[multiweb]

Is there a way to save raw files directly from the camera to a laptop via USB rather than on the onboard memory card?

Any software available that would enable me to do this with my old *istD? I use a TC-80N3 remote to do timelapses and would like to save the subs to PC rather than clogging the memory card.

Thanks for any pointers.

[Adam]

You could try the eyefi card:
Eye-Fi 8GB Pro X2 SDHC Memory Card EYE-FI-8PC B&H Photo Video

[Ole]

The *istD can be tethered to a PC. You should be able to download the software from Pentax ("Pentax Remote Assistant"). You'll need the earliest version of the software. The later version 3 doesn't support the *istD but the K10D and K20D instead.

The software also provides for interval shooting.

[multiweb]

Thanks guys. The PENTAX remote assistant link is dead as it's ancient software. I sent a query to tech support to see where I can download it from.

[sjwaldron]

You could try the eyefi card:
Eye-Fi 8GB Pro X2 SDHC Memory Card EYE-FI-8PC B&H Photo Video

Seeing as he is using the *ist D, he would need some type of special adapter to use an SD card that supports WIFI in the CompactFlash slot.

[multiweb]

Hi Guys, I have found an old installer for the first version of Pentax Remote Assistant. It works a treat. While it's running with the camera connected via USB you still can use a TC-80N3 but you are limited to 99 exposures. The only thing is to give a minimum interval of 35s for the image to download and save on the Laptop. Will do some testing tonight.

[multiweb]

Seeing as he is using the *ist D, he would need some type of special adapter to use an SD card that supports WIFI in the CompactFlash slot.

I was a bit worried about that Wi-FI card as one of the reviews said the pics were uploaded online prior to be downloaded back on the laptop using a web service? That didn't sound right.

[sjwaldron]

I was a bit worried about that Wi-FI card as one of the reviews said the pics were uploaded online prior to be downloaded back on the laptop using a web service? That didn't sound right.

I've never used one, but I think your PC would be loaded up with their special software to act as a receiver. You would need a WIFI gateway or a laptop with WIFI built-in. It will all be local and nothing to do with the Internet.

Also, that adapter says it doesn't work with the newer WIFI SD cards, so you would probably not be able to transfer RAW files (only JPG images).

[multiweb]

Ok I played with the remote assistant yesterday arvo and did a short timelapse here. Those were 250-500ms exposures. I had the interval set to 40s. That's how long it takes for one file to save from the DSLR to the laptop via USB. The average file size was 16MB in RAW.

It seems the camera won't handle very well shooting again before the previous file is saved. That is the same behaviour whether you save to the internal memory card or an outside storage via USB. So the best thing seems to let the file save, the camera come back to standby mode (after the hourglass symbol disappears) then shoot again.

Even when I tried to do 30s exposures I thought adding only 10s interval so I'd get 30s+10s = 40s enough time to save one sub. I started to run into trouble after a couple of exposures with the camera shutter activating within the exposure countdown of one of the subs.

Am I missing something or doing something wrong? Thanks for any pointers.

PS: would the *istD with the latest firmware (1.12) support a Sandisk Extreme 16GB UDMA . If it does then I'm thinking that I can store close to 13h on board with that card so I could do away with the laptop altogether during capture? At the moment I'm using a Sandisk Ultra II 2.0GB and it might also be the bottleneck with download time.