We can finally tether wirelessly to an iPad!!

Has anyone played with one of these devices to tether wirelessly to an iPad, without requiring a host computer!


This device looks pretty slick! I wonder if it works as well as the video shows.

You can do the same, without any additional cables/ hardware.







Cheers,

------
Nikhil

Lihkin said:

nikonboi wrote:

You can do the same, without any additional cables/ hardware.

Click to expand...

Does eye-fi make a native CF card? No

Does the eye-fi let you adjust aperture, shutter speed, white balance, or trigger the shutter from the iPad? No

Does eye-fi allow Live-View from the iPad? No

I guess if you simply want a viewer of the image after it's taken, then the eye-fi will work. But it seems this new device allows much control of the camera remotely, does it not?

tundracamper said:

tundracamper wrote:

tundracamper said:

nikonboi wrote:

You can do the same, without any additional cables/ hardware.

Click to expand...

Does eye-fi make a native CF card? No

Does the eye-fi let you adjust aperture, shutter speed, white balance, or trigger the shutter from the iPad? No

Does eye-fi allow Live-View from the iPad? No

I guess if you simply want a viewer of the image after it's taken, then the eye-fi will work. But it seems this new device allows much control of the camera remotely, does it not?

Click to expand...

Indeed. Users who want to use their iPad to CONTROL their camera have really only one iPad-only option and that is camranger. Other products may let you view your image post-exposure, or tether with the help of a laptop. Only camranger allows you to fully control your camera via iPad.

I'm keen on getting one. None of my lenses are AF/P mode compatible, but having the ability to preview the exposure, change key exposure elements, and be able to fine-tune focus with the help of an iPad at a leisurely angle (rather than behind the lens way up on a ladder) are key to my photography.

Price is good for what it does.

I've had one for the past three weeks - it's been a bit of a mixed bag.

Very different results with different cameras. My D700 doesn't work at all, the CamRanger sees it but it cannot focus it. My D800 works - mostly. Had to do a green button reset before it started behaving but now it will do everything except automatically stack images. Of course, that's the primary reason I purchased it. But it does work. An, after playing with the unit, manually setting the stack is probably a better way to go.


The D4 works perfectly. Mostly I've been using the 105 f/2.8 VR1 and 200 f/4 macro lenses. Haven't tried video yet.

Easy to set up, lightweight, appears to have good battery life - I haven't run the battery down after several hours in the field. The developers are easy to get a hold of via email - this is helpful because the documentation is a bit sparse. They seem to be more familiar with Canon cameras (a reoccurring issue with computer automation, sigh). The iPad application is basic, but functional. Haven't tried the iPhone version yet.

I'm still looking for the Perfect Hands Off Macro system. The CamRanger is OK but does require a bit of fiddle to set up. Plug the camera into the box via the USB port, get the iPad to see it, launch the app. I've had issues with the box not talking to the iPad so you end up fiddling with it, turning WiFi on and off a couple of times. A bit annoying. A nice feature is that you have at least 20 feet range - that can be very useful. But an iPad 2 won't download anything but the smallest D800 JPEG so you have to set THAT up (or use a bank). Supposedly the larger memory in the newer iPads allows you to use a regular sized JPEG. It's not really an issue since even the smallest size is perfectly adequate to view on the screen. The D4's smaller JPEGs don't seem to be an issue.

My next attempt is going to be a Nexus 7 and Helicon Focus with a long USB cord. But the CamRanger does work as advertised.






--
RG www.lostrange.com

shigzeo said:

shigzeo ? wrote:

Indeed. Users who want to use their iPad to CONTROL their camera have really only one iPad-only option and that is camranger. Other products may let you view your image post-exposure, or tether with the help of a laptop. Only camranger allows you to fully control your camera via iPad.

Click to expand...

Actually, for the D4 you've had this, albeit pricey, option for some time now:

http://www.nikonusa.com/en/Nikon-Products/Product/Wireless/27046/WT-5A-Wireless-Transmitter.html

Yeah I thought it's only for viewing but it seems to be doing a lot more for sure.







