Impulse Photographer app: Hardware setup guide
In this guide we'll walk through how to connect your camera to your phone to take advantage of the real-time photo upload of the Impulse Photographer app. If you're already wired up, checkout this guide if you need help using the app.
Overview
The Impulse Photographer app let's you hard-wire your camera to your phone which will then be able to upload the photos you take as soon as they're taken. With the Impulse Photographer app your photos can reach your guests' phones in 60 seconds!
To make it work you need 3 ingredients:
A phone with the Impulse Photographer app
A cable to connect your phone to your camera
A (somewhat stable) internet connection on-site
Camera compatibility
Before we get started, you'll have to make sure your camera is compatible with the app. We support most popular camera brands, head to the Camera Compatibility page to check your model.
If your camera is not compatible don't worry! You can always upload your picture from our web interface or setup a Google Drive or Dropbox folder. Checkout this guide to learn more
Hardware list
Now that we know the app will work we need to make sure you have the right cable to connect your camera to your phone.
For iPhones with a USB-C port
If your iPhone has a USB type C port, you're in luck! There is no special rules for you, you can use any cable that fits both your camera and your phone. Here is a few options that worked for us, depending on your camera's port:
For iPhones with a Lightning port
Older generation iPhones with a Lightning port are still compatible but need more specific hardware: regular Lightning cables are "1 way only", even though they fit the camera port and the phone port, data is not allowed to flow between them.
The cable Lightning that comes with your iPhone will not work for connecting a camera. This is the same for most Lightning cable you can find.
Fortunately there is a few options:
Some purpose built cables do work: RØDE SC21 USB-C to Lightning Cable
Adapters like this one can bridge the gap and let you use a regular USB-C cable: iPhone OTG Adapter USB-C
Phone mounting options
If you get a long enough cable you can simply carry your phone in your pocket, but we've also seen some photographer like to have it mounted to the camera directly. Here are a few options we've seen work:
Cold shoe for the phone + Dual TTL Bracket to use a flash
Step 1: Download the app
Make sure to have an account on Impulse and to create your first event. Then you can download the app and login using the same email you used on the webapp. Once logged in you should see a screen saying "Looking for cameras…"
Step 2: Plug your camera
Turn off your camera, plug the cable from the camera to the phone and turn on the camera. If your camera automatically detect the USB device, you will see it appear within a few seconds on the app screen, from there you can click on your camera in the app and go through the guided authentication.
If it doesn't work right away, your may need to change some settings on your camera: head to the Camera Configuration Guide
Step 3: Get photographing!
You're all set! From there if you turn off your camera or the app, it'll automatically reconnect when it gets turned back on. If you have some connection issues make sure everything is plugged correctly and restart the camera or the app.
Make sure you take a look at our Using The Photographer App Guide for a more complete walk through of the app's functionalities