topic can my t3i be directly hooked to an external harddrive to download video? in EOS DSLR & Mirrorless Cameras

can my t3i be directly hooked to an external harddrive to download video?

buchanan85410 — Mon, 29 Sep 2014 21:23:56 GMT

I'm shooting video & was wondering if i can hook up my camera to download video to an external hard drive?

Re: can my t3i be directly hooked to an external harddrive to download video?

Skirball — Mon, 29 Sep 2014 23:09:07 GMT

No, both the camera, and the hard drive, require a host controller to upload/download. The host controller can be a computer, laptop, tablet, phone, etc.

Re: can my t3i be directly hooked to an external harddrive to download video?

RobertTheFat — Tue, 30 Sep 2014 12:02:43 GMT

@Skirball wrote:
No, both the camera, and the hard drive, require a host controller to upload/download. The host controller can be a computer, laptop, tablet, phone, etc.

Don't most external hard drives require a Type A USB receptacle? I never saw one of those on a phone.

Re: can my t3i be directly hooked to an external harddrive to download video?

ebiggs1 — Tue, 30 Sep 2014 13:36:32 GMT

"I'm shooting video & was wondering if i can hook up my camera to download video to an external hard drive?"

I don't shoot video but I do tether my camera to my laptop for stills. I would imagine the hook-up is way too slow for video.

Even if you were to do a direct hook-up somehow, you are still using a USB connection. Think of how long it takes to just transfer your stills to your computer. Like I said, I don't shoot video.

Re: can my t3i be directly hooked to an external harddrive to download video?

Skirball — Tue, 30 Sep 2014 14:25:54 GMT

@RobertTheFat wrote:
@Skirball wrote:
No, both the camera, and the hard drive, require a host controller to upload/download. The host controller can be a computer, laptop, tablet, phone, etc.
Don't most external hard drives require a Type A USB receptacle? I never saw one of those on a phone.

Well, all the external drives I have either have the old Type B female port, or the new 3.0 mini. But that's irrelevant, you can get a USB cord with practically any combination of connectors on it. Which is also irrelevant, because to use a phone or tablet as host you need to get a host cord (USB OTG), which typically is a micro USB to type A connector.

But my point was simply: that both the camera and the hard drive are client devices (aka slaves). You need a host to communitcate between the two, they don't have the software required to do that themselves. The camera's computer certainly is powerful enough to handle this function, but to the best of my knowledge it's not there. Even in cameras like the 6D and 70D, which can not only serve as a host but do it wirelessly.

Re: can my t3i be directly hooked to an external harddrive to download video?

buchanan85410 — Tue, 30 Sep 2014 20:13:53 GMT

thanks for your help