As photographers, we capture the light around us to preserve moments in time. Sometimes, however, we not only want to contain the light, but also control it. So, when Elinchrom asked us if we wanted to test their powerful ELB 400 portable battery pack and Quadra Pro flash heads, we, of course, said yes. Now, let’s see what we can do with 424 watts of portable power.
Have you ever wished you could remotely control your smartphone’s camera with a trigger remote disguised as a 35mm film canister or a mini twin-lens reflex camera? If so, then your wish has been granted by the Japanese company Gizmon. For a small price, you can pick up one of these cute and colorful gadgets and pair it with your iOS or Android smartphone.
Eye-Fi has announced the new Mobi Pro, a 32GB WiFi SD card that the company is calling "the most powerful wireless SD card ever." As more and more cameras are being launched with built-in Wi-Fi functionality, Eyefi is rolling out improvements to its memory card offerings to try and keep up.
The CASE Remote is a new wireless camera controller that attaches to your DSLR and turns your smartphone or tablet into a wireless remote you can use to control your camera.
Wireless Internet is now commonplace, but one thing that's generally still wired is electricity. One day, however, you might be juicing up your gadgets with wireless energy routers instead of cables and battery chargers.
Energous Corporation is one company trying to make that vision a reality. It has developed a technology called WattUp that aims to change the way you think about how electronic devices are charged and powered.
As more and more cameras make their way into smartcamera territory, there are countless DSLRs that could very easily get left in the dust.
But that won’t be the case if Lumera Labs has its way, thanks to Lumera, a clever little device that connects your DSLR to your phone to give it connectivity and better features.
This piece of news might be concerning to those who already have or are looking to get their hands on Nikon’s new D750 camera. According to a report, the WiFi app built into the D750 automatically uses an unsecure connection to transfer images from your camera, which means anybody with a WiFi-capable device and some know-how could get their hands on your photos.
It's not often a portable hard drive catches our eye, but the newest offering from Western Digital feels like it was built specifically for photographers. Completely wireless, the drive's features include an SD card slot so you can unload photos on-location without ever having to get an intermediary device involved.
What happens when ‘the cloud’ gets personal? According to Kwelea Inc., you end up with MBLOK. Deemed “one memory for all devices,” MBLOK is a pocket-sized SSD with integrated Bluetooth technology that allows you to store and access data from up to 7 mobile devices, all on the go.
Looking to change up the wireless flash trigger game, Cactus has announced its new V6, the world's first wireless flash trigger that works on any camera with a standard hot shoe or PC Sync port. It can control Canon, Nikon, and Pentax systems all at the same time.
When it comes to choosing wireless flash trigger systems, there’s no shortage of options. From PocketWizards to cheap, $20 systems on Amazon and Ebay, there seems to be one for each and every situation and price point. However, despite all of the options, there is one thing that every single one of them has in common: they're all pretty big.
Of course, when shooting in a studio with a DSLR a PocketWizard doesn't seem that beastly. But when you’re wanting to trigger a flash with a small mirrorless camera or compact camera, none of the options out there right now will allow you to do so without making your camera look like the attachment rather than the trigger. That’s where FlashQ comes in.
As built-in WiFi and dedicated apps become standard fare in most cameras, wireless SD card company Eyefi is making sure that its technology stays relevant and ahead of the game with a new subscription cloud sync service called, appropriately enough, Eyefi Cloud.
They say that the DSLR’s better days are behind it, but it’s still the choice for most working pros. Rapid advances on point and shoots, ILCs (mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras) and smart phones have left the DSLR looking like the camera of yesteryear, so here are a few features we think every DSLR should have now.
The CamRanger has been a big hit with photographers, and if you have $300 to spend on a wireless controller for your DSLR then it is a phenomenal option. But if you don't want to spend that kind of money, own an Android device and don't mind hacking a bit of router firmware, you can actually get similar results using this DIY rig for less than $40 bucks!
The ability to pull photos out of your camera and onto your computer wirelessly is an incredibly useful tool that many photographers use, but what if you could pull those photos instantly into Lightroom right there on-location? Well, it turns out you can, and it's not all that complicated either.
French smartphone device startup SmartMobilAccessoire is working on a new product called the Biiwatch. It's a watch-like device that's worn around the wrist, but instead telling you the time, it's designed to let you tell your smartphone when to snap a photo.
In Japanese, "Muku" means “clean” and “simple,” and that's what Muku Labs has done its best to create with its first product, the Muku Shuttr. A clean and simple little wireless shutter release that works with iOS and certain Android devices.
