Hands on: Beyond photography

Modern digital cameras are featuring more ways to connect to and work with PCs.

Software-based remote control of cameras is not uncommon and some models can also connect to a variety of devices.

You can even find Wifi on some compacts.

Arguably the most feature-packed camera in terms of PC and peripheral connectivity to date is Canon’s latest midrange digital SLR, the EOS 40D.

The camera supports PC-based remote control using supplied software, which includes the ability to see a live view of the camera’s composition on your monitor and even focus its lens with your mouse.

The PC software can also be used as a programmable Intervalometer for taking pictures at regular intervals.

Taking the EOS 40D even further is its optional WFT-E3 wireless transmitter.

This attaches to the bottom of the camera like a traditional portrait grip but equips the camera with Wifi facilities, allowing you to control it remotely and transfer images wirelessly, or upload photos directly to a website or FTP storage.

The WFT-E3 also features wired Ethernet connectivity along with a USB port to connect external storage for backup in the field or even a GPS to record positional data on your images.

The EOS 40D fitted with a WFT-E3 is one of the most interesting cameras we’ve seen from a PC perspective.

The relevant question for readers of this column is how well does the connectivity work in practice?

We expect to see more of these features on future cameras, so we’ve devoted this month’s column to looking specifically at this side of the equation, from an IT hardware perspective.

Wireless connectivity
The WFT-E3 is described as a wireless transmitter, so we’re concentrating on that functionality.

The WFT-E3 supports 802.11b and g wireless networks and can connect to infrastructure-based networks or establish a point-to-point ad-hoc connection.

The WFT-E3 supports shared key, WPA-PSK and WPA2-PSK authentication, along with WEP, TKIP and AES encryption.

Canon quotes a maximum range of 150m, as long as there are no obstructions and you’ve got a high-performance antenna on the access point.

The WFT-E3 has a small LCD display, which shows signal strength with up to three bars and a flashing light to indicate a connection.

With the WFT-E3 connected to the EOS 40D, two new options appear in the first page of the setup menus.

Selecting the ‘WFT Settings’ option allows you to configure the device and start the connection wizard.

The latter lets you choose whether the connection is FTP, HTTP or PTP, the latter being required for operation with the 40D’s EOS Utility software for remote control and direct file transfer.

Next you choose whether the network is wired or wireless, in which case you’re shown a list of available networks in range.