- The Canon 70D does not have a timelapse function on the camera. You would need a intervalometer which costs money.
What do you need before starting??
- A Canon EOS 70D (wifi version), should be model Canon 70D (W) as in the manual it seems there is a non Wifi version called Canon 70D (N). It should have a charged battery. Basic knowledge on how to enter the menu and navigate through the menus is needed.
- A wifi router that you have set-up the 70D with.
- A Mac connected to the same wifi network with the EOS utility installed and working
If any doubt on setting up the Canon 70D to connect to a Wifi network / computer, please check this tutorial on youtube
- To control the camera wirelessly. You can configure the camera, shoot remotely via the iPhone. - To download pictures wirelessly, directly to the iPhone. On the go, without passing via a computer or removing the SD card. Excellent to send a pic via email or post to facebook or twitter right at the shoot.
What do you need before starting?? - An iPhone with access to the app store - Alternatively an iPhone with EOS remote app preinstalled - A Canon EOS 70D (wifi version), should be model Canon 70D (W) as in the manual it seems there is a non Wifi version called Canon 70D (N). It should have a charged battery. Basic knowledge on how to enter the menu and navigate through the menus is needed.
What are the steps? (followed in the video below) 1) Install the EOS remote app on the iPhone
2) On the Canon 70D: - Turn on the Canon 70D - Press the menu button - Navigate via left / right arrow keys on the multicontroller until you reach the settings (wrench symbol 3) - Go down also via multicontroller to "Wi-Fi". Change to enable. - Enter the option below "Wi-Fi function" - if it is the first time you use wifi, choose a wifi name for your canon. I use "Canon70D"
2) Set-up the Canon to connect to a smartphone - Within Wi-Fi function select the smartphone symbol, where it says "Connect to Smartphone" - In the next screen, use camera access point as to connect directly to the iPhone vs using a router. - In the next screen, select easy connection, unless you want to specify encryption settings or wifi channel.
3) On the iPhone connect to the Canon -Go to settings-wifi and connect to the new wifi network called "Canon70D" (the name I chose for the wifi of my canon before) - Use the password displayed on the screen of the Canon - Open the "EOS Remote" app - Press "camera connection" and then "pair" - Confirm on the camera that you allow the app to have full access
4) ENJOY!
Use "Camera image viewing" in the App to browse, view and download pictures you have taken on the Canon 70D and are on it's SD card.
Use "Remote shooting" in the app to shoot remotely and configure remotely the Canon 70D via the iPhone.
A post on how to connect a Canon EOS 70D to a Macbook Prorunning Mavericks via Wifi (no cable needed!)
WHY to do this?
- - To control the camera wirelessly. You can configure the camera, shoot remotely via the computer, even set-up the 70D for timelapse.
- - To download pictures wirelessly, without a need to remove the SD card.
What do you need before starting??
- A Macbook with Canon’s EOS utilities installed. It helps to have the last version, so check the canon website for updates. If the pop-up (see video) doesn’t appear, most probably this software is your issue. To fix, completely remove all EOS applications with an application like AppCleaner and reinstall directly from the Canon website.
The link today to download 70D software in US English is:
- A Canon EOS 70D (wifi version), should be model Canon 70D (W) as in the manual it seems there is a non Wifi version call ed Canon 70D (N). It should have a charged battery. Basic knowledge on how to enter the menu and navigate through the menus is needed.
- A Wifi network and the information needed to connect to it. Both devices will not connect directly to each other, but via a wifi network (i.e. your home router network name and password)
What are the steps?
- Boot up your Mac, ensure it is connected via Wifi to the network you want to use.
On the Canon 70D:
1) Turn on WIfi by:
- Turn on the Canon 70D
- Press the menu button
- Navigate via the left / right arrow keys on the multicontroller until you reach the settings(wrench symbol 3)
- Go down also via Multicontroller to “Wi-Fi”. Change to enable.
- Enter the option below "Wi-Fi" to “Wi-Fi function”
2) Set-up the Canon to connect to the network
- Within Wi-Fi function select the computer symbol, where it says “Remote Control (EOS Utility)
- In the next screen, connect to your router as you normally would. There are 3 options, via “Find network” (scans for available networks or lets you enter a network ID manually) or via “WPS” if your router supports this either via PBC or a PIN.
- Follow the next screens to enter the details of your router. They will be different depending on the connection option you chose.
- After it will ask if you should set a manual IP or have your router set it automatically for you. Use your router settings (most probably automatic).
- It will display “Start pairing devices”. Press OK
- When the Canon 70D has on it’s screen “Start pairing software on computer screen”, move onto Step 3 which is setting it upon the Mac
3) Set-up the Mac:
- On the Mac, if you are connected to the same Wifi network and have the EOS utilities installed, a pop-up will appear top right saying “EOS Pairing”. Click on it and a window will appear.
