[ad_1]
We are all used to wireless Internet. It’s been around in one form or another for 25 years and pretty much every connected household will have a Wi-Fi capable router. However, many of us might not realize that modern cameras also have a number of wireless capabilities that can enhance our workflow or allow us to capture unique images.
Today we are going to cut the cord and take a look at some of the many ways that we can utilize wireless connections in our photography.
Ways of Cutting The Cord
There are actually a number of ways for creating a wireless connection in your camera. This will obviously depend on the camera specification but these are the most common ways.
- WiFi – In this mode you connect your camera to your local Wifi network. You will need to search for your network then enter your WiFi password. For security reasons it’s best limited to a home, well secured, WiFi network and not open source free WiFi. However if you are looking to have WiFi connections in the field you can buy portable hubs. These are often used to connect multiple devices to 4/5G data whilst traveling.
- Bluetooth – Many cameras now come with a version of Bluetooth for short range wireless connectivity. As Bluetooth has evolved it has gained more and more capabilities, making it increasingly useful in cameras.
- On camera adapters – These adapters are most commonly attached to the hot shoe and connected to a camera port via a shot cable. They allow for the wireless connection of more complex peripherals.
Those are the primary wireless connections that our camera may be able to make. But what can we do with them? Let’s find out,
Bluetooth Wireless to OEM Smartphone App
The most common wireless connection we will make with our cameras is to connect to the manufacturer’s dedicated app on a smartphone. Mainly connected through Bluetooth, these apps have varying degrees of capability and usability.
Some of the functions might include –
- Remote viewing and shutter triggering.
- The ability to change camera settings remotely – usually this is limited to exposure controls and sometimes focus points.
- GPS locations gathering – many cameras do not yet have GPS built in, but some apps can geolocate the camera’s position using the smartphone’s internal GPS.
- Image transfer to a device – apps can often wirelessly transfer images from the camera to a smartphone, tablet or computer over Bluetooth. Whilst useful in the field, it can be a slow and sometimes unreliable process.
- Send images to the cloud – usually the OEM’s own cloud server but sometimes sites such as Dropbox or Google Drive
Manufacturer apps can be a useful way to wirelessly connect your camera. However as they are provided free, often they can be a little clunky, limited or even unreliable. For some cameras there may be third party, paid apps that do a better job.
Bluetooth to External Accessories
The increasing capability of Bluetooth has led to the ability for cameras to connect wirelessly to peripherals. The most obvious example of this is connecting the camera to a gimbal via Bluetooth.
With gimbals, you are able to control the camera directly from an interface on the gimbal itself. Controls might include, triggering the shutter/record button, focussing the camera and even controlling some aspects of the exposure.
Other uses include connecting hotshoe mounted wireless adapters to a smartphone. Typically this might be a wireless flash trigger that can be controlled from your phone.
Many printers these days are wireless and can easily connect to a camera directly. You can send images straight from your camera to the printer, without the need to import them to a laptop.
As Bluetooth is a relatively low powered wireless connection, any peripherals will need to be in close proximity to the camera.
Wireless Tethering
Tethering is the ability to connect our camera directly to our computer, either a desktop or laptop. In wired form it has been around since the early days of digital cameras. However in recent years, it has become increasingly wireless. Mainly this is done over Wifi as it has a better range.
Why would we need to tether our cameras? The most common use is in a studio environment. A photographer can be shooting whilst the camera is simultaneously downloading the image to an editor. This can greatly speed up the workflow in busy studios.
Tethering can also allow the photography to see the live image on a large, color calibrated screen. This allows them to make minute adjustments to exposure, color and even focus.
Recent developments in wireless tethering have allowed our stills cameras to be adapted as high quality webcams. With the advent of video conferencing, especially during the pandemic, this has allowed for much higher video quality in calls.
Wireless Adapters
Some more complex wireless photographic systems require specialist adaptors that attach either to the camera’s hot shoe or baseplate. The most common applications for these are in remote photography and flash triggers.
The simplest form of remote photography will be a wireless shutter/intervalometer. This will allow the photographer to remotely control and trigger the camera from a short distance away. These types of remotes are often used in long exposure and time-lapse photography. There are also often much cheaper third party options available for OEM models .
A more complex type of remote trigger system involves motion detection to trigger the camera. These are often used in camera traps for wildlife photography and research but also, increasingly in sports photography.
The other main use is to trigger complex flash set ups. A wireless adapter is connected to the hot shoe where it talks to the camera flash dedication module. This adapter is wirelessly connected to multiple flash units and even smartphone apps. The system allows the photographer to minutely control the power output of each flash unit to finely tailor the lighting on the subject.
Another form of wireless adapter is one that connects to the camera baseplate. These are often OEM models that allow for ultra fast transfer of images to remote computers. Typically these are used in sports photography where images need to be online within seconds of being taken.
These are just some of the very powerful ways we can wirelessly control our cameras. From simple image transfer to capturing endangered species without encroaching on their habitat, wireless photography has become a powerful tool – one that is almost universally available.
Do you use wireless for your photography? Feel free to share your experiences in the comments section below. We would love to know!
Further Reading
[ad_2]
Source link