Customer Reviews

Canon WFT-E2A Wireless File Transmitter

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The WFT-E2A Review:

I have been using this product for about a year before I finally wrote this review. I try not to jump the gun before I post a review. If there are issues, I want to give tech support plenty of time to get new firmware updates out etc.

One of the main reasons I purchased this device was it's initial advertisement of working with jump drives or a portable self powered hard drive are not true. Since the product has come out, the online literature has changed. You can check out Chuck Westfall talking about this product at [...] . At the 5:00 minute mark, he talks about all the stuff you can backup to. Well this isn't what is delivered to the door. The only thing the USB connection will work with is a USB hard drive that is powered by an AC adapter. So if you have a self powered USB drive like the Epson 2000, Wolverine ESP products, it just doesn't work.

I found an article at www.robgalbraith.com and they tested a preproduction version of this product and it worked with numerous devices that do not work on the finished product.

The other issue that is big is it will not auto focus a shot when you are shooting remotely. So if your camera is outside (on your deck) and you are inside (at the computer facing your camera that is on your deck) you are really hoping that bird will land just at the right spot or you have an out of focus shot. I now shot with the Canon TC80N3 and a 33 foot extension in combination with the WFT-E2A. I can remotely change settings on the camera with the WFT-E2A, and take the picture with the Canon TC80N3. I could have also got a USB hub and long USB cable and accomplished the same thing and saved $[...]s.

I do like this product when it is hooked up to the telescope though. I can sit inside and remotely control the telescope, camera, and focusing (on the telescope) without any vibration or cables running all over the place (you really don't trip on any of those cables in the dark at 4:00AM - really).

I did test 3 different GPS devices with it and none of those worked - none of the devices that I tested were on the approved list of GPS units set by Canon though. Again, this is worth researching to make sure what you have is on the approved list.

So you really have to ask yourself what do I want this product for? If you want to backup to a USB device in the field, I would say don't get it because you need to be close enough to a power source. If you want to shoot remotely and have the camera autofocus, don't get this product. If you are in a studio where you control everything, this product is for you but chances are you can run that long USB cable to your camera and save yourself some cash.

This product is worth doing some digging around for on the internet to see what it can and can't do. Canon Tech Support was little help. When I first got the device and called they told me they had no documentation in house or a WFT-E2A to test with.

This is a great add-on to any Mark 3. I have a 1d M3 and jut got my 1Ds M3 yesterday. I have had my WFT-E2a for a few months and its great. Wonderful if you do a lot of shooting or might need to put a camera in a place where you cant stand behind it to take the photos.

You can remotely control your camera to take shots, ie Live View on major Steriods. Also allows the use of external usb devices, like nice large hard drives that can be hooked to the camera for direct download of the image. You can also have the camera send the image wirelessly to a computer or laptop, so if you are doing a lot of shooting, like at a sporting event, its a great way to send your files so they can be sorted and reviewed by an assistant and uploaded or stored or ..??? Sometimes here in Alaska, in the winter you will be shooting at -50 degrees, and after standing in it for a while you go numb. with this transmitter you can be in a warmer room and control the camera remotely!!! No more frost bite or being bait for predators... :) Great for remote Macro or other wildlife shooting also!!! Or if you need to mount your camera to a tree for a shot or on a rock cliff or such, now you can still safely control it!

The price was at $1,000 originally, and now for under $800 its a deal! If you you have a valid reason to be shooting with a Mark 3 body, then you should have this in your bag. Nikon owners are all drooling over this unit because Canon is a huge step head for there pro grade shooters.

I will warn you the set up can be a pain at first. There is some very helpful info online to make it easier, like at the pixel-shooter website.

I bet you will see a ton of these over the next few months at all major sporting events!!!!!

I have used mine to capture some of the images on my website and in my photo gallery online.

Canon is a great camera company. I have had all of the 1Ds versions and many of the small Power Shots. I have eight computers on a LAN with several video cameras and a NAS which I have set up and configured without any problems but the setup for this thing is a confusing and ambiguous pain in the neck and in this day and age it should be simple, painless and highly reliable; actually, it should set itself up with a minimum of input from the user; just like Apple's computers and other network equipment.

And once you set it up it is very, very, very slow with raw files even if you have a fast network.

As one of the other reviewers wisely said, be sure that you know that you really need this device before you buy it. If you don't have a pretty compelling wireless requirement you are just not going to use it.

Although the product performed as advertised in the ethernet specification, the website (and Canon's) description failed to note that only EXTERNALLY powered disk drives may be used as a USB storage device. The pocket drives (powered by USB cable) sold by Amazon will not work, so the device is useless for external storage, unless tethered to an AC outlet - or you have a battery-powered drive (such as an image data bank, E.G. Epson 2000/4000). Also, once either the camera or the storage device 'times out', then you have to re-sync and connect them when you power back on before you can start shooting again (camera will default back to memory card at time-out) - no time for that in sports!

My experience with the WFT-E2A has been totally unsatisfactory. I am unable to get the wireless transmitter to connect with my laptop and camera so that I can control the camera from the laptop. The included instructions are too esoteric and vague to be useful for me to get this working. Canon's technical support refused initially to help with this problem and then on repeated appeals, promised help, but has been silent and delivered no info. I would not recommend this device to anyone. A small stone costs less and would be as useless as the WFT-E2A at connecting equipment wirelessly. Either a stone or a WFT-2A might more reliably serve as a paper weight.

Five weeks after I wrote the above review, and after more emails and calls to Canon, visits from various computer wireless and wired experts, I was finally able to find a Canon service rep who walked me through the myriad of setting changes needed to get camera-to-laptop connection. Now I can see a liveview screen on my laptop but the EOS Utility does not have any documentation of what functions can be controlled with the laptop. I can remotely snap a photo but can not remotely focus the camera.

Bottom line--an expensive, frustrating and limited gadget.

There's a reason only 1 is left in stock right now as I type. It's a phenomenal device that as the first reviewer stated, will be shortly showing up in everyone's setup. Tech keeps pushing this wonderful digital world further and further with products like these and I'm looking forward to more successful additions in time. Good luck getting one at the current very low prices on Amazon.