Nikon WT-1A Owner's Manual

Wireless Networking with Nikon Cameras

Wireless Networking with Nikon

Cameras

As computers and cameras merge more and more the photographer now has to

understand more about the computer side to simply do the job. In addition to understanding the basics of shooting pictures to- and editing digital photographs on- the computer the D2H supports a new wireless connection mode which adds an entire new technology which photographers must understand.

The D2H with the accessory WT-1 Wireless Transmitter allows images to be

automatically moved from the camera, as they are shot, to a remote computer, potentially anywhere in the world, using the industry standard “802.11b” technol

ogy. 802.11b, also called “WiFi” or “Airport” is a medium range, easy to setup, wireless networking protocol widely used in laptop and handheld computers. This technology is now available in many coffee shops, airports, libraries and

home networks around the world.

One of the beneﬁts of a WiFi network is it’s ease of setup and use. While it is

easy to use there are basics which must be understood before setting up any com-

puter network. This short document will discuss the technology, conﬁguration

and security of WiFi in general as well as it’s usage with Nikon wireless products.

Networking Basics

A computer network is simply a group of computers connected together in some fashion to allow them to share data or interact. The “Internet” simply refers to

every computer in the world that is connected to other computers. The ability for

this global network of computers to talk with each other allows photographers

to, at the speed of light, move images from the location back to the newsroom or

studio for processing or distribution. WiFi technology takes this one step further;

as soon as the photographer takes the photo the image can be automatically sent. There are essentially two types of networks, wired and wireless.

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Wireless Networking with Nikon Cameras

Wired Network

In a simple wired network each computer has a wire coming from the back to a

central “hub.” Each hub is then wired to a larger box called a “router” that routes

signals from hub-to-hub and computer-to-computer. The router may be connect-

ed to (or may also be) a “gateway” which, as it sounds, allows the local network

to connect to different, outside networks.

The “1’s and 0’s” that make up the language that the computers speak travels

up and down these wires from computer to computer. The router and gateway

determine if the signal is destined to a computer on the local network (called a

“LAN”) or if it should be routed out, through the gateway, to the larger network or “WAN” (Wide are Network).

Wireless Network

A wireless network is exactly the same as a wired network except that there is no wire from the computer to the hub. Instead, a “Wireless Access Point” is connect-

ed to the hub and a wireless “transceiver” (transmitter and receiver) is connected

to the computer. The transceiver converts the network 1’s and 0’s into radio waves (in the 2.4GHz frequency range) which the Access Point receives, decodes

and passes on to the hub and the rest of the wired network.

IP Addresses

Just like each house on a street has a unique address, each device (computer,

camera, router, etc.) on a network must have a unique network number. This

number is called an Internet Protocol Address or shorter “IP Address”. An IP Address is a group of numbers that looks like this: “192.168.1.234”, while the full description of IP Addressing is beyond the scope of this document the basics

must be discussed.

As mentioned above each device on a network must have a unique (different)

number. Not only does the number have to be unique it has to be part of the same

network or subnetwork. Without getting into too much detail the ﬁrst three parts

of the address identify the network and the last part of the number is the individual network address. In the example above the “192.168.1” is the network and

“234” is the device address. Much like a house is located at “1600 Main Street”

where “1600” is the unique house number the “Main Street” can be though of as

the network the house is on. So a group of computers or cameras on one network

all need to have address similar to:

192.168.1.150 - Computer

192.168.1.151 - Computer

192.168.1.152 - Camera

192.168.1.153 - Printer

Notice how the ﬁrst three parts of the address are the same, only the last group of

numbers changes. If set up properly like this each device above would be able to

communicate with each other. The ﬁrst part of the address may change depend-

ing on where the IP addresses are coming from (more on this later) but as long

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as each device on the network has a

similar front part and a unique ending

number.

IP Number Distribution

There are several ways that each

device on a network can be given a

unique number. The ﬁ rst (and most

complicated) is called “Manual” ad-

dressing. In a manual IP network the

network administrator has a list of

addresses and manual assigns one to

each device. This is a complicated and

time consuming method as a single IP number can be used by only one device and each device has to be manu-

ally conﬁ gured.

Wireless Networking with Nikon Cameras

A much easier solution is to use a

“DHCP Server.” DHCP stands for

Dynamic Host Controller Protocol. A

DHCP server is either software run-

ning on a computer or a function of

the router or other hardware on the

network.

The DHCP server automatically gives

each device on a network a unique IP address as well as providing other

important information about the network.

A typical network showing wired computers connected to a hub (which is also a router/gateway in

this case). Also shown is a wireless access point allowing a Nikon camera and a laptop computer to access the network. Each device has a unique IP address and can access the global “Internet”

through the Router/Hub/Gateway

Simply set the computer or device to

“Obtain an IP address automatically” and the DHCP server will issue and manage

the numbers.

MAC Addresses

The Media Access Control or MAC address is a unique number that each and

every device on the network has. Unlike IP addresses, which can be changed, a

MAC address is hard coded into the network device and generally cannot be

changed by the user. While not normal used MAC addresses can be used to fur-

ther protect a network. For instance the router can be setup to only allow certain

MAC addresses to use the network. Other devices will not be able to connect.

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Wireless Networking with Nikon Cameras

Network Protocols

A Network Protocol is like a language spoken between computers on a network. In order for devices to communicate they have to be on the same network (or

have a way to get from one network to another) and speak the same language.

Some examples of networking protocols are:

HTTP - This protocol is used to download and view World Wide Web pages

from computer to computer.

AppleTalk - Used by older Macintosh computers for local networks

TCP/IP - Used by all computers on the worldwide Internet to communicate

various information

FTP - File Transfer Protocol is used to easily move ﬁles (documents, pictures,

programs, etc.) from computer to computer. The Nikon WT-1 transmit ter uses the FTP protocol to transfer images from camera to a remote computer.

