File Transmitters usefull/not?

Now that I got feedback from RRS that their L-plate works with the WFT-E4A II I am seriously considering getting the transmitter for my Canon 5DII. That being said $700 plus $180 for the plate is a major investment, which begs the question did the WFT-E4A II or any other transmitter you have serve your needs well?

I am thinking about getting the transmitter for two reasons 1. download my JPEG files wireless to save time over manual download and have near instant feedback on my laptop screen 2. use remote live viewing when raising camera on stand 7ft and above for shooting architecture or interiors.


I am thinking that the WFT-E4A II will be a true liberator, saving me the hassle of cables and manual download all the while giving me instant feedback on my laptop. Are my expectations correct? How was your experience with your file transmitter?


Thanks in advance!

Subscribed. I, too, have been considering making this investment. However, I Read some reviews somewhere that were less than glowing. I apologize, I can't remember where they were. But, I am a person who hates cables so this is one reason I've been considering it. Although, the other thing that has made me second guess this is that a USB extender cable is approximately $30-$40. As you state, the WFT is ~$700. As much as I hate cables, I'm also having trouble justifying an additional $650 for wireless freedom.

Sorry I didn't give you an answer - merely commiserating with you and hoping others can offer practical advice.

you are more than welcome, at the minimum you bumped the thread and gave me an excuse to bump it too lol

It depends on your definition of "instant". If you want to shoot full size RAW images, it will take a while for them to reach the computer.
A possible way around this, if you mainly want to see that your images are coming out all right, is to plug in a memory stick in the grip too, save the large images on the camera's memory card and shoot lowest quality, smallest size jpegs to the memory stick. Then set up the WFT grip to only send the images from the stick. Small jpegs show up almost instantly.
Then you have your RAWs on the card for later use. They are quicker transferred via USB cable or by inserting the card in a reader.

If you are going to be standing that close to your laptop, to view the images, just pop the card out of the camera and plug it into the laptop. If you have an assistant or a client that is going to be monitoring the laptop and give feedback I can see a use for that, without using cables. So, it comes down to wireless or cables. The stuff about the laptop and viewing is moot since both methods will give you similar results.

Can that wireless transmitter be used with Liveview ? Can you control the camera from the laptop ? I don't know, just asking.

I assume, from your post, this is going to be a studio setup.

You may need an external reader to get the card into the laptop. Many have SD card slots, not many have CF slots.

The thing with this is of course mainly if you are in a rush, since the WFT device will allow you to upload photos to the computer concurrently with continued shooting.

Yes, the WFT will support live view over wireless connection, but it's not optimal from a speed point of view. You can also trigger the camera from a laptop, or even an iPod touch, if you like, but the trigger delay will be longer than normal. For things not moving too fast it works fine.