DSLR Tethered Photo Shooting On Your iPad
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By now, it’s safe to say that the iPad has infiltrated the daily lives of many. We’ve seen many scenarios where people, like you and I, have used their iPads as a work companion and as a device that has revolutionized the way we discover, view, share and consume all kinds of media.
This is the case of Dallas/Fort Worth professional photographer Mike Irvin, who after some research has found a way to use his iPad during photo shoots as a 9.7 inch wireless proofing display. Mike is one of our many avid readers, and was kind enough to share with us how some photographers are doing wireless tethered photo shooting on their iPads.
We had a chance to chat with Mike recently, and he was very excited with the way he’s been able to showcase his iPad and also bring efficiency to his business. “I knew when the iPad came out it would be the perfect form factor for wireless tethered-shooting and I envisioned handing the iPad to the Mother of the Bride during a photo session at some remote location”, said Mike Irvin.
But, how has Mike been able to adapt his iPad for wireless tethered-shooting? Without further ado, let’s walk you through the process.
The process, which replaces the normal way of shooting via a cable to a notebook, involves the Eye-Fi SD Card, and of course a quality camera like the ones offered by Canon or Nikon. In addition, it requires the ShutterSnitch app, which is available on the iTunes App store. For a simple “in-studio” set up, all you have to do is simply setup your Eye-Fi SD card along with ShutterSnitch. Keep in mind that both components will need to utilize the same WiFi network.
The Eye-Fi wireless cards only come in SD format. This means that cameras supporting only “Compact Flash” (example: Canon 5D MK II) will require a “Compact Flash (CF) to SD” adapter card. By using the “Compact Flash to SD” adapter you may run into some limitations with the Eye-Fi card broadcast capabilities. However, Mike shared with us that Syncrotech offers a “CFMulti CompactFlash” adapter, which brings Eye-Fi support to Compact Flash cameras.
Once you have configured the camera with the Eye-Fi wireless SD card, your photo images are transferred to the ShutterSnitch app. In case you’re not familiar with ShutterSnitch, it’s an app that wirelessly transfers images to your iPad from your Eye-Fi SD card. Once the images are transferred to ShutterSnitch, you will be able to scroll through the images, pinch and zoom, arrange your photo shoots into albums, email or save pictures.
If you want to conduct photo shoots away from your studio, you will need to make a few adjustments. Keep in mind that Eye-Fi wireless SD cards cannot be configured with WiFi hotspots. This means you’ll need an additional component to provide the wireless connection required on the field. You can resolve this issue by using a battery powered wireless router (Aluratek portable router). The router will provide a portable network for your photo shoots, and will enable you to connect the Eye-Fi SD card to the ShutterSnitch app. To configure the router, all you have to do is turn it on, go to your iPad WiFi settings and select it.
Of course, this setup may sound a bit tricky for some. However, it’s a good workaround for professional and amateur photographers out there. In Mike Irvin’s case it has simplified the amount of equipment he needs to carry around for photo shoots, and it allows him to showcase the capabilities of his iPad.
Video: The following YouTube video (posted by trollhunter) shows you how the iPad wireless tethered-shooting setup works.
