Author Topic: PM and Nikon D4 Ethernet connection to MBP  (Read 15639 times)

Offline Eric

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 263
    • View Profile
Re: PM and Nikon D4 Ethernet connection to MBP
« Reply #15 on: January 22, 2016, 07:39:03 AM »
The MR3040 device is a very neat little beast with multiple modes. Setups will vary but here is how I have mine setup:

The MR3040 is set to 3g/4g and all the factory settings are left as is. It connects to my D4s via the Ethernet ports on the router and camera.

The laptop connects to the router via wifi. On the laptop I run Filezilla. I created a user account in Filezilla for the camera and gave that account read/write access to a folder that I created (c:\00live) The leading zeros are just there to push the folder to the top of the hierarchy so that it's easier to find. Go to the computer's network section and find the laptop's IP address that was assigned by the MR3040.

On the D4s I went into the Network section of the menu. Setup a new profile.  Let the MR3040 assign the address. Network type FTP. Enter the IP address of the Laptop as the FTP address. Enter the user account info including password for the FTP account that you created in Filezilla. Decide if you are going to send EVERY photo you take or just those that are selects. The camera should now log into the laptop.

In PM open the 00live folder as a contact sheet  (FIRST!)... You MUST do this before you start live ingest as PM won't let you open it once the live ingest is started. I setup Live Ingest to watch the 00live folder. I use the global IPTC stationary pad to write IPTC data during the live ingest as well as to 'tag' those photos.

During the shoot: if you have selected to only send tagged files you will have to hold the pad button AND the 'ok' button on the camera to select files individually to send.  As soon as you select a file to send double tap the 'key' button. The D4s will tag the photo when you select it to send BUT if you don't double tap the 'key' button the tag is removed once the file is sent (bad move Nikon). By double tapping you tag the file so that the tag stays even after being sent. Rather important when you ingest the card at the end of the day to keep from having a bunch of dupes. Just ingest only the untagged files. I use the global IPTC pad for live ingesting and the local IPTC pad for manual ingests. This allows you to have two different naming schemes going into the same folder AND allows two different tagging schemes going at the same time.

The D4s has a few quirks as does PM. On the Nikon side... the D4s will log out of the server to save battery power. So while shooting if it is logged in files will fly to the server BUT if it has logged out there will be a delay until its next wake session. If you have (like I do) nervous finger syndrome and select the same file while it is uploading the camera will stop/restart the upload and corrupt the file (bad move Nikon). PM has no way of dealing with corrupted files in the live folder. Any corrupt file in the live folder will stop the live ingest in its tracks cold. PM will not let you open the live folder once it is in use by live ingest BUT if you have it open before you start live ingest you CAN just tap that fold's tab and instantly see the corrupted file. Delete it and the live ingest will resume.

If your cell modem is compatible with the MR3040 (MUST BE IN USB MODE) you can go into the router's settings and bridge to the modem. This will give you internet access to files photos or even to access an FTP sever outside the local network. Unfortunately I am yet to find a cell modem on the list of supported modems that is current. I tried with a Verizon Jetpack but didn't get far.