Hinter den Kulissen | Wireless Transmitter WT-2

KAWAJI, Kohei :
The wireless transmitter WT-2 is a product to transfer image data to a PC through a wireless LAN. It can be attached to the D2X and D2Hs. Conventional data transfer from camera to PC requires delivery using the card reader, or USB cable connection from the camera body to the PC. But with the wireless transmitter attached to the camera body, each data unit is transferred to the PC virtually at the moment it is taken. Since this is wireless, the scope of the shooting activities is never limited by the length of connection cable. You can make a setting to delete data from the memory card automatically once that data has been transferred. Furthermore, a memory card is not required for shooting and transferring when using the PTP/IP transfer mode. So there is no need to worry about how much memory card capacity remains.

The WT-2 transmitter, attachable to a camera body's bottom, makes it possible to transfer image data wirelessly.

Actually, the WT-1, which preceded the WT-2, was launched in 2003, when there were no other products of this kind. We made the original product from scratch, then applied all the experience we accumulated developing the WT-1 to upgrade functions and performance radically in creating the WT-2.

For example, digital photography gives a photographer the capability to report more promptly. But this major advantage is wasted if the photographer has to go back to the press center to deliver image data of big events. Even when using a cable transfer system, a photographer has to go to where a connection terminal is available. Otherwise, building up a cable LAN requires a great deal of labor. We heard a lot of ideas from the press about setting up a wireless LAN antenna near a press center to allow photographers to send image data instantly from the field. This could save quite a lot of time and labor, or might be convenient if wireless transmission is available when shooting on tops of mountain or from helicopters, where it is impossible for a photographer to come back to a press center. We realized those ideas in the WT-1, the world's first wireless transmitter, developed as an accessory for the D2H and launched at the same time as the D2H was, in 2003. So although the original idea arose from press requests, we came up with the solution by racking our brains, unleashing our imaginations and figuring out all the practical matters of form and function.

The structure of a WT-2, united with a camera in one body, is highly acclaimed in the field of photojournalism, in which mobility is crucial.

For major sports events, such as the Olympics and Wimbledon tennis championship, press regulations have been getting increasingly strict. For example, to safeguard against a terrorist incident, members of the press are requested not to move from positions specified for the press after a match has started, not to carry computers, and so on. A photographer who used WT-1 under such circumstances told us that the product provided the unparalleled convenience of real-time transfer from the designated area for the press to the press center.
Commercial photographers who shoot mainly in studios were very interested in the WT-1, as well, since they desperately wanted setups requiring fewer cables.
Also, we received many requests from photographers. Among the requests was one for wireless remote control function over the camera. The function of the WT-1 was limited in transferring image data. There were other requests for easier connection settings and higher-speed transfer.
To develop the original product, which was then the only one of its kind in the world, we had to search for solutions, one by one. But to develop the WT-2, we were able to take advantage of market requests and reactions, which was really a great help.