Questions

I have studied the manual and read both clock setting sections closely; if the answer to my questions is there, I am not getting it.

1. Does going into the GPS menu and enabling satellite time setting work along with or separately from the normal clock function; as in, do the time zone and DST settings and such that I applied in the normal clock menu carry over to the satellite time function ?

2. Sitting at me desk, last night, I went into the GPS menu and enabled Auto Time Setting; I set it to Auto Update.
The option, Set Now, was greyed out and not responsive; was that because I was inside, with no GPS connectivity; or, was it because I had already set the normal clock ?

3. With this feature set to Auto Update, does it resort back to the normal clock when I lose signal ? when I turn OFF the camera (with GPS disabled)?

4. If the camera is turned OFF, yet GPS is still enabled, I assume the Automatic continues to update, correct ?


Thanks for reading and all help is appreciated.

BuckSkin wrote in post #19147570
I have studied the manual and read both clock setting sections closely; if the answer to my questions is there, I am not getting it.

1. Does going into the GPS menu and enabling satellite time setting work along with or separately from the normal clock function; as in, do the time zone and DST settings and such that I applied in the normal clock menu carry over to the satellite time function ?

Yes, they do.

It was because there was no GPS lock at that time.

It always runs the normal clock. The only thing that changes is that occasionally the normal clock is corrected by synchronizing it to the GPS time.

I don't know, but it doesn't matter. You can't use the clock in the camera when it's off anyway.

apersson850 wrote in post #19147593
Yes, they do.It was because there was no GPS lock at that time.It always runs the normal clock. The only thing that changes is that occasionally the normal clock is corrected by synchronizing it to the GPS time.I don't know, but it doesn't matter. You can't use the clock in the camera when it's off anyway.

Thanks so much for clearing that up for me.

I wish all of our cameras had the GPS clock ability that would set them to rights occasionally; I have been busy getting them all on the new time and every one of them, save for the 7DMkII, had gained several minutes since last spring.

One of our Canon T3 had gained nine minutes.

I've read that the reason Canon started to integrate GPS in cameras like the 1DX Mark II was not so much georeferencing the images, but to set the clock. Large photo organizations covering large events, like various world championships or Olympic games, have multiple photographers with multiple cameras. They are connected via Ethernet/WiFi to FTP servers, receiving the images from the different photographers as they are taken. At the receiving end, they have editors selecting which images to use and sell to other media. When sorting through them, they sometimes got images in the wrong order, since different cameras covered the same action, but one image, taken slightly after another, had a time stamp before it. So it was too difficult for the editors to understand the chronological order of things.

Canon first provided an ability to synchronize clocks connected to the same network, but that was cumbersome with multiple photographers using multiple cameras, while being at different locations.

apersson850 wrote in post #19147869
I've read that the reason Canon started to integrate GPS in cameras like the 1DX Mark II was not so much georeferencing the images, but to set the clock. Large photo organizations covering large events, like various world championships or Olympic games, have multiple photographers with multiple cameras. They are connected via Ethernet/WiFi to FTP servers, receiving the images from the different photographers as they are taken. At the receiving end, they have editors selecting which images to use and sell to other media. When sorting through them, they sometimes got images in the wrong order, since different cameras covered the same action, but one image, taken slightly after another, had a time stamp before it. So it was too difficult for the editors to understand the chronological order of things.

Canon first provided an ability to synchronize clocks connected to the same network, but that was cumbersome with multiple photographers using multiple cameras, while being at different locations.

That is most interesting; Thanks for making me aware of it.
As I have no interest whatsoever in sporting events, I had never considered the behind-the-scenes activities necessary to make what we see fall in time-place so perfectly.
With modern-day people spoiled to seeing things immediately, even with all of the technology, I don't see how they do as well as they do.

Even my wife and myself, when we both are at the same place taking pictures, such as an agricultural festival event, train ride, or military re-enactment, are plagued by this camera-to-camera time discrepancy.

It is rather comical when I think of my feeble attempts at home, trying to manually synchronize the clocks on two or three cameras; what with different cameras having different means, it is a task which I have not as yet been able to accomplish right on the nose.
I wish I had a means of setting and holding a time on all of the cameras, and them all connected to a big red trigger-button, where I could watch the clock count down and press the button; thus, at least for that moment, have all of our clocks synchronized.

Just the other day, I was taking photos from a farmer/friend's private scenic overlook where you can see the very scenic valley below for miles and miles.

I had two cameras, one handheld and the other on a tripod.
There was no action taking place, nor any reason for rapid-fire shooting, just me with all the time in the world.
I always use DIM --- https://digitalimagemo​ver.tumblr.com/ ----- to offload the memory cards (most wonderful program I have found), renaming the images with a reverse? date/time prefix --- Year-Month-Day_HourMinuteSecond --- 2020-11-05_024438_
I had forgotten to "synchronize" the cameras' clocks prior to the "shoot".
As leisurely and piddling-around as my day was, I still ended up with several instances where the handheld and tripod pictures' timestamps would be out of sequence.

BuckSkin wrote in post #19147882
I wish I had a means of setting and holding a time on all of the cameras, and them all connected to a big red trigger-button, where I could watch the clock count down and press the button; thus, at least for that moment, have all of our clocks synchronized.

It's not really that Star Trek-inspired, but today's Canon cameras with Ethernet or WiFi can do something similar.

