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a question for sx40/sx50 owners

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Offline galocza

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a question for sx40/sx50 owners
« on: 25 / March / 2013, 15:33:26 »
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hi,

you might be aware that many canon compact cameras give a 'communication error' if they contain a lot of images/folders when connecting to a pc.
my question would be: does this problem persist with the newer sx40/sx50 cameras?
i have an sx30, using it for taking pictures for timelapse material, sometimes for many days (last time 53 days, 1pic/40sec). changing the card and using a card reader means unmounting it from the tripod and moving the camera from its position even if just a bit. downloading the images directly to laptop would be the way to go.
i would gladly buy a new one (planned it anyway) if this problem was solved by canon (or someway by chdk).
thanks,
g

(ps: or if somebody knows a solution for sx30, it would also help a lot.)
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Offline reyalp

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Re: a question for sx40/sx50 owners
« Reply #1 on: 25 / March / 2013, 17:04:19 »
Quote from: galocza on 25 / March / 2013, 15:33:26
my question would be: does this problem persist with the newer sx40/sx50 cameras?
This problem is described in the Canon user manuals, so you can probably find out by downloading the manuals for those cameras.

A workaround might be to use an eye-fi or similar wifi enabled card. Some of these support a mode (called "endless memory" on eye-fi) that delete pictures after they are uploaded.

If you have a pc continuously hooked up to the camera, you could use CHDK's PTP extension to download and delete the files before it hits the limit. You'll probably need to reboot the camera too.

Note that I wouldn't assume the camera will run and work correctly for 53 days without a reboot, regardless of the download issue. The internal tick counter will wrap to negative at ~24.5 days, and back to 0 at ~49. There may well be other issues too, since this is not really a case the Canon designers would be likely to worry much about.
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Offline galocza

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Re: a question for sx40/sx50 owners
« Reply #2 on: 25 / March / 2013, 18:17:20 »
thanks for your answer.
im downloading the manuals as i write this. i wasnt aware that this problem is described in the manuals. it is a terrible design flaw i think in the 2010s. i downloaded them and where this was stated in the sx30 manual i couldnt find it in the sx40/sx50 ones (searching for the word 'limit').
still, id like a confirmation from a user if possible.
i really dont want to invest in an expensive wifi enabled card when i already have two fast cards.
the camera wasnt (and cant be) continously connected to a pc. i went out every night and downloaded the images to a netbook - many times in heavy snowfall.
and thats what this 53 days were about: snowfall and melting. 88000 pictures altogether. a few times i had to change cards because of the error message (i forgot or couldnt download the pics for 2 or 3 days). besides that the camera  wasnt turned off/on but was of course switched to playback and back to record mode.
(i really felt pity for my trusty sx30...)
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Offline srsa_4c

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Re: a question for sx40/sx50 owners
« Reply #3 on: 25 / March / 2013, 18:27:57 »
Quote from: galocza on 25 / March / 2013, 18:17:20
i couldnt find it in the sx40/sx50 ones (searching for the word 'limit')
Search for "communication error" instead.
You can find a few PTP client applications here, try and see whether they work for you.
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Offline lapser

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Re: a question for sx40/sx50 owners
« Reply #4 on: 25 / March / 2013, 18:36:13 »
The problem is present on all my cameras including the SX50. If you have more than 1,000 or so pictures in the DCIM folder, the camera won't connect through USB or CHDK PTP.

I've discovered that if you transfer the pictures out of the DCIM folder/subfolder, and into another folder, i.e. A/PICS, then USB and CHDK PTP will connect.

This could be done with a Lua script, I suppose. But you still have the problem of having the files on the SD card.

