connecting 350d to laptop using wireless connection

Ii am planning to do a lot of location photography, is it possible to do this using remote shooting software.

I'm confused - is the wireless connection between the camera and the laptop, or is the camera wired to the laptop and then wireless from that laptop to another location?

You need a USB connection from the camera to the computer. I'm not aware of way to do that wireless.

im looking for a wireless connection from the camera to laptop, i was thinking it may be possible if you connected a blue tooth adapter to usb cable in the camera and a blue tooth reciever in the laptop.

Likely that the bluetooth adapter would need to be able to recognize the software within the camera, and the only software I know of that can do that to enable remote shooting is the D/L software provided by Canon. If you can find a way to do this, PLEASE share it b/c as far as I am aware, no one has figured out a way to do this....

Hmmm, just a thought - what about installing the software on a Bluetooth PDA?

Post your progress, I am keenly interested in a method to enable wireless X-fer from camera.

Perhaps connect the camera to a laptop by the USB cable, then have another laptop, with both laptop on wireless network, then use Norton pcanywhere.
--
Edwin

I don't think that would work. You would need to install bluetooth drivers on the camera - and you can't do that. I think your best bet would be to have some sort of computer attached via wire to the camera so that you can load the remote capture software & any wireless drivers required. That connected computer could be a laptop, or maybe some sort of handheld or PDA. You would then remotely control the wired computer via the wireless connection.

What are you really trying to do? What type of "Location Photography" are you looking to do? Do you really need a DSLR, or would a less expensive digicam perhaps be a better option for having it be unattended?

If you do a google search for 'wireless usb cable replacement' you can find some information on this.

There are at least two standards being developed and a number of companies have announced products. AFAIK there are no actual products available that you can buy today :-(

I think one problem facing the designers of this gear is how to power the wireless device you connect to your camera. The more range you want on the wireless connection, the more power it will take. Kind of defeats the purpose of having a wireless connection if you still need mains power to run the thing.

Regards,
Phil.

what i am looking to do is miss out the downloading of images from the camera to the laptop after a event, what im trying to do is send them direct to laptop from camera without needing the camera conected to the laptop by cable as i would be taking photos from roadside/track location then offer them to view at the end of the event.

if this makes sence?

pda would be a good idea but memory storage could a problem.

one to ponder over,

AShimon said:

Likely that the bluetooth adapter would need to be able to
recognize the software within the camera, and the only software I
know of that can do that to enable remote shooting is the D/L
software provided by Canon. If you can find a way to do this,
PLEASE share it b/c as far as I am aware, no one has figured out a
way to do this....

Click to expand...

I know the software you're talking about, I played with it once before I uninstalled all the Canon software. I believe that you could probably capture the commands that are being sent to the camera over USB for shooting, using a software tool. The bigger problem, however, is that the bluetooth USB adapter will require some type of device to interface with, like an embedded device incorporating a a usb controller and bluetooth stack (i can only think of a small embedded linux device capable of doing this). This is not a simple task at all, but not impossible by any means.

AShimon said:

Hmmm, just a thought - what about installing the software on a
Bluetooth PDA?

Click to expand...

It's a nice idea, and the PDA would have the required components already (ie. bluetooth stack and ability to communicate over USB). However, the USB port would be a USB "device" (ie. slave), as is the Camera's USB port. I'm not sure if there's any way of forcing raw communication between two slave USB devices. This is, of course, based on my simple understanding of USB. The most difficult part of this type of solution (using a PDA with integrated bluetooth) would be developing the software for use on the PDA to communicate between the PC via bluetooth and then transmit the raw commands to the camera (if this is possible).

AShimon said:

Post your progress, I am keenly interested in a method to enable
wireless X-fer from camera.

Click to expand...

I agree bluetooth would be the way to go. Although not quite as long range as your average wifi device, it would allow for devices other than PC's to shoot remotely (ie. software could be developed to allow bluetooth enabled mobile phones to communicate with the software on the pda.

Could be a really fun project, but not sure of its commercial viability considering the amount of work involved and the nightmare of compatibility between all the components involved.

Anyone else care to give their ideas?

