Pages: [1] 2   Go Down

Author Topic: Anyone have experience with the WFT-E4a for the 5D MKII?  (Read 17687 times)

bcroslin

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 324
    • http://www.bobcroslin.com
Anyone have experience with the WFT-E4a for the 5D MKII?
« on: January 02, 2009, 02:35:22 pm »

I just finished a shoot today with the 5D MKII tethered and it worked flawlessly. No crashes, no weird hiccups - it just worked. This has got me thinking about buying a WFT-E4a or maybe even a WFT-E2a for my 1Ds MKIII. Does anyone have any real-world shooting experience with the WFT-E4a and version 19.1 of DPP/ EOS Utility?

TIA
Logged
Bob Croslin, Photographer
[url=http://ww

billy

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 307
Anyone have experience with the WFT-E4a for the 5D MKII?
« Reply #1 on: January 03, 2009, 12:28:25 pm »

i tried the wifi device w/ my canon 1dsmk3 and it didnt work smooth..... kept getting interrupted networks. we hated it, it made everything harder. your quote"I just finished a shoot today with the 5D MKII tethered and it worked flawlessly" , hold onto that method because gthe wifi will be the opposite!
Logged

bcroslin

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 324
    • http://www.bobcroslin.com
Anyone have experience with the WFT-E4a for the 5D MKII?
« Reply #2 on: January 05, 2009, 07:25:19 pm »

Quote from: billy
i tried the wifi device w/ my canon 1dsmk3 and it didnt work smooth..... kept getting interrupted networks. we hated it, it made everything harder. your quote"I just finished a shoot today with the 5D MKII tethered and it worked flawlessly" , hold onto that method because gthe wifi will be the opposite!
We're you using the latest version of DPP? I've heard similar things about the 1Ds MKIII and the WFT-E2a. I wonder if it's a hardware or software issue.

If the WFT-E4a works it would be incredible. I don't feel like being a guinea pig and wasting $1k if it doesn't work.
Logged
Bob Croslin, Photographer
[url=http://ww

billy

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 307
Anyone have experience with the WFT-E4a for the 5D MKII?
« Reply #3 on: January 06, 2009, 06:22:46 pm »

Quote from: bcroslin
We're you using the latest version of DPP? I've heard similar things about the 1Ds MKIII and the WFT-E2a. I wonder if it's a hardware or software issue.

If the WFT-E4a works it would be incredible. I don't feel like being a guinea pig and wasting $1k if it doesn't work.


I was using the latest one at the time ( device and software ) around march 2008, so probably not.

ok, please be our guinea pig and try it out..... but I the old one caused us so much frustration.....I couldnt wait to get rid of it.
Logged

bcroslin

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 324
    • http://www.bobcroslin.com
Anyone have experience with the WFT-E4a for the 5D MKII?
« Reply #4 on: January 06, 2009, 06:27:53 pm »

Quote from: billy
ok, please be our guinea pig and try it out..... but I the old one caused us so much frustration.....I couldnt wait to get rid of it.
I'm going to demo one next week and I'll report back. The rep I'm dealing with says the new version for the 5D MKII should be bulletproof for working "tethered" to DPP thru EOS Utility.
Logged
Bob Croslin, Photographer
[url=http://ww

billy

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 307
Anyone have experience with the WFT-E4a for the 5D MKII?
« Reply #5 on: January 06, 2009, 06:46:44 pm »

Quote from: bcroslin
I'm going to demo one next week and I'll report back. The rep I'm dealing with says the new version for the 5D MKII should be bulletproof for working "tethered" to DPP thru EOS Utility.


thats what they told me with the last one

we were shooting raws to the CF card in camera and small jpgs to the laptop just to see our lighting etc and when it worked it was great, super quick file transfer for the jpgs.

I hope it works, although I have the 1ds 3 so not sure if it will help me.
Logged

bcroslin

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 324
    • http://www.bobcroslin.com
Anyone have experience with the WFT-E4a for the 5D MKII?
« Reply #6 on: January 12, 2009, 09:56:52 pm »

Reporting back on the WFT-E4a.

I was able to use one today for about an hour and it seemed to work great. It is a serious pain-in-the-ass to set up but after getting everything hooked up it was rock solid. I was able to shoot "tethered" to my Macbook with DPP/ EOS Utility displaying jpgs. At one point I was about 40 feet away from the Macbook and shooting without a hitch. Canon seems to have solved any issues the older E2a transmitter might have had.

There are 3 issues IMO:

One - it takes a little more than 10 sec's for jpg's to display from push of the shutter until display in EOS Utility. When you hammer the shutter it takes about 7 sec's/ image after the first 10 sec delay. I'm not sure if it's possible to make the transfer go any faster. My assistant swears this is about the same as shooting plugged in via USB 2.0.

