Wireless photo review with iPad and ShutterSnitch

[trollhunter]

@macbillybob: Granted, the free Eye-Fi app is now a viable option if you just want to get images from your Eye-Fi card onto your iOS device. However, the developer has added a lot of capabilities to ShutterSnitch (slide show, more upload destinations, fullscreen view, etc.) so I think it's still a good value if you need those capabilities.

[trollhunter]

@macbillybob: Granted, the free Eye-Fi app is now a viable option if you just want to get images from your Eye-Fi card onto your iOS device. However, the developer has added a lot of capabilities to ShutterSnitch (slide show, more upload destinations, fullscreen view, etc.) so I think it's still a good value if you need those capabilities.

[macbillybob]

The app is now $16. A bit pricey for my uses.

[Onlineshrekjr]

does this only work with jpeg images?

[trollhunter]

@Onlineshrekjr -- Yes, it only displays JPEG images. You can have it transfer the raw images as well, but it doesn't display them (there are so many raw formats it would be hard to keep up with them) so I usually leave that option turned off; the app runs much faster if you set it to ignore non-JPEG files.

[trollhunter]

@seanbeckingham: I don't think there have been any updates specifically for the iPad 2. I don't have an iPad 2, but I expect Shuttersnitch would be faster on it; however, the latest version (which just hit the App Store a few days ago) still works fine on my iPad 1 as well.

[seanbeckingham]

any idea if there are updates for 3G iPad 2?

[MrGeffmeister]

My uncle made this app, didn't know I was so popular though :) Gerfort FTW :D

[trollhunter]

@MrGeffmeister -- Your uncle is a great guy and did a great job on this app! I don't know how popular it is, but IMO everybody who has an iOS device and an Eye-Fi card SHOULD buy it!

[MrGeffmeister]

@trollhunter Well, he earnd around 500 000 DKK (danish) which is about 96,500 USD. So its kinda popular I think :) If you want to stay a bit updated you can like his facebook page, ShutterSnitch. :)

[bethluvshermeeko]

What camera is used in this video?

[trollhunter]

@bethluvshermeeko -- That camera was a Panasonic Lumix G1. Now I usually use a GH2, but all the setup info is just the same.

[bethluvshermeeko]

@trollhunter I'm new to photography and the training I'll be going to requires a 35 mm camera. What do you recommend?

[tybeejeffro]

Will this work with an Ipod Touch?

[trollhunter]

@tybeejeffro -- I've never tried it, but if ShutterSnitch will run on it, I think it would work.

[mvakleko]

Has anybody tried this with apple mobile hotspot available in ios 4.3 or miwi through a jailbreak. Also what type of card did u use and how well does it work. Thx.

[jackies35]

@mvakleko Hey, have your ever heard of Ad hoc? Creating a network on your macbook (or computer) and the syncing on it with your ipad?

Try it! IF you did, please disregard this message!

[RussWidstrand]

Nice production value on the video. Well done.

[trollhunter]

NigeriaHammad, AFAIK nothing has changed on the X2 cards. Does it send OK to your PC? If not, problem is your card setup; contact EyeFi for help. If works OK with PC but not iPad, most likely problem is settings on your mobile router. Have you ckd ShutterSnitch forums? Lots of good info there.

[NigeriaHammad7]

I just bought the connect x2 for my new d3100 and can not get it to work w/ shutter snitch. So is this a user error or has something chNged with these cards. I feel I just wasted 15 bucks for a program that I can't use.

[cobenaut]

great vid but just have a couple questions:

will this work with compact flash cards? im using a nikon D3

how do you setup for the camera to store raw and only export jpg's to the ipad?

i think you can just import files directly from your ipad using 'image capture' if your using imac ... rather than use ftp

cheers

[trollhunter]

@cobenaut: Eye-Fi doesn't officially support using their card in a CompactFlash adapter, but sometimes it works. Rob Galbraith's review on his blog had some tips for this. For a D3, Nikon's WT4 transmitter would work great, but expen$ive. For camera setup, set camera to save raw+JPEG and set ShutterSnitch to 'Accept JPEGs Only' in Settings. Image Capture imports from iPad via cable (so do iPhoto and Lightroom) but sometimes FTP is easier because it works over WiFi. Thanks for your interest!

