PowerShot G15. Connection to Smartphone via USB OTG cable

Dak65

« on: 05 / October / 2013, 09:20:30 »

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Hello, I just discovered this community looking on Internet for my feature request. Hope you can help me.

I have a smartphone with host capability through USB connection via OTG cable (Sony MT27). This feature allows to read external memories from the phone, including many camera SD memories by connecting directly the camera to OTG cable (e.g. Panasonic Cameras). However it doesn't work with Canon G15 and so I cannot transfer images from the camera to the smartphone. This feature is useful when you wish to transfer/send single pictures while traveling.
Any good idea on how to do it easily? Is there any SW for that or anyone willing to develop a small SW?

Thank you a lot

Dak

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waterwingz

12092

Re: PowerShot G15. Connection to Smartphone via USB OTG cable

« Reply #1 on: 05 / October / 2013, 09:40:58 »

FWIW, I have a Google Nexus 7" tablet and an OTG cable. I am able to successfully browse pictures on my G10 and A1200 over a USB cable using that setup. I would expect to be able to do the same thing with the G15 but obviously I can't test that.

When I was looking into OTG cables, there seemed to be a lot of debate online about what cables worked with which devices. That seems strange as the pin-out is supposed to be standard but that's what I saw - at least for people trying to connect smart phones to USB storage devices like memory sticks and external drives.

I did see one strange thing. To access external storage over an OTG cable I use a small app called Nexus Media Importer (v6.3). It was not able to access the camera memory. However, I was able to use the standard Android image browser app to do so.

One quick note - if you were using the CHDK usb remote functionality, you need to disable it when trying to use a USB ptp connection to the camera.

« Last Edit: 05 / October / 2013, 09:43:41 by waterwingz »

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Ported : A1200 SD940 G10 Powershot N G16

Dak65

Re: PowerShot G15. Connection to Smartphone via USB OTG cable

« Reply #2 on: 07 / October / 2013, 07:14:03 »

Hello Waterwingz,
First of all thank you very much for your interest and kind reply.

I provide a few additional info about the camera behavior.
When you connect the camera to a PC and switch the camera on it first enters into Presentation mode. Then it detects connection to the PC and after a couple of seconds it switches off the screen passing in slave mode. With OTG, this doesn't happen and the screen remains on with all Presentation mode functionalities available.
So I believe that the problem is with the camera SW. I questioned Canon who told me that G15 doesn't support OTG connection.
Should I try a non-OTG cable? But in such case I think the Smartphone wouldn't pass in host mode...

The only way is to force the camera recognizing the OTG connection, but I don't know how.
About CHDK, I'm not using it , I have just discovered it and not yet fully understood its use and functionalities. May be it already fill the gap and solve my issue?

The applications in the Smartphone can read memory sticks and also memory of Panasonic FX38 camera. Unfortunately I don't have older Canon cameras to check.

Many thanks for your help

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waterwingz

12092

Re: PowerShot G15. Connection to Smartphone via USB OTG cable

« Reply #3 on: 07 / October / 2013, 08:04:47 »

Quote from: Dak65 on 07 / October / 2013, 07:14:03

I questioned Canon who told me that G15 doesn't support OTG connection.

That's kind of strange. IIRC, the OTG changes the plug at the smart phone or tablet end of the cable. The end that plugs into the camera remains the same - the camera should not know if its an OTG cable equipped device or a PC with a regular USB cable.

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Should I try a non-OTG cable? But in such case I think the Smartphone wouldn't pass in host mode...

As per my previous comment, I agree that using a standard cable will confuse the smartphone.

Quote

The only way is to force the camera recognizing the OTG connection, but I don't know how.
About CHDK, I'm not using it , I have just discovered it and not yet fully understood its use and functionalities. May be it already fill the gap and solve my issue?

I don't think so - or at least nobody has posted about it here.

Quote

The applications in the Smartphone can read memory sticks and also memory of Panasonic FX38 camera. Unfortunately I don't have older Canon cameras to check.

I'll try my SX50 tonight. Its newer than your G15.

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Ported : A1200 SD940 G10 Powershot N G16

Dak65

Re: PowerShot G15. Connection to Smartphone via USB OTG cable

« Reply #4 on: 10 / October / 2013, 12:34:47 »

Hi Waterwingz,

have you checked your SX50 meanwhile?

I have tried several APPs on the phone but without success.
As soon as I switch on the camera connected to USB, it looses all functionalities but the screen on. However the phone cannot read it. I tried also a DSLR remote app which reads the model of the camera but does not take control over functionalities.

Is it possible that the driver or the Canon SW residing on the PC sends a message to the camera, switching the USB port on and taking control via PTP functionality?

Is there any expert in the forum?

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waterwingz

12092

Re: PowerShot G15. Connection to Smartphone via USB OTG cable

« Reply #5 on: 10 / October / 2013, 15:00:10 »

Quote from: Dak65 on 10 / October / 2013, 12:34:47

have you checked your SX50 meanwhile?

Sorry - forget about this. I checked SX50 <-> Nexus tablet via OTG and it works fine using the built-in Android "Gallery" application.

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Ported : A1200 SD940 G10 Powershot N G16

waterwingz

12092

Re: PowerShot G15. Connection to Smartphone via USB OTG cable

« Reply #6 on: 11 / October / 2013, 23:45:50 »

Update : tried my OTG cable connecting a two year old HTC smartphone to the SX50. Played with settings on the Smartphone for about 20 minutes and could not get it to connect to the camera.

Same cable, same camera. Maybe the HTC is too old to support OTG?

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Ported : A1200 SD940 G10 Powershot N G16

Dak65

Re: PowerShot G15. Connection to Smartphone via USB OTG cable

« Reply #7 on: 14 / October / 2013, 16:44:21 »

Just try your HTC with a memory stick, to check if it supports OTG

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waterwingz

12092

Re: PowerShot G15. Connection to Smartphone via USB OTG cable

« Reply #8 on: 14 / October / 2013, 18:17:51 »

Quote from: Dak65 on 14 / October / 2013, 16:44:21

Just try your HTC with a memory stick, to check if it supports OTG

My Nexus 7 tablet only reads memory sticks & USB drives with an additional software package. The OTG cable by itself is only good for attaching a USB keyboard & mouse. So I would not expect the HTC to be able to access a memory stick and sure enough, it doesn't. I was not able to get a USB keyboard to work with the HTC either.

I don't know what that tells you though.

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Ported : A1200 SD940 G10 Powershot N G16