I just spent a couple of days testing the Canon WFT-E2/E2A wireless transmitter here in Atlanta. It was connected to a new Canon 1ds Mark III and our computer platform was the MacIntosh G5 tower (Dual Power PC processors). Other computers used in this test was a Apple 17″ Powerbook (Dual Intel processors) and a Apple 12″ Powerbook (Single Power PC processor) & a G5 Quad (4 Power PC processors).
A few things you should know up front:
1> It appears it is best if your computer has a built-in Airport card. Attempts to connect using a computer with an external Airport failed repetitively, however connection to computers with built in cards worked with each attempt.
2> You must have Solutions Disk 14 or newer installed first. This disk does not come with the wireless transmitter rather it is part of your camera kit. If you have a older version, download the newer version from Canon’s website.
3> Use PTP connection, it is a direct link between your Canon and your computer. Attempts to connect through our network failed, although some customers have reported success, research showed that that not all networks are compatible and set-up can be complicated.
4> Our testing showed these transfer speeds:
—–A> JPEG Small – averaged 3 seconds from capture to display.
—–B> RAW – averaged 22 seconds from capture to display
5> You must use EOS Utility to transfer the images to your hard drive, a quick preview window displays the image as it comes in. Once the files are transfered, other software programs may be used with the files.
Other results of the testing showed the connection could be lost if the Canon went to sleep or was turned off. Running through the camera’s WFT settings (re-set the IP address) would allow a re-connect.
The wireless hardware seem to fit easily and securely to the Canon, here are a few snapshots to show it attached:
6> The Live Focus, via wireless was clear and near instantaneous. The tools include focus zoom, color balance, ratio cropping, grid overlay and depth of field preview. Here is a screen capture of the live focus window.
This was our initial testing of this unit, for further details please contact myself or any staff member of Capture Integration.
Tim Palmer
Technical Services Atlanta