It's the norm with Smartphones and other such devices to expect to snap a picture, then tweet, Facebook, Flickr or otherwise publish it within moments to the world.
Ignoring how worthy many of these pictures might be (..!), it's also becoming the norm that "proper" news and sports pictures should be available within moments of them being taken. Sadly, though the Smart device makers have understood this, the camera manufacturers, almost without exception, haven't really "got" it. I think this is the main reason why sales of compact camera have utterly bombed over the last few years. Phones are doing what their users want.
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| Not a WT5. But a £40'ish workaround that DOES work in some situations... It's possible to buy flat ribbon-type LAN cables that help reduce bulk. As you can see here, you'll need to think about some way of stowing the router. I wonder about getting one of those cold-shoe things (cheap accessory) and gluing the unit to that with an epoxy resin, so that it sits in the hot shoe. |
Wifi modules have now begun to creep into mainstream, dedicated cameras, though the execution of their workflow leaves a lot to be desired, still. (The recently-launched D750 has one built-in, but it's of the type that uses the rather limited tablet and phone App, not the WT5-type software.)
More after the break...
And if you are a pro photographer without an editor nearby to do that work (filing from pitch-side at normal sports events, say), you still need to apply a set of IPTC data, for captions, filename, keywords etc etc before it gets sent anywhere. Even if you file straight-out-of-camera JPEGs.
Nikon were the first major brand to market an add-on wireless transfer module, with their D2h body some 12 years ago. This neat unit fitted beneath the body and allowed the sending of images into a network, either directly into your laptop or across the ether to an editor at a desk to do the work.
Sadly, things went downhill a bit from there, with the curious WT4 unit being a belt-mounted device which didn't really add anything to the handling of the D3 series it worked with. Though it does work.
Then Nikon launched the D4 and this camera used the new, and tiny, WT5 which mounted on the side. It's so small that it can be left in place, has good range and draws not too much power.
But it costs north of £500. This hasn't changed much. The WT4 still goes for £600+. But I simply cannot believe that there is £500 of value in that unit. The tiny WU1, as used by my Coolpix A, is £50, 1/10th of the price. It may not have the range and is use-limited by Nikon's own software decisions but, even so...
BUT the WT5 does seem to work so well. I can't help but think this is priced "because we can and you WILL want it" for pros. Hmm.
There is a work-around for D4 users, though. It doesn't give you everything that the WT5 does but its very much cheaper and does work. The D4 features a LAN socket (another first) and there are a few articles on the web that detail how to make use of this feature.
Hans Marten's page uses a very similar unit to that which I purchased, a D-Link WiFi router which can act as an access point. Basically, what you are doing is plugging the router into the camera using the LAN socket and effectively "fooling" it into thinking it's plugged into a computer via a hard cable. You tell your tablet, phone or PC (Mac or otherwise) to look for the router's signal. The camera thinks it's talking directly to the device via a hard link (because its plugged into the router that's feeding the wireless signal into the laptop).
You need to remember to follow the set-up instructions that Nikon publish, as well as the router set-up in the link. The camera needs to be "paired" with the device through Nikon's Wireless Transmitter Utility. Be aware, too, that some of the D-Link router models don't need you to log in using the method shown in the link above. My own version has a direct, switch-activated, "Access Point" mode, the presence of which I didn't grasp til I'd faffed and cursed a little...!
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| The monitor view of the Network settings in the menu. The camera is connected to the PC. Note that, as always, things need to be started up in the correct order before they play nicely! It took two attempts to do so just for these pictures... Best to allow some set-up time when you arrive at the job! The WT5 Manual (and a separate Quick Start Guide) give more details. |
But it works. Pressing two buttons sends the image (raw+JPEG if desired) into a folder on the laptop. Alternatively, images can be sent automatically - though if you are a raw+JPEG shooter you may wish to be selective and use the manual method, as sending many images will tie up the transmitter for a long time. I don't have much need to shoot directly into the laptop but it's been useful on a few occasions. Sadly, my time pressures are different to that of simply getting the picture away...
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| Pressing OK and the Multi-Controller centre button activates manual transfer of the image once the connection is established. Note the green zigzag symbol at the top of the monitor, indicating transmission in progress. |
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| Confirmation of a transferred image: the zigzag symbol at the top of the monitor turns blue, and you'll find the image in the Wireless Transmitter Utility folder (if that's what you've set it to do) on the computer you are connected to. |
The downsides are few but are worth bearing in mind:
The unit is flapping about on a lead, not screwed into the camera. You'll need to pop it into a pocket, perhaps, which can be embarrassing if you put the camera down and forget. It might be worth looking at a cheap, blank, hot-shoe mount and some Araldite, perhaps?
If you have two D4 bodies, you won't be able to shoot both wirelessly this way. The laptop can only see one router at a time. With the WT5, and a WiFi unit in its router mode, two or more D4s can send into a folder, I believe, as the bodies are feeding into a network which the laptop is also logged into.
Rob Galbraith's now-dormant site has more information on using the D4, WT5 and routers on the link here which is worth a read-through.
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