Will Lightroom/Canon tether with incoming images from a WFT-5 ethernet adapter?

[jonathan7007]

Lightroom or Canon EOS Utility tethering is always described as a USB cable attachment. There's always the issue of the signal weakened or corrupted by an overly long USB cable...

But what about the [overpriced, I know] WTF-5 adapter? (This piece should be renamed "WTF", given that it costs new what some lenses cost.) I saw one on eBay at $400 and thought I could start watching for a more reasonable unit to use with a 1DsMk3 I hope to buy soon. Architecture, studio, other tethered scenarios. So far I have come up with a pretty reliable cabling but maybe an alternative is a good idea.

So can at least EOS Utility receive images over a CAT5 pipe?

jonathan7007

[Don Haines]

You can get USB cables with a repeater hub built in that work reliably. I have a 30 foot one and paid about $20.00 for it, and with an adaptor on the end it acts like a giant extenson cable.
http://ca.startech.com/Cables/USB-2.0/Powered/30-feet-Active-USB-2-A-to-B--able-Male-to-Male~USB2HAB30AC
I believe that you can get them up to 120 feet long.....

You can also get extenders that work with a length of Cat5 cable connecting them.
http://ca.startech.com/Cards-Adapters/USB-2/Extenders-Device-Servers/USBthere-1-Port-Bus-Powered-165-Foot-50-Meter-Multi-Speed-USB-Extender~USB110EXT
I believe they have a version that works up to 330 feet and costs around $150.

There are also units that work over fibre for links many kilometers long, but they are very expensive and require ac power at both ends.

Hope this helps...

[jonathan7007]

Don,
Thanks for those suggestions. I already have a solution for USB that seems to work OK: A "Tripp" brand USB cord with ahub with a signal -- what? -- repeater? amplifier? I think I have a couple of the twenty-five footers, and they work in tandem as extensions to a USB-to-miniUSB needed to connect to the body.

I was wondering if I find a WiFi unit at a reasonable cost if my tethering can work over Ethernet (cat5e cable). There would be other problems WiFi would solve, like impossible cable situations. "docHoliday" here has described some uses of WiFi, no cables, for staff to watch the images coming across in an adjacent room. Clients love this stuff!

jonathan7007

[Don Haines]

Hi again,

I checked to see what the extender I used at work was.

http://www.gefen.com/kvm/dproduct.jsp?prod_id=4505

It is a wireless USB extender and normally works up to 100 or so meters... I replaced the toy antennas with a pair of 28db gain dishes and have a rock-solid link to some instruments about a kilometer away. It works fine, but there is definitly delay. Even on a short link there is a noticeable delay over the straight USB cable.