Used Canon WFT-E2A Wireless File Transmitter for the Canon EOS-1D Mark III and 1Ds Mark III Digital SLR Cameras

2008-08-07T21:00:00

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 on [@] . 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 [@] and they tested a preproduction version of this product and it worked with numerous devices that do not work on the finished product (again confirmed by Rob himself). 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 some big money. 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 is 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. I called in June of 2008 (almost a year later) about the backing up to a jump drive and again had no information.

Toddao