Printing without Sololink (Sony Camera)

leshark
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Joined: Tue Jan 21, 2020 2:05 pm

Printing without Sololink (Sony Camera)

Postby leshark » Tue Jan 21, 2020 2:13 pm

Hi,

I'm currently building my Photo Booth for our Wedding (I'm not intending to use it commercially) so am trying to keep the costs and complexity down. Ive got the following equipment:

- Sony a5100 Camera
- iPad Pro 2nd Gen (WiFi & Cellular)

I've got it up and running with the trial for now and am happy with the performance. I now need to buy a printer so we can give guests a copy of the photos on the day. The DNP printers are out of budget for our needs so I've been looking at something like the Cannon Selphy CP1300.

Am I right in thinking that as my camera doesn't support 'Infrastructure Mode' then I will need an additional iOS device running Sololink? Can I not print direct from the iPad via Bluetooth while connected to the Camera via Wifi?

Many thanks

Craig

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tim
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Re: Printing without Sololink (Sony Camera)

Postby tim » Tue Jan 21, 2020 2:28 pm

Hi Craig

Correct - if you want to use the Sony a5100 there's no way to print directly from the ipad, because it is only on the network with the camera. There's no support in iOS for direct printing to bluetooth - some apps from manufacturers implement this themselves but Wifibooth cannot (because we don't have access to Canon's proprietary bluetooth implementation etc... not even sure the selphy printers have bluetooth...). So yes you'd need a second device running SoloLink if you want live/on-site printing.

Which iPad exactly do you have: does it have Face ID? I'm asking because you might try out the new SceneSelect feature in Wifibooth 4.11 and decide that it is fun enough for your guests to use, which simplifies things for printing greatly since it takes your Sony camera out of the picture (iPad and printer on same wifi network = easy).
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.

leshark
Posts: 6
Joined: Tue Jan 21, 2020 2:05 pm

Re: Printing without Sololink (Sony Camera)

Postby leshark » Tue Jan 21, 2020 4:34 pm

Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately my iPad Pro is an older one with Touch ID instead of FaceID :-(.

Perhaps I’d be better off buying a different camera given the limitations of the Sony models (assuming it applies to all of them). I’ve been put off that so far as I have a few E mount lenses but I would also like the option of using an external flash which isn’t supported by the a5100.

Edit: Just another thought, it would be great if there was an alternative to Sololink that could run on something like a Raspberry Pi.

Many thanks

Craig

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tim
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Re: Printing without Sololink (Sony Camera)

Postby tim » Tue Jan 21, 2020 7:06 pm

Hi Craig,
The issue is that SoloLink does some very complex stuff with bluetooth, for which apple hardware is very good at: and for which sololink can rely on being present on all apple devices. The benefit of a single hardware provider :)

On the topic of other cameras: how much would a used Canon 750D cost you? Great wifi. If you are using strobe flash and want the movies to be exposed differently than the photos then you’d need to step up to the 80D level. Personally 750D + strobe + no movies is a great option for me.
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.

leshark
Posts: 6
Joined: Tue Jan 21, 2020 2:05 pm

Re: Printing without Sololink (Sony Camera)

Postby leshark » Wed Jan 22, 2020 1:27 pm

Hi Tim,

Thanks for the reply. Having bought into the Apple family for that very reason I completely understand your logic!

I could invest in a Canon 750D but when I add on the cost of an external flash and new printer I could have hired in a professional twice over. If I wasn't already invested in Sony (I also have a A550 DSRL and lenses) then I'd be tempted by the cannon. If only Sony supported infrastructure mode because I've been pleased with the test's I've run so far.

Likely course of action is to squirrel my iPhone into the setup for the day and run SoloLink. I may upgrade my a5100 to a a6000 to support the external flash or upgrade my A550 to a compatible Alpha series (although I think the only compatible ones are ££££s).

Many thanks

Craig

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tim
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Re: Printing without Sololink (Sony Camera)

Postby tim » Wed Jan 22, 2020 2:28 pm

OK, understood.
Last point to consider: if you have a good iPhone (X, XS, 11 for example), then it might be worth trying to use the iPhone as the camera (with SoloLink). You get printing easily, because the iPhone+iPad are (by necessity) on the same wifi network, and the photo quality is quite good. You also get SceneSelect as a cool feature for your guests
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.

leshark
Posts: 6
Joined: Tue Jan 21, 2020 2:05 pm

Re: Printing without Sololink (Sony Camera)

Postby leshark » Wed Jan 22, 2020 2:55 pm

Ok thanks. I have an iPhone X at the moment but will probably have upgraded to an 11 Pro by the time I need the Photo Booth. I think we are going to make our own back-drop so don't necessarily need the SceneSelect. That said I'll try the two different setups to see how the images compare.

I needed an excuse to buy a new phone....

Thanks!

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tim
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Re: Printing without Sololink (Sony Camera)

Postby tim » Wed Jan 22, 2020 3:05 pm

Ha - Apple should cut me in one day ;)
You're welcome & all the best for your event!
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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