Enable Image Transfer to FTP Server

The DigiSnap Pro can transfer images from the camera to an FTP server on the local network or internet. This feature is labeled "Network Storage", "Remote Image Storage", and "Remote Storage" in the configuration software.

When images are transferred, they are placed into folders by date and renamed by date and time. This date and time comes from the timestamp set by the camera, so if the times look off, check your camera time. The timestamp format is ISO8601, which allows sorting the filenames by date and time: YYYY-MM-DD/YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS.[JPG|CR2|NEF]

Image Storage Modes

Early versions through DSPC V94

There are six image storage modes:

  • Images are not sent to this location (feature is disabled)
  • Images are sent when convenient (when network hardware is turned on for any other reason)
  • Images are sent when each picture is taken
  • Images are sent after each 30 pictures are taken
  • Images are sent nightly at midnight
  • Images are sent each Sunday at midnight

There are tradeoffs to the various modes. Transferring more frequently will use more battery power, but can facilitate syncing a recent image to a website. The after each 30 pictures setting is a good balance between battery life and frequent uploads.

Versions V112+

Firmware versions after V112 have a more versatile set of transfer modes. The options are:

  • Never transfer images over network
  • Initiate transfer after each new picture
  • Initiate transfer once per hour (at the same minute of hour it booted)
  • Initiate transfer once per day at "daily hour" (within a 15-minute window)
  • Initiate transfer once per week, on Sunday, at "daily hour" (within a 15-minute window)
  • Initiate transfer after every N pictures are taken. Any number 2 through 250 is allowed.
    This is useful for synchronizing to a timelapse interval. Say you configure a timelapse interval of 2 minutes. Selecting "transfer after 10" would result in a transfer every 20 minutes.
In versions V112+, you can also limit which file types are transferred. This allows shooting in RAW+JPEG mode and only transferring the .JPG files. It is also capable of extracting a JPEG file from a RAW file, useful when shooting RAW mode. The options are:
  • All files
  • .JPG files only (useful with the camera's RAW+JPEG mode)
  • JPEG extracted from RAW (useful with the camera's RAW mode)
  • Tiny thumbnail
The following tables shows what will be transferred in each mode.
DigiSnap Pro
Image file selection		Camera mode
JPEG (L, M, S1, S2, S3)RAWRAW+JPEG
All files original .JPG .CR2 or .NEF both .CR2 or .NEF
and original .JPG
JPEG only original .JPG — original .JPG
JPEG extracted from RAW original .JPG extracted .JPG both extracted .JPG
and original .JPG
Tiny thumbnail small .JPG small .JPG two small .JPG
Not-recommended combinations have muted text.

Delete After Transfer

In addition to the mode, you have the option to delete images from the camera after successful transfer. Enabling this feature allows the camera to shoot perpetually, because its SD card will not fill up. Enabling this feature saves a significant amount of battery life, because there will be fewer images on the camera for the DigiSnap Pro to analyze when determining what to transfer.

Supported Servers

FTP is supported.

SFTP and FTPS are not supported at this time.

Setup

Prerequisites

Create an FTP account on the server and note the username and password.

If you need an FTP server, many of our customers have found ExaVault to be a reliable option. Those with a server administration background may want to install their own. For that we recommend Webcampak. For an all-in-one solution you may be interested in PhotoShelter.

Parameters

There are three parameters that must be set for FTP upload, Net Login, Net Pass, and Net URL. Labels for these parameters may vary by configuration method.

Net Login is your FTP username.

Net Pass is your FTP password.

Net URL is used to set the protocol, server hostname, and remote directory (optional). It takes the format scheme://hostname/remotedirectory.

  • scheme:// is optional. You can use the scheme to choose the protocol and client used for file transfers:
    • ftp:// selects FTP protocol with an in-house FTP client. This client is fastest and has more detailed error reporting.
    • lftp:// selects FTP protocol with the popular LFTP client. This was the first FTP client supported by the DigiSnap Pro. LFTP creates a new connection for each file, so it may be slower.
    • Omitting the scheme component of the URL will select the default ftp:// client.
  • hostname is the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) or IP address of your server.
  • remotedirectory is the folder images are transferred to. If remotedirectory is not specified, it will default to the FTP user's home directory. Inside the remotedirectory or home directory, the DigiSnap Pro will create folders for each day in the format YYYY-MM-DD, so be sure to grant your FTP user directory creation permissions.

Android App

  1. Open the app and wait for Network Settings to appear. Tap it.
  2. The first section, Remote Storage, contains the relevant settings.
  3. In the Host Name field, enter the Net URL based on the format described above.
  4. In the Login field, enter your FTP username.
  5. In the Password field, enter your FTP password.
  6. Go back to the main screen.
  7. Tap Image Transfer Settings.
  8. Set the Remote Transfer Mode drop down to your desired remote image storage mode.

Optional: Set Images to Delete After Transfer

  1. On the Network Settings page, scroll all the way to bottom Network Hardware section.
  2. Next to the label Delete images after transfer, click the Yes or No button.

If both local storage and remote storage are enabled, images will only be deleted from the camera after successful transfer to both locations.

Debug Module

Setup the Debug Module.

Set the Remote Image Storage Mode

  1. Press T to enter the CTRLM sub-menu.
  2. The current settings will print. You can find the current Remote Image Storage Mode setting near the bottom of the page.
  3. If you want to change to another setting,
    1. Type S for set parameter
    2. Then 20 for Remote Storage Mode.
    3. Enter a number 0 through 5 to set the mode.
  4. Press Q to return to the main menu.

Set the Network Access Parameters

  1. Press L to enter the NAM sub-menu.
  2. It will print the current settings. Long settings will be abbreviated with the middle portion replaced by "...". This does not mean "..." is actually saved on the DigiSnap Pro. Passwords are not printed regardless of whether they are stored.
  3. Set Net Login
    1. Type S for set parameter
    2. Then 2 for Net Login.
    3. Type your FTP username and hit enter.
  4. Set Net Pass
    1. Type S for set parameter
    2. Then 3 for Net Password.
    3. Type your FTP password and hit enter.
  5. Set Net URL
    1. Type S for set parameter
    2. Then 2 for Network URL.
    3. Type a URL based on the format described above and hit enter.
  6. Press Q to return to the main menu.

Optional: Set Images to Delete After Transfer

  1. Press N to enter the NCM sub-menu.
  2. It will print the current settings. Under Image Storage State, look for the parameter Purge Enabled.
    1. Purge Enabled 1 means images will delete after transfer.
    2. Purge Enabled 0 means images will remain on the camera.
  3. Enable Purge
    1. Type S for set parameter
    2. Type 5 for Image Purge after transfer
    3. Type 1 to delete images from the camera after transfer, or 0 to leave them on the camera

If both local storage and remote storage are enabled, images will only be deleted from the camera after successful transfer to both locations.