Anyone shooting wireless? Help needed: I have a photo studio and would like to be able to take a photo and have it load immediately to a PC laptop so I (and my model) can see the...

dat2ra Loc: Sacramento

I have a photo studio and would like to be able to take a photo and have it load immediately to a PC laptop so I (and my model) can see the result. I had been doing that tethered through LR but found trailing the cord around to be a nuisance. I just got a D850 and after reading it's manual and Darrell Young's book still can't figure out if it will wirelessly transfer each photo as I take it to my laptop PC. There is page after page of instructions for all kinds of things (SnapBridge, Bluetooth, built in WiFi, Eye-Fi cards, remote camera control, social media, FTP upload, HTTP sever blah, blah) but nothing simply describes what I am trying to do. Doesn't seem that complicated. Any Hoggers doing this? Advice would be oh, so appreciated.

rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA

dat2ra wrote:

I have a photo studio and would like to be able to... (show quote)

You can try doing it with WiFi and Snapbridge, but the app is still too buggy for words.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

dat2ra wrote:

I have a photo studio and would like to be able to... (show quote)

Even if you get it to work eventually, you won't be happy with the result. Very slow. I'd rather put up with the cord (which I really don't mind), or even better, just shoot as I normally do and edit the images on my computer later. I do have a tethering arrangement to view the images and control the camera as I take them using my phone or my tablet. The phone is great for the field, since I have a holder that attaches to the hot-shoe mount.

kmpankopf Loc: Mid-Michigan; SW Pennsylvania

If you are transferring RAW images, the transfer time will be very slow. I have used Helicon Remote to transfer or view files on a table. In the end, all my RAW transfers are via wire.

jcboy3

dat2ra wrote:

I have a photo studio and would like to be able to... (show quote)

I bypass the camera Wi-Fi and use a Flash Air SD card, which I can use in any camera (except the Z cameras). Send your JPG files to the Flash Air, and it will push them to your computer. Also works to push photos to an iPad or iPhone (but for those, I use ShutterSnitch, which is pricey but does the job).

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

If you want a solid, reliable solution, I recommend CamRanger. Either the version 1 or the new version 2 supports your Nikon. The new version is ~$200. It does either raw of JPEG file transfer, provides complete camera control (including an intervelometer) has excellent range, and has its own power and SW application for Your PC/Laptop. If you’re interested in a used version 1, PM me.

Gatorcoach Loc: New Jersey

TriX wrote:

If you want a solid, reliable solution, I recommend CamRanger. Either the version 1 or the new version 2 supports your Nikon. The new version is ~$200. It does either raw of JPEG file transfer, provides complete camera control (including an intervelometer) has excellent range, and has its own power and SW application for Your PC/Laptop. If you’re interested in a used version 1, PM me.

Here's more info on it.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1430644-REG/camranger_1020_camranger_mini.html

JohnKTX Loc: Dallas

Completely agree- I’ve shot wireless and tethered with a cable. With a long cable (tethertools.com, also sold on B&H), the response is so much faster, the cord isn’t nearly as frustrating as waiting, and waiting for files to come into the computer. RAW especially. If you’re shooting outside, then maybe wireless makes sense. Otherwise, I’d try really hard to tether with a long cable.

chem

I have a D850 and use snapbridge. It took me quite a while to get everything coordinated, but when I did, it worked well.
Chem

scubadoc Loc: Sarasota, FL

CamRanger 2 works well and is fast, especially with jpgs. Raw transfers are a bit slower. The advantage of using CamRanger with either Canon or Nikon is the ability to immediately transfer images to social media or Dropbox.

JohnSwanda Loc: San Francisco

I tried wireless in the studio, but it was just too slow. After shooting an initial set of shots my subject and I would sit in front of the monitor waiting for the shots to come up. With the cable it is nearly instantaneous. Also the wireless was difficult to set up and buggy, so I'm sticking with the cable. If the length of the cable is an issue, you can get a booster USB cable to get around the 10 meter limit.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

JohnSwanda wrote:

I tried wireless in the studio, but it was just too slow. After shooting an initial set of shots my subject and I would sit in front of the monitor waiting for the shots to come up. With the cable it is nearly instantaneous. Also the wireless was difficult to set up and buggy, so I'm sticking with the cable. If the length of the cable is an issue, you can get a booster USB cable to get around the 10 meter limit.

I agree - cable is definitely faster (and I have found EyeFi SD cards to be slow and unreliable). Two caveats if you go that way: you really need some sort of strain relief on the cable at the camera so you don’t place undue stress on the USB connector from the weight of the cable. Also, you need to be double careful not to trip over the cable while moving between the laptop and the cable when you or the subject is walking around - tripping over it can bring either the camera and/or the laptop to the floor. Securing it to the floor with gaffer’s tape is one option. BTW, the max USB length for a single cable is 5M. Anything beyond this or using multiple shorter cables can produce unstable results. As John said, you can buy active cables for longer lengths.

dasgeiss

dat2ra wrote:

I have a photo studio and would like to be able to... (show quote)

I have wanted the same thing as you. I bought a Nikon D7500 because the ad said it had WiFi. I thought I could thereby hook directly to my PC for editing, etc. No dice. Only hooks to smart devices. You might find a photographer from a high end studio in New York or Los Angeles and beg his advice. I'm sure they have the functionality you (and me) are looking for. Good luck!

jcboy3

JohnSwanda wrote:

I tried wireless in the studio, but it was just too slow. After shooting an initial set of shots my subject and I would sit in front of the monitor waiting for the shots to come up. With the cable it is nearly instantaneous. Also the wireless was difficult to set up and buggy, so I'm sticking with the cable. If the length of the cable is an issue, you can get a booster USB cable to get around the 10 meter limit.

With wireless tether, I shoot RAW+JPG, with the JPG set to the screen resolution. Those transfer quickly; I do it just so we get feedback on the shot.

If you want faster, check the TetherTools wireless tethering. It's really cable out of camera, then fast wireless from a separate trasnmitter/receiver and into your computer.

dat2ra Loc: Sacramento

Thanks so much for the advice(es). I'll keep looking. I want the laptop simply to view each jpeg as I shoot to check exposure, shadows, etc. Otherwise I have to keep putting on my glasses, zooming on each frame in the camera. Taking off my glasses for the next shot.