After playing around a bit with the new Adobe Lightroom Tethering Plugin PRO for the Fujifilm X-T2 (see this blog post) I was wondering if there is a way of wireless WiFi tethering the Fujifilm X-T2 (or Fujifilm X-Pro2) to Adobe Lightroom CC. And in fact there is!
All you need is a wifi SD card like Transcend’s Wi-Fi SD card (or Toshiba FlashAIR) and the WiFiImport Lightroom Plugin by Frank Eberle.
Installation
Download the plugin from Frank’s website, unzip it and copy the WiFiImport.lrplugin file to a folder of your choice. I did choose the same folder where also the tether_fujifilm_pro.lrplugin file is installed, so stuff stays organized and I can easily find it later.
Configuration
Now start Adobe Lightroom CC and head over to the plugin manager (File > Plug-in Manager…) to set the plugin up:
Basically what you have to do is choose if you’re using a Transcend or Toshiba WiFi SD card. That’s about it. Hit ‘Done.’
Shooting
Insert your wifi SD card into the Fujifilm X-Pro2, Fujifilm X-T2, Fujifilm X-T20 or any other camera that has an SD card slot and turn the camera on. Now comes the most important part: Connect your computer to the wireless network of your wifi SD card. You do this like you would connect your computer to any other wireless network: choose the wireless network and type in its password.
To start shooting tethered wirelessly with the Fujifilm X-T2 go to the menue File > Plug-in Extras in Lightroom. You can choose from two options of importing with the WiFiImport Lightroom Plugin: Shoot and Import or Import by Date.
In Shoot and Import you type in the IP address of your SD card and select the directory where you want the images to be stored (RAW or JPEG or both). You can even add keywords or apply presets during import:
Now you’re good to go! Take a picture with your Fujifilm X-T2 or Fujifilm X-Pro2 and watch how your images show up magically in Adobe Lightroom CC. This wireless tethering workflow doesn’t involve to use Lightroom’s Auto Import feature via a watched folder. The WiFiImport Lightroom Plugin is taking care of everything.
Conclusion
It’s needless to say that the best, fastest and most stable way to tether a camera to a computer is still a physical cable. But there might be cases where tethering wirelessly comes in handy.
If you like the plugin please donate to the author Frank Eberle: Make-A-Donation
(Tested on a Mac running macOS Sierra 10.12.1 and Adobe Lightroom CC 2015.7)
*****
Official FUJIFILM X-Photographer Daniel Zihlmann works as a documentary and portrait photographer worldwide. Website: https://www.danielzihlmann.com/
I’m curious, is the need for a wireless SD card due to some sort of limitation with the WIFI function built into the cameras?
Hi Chris, thanks for the question. As far as I understand it, the problem is that the wifi of every device is a bit different. The author of the plugin, Frank Eberle, had a Transcend and a Toshiba wifi SD card at hand for developement and testing. That’s why the plugin is made and works for those two wifi SD cards. I’m not sure if the plugin could also work directly with a camera’s built-in wifi, if Frank had one for testing. Please contact Frank directly for further questions. Hope that helps!
Hi,
in general it should be possible to use the wifi function of the camera. But each camera uses a different protocol, so it’s not possible to develop a plugin which works with every camera.
Frank
Thanks for the feedback, Frank! I think we would be very happy if the plugin could at least work with the built-in wifi of the FUJIFILM X-T2 and X-Pro2 :-)
Hi Frank,
I have the fuji XT2 and have been checking out the various top wifi sd cards in order to be able to display the image I have just taken on an ipad in fill screen.
From all reports on the internet reviews, none of these cards are terribly reliable or very quick in downloading the image.
I have often thought why cant I use the built in hotspot of the XT2, it seems to work reasonably well as a wireless remote with the fuji remote app, which in my opinion could be a lot better.
Your lightroom idea is really interesting, could it be used with the ipad mobile version of lightroom?
Its probably too much yo hope for at the moment but I would dearly love to be able to press the shutter on my XT2 and see the image on my ipad quickly and reliably.
Regards
Michael
Hi Michael,
If you want to tether wirelessly to Lightroom mobile on an iPad this is a completely different scenario. You don’t need any special software besides the Trascend wifi SD card and the companion iOS app to do so. You need to install the Transcend Wi-Fi SD app that comes with the card and use the app in ‘Shoot & View’ mode. New images that arrive in the Transcend app will also be added to the camera roll of your iPad. And every new image that is added to the camera roll will show up automatically in Lightroom mobile (if Lr mobile’s preferences are set correctly).
“Quickly and reliably” you will probably never get from this kind of affordable wireless tethering solution ;-) In the pro field reliable wireless tethering is available for many years, but it will set you back a couple of hundred $$$.
CamRanger is a great solution for wireless tethering, but does not work with Fujifilm (yet). Also TetherTools is thinking about supporting Fujifilm in the future with its new AirCase.
I have these same concerns and would like to know how long it takes a 20mb + RAW image to transfer to my MacBook Pro.
Thanks.
Long. See my conlusion. I didn’t take the time, but a couple of seconds. Wireless will never be close to a hard-wire USB 3.0 connection. Which actually transfers compressed Fuji RAF files (approx. 30MB) quite fast to Lightroom CC when using the new Tethering PRO plugin.
only works for XT2 not Xpro2 sadly..
yep
I just wanted to add that if users have Photo Mechanic, they can shoot Raw+JPEG, but only transfer the JPEGS wirelessly (faster, more reliable) and do ratings and metadata info on the JPEGS, then they can plug in the card later on to ingest the RAW files and use PM to transfer the metadata from the Jpegs to the Raw files. That’s what I do at least.
Thanks for the tip, Mick. I heard about that feature. Could be helpful. I don’t use PM though.
