Wireless Tethering: Canon Camera to Cloud

For professional sports, news, and wedding photographers using Canon's R-series, speed is essential. The traditional workflow involves shooting to cards, running to a laptop, ingesting, and uploading.

This guide shows you how to skip the laptop completely. By using the built-in FTP client in modern Canon EOS cameras (R3, R5, R5 Mark II), you can upload JPEGs or RAWs directly to the cloud while you shoot.

Prerequisites

1. Canon Camera with FTP support (EOS R3, R5, R5 Mark II, R6 Mark II).
2. Internet Connection: 5G Mobile Hotspot, Venue Wi-Fi, or Ethernet (via grip or built-in on R3).
3. Rilavek Account: To act as the bridge between FTP and S3.

Step 1: Create a Pipe & Sender

First, configure the destination and access credentials in Rilavek.

1. Log in to your Rilavek Dashboard.
2. Create a Pipe: Connect it to your desired S3 destination (e.g., s3://my-agency-bucket/live-event/). Note the Pipe ID (e.g., pipe_123).
3. Create a Sender: Go to Senders, create a new one (e.g., CanonCam), and copy the password.
4. Construct your FTP Username: Combine the Sender name and Pipe ID with an @ symbol.
   • Format: SenderName@PipeID
   • Example: CanonCam@pipe_123

Step 2: Configure Network Settings (Wi-Fi)

To upload wirelessly, your camera needs internet access.

1. Press MENU on your camera.
2. Navigate to the Purple Network Tab (often Tab 1 or 2).
3. Select Network settings → Enable.
4. Select Connection settings (or "Comm settings" on older firmware) → Set.
5. Choose Create with wizard.
6. Select Configure online.
7. Select Wi-Fi (or Wired if using Ethernet).
8. Choose your network (e.g., Phone Hotspot or Venue Wi-Fi) and enter the password.
9. Wait for the "Connected" confirmation.

Step 3: Configure FTP Server Settings

This tells the camera where to send the files.

1. After connecting to Wi-Fi, the wizard typically asks for Function settings. Select FTP transfer.
2. Select FTP (Standard) or FTPS if you require encryption (Note: SFTP is supported on R3 only).
3. Address Setting:
   • Enter the IP/Domain: ftp.rilavek.com
4. Port Number: Leave as 00021 (for standard FTP).
5. Passive Mode: Ensure this is set to Enable.
6. Proxy Server: Disable (unless your venue requires it).
7. Login Method:
   • Select Login password.
   • Login Name: (Your combined username: SenderName@PipeID)
   • Password: (Paste the Rilavek Sender Password)
8. Target Folder: Keep as Root folder (or specify a subfolder if desired).
9. Save the settings and connection. You should see a green LAN icon or "FTP" text light up on your display.

Step 4: Critical Transfer Preferences

These settings determine reliability and speed.

1. Go to FTP transfer settings (under the Network tab).
2. Automatic Transfer:
   • Option A (News/Sports): Set to Enable to upload everything immediately.
   • Option B (Selective): Set to Disable to manually select best shots.
3. Transfer type/size:
   • Set to JPEG only or Small JPEG for fastest delivery to editors.
   • Keep RAWs on the card for backup.
4. Transfer with SET:
   • Set to Enable. This allows you to press the SET button during playback to instantly queue an image for upload.

Step 5: Start Shooting

1. Return to shooting mode.
2. Take a picture.
3. Look for the FTP Icon on your screen (top or bottom right):
   • Blinking Green: Uploading.
   • Solid Green: Connected/Idle.
   • Orange/Red: Connection error.

Pro Tip: On the Canon R3, use the built-in Ethernet port for wired reliability during stadium events. For R5 users, the WFT-R10 grip offers better range and Ethernet capabilities if Wi-Fi is congested.

Your images will now appear instantly in your S3 bucket, ready for global distribution.