Two - set up still requires a degree in computer networking. Thankfully, I know a Reuters photographer who covers the shuttle launches and has a ton of experience using the WFT-E3a. He's written a doc that takes the pain out of setting up the E3a/ E4a. If I didn't have the doc I wouldn't have even attempted to set the transmitter up. I'd be happy to email anyone a copy of the doc - it's indispensable.

Three - the WFT-E4a is expensive. $930 is the lowest I've found from Samy's in CA. Add to the price the purchase of the also expensive as well as non-existent LP-E6 battery that is needed to run the transmitter and you've got a $1000 piece of plastic.

I plan on waiting to see if the price drops on the E4a. It's just too expensive when a 20 ft USB 2.0 cable will the do the same thing for about $40. Granted the freedom of the WFT-E4a is great but not at that price IMO.

Bob
Logged
Bob Croslin, Photographer
[url=http://ww

bigdan123

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2
Anyone have experience with the WFT-E4a for the 5D MKII?
« Reply #7 on: January 19, 2009, 11:45:31 pm »

I own, but rarely use the WFT E2a with my 1Ds Mark III. Sending only the jpegs, small and compressed works well. The images come up very fast. Set up is a bit of a challenge. I've never had the patience to really dial in all the IP settings to make it connect faster. I'd love to take a look at your friend's set up instructions.

info@danielgoldwasser.com

good luck,

Daniel
Logged

Panopeeper

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1805
Anyone have experience with the WFT-E4a for the 5D MKII?
« Reply #8 on: January 20, 2009, 12:12:30 am »

Quote from: bcroslin
It's just too expensive when a 20 ft USB 2.0 cable will the do the same thing for about $40. Granted the freedom of the WFT-E4a is great but not at that price IMO

Although not as convenient as wireless, but there are much longer USB cables now; see http://www.usbfirewire.com/Parts/rr-usb2-ext-65ft.html. Then there is this one, up to 196 feet: http://www.cableguyusa.com/cgi-bin/cable/k...tml?id=7RrZksMd

The 10sec for a JPEG sounds very bad; a raw file would take probably 30 seconds or more.
Logged
Gabor

kaelaria

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2223
    • http://www.bgpictures.com
Anyone have experience with the WFT-E4a for the 5D MKII?
« Reply #9 on: January 20, 2009, 08:45:16 pm »

I find the bottleneck not to be the transmission but simply the processing.   On my 30D I get 11 seconds for a RAW, 9 for a jpg over USB2.  Going with a longer cord but stepping down to USB1, it only adds 3 seconds.  This is from shutter release to seeing the image in lightroom, monitoring a folder.  This is on a very old P3 laptop with 1GB ram.
Logged

julian_love

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 43
    • www.julianlove.com
Anyone have experience with the WFT-E4a for the 5D MKII?
« Reply #10 on: February 17, 2009, 08:46:46 am »

I've just picked one of these up, and yes it is a PITA to get it set up.

Once it is working though it's great. Shooting RAW + small JPEG, the JPEGs will transfer in about 1 sec up to a range of 20m or so. It slows down if you go further away than that. You can put the computer to sleep and turn off the camera and the connection will be restored automatically when you restart, so it never seems to lose the connection. I'm going to try it for real on a location shoot soon.

Initial report on my blog at:
http://adventure-photographer.blogspot.com...ransmitter.html

Will have a post on how to set it up (with screenshots etc) shortly too - the manual assumes you have a degree in computer networking.

Julian
Logged

DavidP

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 155
    • papas.com
Anyone have experience with the WFT-E4a for the 5D MKII?
« Reply #11 on: February 17, 2009, 02:00:29 pm »

How are well does the live view work with the wireless?
Logged

julian_love

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 43
    • www.julianlove.com
Anyone have experience with the WFT-E4a for the 5D MKII?
« Reply #12 on: February 18, 2009, 04:03:01 am »

Hi David - I haven't tried it in PTP mode yet, only FTP - PTP mode isn't that useful to me. I might get some time next week to test it that way - if I do I'll report back.

Julian
Logged

uaiomex

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1211
    • http://www.eduardocervantes.com
Anyone have experience with the WFT-E4a for the 5D MKII?
« Reply #13 on: February 18, 2009, 01:05:33 pm »

Julian:
Please try PTP for me. Live view on a laptop screen sounds terrific. I'm 56 and composing, checking focus, dof, etc., while bending or leaning against a wall becomes more troublesome every year. While doing this task, I usually crave working with my Hasselblad. Too bad the digital backs are so expensive. So, for me and as many all over, dslr's are the answers for digital photography. If this device works fine in both FTP and PTP, I'm buying one. Period
Thanks in advance
Eduardo

Quote from: julian_love
Hi David - I haven't tried it in PTP mode yet, only FTP - PTP mode isn't that useful to me. I might get some time next week to test it that way - if I do I'll report back.

