Canon EOS R Bluetooth Function

canonmike

EOS R6
CR Pro
Jan 5, 2013
494
419
I'm very anxious to see how the R's Bluetooth/wi-fi function will work with the Canon app on my cell phone. We are avid hikers on the Benton MacKaye and Appalachian Trails here in the North Ga Mtns and wouldn't be carrying a bulky laptop but always have a cell phone with us, so am hoping I can set camera to immediately dump full res photos as I take them to my phone, offering both redundancy and ability to immediately text select photos on demand to whomever, providing I'm on a trail section with cell service. Hoping this will be a seamless transition without hiccups, offsetting the one card slot issue and debate. Anyone out there with any experience using the Canon phone app???

Thanks for all the input and suggestions, Rumors posters. Much appreciated.
 
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LDS

Sep 14, 2012
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immediately dump full res photos

Bluetooth is not the speediest protocol to transfer large amount of data. Bluetooth 5 is faster than 4, but both devices need to support it, and it's still slower than WiFi, although it can save more power. High-speed Bluetooth (+HS) is basically an hand-off to a 802.11 (WiFi) data connections, and tops at around 25Mbps, must be explicitly supported by devices. So it depends on what is supported, and how many photos have to be transferred,.

Be sure also to have enough free storage on you phone, especially if yours is a model without support for microSD cards.
 
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canonmike

EOS R6
CR Pro
Jan 5, 2013
494
419
Bluetooth is not the speediest protocol to transfer large amount of data. Bluetooth 5 is faster than 4, but both devices need to support it, and it's still slower than WiFi, although it can save more power. High-speed Bluetooth (+HS) is basically an hand-off to a 802.11 (WiFi) data connections, and tops at around 25Mbps, must be explicitly supported by devices. So it depends on what is supported, and how many photos have to be transferred,.

Be sure also to have enough free storage on you phone, especially if yours is a model without support for microSD cards.
Thks for the FYI as I'm still not certain that bluetooth is going to be a dependable viable option. Storage space on phone duly noted. Unfortunately, there is not any wi-fi on the trail. I have not used the Canon app, so this may all be wishful thinking on my part. Was just hoping it might work. Thx for your response.
 
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Dec 13, 2010
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Thks for the FYI as I'm still not certain that bluetooth is going to be a dependable viable option. Storage space on phone duly noted. Unfortunately, there is not any wi-fi on the trail. I have not used the Canon app, so this may all be wishful thinking on my part. Was just hoping it might work. Thx for your response.
You don’t need a WiFi network, you create one between the camera and the phone.
 
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canonmike

EOS R6
CR Pro
Jan 5, 2013
494
419
You don’t need a WiFi network, you create one between the camera and the phone.
Thx, Viggo.....like I said, I have not used Canon's app and so, have no experience yet, with how the transfer would work. Whether one uses wi-fi or bluetooth to effect this transfer, I am just hoping it will work. I would just love the ability to simultaneously record to camera's SD card and transfer photos to cell ph., automatically. I'm certainly aware that wi-fi is a more effective process than blue tooth, when given a choice. I was not aware that the camera can create its own wi-fi network, linking it with the phone. Thx for the FYI.
 
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stevelee

FT-QL
CR Pro
Jul 6, 2017
2,383
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Davidson, NC
You don’t need a WiFi network, you create one between the camera and the phone.
Traveling in the Rockies a couple of years ago with my G7X II, I found that when I would review my pictures of that day on the iPad, it was sometimes convenient to use the motel's wifi, and sometimes better just to use the camera and phone connection (partly depending upon speed and password connection issues). Generally, either would work well, as I recall. Since it was the end of the day and I had access to electricity, I didn't need to be concerned about battery life in either device.

During the day, I didn't often keep the camera paired with the iPhone to use the phone's GPS to tag the photos in camera, since that did seem to eat up a lot of charge in both devices. But it was available when I wanted it. A lot of times, I just make a shot at the same locale with my phone, and can use that metadata to pinpoint where I was if I don't remember.
 
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LDS

Sep 14, 2012
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I was not aware that the camera can create its own wi-fi network, linking it with the phone.

WiFi supports what are called "ad hoc connections", a decentralized connection among devices, which are slightly different from devices all connected to an access point that manages nodes and routes data. It's often used to connect two devices directly, i.e. a PC to a printer, a camera to a phone or PC, etc.
 
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canonmike

EOS R6
CR Pro
Jan 5, 2013
494
419
WiFi supports what are called "ad hoc connections", a decentralized connection among devices, which are slightly different from devices all connected to an access point that manages nodes and routes data. It's often used to connect two devices directly, i.e. a PC to a printer, a camera to a phone or PC, etc.
Thanks for the insight into wi-fi connections. Now, just hope this process might actually work for my intended purpose, which would put a nice smile on my face.
 
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LDS

Sep 14, 2012
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Rgarding the Canon Camera Connect App, I've just found this: "CR2 images will be resized to an optimal size for your device depending on the camera used. Full resolution RAW CR2 file transfer is NOT available". EOS Remote too will convert to JPEG and resize. If the camera allows for other types of transfers, without using the app, maybe the full size RAW can be downloaded anyway.
 