- You should see a line with Canon 70D on it. Press “connect”. It will tell you to validate on the camera.
4) Authorise on both devices:
- On the Canon 70D it will say “ found. Connect to the PC.”. Press OK to validate
- You can set a name for the connection on the Canon 70D if you want. There are 3 slots for having more wifi connections.
5) ENJOY!
Ensure you have this video in HD to see the text of the Mac desktop. Youtube allows you to configure this pressing the gear button on the bottom right of the video screen.
All Canon DSLRs normally have extremely long battery times. My old Canon 400Ds battery would last weeks without charging. I was slightly concerned that with the upgrade to the 70D and all the features it has I might need a second battery, but it seems to have a long battery life as well. The only feature that really consumes battery is filming, and even so I got a good 2 to 3 hours out of it.
The source of all this power is the proprietary Canon battery pack. The charger is also Canon, supplied with the camera. It's been slightly upgraded vs, the 400D one, with a LED feature to show how charged the battery is during the charge cycle. Below a video on those modes...
Setting up the Canon 70D to start taking pictures is simple. I'll write a post afterwards on setting up the Canon software on the Mac, I found that slightly more complicated.
Canon included almost everything you need in the box, but there are two things you will need to make sure you have:
- a SD memory card
- a Canon compatible lens
For the memory card I bought the Sandisk Extreme Pro 64Gbs. Sandisk as to not compromise on reliability, would´t want to loose pictures because of a cheap SD, and extreme pro as to have no slowdown while recording High res video or shooting sports Photography with a high fps rate. I think this cards´ speed is overkill for the 70D, but can´t hurt and the cost difference isn´t that much to the lower tier cards.
For the lens if you bought a Canon kit of 70D body and the 18-55mm or 18-135mm it will be in the box. I have the 18-135mm.
1) First thing to do is fully charge the Canon battery pack. Insert the supplied power cable into the battery charger and leave it to charge to 100%. First charge took about 1 hour, The light on the charger will turn constant green when it is done
2) Add the SD card. If you are looking to the back of the camera ( the LCD ), On the left of the camera is a hinged door, you need to slide the door backwards and it will pop open. Insert the SD card with the label facing the back of the camera, push it in until it clicks. Close the door again.
3) Insert the battery into the bottom of the Canon 70D. You need to unlock the latch by sliding and the door will pop open. Insert the battery pack until it clicks and close the door.
4) Add the lens to the body. Remove the supplied sensor plastic cap by unscrewing from the body. When inserting the lens, match the little color spot on the lens (either white or red) to the color spot on the body of the camera. Turn the lens until the lock clicks.
Lens' with a red dot are made for cropped sensor cameras such as the Canon 70D or the entry range (550D / 600D / 650D) and you will have the focal range stated on them I.e. a 40mm will be 40mm) whilst the lens' with a white dot are developed for full frame cameras ( such as the 5D or 1D ) and on a cropped sensor camera will show a different focal length. A 70D has a crop factor of 1.6x, meaning a full sensor 50mm lens will appear 50 x 1.6 = 80mm, an 80mm equivalent on a full sensor camera.
The order of the above isn't particularly important. Just make sure the camera switch is Off while performing any of the tasks. After the steps above are completed, hinge out the LCD and turn it so it faces you. Turn in the 70D for the first time. A screen appears for you to adjust the time. Use the job dial and buttons inside it to navigate this menu. Set the time, date, if you want automatic daylight saving time and your time zone. Press OK and you are ready to take pictures.
For the first picture I just set the camera to fully automatic, turned on automatic focus and image stabilizer on the lens and started shooting away!
I have an "old" DLSR, at least for,today's standards. It's the 400d, bought in 2007. I still use it a lot, solving the only issue I thought it had (low light hand held photography) with the upgrade of the factory supplied 15-85mm lens with a newer canon 15-85mm with image stabilizer technology.
It was OK until I went to a tv ad shooting and saw them use Canon 5D for video. Opened up a whole new world, being able to do professional video with your photography camera. I've been looking into DLSR ever since.
I wanted to upgrade from the basic entry Canon models, however not go professional with something like the 5D. I started looking into it two years ago. Filtering by canon models, as I already have canon lenses and I like their camera build quality, that left as a choice the 7D and the 60D. However none of the 2 convinced me, the 7D being too pricey and the 60D too old - not really made for movies. Canon rumors talked about the 70D being launched "soon".
The baseline is...I've waited a long time for the 70D.
Here's a video of the unboxing, reviews and how-tos to come!