Fony

stealth pete said:

what i am looking to do is miss out the downloading of images from
the camera to the laptop after a event, what im trying to do is
send them direct to laptop from camera without needing the camera
conected to the laptop by cable as i would be taking photos from
roadside/track location then offer them to view at the end of the
event.

Click to expand...

This is still possible with the idea that others have had of a "piggy-in-the-middle" type device to act as an interface between the laptop and camera, since a script on the pda could not only send the command to the camera, but also potentially access and send the image from the camera, too (although this is now getting really complicated!). Tbh, this type of scenario also begs more bandwidth in order to send the images, so wifi looks more attractive instead of bluetooth.

Hi Pete,

If you ever get it figured out let me know as the last few events I've worked this has been a common request. It seems we now live in a "fast food" society and everyone wants it now.

What would be cool is to have the recent captures via a projector, like a slide show. I'm sure that would spark a lot of interest in photo sales.

Regards,

Roger

stealth pete said:

what i am looking to do is miss out the downloading of images from
the camera to the laptop after a event, what im trying to do is
send them direct to laptop from camera without needing the camera
conected to the laptop by cable as i would be taking photos from
roadside/track location then offer them to view at the end of the
event.

if this makes sence?

pda would be a good idea but memory storage could a problem.

one to ponder over,

Click to expand...

Something like this may be helpful, but it's not out yet.

http://www.maccrazy.net/news.php?ID=2522

The OQO runs Windows XP and has a USB 2.0 port, built in Bluetooth and 802.11b:

http://www.oqo.com/hardware/basics/

Dimensions are very pocketable: 4.9" x 3.4" x 0.9"

Price is not: $1899

and run a usb cable to from camera to laptop that's on your back. Then there would be no need for wifi.

What you want is not available for the 350D. It is available if you move higher up the Canon or Nikon food chain of DSLR's, or even with some of the Nikon point and shoots. True 802.11b/g WiFi networking.

Your only option with the 350D is wired. A very small handheld, like the mentioned OQO, would work. Most laptops aren't going to run if they are closed up in a backpack.

An assisitant can help a lot. Keep the laptop off to the side near the printers... one or more assistants that run back and forth, swapping out cards with the shooter, every X minutes. That would depend on the size of the event, and how many shots you are taking. Keep one card in camera, one in pocket just in case, and two or three more being downloaded and delivered.

Let us know what you decide...

--
Crime Scene Photography

isn't bluetooth a relatively low-bandwidth protocol? might also need some type of buffering on your controller to let the camera dump the way it wants, and the controller would wait for bluetooth to catch up
--
http://www.linelight.org/

thinkpad T-series could probably swing it. both the USB ports and the vents are on one end. dunno how the hard drive would like running in a vertical position though.
--
http://www.linelight.org/

http://www.theboyz.biz/product_info.php?products_id=20514

http://www.icron.com/products/usb/usb20_ranger_130_140.php

Now, I already use a 21' usb extension cable connected to a wi-fi laptop. Yes, I can do wireless with the laptop in a backpack....but not so great for extended shoots (weddings, etc.). There has GOT to be a way to plug in a little battery powered transmitter (a-la USB pen drive tech) to the side of my 350D to transmit to an equally tiny receiver plugged into my laptop or desktop PC.

Ok, maybe there isn't a device such as this, but why isn't there? By the looks of the links I posted, people are working on it....

If anyone comes up with a solution, post back!

Both items you link to are wired, connecting USB repeaters via Ethernet cable.

There are wireless USB extensions in the works, which have recently fallen apart due to yet another standards war. So if and when it comes to pass, there will be 2 different ways to do it, and if your camera uses A and your laptop uses B, you are back to square 1. Gotta love it!

Here is an article about the problems...

http://apnews1.iwon.com/article/20060120/D8F8M7704.html

--
Crime Scene Photography

AShimon said:

Yes, I can do wireless with the laptop in a backpack....but
not so great for extended shoots (weddings, etc.).

Click to expand...

imho, laptops working in confined spaces (such as bags) is a bad idea. I've seen at least a few craptops killed by people putting them in their bags without turning them off. Granted, it's usually the luggables (with desktop procs) that die first, but even mobile processors when under load require active cooling. Mobile procs have excellent thermal tolerances, but I've seen them be cooked in this way. Be careful and monitor your temps always!

Fony