# R Backup



## jaayres20 (Nov 5, 2018)

I have the R and love it. It is far superior than my 5D4 and even better than my 1DX mark 2. I am a wedding photographer and currently use the R and my 5D4 simultaneously. I thought the 5D4 would have 3/4 of the work and the R would just complement. However, every single time I pick up the 5D4 I feel like it is so slow and clumsy. I want to use the R a majority of the time but the single card slot gets to me. I have tried a few things to get a backup and the both haven't worked as well as I would like.

I have tried to wirelessly tether the R to my iPhone using the Camera Connect app but it quickly drains my iPhone and the R with the constant syncing. Sometimes a button gets pressed on my phone and tethering stops and I have to reconnect the camera and it isn't always convenient. I know some have gotten this solution to work so maybe I'll give it another go.

I also bought a my passport pro and tried to backup up my sd card throughout the day. I would shoot with one for a while and then switch. I think I shoot too much for this because it took a really long time to transfer photos and I didn't even make it thought a whole day before the passport pro died. It is supposed to last for 10 hours. Also, there ended up being one card that would not copy for some reason.

I am now feeling like I would need to bring my MacBook Pro with an SD card reader to get something to work quickly and consistently. I thought about a SD card reader for my iPhone but I don't have enough room for RAW files and I think RAW files take a while to transfer to an iPhone. I shoot RAW+JPEG and I wish only the JPEGs would transfer but I don't want to manually select all of the images.

Does anyone have any ideas that I could try. I really need to make this work and a frustrated there are no dual card slots on the R. It is such a good camera otherwise.


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## zim (Nov 5, 2018)

I'm sorry I have no answer for you regarding backup but I'd really love to know why, for you, the R is far superior to the 5d4?

actually
https://www.canonrumors.com/forum/i...tion-cs100-for-backup-while-travelling.34318/

check out lion rock's reply


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## jaayres20 (Nov 6, 2018)

zim said:


> I'm sorry I have no answer for you regarding backup but I'd really love to know why, for you, the R is far superior to the 5d4?
> 
> actually
> https://www.canonrumors.com/forum/i...tion-cs100-for-backup-while-travelling.34318/
> ...


There are a few reasons. The 1dx2 and 5d4 obviously have more pro features and frames per second. The R is not going to do well with sports, probably, but its focus abilities for normal moving and still subjects is near perfect and outperform the 1dx2 and 5D4. In extreme dark situations (were you would have issues seeing with an optical view finder) The R has no issue finding and holding focus. I am also a fan of touch and drag AF vs joystick. 

I also have found nice customizations that allow me to completely dial in exact exposure and Kelvin WB in seconds all while my eye is up to the view finder (which is absolutely beautiful). I use the multi function touch bar for setting Kelvin and it works great for that. Even as good as I am with a 5D4 I find it takes me a few moments to lock in my settings including WB which usually involves looking at a few test shots. Still I get some variations and often rely on auto ISO and auto WB for super fast chaining lighting during a wedding while using the 5D4. With the R it is very fast to manually adjust everything on the fly and every shot is perfect color, exposure and focus.

The R is much more elegant and technologically advance and it is fun to use. Picking up a DSLR after using the R is a disappointment.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Nov 6, 2018)

Backing up a SD card is indeed a issue, if you have a fast card, then you need a fast reader to match. The really fast SD cards can be read at almost 300 MB/s but only if the reader can do that. The passport seems to be much slower than the card at 65 MB/s. I'm not sure that there is any portable solution that is affordable and has a fast SD card slot. The portable storage units seem to cheap out on the SD speeds, it may be due to battery draw.

About the only solution for increasing battery life is a portable USB battery that you can velcro to the passport, a SSD does not increase SD transfer speeds when the card reader is the limitation.

A 512 GB card might be a solution, unless that is also too small. They are expensive. I can find only one that is UHS2 and V60 speed as recommended for 4K video.

https://www.adorama.com/abavp512sdv6.html


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## zim (Nov 6, 2018)

jaayres20 said:


> There are a few reasons. The 1dx2 and 5d4 obviously have more pro features and frames per second. The R is not going to do well with sports, probably, but its focus abilities for normal moving and still subjects is near perfect and outperform the 1dx2 and 5D4. In extreme dark situations (were you would have issues seeing with an optical view finder) The R has no issue finding and holding focus. I am also a fan of touch and drag AF vs joystick.
> 
> I also have found nice customizations that allow me to completely dial in exact exposure and Kelvin WB in seconds all while my eye is up to the view finder (which is absolutely beautiful). I use the multi function touch bar for setting Kelvin and it works great for that. Even as good as I am with a 5D4 I find it takes me a few moments to lock in my settings including WB which usually involves looking at a few test shots. Still I get some variations and often rely on auto ISO and auto WB for super fast chaining lighting during a wedding while using the 5D4. With the R it is very fast to manually adjust everything on the fly and every shot is perfect color, exposure and focus.
> 
> The R is much more elegant and technologically advance and it is fun to use. Picking up a DSLR after using the R is a disappointment.




Thanks for the insight, really interesting use case setup. To have that kind of control in a pressure situation like a wedding is quite admirable (camera and operator!)
Regards


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## SereneSpeed (Nov 6, 2018)

Jaayres20, I want to clarify your wifi backup to your phone. Were you able to get RAW files to the phone, while writing to the card as well? In my testing, I could not get that.

