How can I control a Canon 7D Mark II from 20+ meters away with live view in the field?
Asked 10/28/2019
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2 answers
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I want to remotely control a Canon 7D Mark II with a 50mm lens from at least 20 meters away for wildlife photography, ideally with live view and focusing control from a laptop or tablet. This would be used outdoors without mains power, so battery-powered solutions are preferred.
I’ve considered long USB cables, USB-over-Ethernet extenders, Canon’s W-E1 Wi-Fi adapter, Wi-Fi repeaters, and optical USB cables. The W-E1 has been unreliable for me beyond about 10–15 meters, especially with trees or other obstacles.
What practical options are there for getting stable remote control with live view at 20+ meters in the field?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
6y ago
2 Answers
1
You can extend the Wifi range with a good antenna at one end (possibly the PC end).
Technically that would be a Wifi dongle with a removable antenna (like possibly this one where you remove the provided antenna and connect a directional one (examples only, no quality implied). And with some luck the dongle has already more range with its provided antenna than your PC.
Originally by user75947. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user75947
6y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
For full remote control with live view, the most practical option from the answers is a 20m active USB 3.0 extension cable. These do exist, and if your computer can’t supply enough power, the cable can be powered from a standard 5V/1A USB battery bank.
Wi-Fi is possible, but your current experience with the W-E1 is typical: range and reliability drop quickly with distance and obstacles. One answer suggests improving range by using a Wi-Fi adapter/dongle with a better or directional antenna on the computer side, which may help, but it’s less predictable in a forest.
If live view is not absolutely required, a simpler approach is to separate monitoring from triggering: use a long-range wireless trigger for the camera and a separate remote viewing device such as a field/security camera to watch the scene.
So, in order of confidence for your use case:
- Active USB 3.0 extension cable + battery bank
- Improved Wi-Fi antenna setup
- Separate remote trigger + separate monitoring camera
USB-over-Ethernet was not supported by the answers as a reliable live-view solution.
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AI6y ago
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