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Offline galocza

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Re: a question for sx40/sx50 owners
« Reply #5 on: 25 / March / 2013, 18:56:08 »
thank you for your answers.
searching for "communication error" did the trick (unfortunately). at least i know for sure.
ill try and play around with this ptp thingie (never heard of it before). moving files inside the camera is not really an issue as at night not much happens and those files need to be decimated anyway.
but another question, for lapser:
we bought a new camera for our mother, an sx240. i quite like it and played with the idea that my next camera might be from this line, not the sxX0.  i see you have an sx260 which is as far as i know its big brother with wi-fi. how does the file transfer work? how fast is it (eg slower than copying the files directly via usb or card reader)? does it need some bloated canon software on the pc or can it be used with any plain win7? (sometimes i save images temporarily for example to my parents pcs).
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Offline lapser

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Re: a question for sx40/sx50 owners
« Reply #6 on: 25 / March / 2013, 19:25:15 »
Quote from: galocza on 25 / March / 2013, 18:56:08
sx260 which is as far as i know its big brother with wi-fi.
Actually, the SX260 has GPS, not WIFI. You're probably thinking of the newly announced SX280, which is supposed to have WIFI.

I just bought a 32GB Transcend WIFI card, but I haven't tried it out yet. It doesn't have automatic file transfer and deletion like the EYEFI cards, but it's a lot cheaper and is class 10. I've been really happy with the regular Transcend cards, 64 and 32 GB.

I think the file transferring is only one way, from camera to computer, but I'm not sure. In any event, you could transfer the pictures to your computer, and then press a key on the camera to have the Lua script delete them. The camera puts a max of 2,000 pictures in a folder, so you could delete a folder at a time after transferring it. I have a Lua script that deletes all the files in A/CHDK/LOGS if you'd like to see how it's done.

Here's where I got the wifi card:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00A659ILQ/
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Offline waterwingz

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Re: a question for sx40/sx50 owners
« Reply #7 on: 25 / March / 2013, 19:49:32 »
Quote from: galocza on 25 / March / 2013, 15:33:26
i have an sx30, using it for taking pictures for timelapse material, sometimes for many days (last time 53 days, 1pic/40sec).
Does this mean the camera actually ran a script continuously for 53 days without a reset / power cycle / restart of any type?   

As that would be close to the tic timer wrap point (unsigned) it would be very interesting to know what caused it to stop at 53 days if you know.
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Offline galocza

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Re: a question for sx40/sx50 owners
« Reply #8 on: 26 / March / 2013, 02:21:44 »
good mornig,

lapser:
yes, sorry, i remembered that it was one of those things that i didnt want (then) and news are so full now with wi-fi enabled cameras that somehow it stick to my mind. of course it was gps not wi-fi.
thanks for the link. im planning to buy a new camera anyway so maybe it would be more practical to wait for a wifi camera than buy a wifi card. ill think about it. (actually i mean waiting with the buy until theres a camera with wifi and chdk 8)).

waterwingz:
no. i went and downloaded the pictures every night (stop script-quit chdk mode-press play-connect to netbook-download pics-unplug usb cable-press shutter button to be back in recording mode-start chdk mode-start script).
and 3 times i had to change cards, so i had to switch the camera off completely.

EDIT:
and ione more to lapser: i guess theres a reason for your nick. in your experience what speed is to be expected with sx50/sx260 when using intervalometer? better than around 1pic/2secs?
« Last Edit: 26 / March / 2013, 02:37:16 by galocza »
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Offline lapser

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Re: a question for sx40/sx50 owners
« Reply #9 on: 26 / March / 2013, 03:02:07 »
Quote from: galocza on 26 / March / 2013, 02:21:44
what speed is to be expected with sx50/sx260 when using intervalometer? better than around 1pic/2secs?
There are 3 ways to take multiple pictures:

1. Press the shutter all the way down and let it all the way up for each picture. This sets a new focus and exposure for each shot. In a script, you would use the shoot() function. This script takes about 1 shot every 2 seconds:

repeat shoot() until false

2. Press shutter half way and take pictures keeping the shutter half pressed between shots. The exposure and focus is constant after the first shot. This takes about 1 shot per second.

3. Press and hold the shutter down in continuous drive mode. This takes about 2 shots per second with exposure and focus constant after the first shot.

I'm working on CHDK functions that allow you to measure and set exposure in half shoot, and control the shot rate in continuous mode.
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