NO WI-FI? NO PROBLEM

EyeFi produces SD memory cards that have built-in Wi-Fi and enable you to transfer files to a PC or phone.

STAY CONNECTED

Be prepared to jump through a few hoops to set your camera’s connection up. Despite the potential convenience offered by connecting a Wi-Fi-enabled camera to a smart device, the process of starting and maintaining a connection can be quite inconvenient. There can be a frustrating degree of to-ing and fro-ing between the menus on the camera and the device you’re trying to link with. You have to do things in a specific order and if anything happens to the connection you’ll have to disconnect, leave the app on your device, reconnect the two and restart the app. To get around this, some cameras also feature built-in near field communication (NFC), which allows you to tap an NFC-enabled Android device to the camera to quickly set up a wireless LAN connection.

ACTIVATING WI-FI

(Deactivated by default) You’ll need to activate Wi-Fi (and NFC if applicable) in the camera’s set-up menu. As we’ve already highlighted, it’s a bit of a power hog, especially if you’re using a camera that has GPS activated as well, so it pays to be a bit frugal with the function unless you have back-up batteries.

DEVICES AND FUNCTIONS

(One at a time) As said on the previous page, the connection options vary between cameras — this is what’s on offer with a Canon EOS 760D. Once you’ve set the type of function, you’ll have to go through a number of setup screens, although you’ll be able to save the connection for quicker access at a later time.

TYPE OF CONNECTION

(Direct or network) You can choose to make the camera a Wi-Fi hotspot and link your device directly to it, which is useful when you’re working in a remote location. If you’re shooting in an area covered by an established Wi-Fi network, you can use this instead as the access point for both the camera and your devices.