trouble connecting camera + ipad through wifi

Built-in WiFi only.
amika
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Aug 02, 2018 3:30 pm

trouble connecting camera + ipad through wifi

Postby amika » Thu Aug 02, 2018 3:42 pm

Hi,
we unsuccessfully tried to use the app at a tradeshow this weekend. When we connect both Canon EOS6D + the ipad to a public wifi, no connection can be established at all. the same happens when i try our in-office wifi. the only way i can get it to work is if I use my phone's hotspot but then the connection drops after about 5-10min.
We have another event this weekend and I would really like to use the app + camera. We want to connect app + camera (my understanding through them having to be on the same wifi), then have the camera triggered from the ipad and then people emailing themselves the picture with a nice frame afterwards. Therefore here are my questions:

1. why doesn't it work with public wifi (or stronger exhibitor wifi one can pay for at the show)
2. why does it drop the hotspot?
3. is there a way to connect camera + wifi directly? if so, can people still email themselves the pictures? my ipad has a sim card, too.

Aside from this, I also would like to mount the camera in a closed off room, have people use a remote control to take the picture and then have this picture show up on the ipad and people emailing themselves the images. What do you suggest how we make this work? We paid for the annual subscription of your app.

Please help!

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tim
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Joined: Fri Apr 03, 2015 5:14 pm

Re: trouble connecting camera + ipad through wifi

Postby tim » Thu Aug 02, 2018 4:01 pm

Hi Amika,

I am happy to help!
Answering your numbered questions first:

1. In comparison to mobile phones, tablets, and computers, cameras have exceptionally WEAK wifi. The antennas are small and it is simply not a priority for the camera manufacturer. For this reason, your camera needs to be closer than you might think to the source of the wifi. Public wifi is almost certainly not going to work for this reason. There's also the problem that public wifi usually has a "login" screen associated with it: after your device connects, it has to accept some terms/conditions on some popup page etc -- no camera can do that. Finally, most public wifi hotspots kill off all traffic that isn't webpages (http), which would prevent the camera working too. In short, don't use public wifi for wifibooth.

2. Probably because of the distance to the hotspot being too great, or, <50% battery left on the phone or camera, or, strong interference. But, it should not drop regularly: I regularly have my Canon T6i (similar to your 6D) connected via my home wifi to the ipad for 60+ minutes, no problem. When I do events, I connect the Canon through my iPhone, no problem for 180+ minutes. If you are still experiencing drops then please try another hotspot / phone to rule that device out as the issue.

3. Yes, you can tell your Canon 6D to use "Camera mode" wifi and connect the iPad to the camera directly. There'll be no internet connectivity if you do this. But, you could install BluePrint on your iPhone (free) and then wifibooth can use your iPhone's internet connection via bluetooth. You can read more about that here. I suggest you try to get the hotspot route working first, because bluetooth isn't fast.

For remote control: I can't remember if the Canon 6D allows its shutter button to be pressed (the physical button on the camera) once its wifi is connected. If it DOES allow it, your best bet would be to get an infrared/wired remote control for your camera, and potentially put Wifibooth in gallery-only mode. Ask me more about that if you go that route. If your camera does NOT allow this, then i'd suggest you get another iOS device (hint: iPod touch!), install wifibooth on that, and use wifibooth's remote functionality - you can read more about that here.
Please write a review for Wifibooth on the Apple App store! Indie developers like me really need people like you to review their apps. Instructions on how to write a review: http://goo.gl/w8NsDI.

amika
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Aug 02, 2018 3:30 pm

Re: trouble connecting camera + ipad through wifi

Postby amika » Thu Aug 23, 2018 11:22 am

Hi Tim,

thank you for your help and quick reply. It was really helpful. We were able to use the ipad for our first event.
Now our 2nd event we really need to use the camera wall mounted in a dark room, so please elaborate on this:

For remote control: I can't remember if the Canon 6D allows its shutter button to be pressed (the physical button on the camera) once its wifi is connected. If it DOES allow it, your best bet would be to get an infrared/wired remote control for your camera, and potentially put Wifibooth in gallery-only mode.

We bought a camranger remote control device, does this work or can you recommend another, easier one? How do we set it up with the camera? I want to mount the camera on the wall in a dark room, let people take their picture with the remote and then step outside and use the app to email themselves the picture.

Please advise.
Thank you!

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tim
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Re: trouble connecting camera + ipad through wifi

Postby tim » Thu Aug 23, 2018 12:26 pm

Happy I can help!

The CamRanger is not something that wifibooth works with - wifibooth needs to connect directly to the camera. If the camranger is actually tethering to the camera then that would be instead of wifibooth: a camera can only be tethered once (wirelessly or wired).

Re my earlier statement, do an experiment: get the 6D connected to wifibooth, and put wifibooth on the gallery screen. Now, press the shutter button on the camera body (not in wifibooth). Does the camera take a photo? Does that photo show up in wifibooth?
Please write a review for Wifibooth on the Apple App store! Indie developers like me really need people like you to review their apps. Instructions on how to write a review: http://goo.gl/w8NsDI.

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tim
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Posts: 3068
Joined: Fri Apr 03, 2015 5:14 pm

Re: trouble connecting camera + ipad through wifi

Postby tim » Mon Feb 01, 2021 2:32 pm

An update here: Apple opened up USB access to cameras in iOS 14.2, and we have updated Wifibooth to use this (4.12.0).
If you have a Canon DSLR camera and your iPad has iOS 14.2, you can now use a USB wired connection to connect your camera.
Please write a review for Wifibooth on the Apple App store! Indie developers like me really need people like you to review their apps. Instructions on how to write a review: http://goo.gl/w8NsDI.


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