Not sure where all this unreliability talk of wireless sd cards is coming from. I have been using eye fi cards for about 5 years
on commercial shoots (xpro1) and have never been left without transfer capabilities. On the rare occasion of competing wi fi signals there might be a short delay
for the card and tablet to reaquire but never a deal breaker. I send jpgs to android tablet mostly. Raw works
but takes about 15 to 20 sec. Funny, for 20 years I shot 4×5 with type 52 b/w polaroids and a 90 second eternity. Now 20 seconds seems
like all day. I use the tablet like a polaroid. The client can view and approve or make set changes and suggestions. I disliked tethering for several
reasons. As a location guy, mostly interiors, I dislike a lot of cords around. Also, I need to concentrate on the shot not think about processing out
the image. Maybe I am just old school, I can understand the need of tethering for some but why the negativity towards wireless? Its just a different work flow.
I can view the image, adjust lighting and exposure to get it where I need it to be. I have redundancy if I need to by having raw on camera and on tablet. I can also
send to laptop instead and choose which folder it travels to. Then lightroom is right there if needed. I prefer to view as I did polaroids and focus on the task at hand.
The short transfer time gives me moments to think and work out the next problem . I am not in a race. I am there to create. I have never had a client say where is your laptop. Mostly I hear – That’s wireless, pretty cool. The client knows my work they will receive in acceptable time. I also don’t like to show them my secrets in post or lure them into thinking they can get images same day. It does take a little time.
Hi Jerry, thanks for your feedback. Interesting to hear. I have bought/used at least 3 or 4 different versions of eyefi and mobi SD cards over the years and never got too much luck with it. A lot depends on the accompanying software that comes with the card. I’m glad you’re happy with your eyefi cards. Transcend seems to work better for me. YMMV
How well and realiable a wifi SD card works also depends on the camera used. Some cameras shield the wifi signal from the SD card more (caused by the camera’s construction and materials), others less. And the rest depends on the proprietary software that comes from the SD wifi card manufacturer.
Hi
The continuous WIFI transfer to iPad is still a very unreliable and messy subject. I have tried many models of eye fi and all are unreliable. I don´t understand why camera manufacturer make it so difficult and proprietary. I tried Fuji, Sony and Nikon.
I just want camera built in wifi od SD cards to continuously and automatically transmit the low res jpg to my ipad, while I concentrate on shooting the model
It makes me think that the camera makers do not use their camera professionally in studio.
On iPads why don’t you use Fuji software which can also control focusing and settings on the machine? Set the X-T2 to capture RAW+JPEG, use Fuji software and capture/preview/transfer the JPEG files all wirelessly to the iPad.
Because the camera doesn’t stream images automatically with the Fuij app. You can only browse images on the card in the camera and choose which ones to transfer. That’s a different thing than shooting tethered.
That is good for some situations, but not for photo shoots where you want to move around and concentrate on models
Just tested with my fuji xe-2 worked like a champ, excited to use it in my home studio and when I’m working with an assistant on location.
Great to know, Christopher! I’m glad my blog post was useful to you.
Does it need a router to connect your computer to the SD card? On location shooting, etc.
Thanks!
Hi! Thanks for your question. No, there is no router involved, otherwise this setup would not work out in the field. Well, actually the “router”/wifi hotspot is in the SD card. So, your computer connects directly to the wifi network of the SD card as you would connect your computer to any other wifi network. Hope that helps!
Perfect! I’ll give it a try. Seems to be the only solution for tethered shooting with X-Pro2.
Thank you so much for your post!
Hi there,
a wifi card together with an iPad and the app ShutterSnitch works great for checking directly after a shot. I send only the JPGs and it only takes a few secs. Only downside to this is that you cannot turn your camera nor the iPad off without losing the connection and have to connect again afterwards.
Thanks for your feedback, Martin. ShutterSnitch is a great app. Though the set up that is described in my blog post let’s you shoot directly into Adobe Lightroom on your computer. That’s a quite different thing, workflow-wise. In some cases you might prefer to shoot into an iPad instead of a laptop. This often breaks the workflow though as everything you do on the mobile device will be lost back on your studio computer (ratings etc.). You could overcome this issue by using Photo Mechanic, but that sets you back another $150. If you want to have a seamless workflow from a mobile device (smartphone or tablet) to your studio computer and back I prefer to use Adobe Lightroom mobile. It’s the most overlooked functionality of Lightroom mobile IMO.
Thank you so much!
First of all many thanks Daniel, Frank and all the contributors on this page, you helped me a lot in my research of a wifi tethering solution for my Fuji, especially with the option of a direct and automatic transfert image after image. Still very surprising to find so little options in 2019, seems to be what people should expect to get, even if not pro shooting in studios. I’m still wondering if you have any ideas/options to propose for people like me using Android. I have the lifetime version of LR6 and don’t want to go on the monthly basis for the mobile version of LR, which after many hours diggin’ the net seems to be the only solution for direct wifi tethering on an android device. Thanks for your help and with kind regards. Mathias
Hi Mathias
Thanks for your question. Unfortunately I don’t have any experience in the Android world :/ In the Mac world I wish I could (cable) tether my Fujifilm X-T3 camera to my Apple iPad and get rid of my laptop. Even that the new iPad Pro has an USB-C port, Apple is not willing to really open the hardware and let it unfold the full potential (yet). Wifi tethering was more like a private project for me, a proof of concept. Being a pro photographer I don’t consider to use wifi tethering in my daily life anytime soon. Of course the idea seems tempting, but in 2019 there is still no faster and more stable connection than just hard wiring a camera to a computer. Lightroom CC can not tether anyway, not even the desktop version. For tethering you have to use Lightroom Classic CC on the desktop. Sorry I couldn’t help more.