Shooting Wireless With Canon 6D, Eye-Fi, and Lightroom

shooting wireless with canon 6D

We were recently shooting on location for Noble House at one of their resorts, The Riviera  in Palm Springs, CA, and wanted to shoot “tethered” without the actual tether. We’ve shot tethered many times before, but not having the cords getting in our way was essential for this job.

The shoot was about “The Art of Entertaining” so we were taking very detailed shots of cocktails, tablescapes, flowers, cheese boards, etc. As you can imagine, having these types of photos on a bigger screen for immediate review would be a huge bonus.

Having two Canon 6Ds, we were stoked to try out the wireless for the first time. As a test, we did two different setups. I’ll go over how to do both of them, and then tell you which one we liked.

shooting wireless with canon 6D

Setup #1 – Macbook Pro Retina Display 15 inch, Canon 6D, Canon EOS Utility 3 Software, Verizon Jetpack Wireless 4G Hot Spot

This was the first test.

  • Step 1: Download EOS Canon Utility for the Camera you’re using (in this case Canon 6D) and install the software
  • Step 2: Make sure you’re Macbook Pro is connected to the Hot Spot Wireless (in our case Verizon)
  • Step 3: Configure the WiFI on the 6D for your network environment (The Verizon Hot Spot)
  • Step 4: Set EOS Utility to start up in Remote Shooting Mode.
  • Step 5: Configure the folder that the images taken on your 6D will be stored in (we’ll call this folder XX).
  • Step 6: Pair the camera with EOS Utility(Here’s an exhaustive PDF on how to do this:Canon 6D Wifi Guide for Windows | Canon 6D Wifi Guide for OSX 
  • Step 7: Configure Lightroom to Auto Import from the created in Step 5 (folder XX).

Configure the EOS 6D WiFi (Step 3 Explained)

This is the simplest WiFi set-up of any of the Canon WiFi transmitters I have used so far. Simply follow the menu on the camera to configure the EOS Utility mode. It’s easier if you are using a WiFi router / access point since you don’t need to preset various network settings and ip addresses.

NOTE: If you want to shoot tethered to your computer out on location then you will need to create an ad-hoc (point to point) network on the computer and manually set the ip addresses for the camera and computer. This is why I have the Verizon Hot Spot – it makes this so much easier. Just connect the Camera to the network and the computer to the network and voila. No ad-hoc, no IP configuration, no worrying. It costs a little more, but it’s worth it.

Set EOS Utility to automatically start up in remote shooting mode (Step 4 Explained)

The setting is in EOS Utility preferences under the basic settings.

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Set EOS Utility to automatically start up in remote shooting mode (Step 5 Explained)

This is where you’re storing your folders and how you’re storing them. This organization is up to you. For more about how we organize, check out this post.

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Set Lightroom to Auto Import from the folder you set in Step 4 (Folder XX).

Essentially you’re telling EOS Utility to download your photos wireless to Folder XX. Then you’re telling Lightroom to automatically find the images that are in that folder and bring them into Lightroom for a preview. You can also do some fancy things like set a filter as soon as it imports, but we like to look at the photo in its raw format first and then make tweaks later. The reason for looking on the big screen in this case is just to see composition and fine details – having a retina display Macbook Pro (or two of them in this case) is a great option.

In light room go to file > menu > auto import > auto import settings

You have to set it up before you can enable auto import.

Screen Shot 2014-08-28 at 10.57.55 AM

That’s it. Now onto the next way (which I like better).

Setup #2 – Macbook Pro Retina Display 15 inch, Canon 6D, Eye-Fi 16 GB card, Eye-Fi Center Software

With this setup you are essentially doing the exact same thing as above (concept wise), you’re just using different means. You don’t need the Verizon Jetpack, Canon EOS Utility, or any wireless internet access for that matter, making this a perfect option for shooting in a remote location like a desert or mountain town.

What you do need is an Eye-Fi card and Eye-Fi Software (make sure you download the right software for the card you have. I downloaded the wrong one and was perplexed when it wasn’t working. Then I realized I made a mistake and the software wasn’t just a piece of sh*t, which I thought it was. Funny how that works.

  • Step 1: Download Eye-Fi Software
  • Step 2: Enable Eye-Fi Card on Canon 6D
  1. With the Eyefi Card inserted, press the MENU button.
  2. Go to the first yellow wrench tab.
  3. The last option listed is Eyefi settings.
  4. Highlight and press Set.
  5. Select Eyefi trans. and set it to Enable.
  6. Press the MENU button.
  • Step 3: Start shooting some photos.
  • Step 4: Launch eye-fi software and follow instructions to activate card. You will need your eye-fi code that comes with your card. If you can’t find your code, follow these instructions.
  • Step 5: Following the same steps (4 through 7) as above – configure your eye-fi download center to download images to Folder XX. Then configure Lightroom to Auto Import from that folder (just like you did above).

NOTE: When using option 2, eye-fi only imports the JPGs. It does not import RAWS. Your eye-fi card will hold the raws, but it does not import them. This makes viewing them easy and fast. Canon EOS Utility will import the raws and takes a bit longer.

 

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