Nikon WT-4 Wireless Transmitter

I guess this is a rant but more likely a cry for help due to today's frustration with a new gadget that arrived this morning - the Nikon WT-4 Wireless Transmitter!!!!

So, what the hell is a WT-4: it's a neat little wireless transmitter that connects to your Nikon D3/D300 camera via USB and can transmit images as you take them back to a host computer - super cool for studio work where you can be snapping away and you can have another guy editing the shots as they are made. Or if you are a sports photog you can have them relayed to a laptop and then they can be sent direct to your newspaper. The system can support up to 7 photogs firing away and then someone back at laptop can see the 7 feeds as thumbnails and pick and choose real-time. Very schveet and also very pricey for what it is.

So first up would be the rant bit. Out of the box the thing looks like it's made of toy plastic and will break/scratch at the first contact. Basically the cheapest plastic case you can imagine x 10 on the crapiness scale. This unit is designed to go on your belt or hang around your neck and really needed some sort or rubber armour. Next is the simulated leather carry pouch - almost as crappy as the belt strap thingy on the back of it which is vertical and not horizontal. The unit has a screw on aerial - that attached ok. Has a DC adapter socket but of course they don't supply a transformer with it. Requires an EN-EL3e Nikon camera battery, also not supplied (luckily I have a spare). User manual covering XP, Vista & MacOS installation & use.

So, being a Mac user I install the Mac software: Nikon Wireless Setup Utility and Nikon Thumbnail Selector. All goes well. I configure things to work peer to peer so my WT-4 can talk directly to my Mac using Wi-Fi without the need for a router in-between. Of course this is the first thing that I cannot get to work - period. The camera just won't connect. I try launching the thumbnail application but of course that crashes out and tries to launch the Nikon Message Center application which also crashes. So at this stage I'm feeling pretty good about my purchase. The thing is, I kinda figured I would have this pain. On not one occasion have I been able to use any Nikon software on a Mac without some sort of issue.

It's at this moment that I suddenly discover they do not support Mac OS X 10.5, the latest incarnation of the mac operating system. It's only been out for 6 months and Nikon still don't officially support it or have updates. This is a general woe I have with them, they want to be like Apple in that they want to control hardware and tied in software but they really cannot get the software thing right. Basically they know how to make cameras and lenses but not a lot else. As an example you can look at Capture NX their RAW editing application, does a beautiful job but it's core feature is it's u-point technology, something they bought from another company. Anyway, Capture NX is a rant for another day as I have just run through their new version 2 of this. I'd give you a lionk to this software on the Nikon site but for some reason it's nowhere to be found :)

So, having determined my peanut sized brain was incapable of figuring out the camera link setup after 3 hours of trying, I decide to ring their ludicrous 10p a minute support helpline. I ring, a computer answers, I press 1 for professional product support, I get Richard who knows jack all and says I need to speak to an expert in the professional support team :) go figure. After a lengthy wait on a silent line (no lousy elevator music) suddenly a lady answers. This time, she knows nothing about WT-4, the 2 guys who do are on other calls...she takes my number and promises they will call...and of course they don't. Supremely professional in every way and I felt truly serviced.

So now I am thinking, this thing gets re-packaged and returned to Park Cameras. If they cannot support me then I have wasted my money. I'll just have to lump it and keep swapping compact flash cards. Not quite so impressive but a helluva lot cheaper :)