I do believe that I could shoot RAW only and have the app pull JPGs for backup - automatically. Not a solution for me, but maybe for you. In the manual, it describes having the app pull the images without you needing to select them. If you are shooting (just) RAW, it pulls a JPG. That's what you after, no?

I feel the same way about the R. I shot a wedding last weekend and used a 5D3, 5D4, and the R. The idea was to just use the R for a couple shots here and there, but that proved to be wishful thinking. I shot about half the wedding with the R. It slowed me down though (shooting and post) because I didn't trust the single card and shot almost everything with the 5D4 as 'Backup'. The shots I couldn't repeat, the R stayed in the bag.

Canon hit a home run with this camera, just wish RAW files could be written to the card and also transferred wirelessly for backup...

Lightroom allows tethering with RAW transfer to the computer, while still writing to the card. Capture One (unfortunelty) decided for absolute speed and does not allow writing to the card. I am hoping some third party creates a device that screws into the USBc out and allows redundant backup, but now I'm just dreaming. Canon will release another FF Mirrorless with two slots. As long as the Mp are 30+, I'm in. In a likelihood, that's the final solution.

And I'm with you on the AF, I shot the dancing in near darkness (1/200th-1/320, f1.4, ISO12,800 - 20,000) and the AF worked like a champ! And after having time to adjust/learn the touch and drag AF, I prefer it as well, I just wish the screen was closer to where my right thumb rests naturally (pretty much where the joystick is on the 5D series).


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Nov 6, 2018)

I can wirelessly transfer Raws to my Android devices using DSLR controller, but nothing I am aware of for my iphone. I may get a Android phone the next time I update, I'm not tied to it. Actually, I bought a Samsung S9 when they came out, only to find it would not work with Red Pocket due to their Sim looking for specific signatures on the phone.

*Update, since DSLR controller does not read cr3 files and does not recognize my camera when its connected by Wi-Fi, I can't recommend it for the R. *


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## koenkooi (Nov 6, 2018)

Mt Spokane Photography said:


> I can wirelessly transfer Raws to my Android devices using DSLR controller, but nothing I am aware of for my iphone. I may get a Android phone the next time I update, I'm not tied to it. Actually, I bought a Samsung S9 when they came out, only to find it would not work with Red Pocket due to their Sim looking for specific signatures on the phone.



Have you tried Cascable on your iphone yet?


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## SereneSpeed (Nov 6, 2018)

Mt Spokane Photography said:


> I can wirelessly transfer Raws to my Android devices using DSLR controller, but nothing I am aware of for my iphone.



This is a transfer without writing to the card in camera, right?


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## jaayres20 (Nov 6, 2018)

SereneSpeed said:


> Jaayres20, I want to clarify your wifi backup to your phone. Were you able to get RAW files to the phone, while writing to the card as well? In my testing, I could not get that.
> 
> I do believe that I could shoot RAW only and have the app pull JPGs for backup - automatically. Not a solution for me, but maybe for you. In the manual, it describes having the app pull the images without you needing to select them. If you are shooting (just) RAW, it pulls a JPG. That's what you after, no?
> 
> ...



I only use JPEG as backups. I used to shoot JPEG only so I am comfortable with them as backups. When I use two card slots I shoot RAW to one card and JPEG to the other. When I transfer to my phone over wifi with the R it only transfers JPEG files. I does not transfer while shooting though. Once you stop it will start the transfer. As soon as you start shooing again it pauses the transfer. There were a few times where I had 20+ images waiting to be backed up. This is also an issue for me. I am really leaning towards just getting a quick SD card reader for my MacBook Pro and bring it along. It isn't perfect but it seems like the fastest and most reliable solution.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Nov 6, 2018)

SereneSpeed said:


> This is a transfer without writing to the card in camera, right?




I had not actually used it with the R. There are two issues. 

1. I could not get it to work over wi-fi with the camera hot spot connected to my tablet.
2. The software will not read CR3 files, so I have to view them with lightroom cc and I do not have it set to find them on the memory card. It remotely controls the camera just fine when connected by cable, the usbc to usb a cable connects thru a adapter to the tablet and is immediately recognized offering usb controller as a option..

So, I think it will be frustrating as a storage method until its updated to read cr3 files and work with wi-fi.

I think he has as good as any of the storage solutions, but a pair of large cards may reduce the time spent switching them while doing the backup.


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## privatebydesign (Nov 6, 2018)

For an iPhone/iPad app try Cascable, it supports the EOS R.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Nov 7, 2018)

privatebydesign said:


> For an iPhone/iPad app try Cascable, it supports the EOS R.




Have you used it? I briefly looked at it and saw so many negative comments that I passed it by. A review from a photographer like you, who I know understands the issue of transferring raws to a camera would help. My iphone has only 64 GB, of which half is used already, so the remaining capacity of less than 32GB is just not enough. I'd want at least 128GB of room which means a very big investment in the camera. A Android phone can add memory via a memory card and actually be reasonably priced to get that available128 GB of storage.


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## privatebydesign (Nov 11, 2018)

I've only used the trial version and wasn't that impressed with the performance, issues with disconnects and downloading just jpegs, but that wasn't with an EOS-R it was with the 1DX MkII and WFT-E8A. It seems most of these apps have very varied user experiences so I suggested it as it specifically states EOS-R compatibility. 

I did like a couple of the other features of the app though so maybe I'll end up getting it. One thing I did find interesting from a video posted by the developer, Apple are actively pushing developers to make subscription apps, in general, for non pro software packages, I don't like that model especially for things like iOS apps.


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