onOne Software DSLR Camera Remote Mini-Review & Recommendation

I've been sort of eyeing a Canon Wireless File Transmitter for some
time - not really for any critical reason - just figured it'd be a neat gadget
for certain situations (e.g. setting up remote cameras at sporting events or
wireless studio tethered shooting). However there are plenty of reasons
why I haven't made the plunge to get one - price being among the biggest one to
justify (>CAD$1000 for one); plus each Canon WFT unit only works with a specific
body or bodies (e.g. WTF-E2 for 1D or 1Ds Mk III, WTF-E3 for 40D or 50D, WFT-E4
for 5D Mk II), so having three different bodies which WFT unit should I
purchase; and most reviews that I came across seemed less than encouraging -
the primary issue being ease of use.<o:p></o:p>
At a recent hockey game I setup a remote camera off the catwalk
directly above the goal using a pair of PocketWizard FlexTT5's and a remote
triggering cable. It did the trick (I guess); however there were plenty
of limitations: camera settings could not be remotely adjusted if needed, burst
mode doesn't appear to be available (1 depression of the fire button only gives
you 1 shot - tuff gamble in action sports), and there's no way of telling what
shots were captured until after the game when the camera and memory card
areretrieved.<o:p></o:p>
Recently I came across an advertisement in a photographic magazine for
the DSLR Camera Remote by onOne Software
(http://www.ononesoftware.com/detail.php?prodLine_id=38), which lets you
wirelessly shoot and gives you the option to control a variety of camera
settings on your Canon (or Nikon) DSLR using aniPhone or iPod Touch and
Wi-Fi connection. There are two versions for either your iPhone or iPod
Touch that can be purchased through the iTunes Store: Lite (USD$1.99) and
Professional (USD$19.99). Lite basically only lets you shoot and review
the images you've taken (still pretty handy in my opinion); Professional does
that and also gives you the ability to change common camera setting such as
Aperture, Shutter Speed, ISO, White Balance, Image Quality and Exposure
Compensation. Additionally you can control LiveView (if your DSLR
supports it) and LiveView focusing modes, self-timer and time-lapse controls,
and auto-exposure bracketing. <o:p></o:p>
I didn't bother with first testing out theLite
version;rather I went right for Professional since the reviews seems
positive enough and the features that I was most interested in were only
available in the Pro version.<o:p></o:p>
I always appreciate products that have instructional videos - I'm a
visual learner; show me how to do something and I'll grasp it right away,
whereas I may have to read something a few times before getting a handle on it.
There are half a dozen or so instructional videos on onOne Software's
website for the DSLR Camera Remote that are great.<o:p></o:p>
Even if you don't bother with the instructional videos, setup couldn't
be any easier. First things first, you'll need a compatible DSLR (only
Canon and Nikon are supported) and your cameras USB (or FireWire) interface
cable, an iPhone or iPod Touch with a version of the DSLR Camera Remote App
installed, and a Wi-Fi enabledcomputer (PC or Mac) with DSLR Camera
Remote Server installed (free download from onOne Software's website).
After downloading the App from the iTunes store and installing the Server
software onto my Macbook Pro I was shooting remotely in less than 2min (I had a
previous Wi-Fi network connection). If you don't have an existing Wi-Fi
network connection, you'll need to set that up first. You don't need to
have a connection to the internet - you can setup an Ad-Hoc Wi-Fi connection
directly between your computer and iPhone or iPod Touch (if you don't know
anything about setting up an Ad-Hoc network (I confess I didn't) there's a
great video on the onOne Software website on how to setup an Ad-Hoc network on
either a Windows XP or Mac OS X computer).<o:p></o:p>
One thing to note; while this App gives you control over many of your
camera's common shooting options there are two in particular that cannot and
must be therefore set on the actually camera: Shooting mode (M, Av, Tv, P,
etc...) and AF Drive Mode (One Shot, AI Servo, etc...), but I don't consider
this to be an issue.<o:p></o:p>
I also tested out using this remote setup with my PocketWizards.
No problems, everything appears to work as normal. It's always a
pain when someone develops a great third party add-on, only to have it mess up
other functions that you use. Doesn't seem to be an issue with this
application.<o:p></o:p>
LiveView mode is a neat feature to have access to, but I personally
don't know if I'll use it much. The video feed is choppy and a bit
delayed (that may vary with network connection and commuter speed) - there also
appears to be a slight delay in firing a shot, so if you were relying on
LiveView to try and capture that perfect action shot, I think you'd be
disappointed. I could see LiveView being handy if you're not able to see
your camera or what is in front of it (e.g. wildlife photography, surveillance,
etc...).<o:p></o:p>
I'm extremely impressed with onOne Software's DSLR Camera Remote.
To have essentially all the same wireless features of a Canon Wireless
File Transmitter and even a few more for only $20 is awesome (there are of
course some things that a WFT unit can do that this can't, but those features
were never of interest to me). Additionally you’re not faced with the
dilemma of having to choose a platform that will only work with only one body
type – I can choose to remote shoot my 1D Mk III, 5D Mk II or 50D, or any new
body that I may purchase in the future – that flexibility is great to
have. With all the money you can
save, you can easily afford to purchase (if you don't already own) an iPhone or
iPod Touch, and a small inexpensive notebook computer (you don't need much
computing power for the Server – I cheap used PC laptop would be perfect).<o:p></o:p>
Not that I’ve had much experience using it yet, but seeing that HD
Video is becoming more popular in DSLRs (e.g. 5D Mark II, 7D and Rebel T1i) it
would be neat if I could switch between video and still modes using this remote
(to my knowledge this isn’t feature isn’t available, but I can’t see why it
wouldn’t be possibly – perhaps in a future release). I could see those who do use DSLRs like the 5D Mk II for HD
Video productions finding the remote start and stop record being a valuable
feature, rather than having a bunch of useless footage before and after your
take.<o:p></o:p>
The DSLR Camera Remote Server that runs on your computer automatically
saves the images taken to a folder of your choice (a default folder is setup
during the install, but you can change that) in addition to saving the images
on your camera’s memory card. There
is also the option to save copies of the images directly into a Lightroom
folder. <o:p></o:p>
I highly recommend the DSLR Camera Remote by onOne Software (and no I
don’t work for the company or earn any commission from its sale). I hope
someone finds this helpful and enlightening.<o:p></o:p>