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Wireless Networking with Nikon Cameras

802.11b

A common form of wireless networking is the 802.11b or WiFi network. Adopted

by many vendors this is a relatively fast, medium range wireless networking

scheme that is easy to setup and reliable to use. A chip or card in the computer (or wireless device) converts the 1’s and 0’s of the data to be sent into radio waves (in the 2.4Ghz frequency) which are then received by a “base station” con-

nected to a wired network. The base station converts the signal back to digital

data and sends it along the network.

Other versions of this wireless standard are: 802.11g, which is a faster than the

“b” version but just becoming available and 802.11a which is also faster but has

very limited availability. In general 802.11g devices are interchangeable with

802.11b, but the network is slowed to the “b” speed of 11Mbps.

Wireless Access Points or “base stations” have gotten much less expensive and

have added many feature in the last few years. Vendors like Apple Computer, In

tel, Linksys and many others now make and sell devices which for a few hundred

dollars are not only Wireless Access Points but also Routers, Firewalls and Print

Servers. While an “Access Point” only network device may seem like a good

idea they are generally a little harder to setup. An all-in-one access point/router

adds functionality and are only marginally more expensive while being consider-

ably easier to conﬁgure.

Range

The range of 802.11 networks depend on several factors, including: the construc-

tion of the building (steel and concrete block transmission more than wood fram-

ing), other devices in use (mobile phones, microwave ovens, etc. As the distance

increases from the receiver the connection continues but at a slower speed. The

chart below shows general connection speeds and how the range is affected by

distance.

Outdoor Indoor (few obstacles) Indoor (obstacles)

11Mbps

2Mpbs 400m / 1312ft 90m / 295ft 40m / 131ft

1Mpbs 550m / 1804ft 115m / 377ft 50m / 164ft

The Nikon WT-1 transmitter has two antennas available, the included WA-S1 has

a range up to approximately 30m/90 feet and the optional WA-E1 which has a

range up to 150m/450 feet at full speed. The WT-1 has been tested at a range of 250m/750 feet at the slower 1Mbps (megabit per second).

160m / 525ft 50m / 164ft 25m / 82ft

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Wireless Networking with Nikon Cameras

Wireless Security

Security is a big concern when it comes to moving ﬁles and images around wireless networks. Nikon has built several features into the WT-1 Wireless Transmit-

ter to ensure that images are not compromised.

ESS-ID

The ﬁrst security measure is the use of ESS ID’s (Extended Service Set Identiﬁer Identiﬁcations). An ESS ID is simply the name of the wireless network that the

device will join, if the correct name of the network is not entered into the remote

device (camera, computer, etc.) that device will not be able to connect to the wireless network.

WEP Encryption

Wired Equivalent Privacy provides wireless networks with the same level of

security as that available with cabled networks. WEP works by encoding the data

to be transmitted and then it is decoded by the Access Point. The WT-1 supports 64 or 128 bit encryption keys. The higher the encryption key the more secure the

transmission, but also the slower the transfer speed. In general WEP encryption will slow the 802.11 transmission rate by approximately 20%.

MAC Address Filtering

As mentioned before, the MAC address is a unique number to each device. For

ultimate security the MAC address of the WT-1 Transmitter could be added to

the ﬁlter list of the Access Point and then only that WT-1 would be allowed on

that wireless network.

Ad Hoc Mode

When using a Wireless Access Points and wireless cameras or computers the

network is called an “Infrastructure” mode network. Many WiFi devices can also work in “Ad Hoc” mode which means that the 802.11 devices can communicate

directly to each other without the need for a Wireless Access Points. In Ad Hoc

mode a Nikon camera can directly send images to a laptop computer with a WiFi

card. This is ideal for photographers who simply want to send images without the

setup involved with a Wireless Access Points. Be aware that Ad Hoc mode does

not support any of the advanced security features. For Ad Hoc network setup, see

the section near the back of this guide.

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Wireless Networking with Nikon Cameras

Conﬁguration

In order to use the Nikon WT-1 Wireless Transmitter there are basically four

things that need to be set up: Wireless Network, Host Computer IP, FTP receiv-

ing software and WT-1 Transmitter. For Ad Hoc network setup, see the section

near the back of this guide.

Wireless Network Setup

There are many different brands of Wireless receivers on the market today and

setting up each one is beyond the scope of this document. However, some tips:

1) Choosing a Wireless device that also has a “Router” built-in can make setup and usage much easier.

2) If connecting to an existing network that is already setup and working do not turn on the “DHCP” options on the Wireless device

3) Record the “ESS-ID” or “Network Name” of the wireless network you create

4) Record the “WEP Key” if you choose to use WEP encryption

5) Connect wired computer so the “LAN” ports (if available) and a network connection to the “WAN” port

6) Most devices have a built-in web server which may be easier to use to conﬁgure than any “Wizard” which may be included. Find the default IP address of the device (usually in the manual) and try to connect to it with a web browser (from a computer connected to the device).

Host Computer Setup

The WT-1 transmits images via the standard FTP protocol. In order to do this we

need to have a computer setup and running the FTP server software. The ﬁrst part of this process is to setup a computer on the same network as the camera.

Since the router/access point set up in the previous section acts as “DHCP Serv ers” to automatically assign IP addresses to attached devices this step is fairly straight forward. Only follow these steps to setup a new network, if your computer is already connected to the internet or you already have a wireless network

following these steps may interrupt your current connection.

Macintosh

1) Connect computer to pre-conﬁgured router/access point using a standard network cable or, if the computer has wireless capabilities, connect to the wireless network.

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