Cheers,

-------
Nikhil

jjnik said:

jjnik wrote:

jjnik said:

shigzeo ? wrote:

Indeed. Users who want to use their iPad to CONTROL their camera have really only one iPad-only option and that is camranger. Other products may let you view your image post-exposure, or tether with the help of a laptop. Only camranger allows you to fully control your camera via iPad.

Click to expand...

Actually, for the D4 you've had this, albeit pricey, option for some time now:

http://www.nikonusa.com/en/Nikon-Products/Product/Wireless/27046/WT-5A-Wireless-Transmitter.html

Click to expand...

I was aware of this product, but it didn't register on my radar for the express reason that it works only with the D4. If it worked with other cameras, too, it would be great.

seems a bit slow due to wifi?

why not just a cable?, that should be faster and cheaper




but if you need wifi it seems like a great tool.

Mark den Hartog said:

Mark den Hartog wrote:

seems a bit slow due to wifi?

why not just a cable?, that should be faster and cheaper

but if you need wifi it seems like a great tool.

Click to expand...

+1. It seems manufacturers have an easier time interfacing with the iPad via wifi than with the multi-pin connector. It doesn't seem that very many accessories have support via that connector. Plus, the newer iPad minis have a new connector.

I am curious about some of the comments made above. I am assuming that even though one is downloading jpgs to the iPad, that the camera can retain a RAW file on the memory card. Is that correct? If not, that would be a deal breaker for me as I always want a RAW copy of the image. Since there is a feature to view images that are currently stored on the card, I don't suppose that is an issue.

Mark den Hartog said:

seems a bit slow due to wifi?

why not just a cable?, that should be faster and cheaper




but if you need wifi it seems like a great tool.

Click to expand...

I agree, give me 10' cable with a high speed connection with the same features, make it reliable, and I would be interested.

tundracamper said:

tundracamper wrote:
I am assuming that even though one is downloading jpgs to the iPad, that the camera can retain a RAW file on the memory card. Is that correct?

Click to expand...

Yes, that's right. If you shoot RAW+jpeg everything is saved to the camera's memory card. The camranger can either let you view the jpegs on your iPad without actually saving them to the iPad, or it will also save them to your iPad's photo library.

I'm testing it now with the D800 and a retina iPad. Looks pretty good so far with full size jpegs. I've noticed that Camranger lets you view the file at 100% but if you save it to your photo library you can't view it at the same resolution. That might be a limitation of the native iPad viewer so I'll try with some other apps to see what I get.

I've seen the unit also has an ethernet port and a cable supplied in the box but I can find no reference to it in the instructions.

use as well a two card setup with eye-wifi in my D800 to secure speed in keeper selection . So I have set up my camera so that


- card 1 is CF raw
- card 2 is SD JPEG small


which this I can


1. look for each shooting on my Ipad on the JPEG small (automaticaly synced as jpeg small in 2-3 sec per photo via eye-wifi)


2. check/select the good photos and delete the others


3. on PC sync the JPEG Folder (from Ipad ) with the RAW folder (from CF card) to get RAW only for the selected ones from JPEG folder


4. and develop the Raw only for the good shots.


There was a nice gentleman in the nikoncafe forum (thanks again Richard /Growltiger /Growl) who even developed a batch for me to scan/sync SD-Card Folder and CF-Card folder so that in the RAW files the same files will be deleted as in the JPEG folder (so keeper selection done on ipad)
http://www.nikoncafe.com/vforums/showthread.php?t=352376

works great

freecall

If anyone's interested here's what i found after spending an hour of so using the Camranger with a D800 and a D3s.

Overall, no problems to report. I captured medium size jpegs on the D800 and it needed 3 to 5 seconds to download each image to its cache. I could then double-click to view at 100% and again it needed another 5 seconds to fully render each part of the screen. Full size jpegs are about 50% slower. I'm using a retina iPad and the images looked really amazing. It also let me view D3s raw files at 100% and D800 raw files at low res.