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Jan 29, 2011
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Rgarding the Canon Camera Connect App, I've just found this: "CR2 images will be resized to an optimal size for your device depending on the camera used. Full resolution RAW CR2 file transfer is NOT available". EOS Remote too will convert to JPEG and resize. If the camera allows for other types of transfers, without using the app, maybe the full size RAW can be downloaded anyway.
I'm pretty sure that will change once they release DPP Express for iPad, it is a app I am really looking forwards to and is designed to work RAW files that have been captured via the Camera Connect app.
 
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Mar 25, 2011
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See page 446 in the manual. Auto sending to a smart phone by bluetooth(android only) or by wi-fi can be enabled, size of file is set in the options as reduced or original, but that likely does not apply to the cr3 files.

The list of options for sending data is extensive, so get a copy of the manual and check it out.

There are many answers here that do not match what the manual says, so check it out.
 
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why dont you use a dongle?

usb type c to usb. then a sd card reader. quickest, most efficient(battery and time), reliable. That is if you have an android phone. Samsung includes the adapter in the box and works well!

then bring along some usb sticks to copy the files to them. This will help with redundancy.

I dont know if they can do this on apple products, but i am sure they can also!
 
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LDS

Sep 14, 2012
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See page 446 in the manual

Thank you, I didn't know the manual was available. It looks that basically file transfers always happen by WiFi. Bluetooth is used for transferring other kind of data and setting up the WiFi connection automatically . It looks it uses Bluetooth low-energy features to save power, and enable WiFi when needed (unless WiFi is explicitly used). Makes sense.

Maybe I missed it, but I didn't understand if full-size images are transmitted as JPEG or RAW ones, especially if default photo viewers apps don't support RAW formats (especially for cameras not already available). Both Apple and Google stores app pages say "importing original RAW files is not supported (RAW files are resized to JPEG)". Also, while an image file is being transferred, the camera can't shoot.

Does the R with bluetooth and the app allow capture of GPS data from the phone into raw files?

Looking at the manual, yes. The Camera Connect app must be running (see page 411 of the manual)
 
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hmatthes

EOS-R, RF and EF Lenses of all types.
I'm very anxious to see how the R's Bluetooth/wi-fi function will work with the Canon app on my cell phone. We are avid hikers on the Benton MacKaye and Appalachian Trails here in the North Ga Mtns and wouldn't be carrying a bulky laptop but always have a cell phone with us, so am hoping I can set camera to immediately dump full res photos as I take them to my phone, offering both redundancy and ability to immediately text select photos on demand to whomever, providing I'm on a trail section with cell service. Hoping this will be a seamless transition without hiccups, offsetting the one card slot issue and debate. Anyone out there with any experience using the Canon phone app???

Thanks for all the input and suggestions, Rumors posters. Much appreciated.
I carry a battery powered small sized hard drive that has its own WiFi network, USB port, and a SD card reader.
On location I suck up the images when I replace the SD. This gives me two copies when I get to my computer for LR CC
 
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Don Haines

Beware of cats with laser eyes!
Jun 4, 2012
8,246
1,939
Canada
Thks for the FYI as I'm still not certain that bluetooth is going to be a dependable viable option. Storage space on phone duly noted. Unfortunately, there is not any wi-fi on the trail. I have not used the Canon app, so this may all be wishful thinking on my part. Was just hoping it might work. Thx for your response.
You enable both WiFi and Bluetooth on the camera and phone, and when you open up the ap, it connects to the camera over Bluetooth, and when you go to the download portion on the ap, it sets up a WiFi connection to your camera. You do not need routers or anything else....

The first time you set it up, it can be a royal pin in the ass to get running, but after that first connection, it really works easily
 
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Just got an EOS R myself and found the GPS really easy to use. However on my first outing using it I found the locations assigned to photos to be less accurate than the inbuilt GPS on my 6D MKII, but that's the phone's fault, not the EOS R.

What I did notice is the battery drain, I took about 75 shots and battery was down to about 58%. It was the first charge of a brand new battery so hopefully that will improve after a few charge cycles (so might not be down to the bluetooth only) I've notice too that when you turn off the camera, BT remains on & drains the battery too (unless you switch it off in the menu).

I'll see how battery life improves after a few charge cycles but will also give my GPE2 gps unit a go again...
 
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koenkooi

CR Pro
Feb 25, 2015
3,543
4,082
The Netherlands
Just got an EOS R myself and found the GPS really easy to use. However on my first outing using it I found the locations assigned to photos to be less accurate than the inbuilt GPS on my 6D MKII, but that's the phone's fault, not the EOS R.

What I did notice is the battery drain, I took about 75 shots and battery was down to about 58%. It was the first charge of a brand new battery so hopefully that will improve after a few charge cycles (so might not be down to the bluetooth only) I've notice too that when you turn off the camera, BT remains on & drains the battery too (unless you switch it off in the menu).

I'll see how battery life improves after a few charge cycles but will also give my GPE2 gps unit a go again...

I'm still annoyed at Canon for dragging gp-e2 support down to the level of phone assisted GPS. When the GP-E2 is attached the camera will ignore the electronic compass, no so direction info anymore :/ The original M does use the compass.
 
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