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Nikon WU-1a Wireless adapter & Smart Phone App  Rate Topic 
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Posted by Sixstringslinger: Fri Dec 18th, 2015 00:13 1st Post
I got a free wireless adapter with my D3300 and tried it out tonight. I wanted to photograph the moon with the camera mounted on a tripod and use the wireless with my Galaxy S5 as a remote shutter release. I set it up in the house and it worked perfectly with a couple of test shots of the home audio and the dog. I tried it again after I changed camera modes and no matter what I did I could not get live view to show on the phone. Went back to my original setting, no joy.

The phone shows a strong signal from the adapter but it seems the app has bugs. It runs all the time, it's a power hog, and also sends every pic taken with it to the phone so I deleted it after playing around with app setting trying to get it to work. With the file sizes of these modern bodies my phone would be jammed in no time with out a bunch of deleting. The 64G SD card is in the camera darn it.

Is there another app out there that will work well with the WU-1a? Reviews are not good on the web about the Nikon app. any ideas from you guys with the experience? This thing doesn't seem very well thought out by Nikon.



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Posted by Robert: Fri Dec 18th, 2015 01:25 2nd Post
Hi, I sometimes do a lot of tethered work copying manuscripts and photographs into the computer, I use a USB lead, the software I use is called Sofortbild.

http://www.sofortbildapp.com

Unfortunately for technical reasons the 3xxx series are not supported.

Another option which may be good is Eye-Fi, you use a special SD card in the camera which connects with the computer of your choice.

http://www.eyefi.com

I think Eye-Fi may fit your needs, although the product seems to have become much more complicated than it once was. Original you took a photograph and it was transmitted to your computer via wi-fi. Simple as that.

Neither of the above provide a preview of the image. Some cameras have an HDMI socket which can I believe be used to preview the live view screen at a larger size for studio work.

I would NOT want all my image files distributing to all my devices AND storing 'in the cloud'.

Is there no way of only using the WU-1a as a remote viewer and remote shutter release without actually transferring the images to the smart phone/tablet? That would be extremely useful. Thinking of nature closeups in difficult locations, ponds, bogs and high level access. More than once I have been reprimanded for treading on flower beds trying to get closer to a flower.

Without that it seems to see it's a bit of a gimmick which is probably why they give it away for free. A great idea which they can't be bothered to make work right.



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Posted by jk: Fri Dec 18th, 2015 02:08 3rd Post
I use Mac which means tethered control is possible through Lightroom or Sofortbild program.

I havent ever had the opportunity to use the Nikon Wireless app on my phone or iPad as I dont have a WU-1A adapter.
These wireless adapters tend to be power hogs as thefy are needing to communicate continuously. A cheap option that is wired via USB interface tends to be my method of remote triggering.



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Posted by jk: Fri Dec 18th, 2015 02:45 4th Post
These may be a better bet to do what you want.
Nikon ML-L3
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Nikon-ML-L3-Remote-Control-D3000-D3200-D3300-D5000-D5100-D5200-D5300-D7000-D7100-/361346461645?hash=item5421ed6fcd:g:Wm8AAOSwgQ9VrwF8


These are really useful.
Wired remote control with timer.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LCD-Timer-Shutter-Remote-for-Nikon-D7000-D5300-D5200-D3300-D3200-D90-DF-DC278-/151546914138?hash=item2348e6655a:g:aHYAAOSw~bFWQEab

The wired remote control provides all sorts of additional control e.g set up a series of shots over a period of time, take a set of long exposures over a period (25 shots of 12 seconds exposure each spaced one every 5 minutes).



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Posted by Robert: Fri Dec 18th, 2015 04:12 5th Post
jk wrote:



These are really useful.
Wired remote control with timer.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LCD-Timer-Shutter-Remote-for-Nikon-D7000-D5300-D5200-D3300-D3200-D90-DF-DC278-/151546914138?hash=item2348e6655a:g:aHYAAOSw~bFWQEab

The wired remote control provides all sorts of additional control e.g set up a series of shots over a period of time, take a set of long exposures over a period (25 shots of 12 seconds exposure each spaced one every 5 minutes).

JK, do you know how Nikon cameras cope with 'bulb' exposures of greater than one hour?

My understanding is that digital cameras in general, limit 'bulb' exposure to 60 minutes, yet that remote you quote offers 99 hours, 59 minutes and 59 seconds...

My lack of understanding of this is one reason I haven't yet attempted to make an 8 hour star trail image.



____________________
Robert.



Posted by Gilbert Sandberg: Fri Dec 18th, 2015 05:05 6th Post
Robert,
re: how ... cope ... long
Please consider that on dslr's long exposures take power and heat the sensor.
I think that is the limiting factor for long exposures.
Regards, Gilbert



Posted by Eric: Fri Dec 18th, 2015 05:36 7th Post
Remote shooting is one of those things that demands you to ask ”why am I doing it?" as there seems to be a minefield of obstructions to success.

I used tethered shooting in the studio when doing tabletop pack shots that didn't move. It was pointless for more dynamic shooting situations. The larger screen gave me a better view of what I had taken and the ability to change settings for the next shot. But if the angle or focus needed changing or a product looked odd, I still had to visit the camera /set.

Similarly shooting fungi on the forest floor. Remote control enabled me to see what I was getting without digging my chin into the forest floor. But a tilting LCD can give you most of what you really need.

It's very easy to forget we hadn't got these luxuries back in film days and still manage.

I have never liked the idea of transmitting my photos....be that to a cloud or a remote capture device. I have seen many corruptions over the years that if I had just changed the card wouldn't have lost me shots.