Myself, I have three cameras with Ethernet and WiFi. A 7D, a 1DX and a 1DX Mark II. If I don't use the option to let the GPS set the time in the cameras, I can turn on the network capability, select time synchronization and then let them all have the same time, with good precision.
One camera will be the master. The remaining cameras you set as slaves. When you execute the sync, the master camera's time setting will be distributed to all of them. The only thing missing is the big red button, actually.
Now I do have the ability to add GPS accessories to all three of these, but if only the one with built in GPS, the 1DX Mark II, had one, then I would of course let it acquire the time from the GPS, then use that as a time master in the network and distribute the correct time to the other cameras.

apersson850 wrote in post #19147950
I have three cameras with Ethernet and WiFi. A 7D, a 1DX and a 1DX Mark II.

We have 7D, 7DMkII, and two T3/1100D.

I figure the T3/1100D are completely out of the question, unless Magic Lantern has a fix.

However, you do have 7d in your list; does that mean our 7D and 7DMkII are eligible candidates for this feature you describe ?

How and what, besides the as-delivered cameras, is required ?

Thanks.

Both the 1DX and the 1DX Mark II are equipped with Gigabit Ethernet as standard equipment. They can sync time over cable.
The 7D I have equipped with the WFT-E5B. It's a vertical grip that includes a USB host port for an additional memory (like a second card, but in the shape of a USB memory stick), direct connection to a GPS like Garmin's GPSMap 60 CX or a Bluetooth transmitter, which allows connection to a GPS puck.
The WFT-E5B also contains a Megabit Ethernet port, which can sync time with the 1DX cameras via cable. The grip also supports WiFi. By adding a WFT-E6B to the 1DX and a WFT-E8B to the 1DX Mark II, in their system expansion ports, all three cameras can also sync time via wireless network.
Finally, I also have the GP-E1 GPS device, which can be attached in the 1DX system expansion port, and a GP-E2, which can be used by the 7D to get GPS directly into the camera, via the USB port on the camera. As I wrote before, the [B]1DX Mark II has GPS built in.

apersson850 wrote in post #19148098
Both the 1DX and the 1DX Mark II are equipped with Gigabit Ethernet as standard equipment. They can sync time over cable.
The 7D I have equipped with the WFT-E5B. It's a vertical grip that includes a USB host port for an additional memory (like a second card, but in the shape of a USB memory stick), direct connection to a GPS like Garmin's GPSMap 60 CX or a Bluetooth transmitter, which allows connection to a GPS puck.
The WFT-E5B also contains a Megabit Ethernet port, which can sync time with the 1DX cameras via cable. The grip also supports WiFi. By adding a WFT-E6B to the 1DX and a WFT-E8B to the 1DX Mark II, in their system expansion ports, all three cameras can also sync time via wireless network.
Finally, I also have the GP-E1 GPS device, which can be attached in the 1DX system expansion port, and a GP-E2, which can be used by the 7D to get GPS directly into the camera, via the USB port on the camera. As I wrote before, the [B]1DX Mark II has GPS built in.

Thanks for sharing that; it reads impressive.
I find it interesting that someone was smart enough to see that a vertical grip could be more than just an extra battery and a handle.

apersson850 wrote in post #19148098
The 7D I have equipped with the WFT-E5B.

I see there are four "versions" of this, according to region --- something to do with regional signal interference or such; there is a Wft-E5A, B, C, and D.
As best I can tell, in USA, I need the "A".

I doubt I will ever be anywhere else; but, if I were to ever travel into any of the other regions, I wonder what kind of difficulties that might incur.

It would also be interesting to know how this works out for those who are within a mile or two either side of these boundaries.
On a similar note, we live right against a time zone boundary, with many communication towers on either side; one cannot rely on their cell phone as a reliable indication of the correct time because it never knows what zone it is in.

This technology you have intrigues me.

Different frequencies are allowed for different purposes in different countries.
The US version (A) will support 2.4 MHz channels 1-11. My European version (B) will allow the use of channels 1-13. When I am in the US, I'm not allowed to use the channels 12-13. That's up to me.
But for Canon, it's important not to sell equipment which doesn't meet local regulations. Hence their different models. There are similar differencies for the other frequences these devices support.

It's not for time sync I use my WFT devices. But they are handy for remote control, image transfer and linking cameras. I've in some cases used two cameras, one placed on a tripod near a control point, the other in my hands 50 meters away. Each time I pressed the button to take a picture with my 1DX and EF 300 mm f/2.8L IS II USM in my hands, the 7D, with an EF 28 mm f/2.8 IS USM, also took a picture, but from another angle, with a different perspective. Sometimes I used one of the pictures, sometimes the other. In a few cases, both were good at the same time.
The camera linkage was wia the WFT-E6B on the 1DX and the WFT-E5B under the 7D. GPS georeferencing was done by the GP-E2 on the 7D and a Wayfinder GPS puck, with Bluetooth connection to the WFT-E6B on the 1DX.

In parallel, I used the 1DX Mark II with the EF 70-200 mm f/2.8L IS II USM too. Thus the 70-200 gave me flexibility, the 300 mm reach and the 28 mm a closer view, all available at the same time.

apersson850 wrote in post #19149786
Thus the 70-200 gave me flexibility, the 300 mm reach and the 28 mm a closer view, all available at the same time.

Now that is interesting !

When you need to perform a one man show, that's one way.
The result is in one of my web albums. But this site refuses to link to it, for some reason. If you want to see it, send a PM, and I can give you a link.