EOS Utility 2.7

[Eddy Robinson]

You may find page 38 of particular interest. (http://gdlp01.c-wss.com/gds/6/0300002586/01/eu2.7-w-en.pdf)

Thw WFT-5a, or Wireless File Tranfers unit, will cost $699 list, can transfer over wifi b/g or 10base T ethernet, and also functions as a USB host for storage devices, though hard disks will need their own power supply. It has its own battery.

I'm off to mug a hapless old lady, or more than one if necessary.

[sblfilms]

So wait, with the WFT we can record directly to our computer? I don't quite understand the info in the PDF. Just it record directly to the computer, or does it just dump the file from the CF card to the computer after capture? And either way, this could be the best bet for a director's monitor depending on if it plays back full res/framerate during capture.

[Eddy Robinson]

My impression is that the files are transferred after recording. You can record to an external drive (connected to the WFT via USB, say - although it's still subject to the Fat32 4gb file size limit) rather than the card in camera, but you must still have a card. Whichever you choose, the file transfer takes place after recording stops - there are options for manual or automatic.

I don't know what resolution it shows during capture; I'm guessing 1/2 res (1/4 size) based on various screenshots, but only someone with an existing model would know for sure. It seems as if it keeps transmitting during recording, so yes, it would make a handy monitor. I'm not sure whether the live view on the camera works when this is engaged.

Also of interest is the fact that with this tool you can select an area and magnify it (before shooting) in order to check critical focus. I don't believe this magnification keeps working during shooting, though you probably wouldn't want it to. Perusing the 7d manual, you can also magnify on the camera before shooting for the same reason - so while it doesn't help any with pulling focus in real time, it will help a great deal with setting focus. And this computer link will considerably simplify and shorten the process of checking the shot afterwards.

I can see all sorts of goodness stemming from this. Pro photogs have had this tool available for a while but as best I can see, most of them dont' use it for anything more complex than offloading files without card swapping, or allowing a remote user to see files via internet (eg news photogs on assignment or event photographers). Put it this way, although I'm broke and currently trying to work out how to raise money for the camera purchase, the functionality impresses me enough that I've mentally bumped the price to ~$2400, because as a long-time computer guy the tech part of this is so blazingly simple and obvious to me that I think it's a total no-brainer.

[J Davis]

... Thw WFT-5a ....


So wait, with the WFT we can record ...


So wait, with the WFT we can record




Every time I see you type that I see WTF

[Eddy Robinson]

Yeah, me too...I think Canon should rename it, since I keep thinking that while reading the specs anyway :-)