Using it to check focus with Liveview on the D800 is not great, to say the least, but that's a fault of the camera, not the camranger. There's just too much noise. Liveview on D3s is much cleaner.

Still on Liveview, there's a slight delay between what happens live and what appears on the iPad but it's a fraction of a second and won't affect me personally (but it might if you shoot wildlife).

The wifi was stable and there was never a need to re-join the network once I was in, even if exiting the app or putting the iPad to sleep. I could also switch the usb cable from one camera to another and it kept up with me fine.

For what I shoot (interiors and food) it seems ideal. I can place the camera then walk around the room with an iPad and arrange objects while viewing the effect live. Until now I've been using a 7-inch monitor with a cable but this is going to offer much more flexibility.

It's also a neat way for the client or stylist to see what I'm doing while keeping well away from the camera, or just to sit down together and view the results of a shoot without having to copy from the memory card.

So I'm pretty enthusiastic so far and keen to see how it performs on a real job.

Thanks for all the detailed reviews. This seems like a fairly reliable product that works as claimed. I wonder why it took so long to be noticed in the market?

I do have on other question. Can someone use the camera in a conventional manner and the iPad/App still work? For example, could I be on the football field taking photos and someone in the stands be able to view photos without impacting the camera's ability to take photos? I am guessing that is not a feature of this device, but thought I would ask anyway.

tundracamper said:

tundracamper wrote:

I do have on other question. Can someone use the camera in a conventional manner and the iPad/App still work? For example, could I be on the football field taking photos and someone in the stands be able to view photos without impacting the camera's ability to take photos? I am guessing that is not a feature of this device, but thought I would ask anyway.

Click to expand...

Yes, as long as you're within range for the wifi signal I see no reason why you can't do that.


There's the option of setting the app to 'client mode' in which you can view images but not take control of the camera in any way. Basically you see thumbnails of the images appear as they are shot. You can either open an image to view it larger or save it to the iPad photo library. In any case the originals always remain on the memory card.. the app is just looking to see what's there.

Bear in mind that the transfer speed will slow down the further you are from the Camranger.

If you want to be sure I suggest you drop them an email rather than take my word for it ;-)

That is very interesting. Thanks for the detailed answer.

There is a 'guest' mode where the person viewing the images CANNOT take pictures, but I'm not sure if you can use the camera manually. Just briefly glanced at the function but didn't seem relevant to me so I really didn't look at it. I suspect not, since the camera has to be in PC mode and you cannot override the CamRanger with the manual controls in the regular mode (already tried that).

The ethernet port is supposedly for updates.

If you have specific questions, just email [email protected]. They're fast at replying and since it's the developer that's doing it, you just might get useful info....

Am going to go out and play with mine later today. Went out the other day but forgot the iPad. Oopsie.

You might try the Helicon Focus Android app. That's my next project as it gives me an excuse to get a Nexus 7.

I'm really looking for the ability to do focus stacking without bending over or lying down in frozen muskeg. A long USB cable would work fine.

shigzeo said:

shigzeo said:

Actually, for the D4 you've had this, albeit pricey, option for some time now:

http://www.nikonusa.com/en/Nikon-Products/Product/Wireless/27046/WT-5A-Wireless-Transmitter.html

Click to expand...

I was aware of this product, but it didn't register on my radar for the express reason that it works only with the D4. If it worked with other cameras, too, it would be great.

Click to expand...

I believe you have this for the D600 too:

http://www.nikonusa.com/en/Nikon-Products/Product/Wireless/13186/WU-1b-Wireless-Mobile-Adapter.html

But I have no idea how well it works - I've never tried it. I'm personally more confident with a wired option (with a physical cable), because real cables are generally more reliable, less prone to interference, and support faster transfer rates.