Most cameras these days include a WiFi transfer option. Some even also have Bluetooth like my new one. However I find these features pointless since they only will transfer to a phone or iPad and I do all my editing on my MacBook Pro. Or can they transfer to the photos app on the Mac? I don’t believe so so I use a usb cable. Anyone have a use for the WiFi feature on their camera? I figure if I have to transfer to my phone why not use the phone instead for photos?
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WiFi on cameras
- Thread starter jwolf6589
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Apple stopped shipping laptops with card readers a few years back so I just use the USB cable.
It’s always recommended to use a card reader instead of a usb cable because there have been accounts of cameras getting bricked from the computer like if the batteries die during file transfer. Plus a card reader is cheap and a lot faster.
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Rumor has it that the SD card slot could be returning to the Mac line soon. With Ive no longer around trying to make things impossibly thin and overly simple, maybe Apple will retreat a bit for user comfort. When I had a MBA, having to use a USB-C dongle with a USB-A spot for a SDcard reader, it got pretty ungainly.
I have never bothered with the memory card slot in my previous Macs and certainly wouldn't if there is one once again available in the next Mac that I buy. Serious photographers don't mess with memory card slots in their computers or on their printers, they simply purchase the appropriate external memory card drive and use it for their needs.
My usb cable will charge my battery when plugged in and it’s fast enough for the 10M and videos that I shoot.
Some Canons can send via your wifi directly to an FTP server on your Mac. Not tethering, but file transfer. Can be handy.
And my Oly can work via wifi but only to send files, not with Live View. It works via my LAN, so like with my Canon I don't have to make a direct connection with the Mac. But of course my Mac can't view the Oly raws, so that's another issue.... But Lr can, and I can have it watch that folder and import as I shoot. It's pretty fast wifi too.
I don't see a point in adding a card reader. What would it be? CF? SD? just use a reader.
And my Oly can work via wifi but only to send files, not with Live View. It works via my LAN, so like with my Canon I don't have to make a direct connection with the Mac. But of course my Mac can't view the Oly raws, so that's another issue.... But Lr can, and I can have it watch that folder and import as I shoot. It's pretty fast wifi too.
I don't see a point in adding a card reader. What would it be? CF? SD? just use a reader.
Of course the ultimate combo here would be Sony's new A1 FF mirrorless camera body plus the Xperia Pro phone which is designed to work as a companion to it.... Streaming, wireless communications between camera and phone? Not a problem! Want to use the phone as a monitor while shooting video? Not a problem! Oh, sorry, but this combo is rather expensive -- $$$$$ -- but for those who can afford it or who need it for professional reasons it's the perfect solution.
I transfer my photos via Wi-Fi from a Canon R6 to the iMac I use for photo editing, but in reality the transfer is a lot faster by using a cable, or just a card reader. You can just drag the photos from the card to a folder on the Mac, and that only takes a few seconds depending on how many photos you have in the card.
I want my photos to go instantly into the Photos app so the cable is the best option for me.
Why did you ask this question if you discount every opinion offered?
WiFi would only potentially transfer images to your machine via whatever app your camera supports. Unless a camera manufacturer wrote something under the hood in their WiFi app to interact directly with the Photos library (I don't personally know of any that have) you'd then need to take the extra step to import those images into Photos.
You don't find sd cards to be of value for whatever reason and other experience-based opinions and approaches seem to get discounted, therefore the cable is your only real option to get your images "instantly" into Photos (using the camera as a source).
Did you read my OP? I was asking about WIFI which another user said is super slow and will not transfer instantly to photos.
Actually I prefer SD over micro SD and sought out a camera that takes this media format instead of microsd.
To be clear, the only way to "instantly" get an image into Photos is by taking a picture with your iPhone/iPad - and a variety of iOS/iPadOS camera apps support it. Everything else involves a separate step, even if it's just connecting a cable and importing.
Also, you can be quite sure that Molly - and everyone who has responded - read your OP.
Yes, I did read your OP. Did you??? Because nowhere in it did you ask about transferring photos instantly.
My first response on this thread stated that my Nikon (a brand which you hate according to other threads) does in fact send photos to my MacBook via wifi. Others stated correctly that their phone can act as a wifi remote for their cameras and that there is a purpose for wifi on a camera.
You state your usb card is fast enough for your purposes when transferring from the camera to a computer.
It is not until Post 17 that you state you want the photos to go "instantly" via wifi. Which gets us back to my initial response that using an external card reader (or even the usb cable) is much faster than wifi.
Again, you have received very valid responses as well as well thought out responses for anyone else who reads this thread, but you have discounted them all, and not until midway through the thread did you even ask the question you really intended.
So yes, in fact, I did read the OP and the ensuing thread. Make sure you ask what you really mean originally and then maybe consider alternate view points from people who have been doing this for 1, 5, 10, or 20+ years.
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My mistake in wording. I should have said directly rather than instantly. I would rather use WIFI but photos does not support this so I use USB cable saving me the cost of buying yet another dongle for $30-$40.
You still never said any of that in your OP. 🙄
Photos does not support wifi transfer but your MBP most likely does. Once you get them to your computer you can do whatever you want with them.