[lg123xyz]

@trollhunter  Saving Raw+Jpeg is that a feature of the card or the camera? if camera what type do you have?

[trollhunter]

aquariumgoldfish: I don't want to say for sure because I haven't personally tried any except the Pro and the Pro X2. But in principle, since you're connecting the Eye-fi card to a router (such as the Zalip router in the video) and the router is what connects to ShutterSnitch on the iPad, then any of the Eye-Fi cards ought to work.

[aquariumgoldfish]

@trollhunter I guess its safer for me to just get the Pro. Since its tried and tested. Thanks dude.

[aquariumgoldfish]

Question: There are a number of different types of Eye-fi Cards. (ex. Pro2, Connect, Explore etc.) Can either of them connect to the ipad?

[lg123xyz]

@aquariumgoldfish  I believe the one you want is the Pro X2 since it has adhoc, which allows you to connect to iPad without needing a network connection.

[trollhunter]

@lg123xyz -- That's not correct NOW. Currently, even a Pro X2 can't connect to an iPad directly. The Pro X2 can *join* an ad-hoc network, but it can't *create* one, and neither can the iPad. So without a router to create a network for the devices to join, you can't make a connection. BUT, Eye-Fi has announced plans for a firmware upgrade sometime in 2011 that will let its cards create an ad-hoc network, and Apple is testing a future version of iOs that will do the same... so maybe, someday...

[trollhunter]

matsas16193: ShutterSnitch developer says it does work with iPod Touch. I haven't been able to try it in person because I don't have a Touch. If you try it, let us know how it comes out!

[matsas16193]

DOes it works with ipod?

[fapplejuice]

Thank you for the informative video.. answered ALLLLL of my questions :)

[nocontenders]

@trollhunter thanks for the vid. I have the same set up as you, but how do you set up the network for the zalip router??

I am on a mac and they have NO instructions or wizard to set this up. I have the eye-fi card setup and shuttersnitch but my images do not transfer.

Is there any tuts online that show you step by step for setting this up with a mac?

[trollhunter]

@nocontenders -- I've got some setup videos but will need to clean them up a bit before posting. I'm on a Mac too and was able to access the setup wizard to get started: connect router to Mac, point web browser at router address (192.168.123.254), log in with admin password (default is "admin") and you'll see the "Wizard" button at the top just below the title bar. If you do a search for 'zalip cdm530am' there's a PDF manual you can download from the Zalip site.

[nocontenders]

@trollhunter Thanks. I tried that and really did not know what settings to pick. I have a cable modem going thru a wired router to 2 macs. I dont have wireless setup at all.

Do I have to call comcast and get additional info for wireless setup? if so then what info? Do I have to be connected to the internet on the mac I use?

I do not understand why my ipad can see and connect to the "default" wireless connection. My eye-fi it can see the "default" and connect too.

[trollhunter]

@nocontenders -- if you just want to use the Zalip to connect iPad and ShutterSnitch (like I do in the video) then you don't need to get Comcast involved at all. You're not connecting the Zalip to the Internet, so doesn't concern them. Could there be someone else where you live (neighbor?) who has a wireless net with SSID of "default" and your Eye-Fi is connecting to that? I'll try to get another vid done over the weekend...

[nocontenders]

@trollhunter Thanks again for responding. I thought that maybe the case but when I shut off my zalip the wireless connection goes away and when I shut it back on it connects again. I have tried connecting at my job which is many miles away from my home. "default" pops up again but no transfer.

How do you set the raw to the cpu and the jpgs to the ipad? My eye-fi manager says destination is to the ipad for raw, video, and photos. Could that be the problem?

