Wireless transfer from camera to MacOS or Windows computers - are there any options?

[LocalHero1953]

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Are there any options - third party apps - that can transfer images wirelessly from a camera to a MacBook (or other non iOS or Android device)?

I have just discovered that transferring from my Q3 43 to iPhone is now extremely fast using Fotos, but it is then reliant on the internet and cloud to get back to a device where I can properly edit them - on holiday with ad hoc holiday wifi, that can be very slow. Other restrictions come from Adobe (I can only store 20Gb images in the cloud) and my phone contract (data costs).

There are obviously alternatives: direct USB-C cable transfer, or SD card reader (my MacBook has one built-in). But given that the Leica Fotos app does it so well (now), at times it would be nice to have the same experience of direct wireless transfer.

 

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[MattiasAndersson]

This might work: FileBrowser Pro on the iphone.

On my iPad i use Leica Fotos to load pictures from SL2.

From Fotos i mark them to be edited in Capture One.

Then I can access the files 'originals' fron FB Pro.

On my windows pc i have a folder set to be shared, and Filebrowser Pro can transfer files from any app on the iPad (in this case the Capture One folder) to the PC folder over Wifi.

The same should work with Mac.

Nothing via cloud, transfer is via local network.

(above with ipad pro, I assume iphone works the same)

[MattiasAndersson]

Just tested an even easier way.

in Fotos you can 'share' dngs directly to local folder in FileBrowser Pro.

(so no need for capture one)

[LocalHero1953]

Is this using Airdrop? That occurred to me as an option. I'll wait till the current backlog of files has been synced then try something like this.

[MattiasAndersson]

as i have windows it is not Airdrop (i believe it is SMB protocol shared folder, not sure)

(obviously it does not work while camera is connected, the wifi connection need to be the local net. in your case while traveling you need to have a wifi connection iphone to Mac perhaps hotspot on iphone would work?)

I'm on Linux or Windows on PC, have never used a Mac... but I assume Apple have solutions for to set up wlan betwen iphone and mac.
 

 

 

[LocalHero1953]

Thanks - something to explore. If I can get it to work, that would be a good solution. Even without the phone upload speed problem, the Adobe 20Gb limit is a problem now that I'm generating 60mp Q3 43 files rather than CL 24mp files. I could easily go over the limit in a two week period away from home.

But downloading from SD card to MacBook will remain my main transfer method for the moment.

Edited July 21 by LocalHero1953

[hoolyproductions]

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I noticed your other post about this, I had a similar experience. I gave up on the earlier versions of Leica Fotos (i) GPS tagging was not very reliable and seemed to consume a lot of battery and (ii) file transfer took forever. When the SL2 cameras came out I discovered that GPS tagging was now working faultlessly and file transfer had improved enough to be worth it for fairly quick transfer to Fotos (and the Lightroom on my phone or iPad for a quick edit and share of a couple of photos). As you noticed, with the new SL3/Q3 43 the file transfer has dramatically improved to the point it is about as fast as via SD card.

I also hit the same problem as you when travelling with poor wifi. I'd import to Leica Fotos on my phone and then to Lightroom mobile. The photos would get stuck in the Lightroom cloud and take forever to transfer to my laptop. Sometimes it's enough to leave them transferring overnight but sometimes a handful of photos would just get 'stuck' and not transfer until I was back home on a proper wifi (typically these would be the same photos I was keen to edit on my laptop e.g. for a panorama stitch that is not possible on Lightroom mobile).

As a result I now only use SD card or USB cable transfer to my laptop when travelling, except the occasional picture that I want to instantly edit and share with my phone. (although I still have same issue for any iPhone snapshots I want to import via Lightroom mobile to Lightroom on my laptop)

Something like Leica FOTOS for Mac/PC would solve it (not that it is a major burden to use the SD card), curious to see what answers you get here.

 

 

Edited July 22 by hoolyproductions

[elmars]

vor 1 Stunde schrieb hoolyproductions:

Sometimes it's enough to leave them transferring overnight but sometimes a handful of photos would just get 'stuck' and not transfer until I was back home on a proper wifi

I have similar experiences. My impression is that LR mobile needs certain transfer speeds or capacities in order to upload larger files at all - whether via WiFi or mobile data. Small JPGs, on the other hand, almost always work.

But that's not the Leica Photos app's fault. However, it is responsible for some data confusion because the files from the camera are saved with those from the iPhone in the same Apple Photos app. If you then upload the photos from the camera to the Adobe Cloud, there are several versions of the same photo. I find that bad. It would be better if the Leica app had its own storage area.

 

[LocalHero1953]

This morning I transferred some photos I’d taken with the Leica Lux app, plus three Q3 43 images from iPhone direct to my MacBook by Airdrop - it was very fast. They end up in the downloads folder - no choice - but it worked. I could then import them to LR CC on my laptop for editing without uploading to the cloud.

I am sure that some time in the future there will be third party systems for reading wirelessly from the camera to laptop without the need for Leica Fotos, in the same way now that the camera can be treated, wired, as a mass storage device. 

I’m ok in that my MacBook has a built-in SD card reader, but it would be nice to dispense with the need for cables and card readers when travelling. 

Edited July 22 by LocalHero1953

[Erato]

18 hours ago, LocalHero1953 said:

Are there any options - third party apps - that can transfer images wirelessly from a camera to a MacBook (or other non iOS or Android device)?

I have just discovered that transferring from my Q3 43 to iPhone is now extremely fast using Fotos, but it is then reliant on the internet and cloud to get back to a device where I can properly edit them - on holiday with ad hoc holiday wifi, that can be very slow. Other restrictions come from Adobe (I can only store 20Gb images in the cloud) and my phone contract (data costs).

There are obviously alternatives: direct USB-C cable transfer, or SD card reader (my MacBook has one built-in). But given that the Leica Fotos app does it so well (now), at times it would be nice to have the same experience of direct wireless transfer.

 

I'm using LocalSend while some use cases hits me.

LocalSend let you share files to nearby devices. No need external servers(private/public cloud or storage services online).
It's an open-source, cross-platform(macOS/iOS/Linux/Windows/Android) and it's totally free at the moment.

Actually it's a donation ware, if you're happy to support the developer.

I hope that help...😀

 

Download portal, FYR: https://localsend.org/download

Use cases video for further reference on the Youtube.

 

Edited July 22 by Erato

[elmars]

Frame.io from Adobe transfers the files directly from the camera to the Adobe cloud. The Leica SL3 will support this in the future.

[LocalHero1953]

4 minutes ago, elmars said:

Frame.io from Adobe transfers the files directly from the camera to the Adobe cloud. The Leica SL3 will support this in the future.

Thanks, but I suspect that’s what I don’t want! It relies on good WiFi connection for internet, and takes up Adobe Cloud storage, for which my subscription only gives me 20gb.