So I guess I am old fashioned and say there has to be a real benefit for adopting new technology. Too often it's one step forward and half back.

o.O



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Posted by Sixstringslinger: Fri Dec 18th, 2015 05:37 8th Post
I think a wired remote release might be the way to go. Nikon has the MC-DC2 remote cable. I'm not sold on the infrared unit as access to the front of the camera may not be available. I did this for years with cables, why should a wire bother me now?

I also found this phone app and connecting cable via the web, Triggertrap Mobile Kit. Looks interesting:

http://worldshop.triggertrap.com/products/triggertrap-mobile-kit-md3-dc2-for-nikon



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Posted by Sixstringslinger: Fri Dec 18th, 2015 05:49 9th Post
I'd have to agree I don't want my photos going to the cloud however the Nikon Mobile App does save to the SD card and send to the mobile device so loss would not be an issue. It just don't work and when the app is connected to the camera you lose the viewfinder and live view. So.....if live won't reliably work on your mobile device you are blind, period.

Truly an example of getting what you payed for. Free = no value.



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So many subjects, So little time.


Posted by jk: Fri Dec 18th, 2015 14:20 10th Post
Sixstringslinger wrote:
I think a wired remote release might be the way to go. Nikon has the MC-DC2 remote cable. I'm not sold on the infrared unit as access to the front of the camera may not be available. I did this for years with cables, why should a wire bother me now?

I also found this phone app and connecting cable via the web, Triggertrap Mobile Kit. Looks interesting:

http://worldshop.triggertrap.com/products/triggertrap-mobile-kit-md3-dc2-for-nikon

I have one as I was one of their first testers.
It is very useful and provides some nice additional features that are not in camera.



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Posted by Sixstringslinger: Fri Dec 18th, 2015 15:55 11th Post
jk, you speak of the Triggertrap app and connecting cables?

It make for a higher quality device compared to the Nikon cabled remote me thinks.



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So many subjects, So little time.


Posted by Robert: Fri Dec 18th, 2015 18:50 12th Post
Sixstringslinger wrote:
jk, you speak of the Triggertrap app and connecting cables?

It make for a higher quality device compared to the Nikon cabled remote me thinks.

You can't beat a bit of hard wiring. You can wriggle the connections when it doesn't work and it usually comes back to life. Wi-fi on the other hand... o.O



____________________
Robert.



Posted by amazing50: Sat Dec 19th, 2015 11:24 13th Post
Robert Wrote:
JK, do you know how Nikon cameras cope with 'bulb' exposures of greater than one hour?

My understanding is that digital cameras in general, limit 'bulb' exposure to 60 minutes, yet that remote you quote offers 99 hours, 59 minutes and 59 seconds...

My lack of understanding of this is one reason I haven't yet attempted to make an 8 hour star trail image.



Long exposures build up noise, astro cameras have various cooling devices to reduce noise on long exposures like liquid nitrogen.

There are programs to combine time lapse sequences into a nice trail pix on the astronomy sites.

Sony has an App fro the R7xxx cameras that builds up movement of point light sources.



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Posted by jk: Sat Dec 19th, 2015 13:27 14th Post
Robert is pretty expert at this probably more so than me.


OK In my experience if you are using long exposures such as 1 hour or more (or even >5 mins) it is better to run the camera on an external DC power supply or the approved Nikon Nikon AC adapter.
Depending on your camera and your uses this may be an expensive option.

Over the years I have built adapters and battery packs to suit my cameras.

Best is to shoot RAW and do your own noise reduction (need to switch off long exposure Noise Reduction in the CSM.

For the 8 hour start trail you need do a multiple long exposure set of 50-200 images (each image 2-10 minutes) rather than one big exposure then combine in Photoshop.
Also use lowest ISO e.g. ISO200.
That way if necessary you can change batteries along the way ;-) Saves the expenses of external DC supply or Nikon external AC power adapter for the camera.


For really nice star trails you need a polar mount or set up your camera on the tripod pointing North and adjust very carefully then you get nice results.



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Posted by amazing50: Sun Dec 20th, 2015 20:43 15th Post
Don't know if you use a lens heater to keep the dew from condensing on your lens in Spain, but it is a problem in Ontario most of the year.

Sometimes it is snowing so hard that dew can't form.:lol:



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Posted by jk: Mon Dec 21st, 2015 02:59 16th Post
amazing50 wrote: Don't know if you use a lens heater to keep the dew from condensing on your lens in Spain, but it is a problem in Ontario most of the year.

Sometimes it is snowing so hard that dew can't form.:lol:
I have loads of friends and a couple of cousins in Canada. 
I have told them that I am sure that Canada only has one day of summer and 360 of winter and the rest is spring and autumn.  It is too cold for me.



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Still learning after all these years!
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Posted by amazing50: Wed Dec 23rd, 2015 00:36 17th Post
Actually been quite warm, for us, so far this winter. Only a few cm. of snow that melted next day.



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There is nothing worse than a sharp image of a fuzzy concept ;~) Mike Grace


Posted by Robert: Mon Dec 28th, 2015 03:42 18th Post
Back on topic...

I think this may be a better bet for anyone wanting this functionality. But it comes at a cost.

http://camranger.com/features/

Seems a pretty competent piece of gear. I came across it by accident and thought it may be of interest to somebody with a serious need.



____________________
Robert.



Posted by jk: Mon Dec 28th, 2015 14:11 19th Post
Nice piece of kit.



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Posted by Robert: Sun Feb 21st, 2016 17:39 20th Post
Another possible option... (as mentioned in another thread)

http://dslrdashboard.info



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