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    W-E1 WiFi adapter for 7D2 First impressions

    Having just received the Canon W-E1 Wifi card and played with it for a day in my 7D Mark 2, I thought it might be worthwhile passing on my experience especially since it is now optionally part of the kit when you buy a 7D2 new, according to EOS magazine’s October to December 2016 edition..

    Any queries after reading this, ask away.

    The card:
    01 - The Card.jpg

    Your 7D2 must have firmware 1.1.0 or later. See http://tinyurl.com/Canon7D2FW1-1-0

    First thing to note is that it is just a wifi card. No data can be recorded on it, so you must use a CF card as well to store your pictures.

    Second thing is that you need to download the Canon Camera Connect App onto your phone. It's available from the Google Play store for Android, iTunes for iPhone. It is free.

    The app was easily installed:
    02 - App Easily Installed.jpg

    When you insert the card and switch on your camera, a new "WiFi Function" option appears at the bottom of the Set-Up3 screen. You can then use that to connect to your smartphone with a customisable name and password. When it is set up and waiting for connection, you have to go to the WiFi setup on your phone as per a normal WiFi network, pick it out and connect to it.

    You then invoke the App on your phone and it connects to the camera. At this point the camera is not usable in the ordinary manner. No buttons work, it's all done remotely from your phone up to 10 metres away. (I’m not a fan of this, I’d like to be able to press the shutter button to cancel the connection and let me take pictures, but that isn’t the current functionality.

    There are two modes of operation: the first is to take pictures, the viewfinder view is shown on your phone along with several options. You'll have to explore this. The second option is to retrieve images on the camera onto your phone. If there are only RAW images, they will be converted to Small JPEG images of about 500k. If you took JPEGs, ether exclusively or alongside RAW, these can be optionally transferred full size or Resized down and transferred. You can choose to transfer one or multiple pictures.

    You are presented with a screen of options after connection to the camera:
    04 - You are then presented with a screen showing two options, plus settings.jpg


    Sample images downsized from RAW can be found on my FB timeline here: https://www.facebook.com/AJLeslie/po...07802737531942

    Resize options are available for JPEG images only:
    05 - Resize options are available when transferring JPEG images from camera to phone..jpg


    I haven't had it long enough to see what it does to battery life, but it won't be good.

    Incidentally it can be used with the 5DR and 5DRS but they cannot transfer video as well as stills, whereas the 7D2 can.

    The manual for the W-E1 can be downloaded via http://www.canon.com/icpd/



    Pictures on the camera are displayed with appropriate info:
    06 - Pictures on the camera are displayed with appropriate info..jpg

    You can select one or more images to save to your phone:
    07 - You can select one or more images to save onto the phone.jpg

    Remote shooting shows the viewfinder view with various options:
    08 - Remote shooting shows various options..jpg

    I bought mine from Park Cameras for £39.99 plus P+P. Their order process was pretty rubbish, Indeed, when I checked the day after my original order I saw that it had been cancelled and reconstituted with a different order number with no notification or reason given at all. I got no notification of dispatch until I asked and no tracking number email which I've come to consider standard with other suppliers like Amazon and Ebay. Still, it arrived in a couple of days and appears to work, so happy days.
    Last edited by AndyL; 10-11-2016, 10:09. Reason: Move pics
    See more at www.andyleslie.com and www.facebook.com/AndyLesliePhotography, not to mention https://www.flickr.com/photos/andylesliephotography/

    There's birds in them thar hills!

    #2
    Re: W-E1 WiFi adapter for 7D2 First impressions

    Unretouched, this is an example pic I took last night, uploaded to my phone from the camera which I was then able to email whilst still in the middle of nowhere. I set the camera to take JPEG and RAW simultaneously, this is the camera JPEG version.

    Sunset Behind Cerreg Cennen Castle 1 by Andy Leslie, on Flickr
    Canon 7D2 w/100-400 mk II

    I hope this is of interest.
    Last edited by AndyL; 10-11-2016, 10:08.
    See more at www.andyleslie.com and www.facebook.com/AndyLesliePhotography, not to mention https://www.flickr.com/photos/andylesliephotography/

    There's birds in them thar hills!

    Comment


      #3
      Re: W-E1 WiFi adapter for 7D2 First impressions

      Originally posted by AndyL
      I hope this is of interest.
      Definitely! Thanks for putting the effort into a comprehensive post. Going to order one now they are actually shipping ...

      Comment


        #4
        Re: W-E1 WiFi adapter for 7D2 First impressions

        Originally posted by Enigma View Post
        Definitely! Thanks for putting the effort into a comprehensive post. Going to order one now they are actually shipping ...
        Yes, it was a real pain waiiting for them to actually be available.
        See more at www.andyleslie.com and www.facebook.com/AndyLesliePhotography, not to mention https://www.flickr.com/photos/andylesliephotography/

        There's birds in them thar hills!