[trollhunter]

@nocontenders -- when I do the vid I'll show you how to set a different SSID on the Zalip so you'll know for sure where you're connecting. Sending JPEGs to the iPad is set in the ShutterSnitch pref pane -- there's a switch for 'Accept JPEGs only.' More later...

[nocontenders]

@trollhunter One thing I notice was that my ip address changed from .100(when I am at home) to .102(when I am testing at work). Should my ip address be changing?

[johnny48166]

@nocontenders yes.

[lg123xyz]

So you're connected via 3G with the Zalip mobile router?

[trollhunter]

@lg123xyz -- I'm not, although I guess it would work. My iPad is a 3G model, so I use the 3G in that. You can't have different 3G and WiFi connections running at the same time, so after the shoot I turn WiFi off and use 3G to do any emailing or posting I need to do. Doesn't bother me as I don't want to be distracted by emails etc. during the shoot.

If you do need to post or email while shooting, or if you have a non-3G iPad, then yeah, using a router with 3G would be a slick way to do it.

[lg123xyz]

@trollhunter Thanks for your reply, I was curious to know if it would be possible to bypass the mobile router, for example if you already have a jailbroken iPhone you could conceivably use that as the mobile hotspot to see if it'll work. I guess I'm trying to find the most cost effective and efficient way to get this working for on-location shooting.

[trollhunter]

@lg123xyz -- Yes, I suspect that a lot of mobile hotspots (including jailbroken iPhones) would work -- but I didn't want to say that in the video since I haven't tested any except the one I have! If you already own the hotspot, there's no reason NOT to try it. Thing to note: One big advantage of dedicating a cheapo mobile router (as opposed to a hotspot you use for other stuff) is that you can just leave the network settings alone; always ready to go, no fiddling..

[trollhunter]

Just to clarify something a lot of people have been asking: You do need an Internet connection the FIRST time you set up the Eye-Fi card, and also the first time you register the card with ShutterSnitch. This does NOT have to be through your mobile router; it can be any old Internet connection. Once the initial setup is done, you do NOT need Internet for the Eye-Fi, mobile router, and ShutterSnitch to work together!

[SOWELLM]

@trollhunter

AMAZING! thanks for sharing.What about video shooting instead?

do you think it could be possible to do it?

[trollhunter]

@SOWELLM -- The EyeFi cards are able to transmit video files, but ShutterSnitch won't display them -- it will store other kinds of files but only displays JPEGs. But who knows, maybe a future version could hand them off to the iPad's Videos app. 2ndNature, the ShutterSnitch publisher, is very user-oriented, so you might want to ask them for that feature (they added the image overlay feature because I asked for it!)

[virenletap]

hey this is a great video after watching it i ordered the same router that you have.

i was wondering when you connect your eyefi card to it does it need to have internet access. i am getting an error that says that my router needs to be connected to the internet.

Thanks for your help!

[trollhunter]

@virenletap -- IIRC, you need Internet access to do the initial Eye-Fi setup and to add your Zalip's network -- but you do NOT need to do that through the Zalip; you can use any Internet-connected computer.

When you add the Zalip's network in Eye-Fi Center, just check the "Out of Range" box -- that will let you add the Zalip's SSID even though the card can't see it.

If you have problems email 2ndNature (ShutterSnitch publisher) -- he's really helpful.

[gsvbk]

Great video, just the solution I was looking for. Now if only Eye-Fi made CF cards!

[trollhunter]

No -- sorry if it came out sounding like that, but the Eye-Fi Pro card can NOT create its own network. All the Eye-Fi cards can only join existing networks.

The Pro card can join either "ad-hoc" networks (the kind you can create on a laptop) or "infrastructure" networks (the kind created by a router) while their lower-end cards can join only "infrastructure" networks.

That's why using the mobile router makes it simpler - it creates one network that everything else can join.

[Brooklynpilot]

Nice video. Did you say that the eye-fi pro can set up a network on its own?

[joshi52795]

This is a well made video. I liked the information and now you convinced me to get an ipad with these apps.