These days, it's easy to take for granted what the magic of the Internet, wireless technology, and fiber optic cables have made possible, but there was a time when sending a photograph a long distance in a short time wasn't quite that easy.
For instance, in 1926, someone on an oceanliner called the S.S. President Roosevelt snapped the above photo of the S.S. Antinoe during a rescue attempt. When that photo was sent almost instantly from London to New York City, it was such a big deal that the April 1926 issue of Science and Invention printed a huge infographic to show its readers how this miracle was achieved.
Eye-Fi has offered the ability to wirelessly transmits photos from a camera to another device for quite a while now, but there was a downside: you were required to connect to a Wi-Fi hotspot to do so (with the exception of the Eye-Fi X2). This presented a challenge to photographers shooting on location where a Wi-Fi hotspot may not have been readily available.
Eye-Fi has come forth with their new "Eye-Fi Mobi" product, which streamlines the process of sending images to a mobile device.
The folks at Hama just announced a new accessory that should make life as an iPad or iPhone toting photographer a bit easier. No, we're not talking about the guys who shoot with their iOS devices; we're talking about the people who use them for on-the-go storage, editing and sharing.
The accessory is simply called the Wi-Fi Data Reader for Apple Devices and it does exactly what its name implies: it allows you to upload photos from USB, SD, SDHC and SDXC to your iPad without plugging anything in.
PocketWizard has just added an affordable entry-level radio trigger to its Plus lineup that will hit shelves with a price tag under $100. It's the PlusX, an "Auto-Sensing Transceiver" that will allow photo enthusiasts to jump into the world of off-camera flash and remote camera triggering without breaking the bank.
Here's another option for DSLR-toting photogs who want to control their gear wirelessly from a distance without spending a fortune. It doesn't have the range of the CamRanger or the ability to send over a live view like, say, the built-in wireless on the Canon 6D; however, it's less than one sixth the price of the first, and you won't have to upgrade your camera to get it.
It's the Satechi Bluetooth Smart Trigger, and it comes in three versions that are compatible with a range of Canon and Nikon DSLRs (plus a couple of Pentax options) for only $45.
I need the ability to wirelessly take photos, but my Fujifilm X100 did not have a conventional shutter release -- it has the old fashioned ”cable” release.
After playing around and buying some cheap cable releases off eBay, I was able to build a working wireless shutter using an Arduino, servo, and a cheap wireless shutter for a Canon DSLR.
The new Nikon D7100 DSLR wasn't the only interesting product announced by the company yesterday. Appearing alongside the camera was a new WR-1 Wireless Remote Control Transceiver. It's a remote control that can be used in multiple ways depending on your needs.
You've got plenty of options when selecting a wireless memory card, but one thing is fairly universal across the board: they drain way more battery than their non-wireless brethren. Some cameras have menu options that will allow you to control your Wi-Fi cards, but if yours doesn't, Chinese software company LZeal has you covered.
We've seen quite a few wired and wireless DSLR controller options in our day -- ranging from the creative DIY variety to the cool but expensive type -- but we've never seen one that looks quite like this. The newly announced K-Circle from LockCircle looks like something Iron Man would use if he were into photography -- assuming he shot Canon, that is.
Wireless adapters for digital cameras can be very pricey accessories, especially when you're dealing with high-end DSLRs. Manufacturers can squeeze more money out of those who pay thousands for a camera by charging hundreds for an adapter, even though a cheaper one could work just fine. What's more, the adapters are often designed specifically for certain cameras, making them useless if you change models or makes.
With the release of the Canon 6D, the company's first Wi-Fi enabled DSLR, it was only a matter of time before the camera manufacturer began announcing products that took advantage of that wireless capability. Case in point: Canon has just announced a couple of new PIXMA photo printers that can communicate directly with your 6D, allowing those of you who ponied up the cash for the new full-frame shooter to print your photos over the air.
Hardware security guru Joe Fitz has successfully hacked the WU-1a wireless mobile adapter to be compatible with the Nikon D800. "Why would anyone want to do this?" you might ask. Well, to get the same features, you could also buy a Nikon UT-1 Communication Unit for $470 and Nikon WT-5A Wireless Transmitter for $580 -- a combined total of $1050. The Nikon WU-1a, designed for the entry-level D3200, costs just $58!
Just a few years ago, Eye-Fi was the only company at the wireless memory card party; now the dance floor's starting to get a bit crowded. Transcend launched its own line of Wi-Fi SD cards yesterday, joining Eye-Fi, SanDisk, Toshiba, and PQI.