        Comment


          #5
          Re: W-E1 WiFi adapter for 7D2 First impressions

          Thanks for a detailed & interesting post Andy.
          Russell
          Canon 7D MkII, 550D EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS USM, EF 70-200mm f/4.0L IS USM, EF 100mm f/2.8L IS USM Macro, 300mm f/4L IS USM, Extender EF 1.4x III, Speedlite 600 EX-RT Speedlite 320EX
          http://www.flickr.com/photos/photorussell

          Comment


            #6
            Re: W-E1 WiFi adapter for 7D2 First impressions

            I'm using a W-E1 in my 5Dsr and so far so good (I actually bought it, from Park Cameras in London, the day after I saw the v1.10 firmware was out, which is needed to support it). I was quite surprised my iPhone could handle the 50MP images, but it and the SnapSeed and MaxCurves apps seem happy with them (note I have a 7, I can't say older phones with less RAM will work as well). I did find the live-view had more lag than I'm used to with my Panasonic camera.

            What I will suggest, if you have an iOS device, is to try the Cascable app instead of the Canon one, as it offers a lot more features. Note they don't fully support the W-E1 yet (they're Swedish and you can't get it there yet) so not everything works (specifically you get less AF options), but I found it a very significant step up from the Canon app. There are lots of paid extras, but the basic free version is quite useful. Note they support up to the current iOS version - 1, so iOS8 users are out of luck. Their support were extremely helpful.

            Also with the Canon app note if you don't send the full-res image you get a quite small one instead (1920x1280 with my 5Dsr, so no use if cropping required and the other choice is 8kx6k).

            Comment


              #7
              Re: W-E1 WiFi adapter for 7D2 First impressions

              Yes, an interesting write up.

              When I got my first camera back after a break it was a Panasonic micro 4/3 and one of the sites I read then, and still do, was Thom Hogan's. He has a number of related sites and on one of them posted this - http://www.dslrbodies.com/newsviews/...ut-workfl.html.

              While he's quite challenging in what he's asking for, I don't think his "demands" are unreasonable in that the workflow for DSLRs is fundamentally broken if you compare it to the ease with which a phone user can take a shot (albeit a limited quality one) and how easy it is to get the result onto a site like flickr or some form of social media such as Facebook.

              While for most of us older more committed to the quality of the shot types this may not be an issue but for the millennials it's a major blocker to them even bothering to look at DSLRs. Its also hurting pros badly as they're always behind the first shots taken with a camera phone. Which is why the pro cameras now tend to come with an ethernet port so togs at big events can do direct uploads.

              For me the fact it seems I have to use the Canon software on my Mac to download images makes it a non-starter. If I could power the camera on, it connected to my wireless network and provided a direct access point I could connect to as a file system, then import images in lightroom, I would have one like a shot. Until then, interesting but not for me.
              EOS 7D mk II, Sigma 150-660C, Canon 17-85 EF-S, Tamron 10-24 and a wife who shares my obsession.

              Comment


                #8
                Re: W-E1 WiFi adapter for 7D2 First impressions

                I ordered mines from Park Cameras on the 5th Nov and still no sign of it and no mention of it being dispatched
                Alex

                EOS R5 EOS 7D Mk ii Lenses EFS 18-55mm EFS 55-250mm EF 50mm 24-105mm Sigma EX 70-200 Sigma 150-600c

                Comment


                  #9
                  Re: W-E1 WiFi adapter for 7D2 First impressions

                  Originally posted by 2Beers View Post
                  I ordered mines from Park Cameras on the 5th Nov and still no sign of it and no mention of it being dispatched
                  Well, I'd chase them hard.
                  See more at www.andyleslie.com and www.facebook.com/AndyLesliePhotography, not to mention https://www.flickr.com/photos/andylesliephotography/

                  There's birds in them thar hills!

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Re: W-E1 WiFi adapter for 7D2 First impressions

                    I ordered mines from Park Cameras on the 5th Nov and still no sign of it
                    I suspect that they had no stock, their website is now showing a delivery expected on 16/11. WEX and CVP have been showing pre-order only for a week or more.
                    Russell
                    Canon 7D MkII, 550D EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS USM, EF 70-200mm f/4.0L IS USM, EF 100mm f/2.8L IS USM Macro, 300mm f/4L IS USM, Extender EF 1.4x III, Speedlite 600 EX-RT Speedlite 320EX
                    http://www.flickr.com/photos/photorussell

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Re: W-E1 WiFi adapter for 7D2 First impressions

                      I got mine from Park Camera's London store a week ago and they had eight left as I departed the store. I don't know if store cards are used for mail order or not (as they would presumably have to ship them back to the main office). Might not hurt to give them a call (although I suspect they may well be gone).

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Re: W-E1 WiFi adapter for 7D2 First impressions

                        It seems that nobody has stock. Even Canon's USA store is showing back order. Park are claiming 9/12 availability. I wonder if they released it too early, and there's some major re-engineering/re-programming going on.
                        Russell
                        Canon 7D MkII, 550D EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS USM, EF 70-200mm f/4.0L IS USM, EF 100mm f/2.8L IS USM Macro, 300mm f/4L IS USM, Extender EF 1.4x III, Speedlite 600 EX-RT Speedlite 320EX
                        http://www.flickr.com/photos/photorussell

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Re: W-E1 WiFi adapter for 7D2 First impressions

                          Seems to work fine for me, I suspect they just under-estimated the demand. I haven't seen anyone complaining anywhere.

                          Comment

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