Troubleshooting USB connectivity with the Impulse Photographer app

Having trouble connecting your camera with the Impulse Photographer app? This is the guide for you.

Not sure what we're talking about? Try the Hardware Setup Guide first

First: Double check compatibility

There is a lot of camera brands and models, make sure yours is on the Camera Compatibility List.

If your camera is not compatible, no worries! You can always upload your pictures through the web app, Google Drive, Dropbox and more. Checkout this guide to learn more.

Making Sure Your Camera Is Set Up Correctly

A number of Canon cameras disable their USB port (sometimes labelled as the DIGITAL port) when WiFi is enabled, even if you aren’t currently using WiFi. If your Canon camera isn’t being detected, navigate to your camera’s setup menu and set the Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi/NFC setting to Disable, then try again.

Newer Canon cameras (starting from the EOS R6 Mark II) have a new setting: Choose USB connection app. This needs to be set to Photo Import/Remote Control in order for the app to connect. You can find out more information on this in your camera’s user manual. If your camera doesn’t have this setting, you’re good to go.

Sony cameras require that their USB connection mode is set to PC Remote. Other cameras must be in PTP, MTP, or Tethering mode for the app to be able to detect them.

Some cameras will ask you what USB mode to use when connecting them, and some need you to manually change their USB mode setting in their menus. If your camera doesn’t have this setting (most Canon and Nikon models don’t), they’ll usually only support PTP/MTP mode, which is the correct mode.

Here is a few screenshots of the setting from various cameras. Consult your camera’s manual for detailed instructions.

Fujifilm:

Olympus:

Panasonic:

Sony:

Physically Connecting Your Camera

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:

• Long USB-C to USB-C

• Short USB-C to USB-C

• Short elbow USB-C to USB-C

• USB-C to USB Micro B

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

Troubleshooting

If your camera isn’t being detected by the Impulse Photographer app, or it is and you’re getting a No Access error, try the following steps:

• If you see an alert stating that a connected USB device is using too much power, disconnect the camera, turn it on, then re-connect it. Some cameras try to charge from USB ports they’re connected to when turned off, which can cause too much load — particularly with iOS devices with a Lightning connector.

• If your camera has more than one mode that seems to match the ones required for the app, try each one. For example, some cameras have both a Tether and a PictBridge mode, but will only work with the app in PictBridge mode.

• Ensure that the app has permission from the operating system to communicate with your camera. For iOS and iPadOS, this is done in two places in the Settings app:

  • Privacy → Files and Folders: Make sure Cascable or Cascable Pro Webcam is enabled.

  • Cascable or Cascable Pro Webcam (in the list of apps): Make sure Camera is enabled.

• Make sure the app is up-to-date.

• Make sure your operating system is up-to-date. Camera support is always evolving, and updating your operating system may improve compatibility.