Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Cheap DIY Wi-Fi Tethering Dongle for Your DSLR [DIY]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/Nj4qBdqKnhM/cheap-diy-wi+fi-tethering-dongle-for-your-dslr

For those who can't afford an $800 wireless transmitter for your camera but need one to quickly transmit photos from your DSLR to your computer, here's a DIY wireless tethering solution that costs under $40.

Using a wireless USB tether—specifically, a Cables Unlimited Wireless Adapter Kit—Peter Tsai, a professor in photography, created an easy and cheap tethering module that supposedly seamlessly worked with his Nikon DSLR. Apparently, it also could transfer photos over Wi-Fi from his camera to his computer even quicker than an official $800 WT-4a transmitter. Although it took slightly longer for the dongle to sync with his computer, once connected, it was reportedly able to transfer photos shot in RAW in eight seconds and JPEG photos in four. Tsai also said you could use Nikon's Camera Control 2 software on your computer to remotely control your camera.

However, Tsai pointed out that this particular hack only works with PCs, and that the particular wireless adapter kit needed a bulky AC power brick for it to work. Although he was able to solder a 4-AAA powerpack to the kit, he says he is still looking to fix the problem, and hopefully create an encasing for his homemade adapter to keep it contained and make it into a camera handgrip. [PeteTek via Wired]