Julian
Logged

pss

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 960
    • http://www.schefz.com
Anyone have experience with the WFT-E4a for the 5D MKII?
« Reply #14 on: February 18, 2009, 04:48:37 pm »

is working with raw files even somewhat interesting? i really don't care about shooting jpegs and until apple has their #&*$% usb tether situation figured out, i will use DPP to shoot raw tethered, which works great for me...and superfast....

i guess useable would be anything up to 10sec and NO DROPPED FRAMES...AT ALL....i don't care if it takes the thing 10minutes after each set up to bring the shots in one by one....

but i guess if it takes 7 sec for a jpeg, i am looking more at 20sec for raw.....

WHY does canon not use "n" standart? ...so much faster and longer range! even every macbook is "n" these days....and the chips are still backwards compatible....
Logged

julian_love

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 43
    • www.julianlove.com
Anyone have experience with the WFT-E4a for the 5D MKII?
« Reply #15 on: February 18, 2009, 05:06:13 pm »

Quote from: pss
i guess useable would be anything up to 10sec and NO DROPPED FRAMES...AT ALL....i don't care if it takes the thing 10minutes after each set up to bring the shots in one by one....

but i guess if it takes 7 sec for a jpeg, i am looking more at 20sec for raw.....


JPEG will transfer in about 1 sec, RAW in about 15 sec. There are no dropped frames - if the camera loses connection for any reason it buffers the frames and sends them when the connection is reestablished. And the originals are always saved to the CF card unless you specify it not to.

Julian
Logged

jani

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1624
    • Øyet
Anyone have experience with the WFT-E4a for the 5D MKII?
« Reply #16 on: February 22, 2009, 04:54:05 pm »

Quote from: pss
WHY does canon not use "n" standart? ...so much faster and longer range! even every macbook is "n" these days....and the chips are still backwards compatible....
Products like these are usually behind the state of the art.

In the case of what you call the "n standard", it isn't even a standard yet! A lot of manufacturers jumped the gun, using early drafts of the protocol, which will probably be finalized this coming November or December. Those manufacturers are betting that the final standard (probably coming in 2010, then) will not differ significantly from the earlier drafts, and that they can push firmware upgrades to customers to fix incompatibilities.

I don't think Canon really needs to justify it any more than that.

Logged
Jan

pss

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 960
    • http://www.schefz.com
Anyone have experience with the WFT-E4a for the 5D MKII?
« Reply #17 on: February 22, 2009, 06:31:44 pm »

Quote from: jani
Products like these are usually behind the state of the art.

In the case of what you call the "n standard", it isn't even a standard yet! A lot of manufacturers jumped the gun, using early drafts of the protocol, which will probably be finalized this coming November or December. Those manufacturers are betting that the final standard (probably coming in 2010, then) will not differ significantly from the earlier drafts, and that they can push firmware upgrades to customers to fix incompatibilities.

I don't think Canon really needs to justify it any more than that.


not sure what you are talking about....i bought apple and netgear "n" stuff in 2007....and i believe those items were released in 2006.....afaik there is a new bluetooth standart coming out in 2010 that is faster then wifi "n".....

apple hasn't built a wifi capable device (other then the iphone) WITHOUT "n" in 2 years....

so i don't think this is state of the art in any way.....besides shouldn't a 1000$ grip (which is WAAAAAY overpriced, any 100$ router can do most of this stuff) be state of the art? especially when it comes to range and speed?
« Last Edit: February 22, 2009, 06:33:51 pm by pss »
Logged

julian_love

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 43
    • www.julianlove.com
Anyone have experience with the WFT-E4a for the 5D MKII?
« Reply #18 on: February 26, 2009, 10:41:12 am »

Setup guide for using the WFT-E4 now online on my blog:

http://adventure-photographer.blogspot.com...p-ftp-with.html

Hope you find it useful if you're having trouble getting this thing working.
Logged

reissme

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 45
Anyone have experience with the WFT-E4a for the 5D MKII?
« Reply #19 on: February 27, 2009, 06:28:03 pm »

Quote from: billy
i tried the wifi device w/ my canon 1dsmk3 and it didnt work smooth..... kept getting interrupted networks. we hated it, it made everything harder. your quote"I just finished a shoot today with the 5D MKII tethered and it worked flawlessly" , hold onto that method because gthe wifi will be the opposite!
Hi
I am shooting with the wifi device w/ my canon 1dsmk3 and it works fine for almost a year now. I shoot RAW to the camera card and large JPGs to PC in the studio and on location with laptop PC. It keeps connection 10- 15 meters.
It is very convenient for all aroud uses, Once it is working though it's great. Shooting RAW + Large JPEGs,  but I needed an expert to make it work. I don't have a degree in computer networking.
If someone has a detailed  written way on how to set it up (with screenshots etc) for PC, I will appreciate haveing it (because I will have to set it up again on a new computer I intend to buy).
best regards
Menachem Reiss  www.reiss.co.il
Logged
Pages: [1] 2   Go Up