I've written a post about how to set up Mac OS X 10.7 (Lion) for use with the WFT-E1 (or later). As it is quite technical, I've placed it in Random Problem (solved) blog:
http://randomproblem.blogspot.com/2011/11/using-canon-wft-e1-with-mac-os-x-107.html
Enjoy!
Showing posts with label howto. Show all posts
Showing posts with label howto. Show all posts
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Tech Tip: Soving the need to Authenticate a "Print Operator" to Change Printer Settings on Mac OS X 10.6
On Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) a non-administrator user can not change all settings of the installed printers. This is really annoying when a printer error causes the print queue to go on hold: the user can not resume printing when the problem has been solved. Instead, a dialog pops up asking for the user name and password of a member of the "Print Operators" group. Usually, that means a system administrator has to manually enter the credentials before the user can resume working.
The problem is caused by the fact that only members of the group "Print Operators" are allowed to control the printer. Normal users (i.e. members of the group "Staff") are not automatically added to the group "Print Operators". This makes sense in an environment where you don't want Joe Public messing with printer settings. It makes less sense in a lab or production environment where the staff can be trusted with the printers.
Fortunately, I found a simple solution here:
In Terminal.app, type the following:
where ADMINUSER is the user name of an administrator and USER is the user name you want controlling the printer.
You will be asked for the password of ADMINUSER and then USER is added to the "_lpadmin" group, solving the problem permanently.
CAUTION
A word of advice to the wise: I do not know if adding a user to the group "_lpadmin" has any side effects. The users of the machines I administer are considered trustworthy. The only reason they do not have administrative privileges is to protect the machines from unintended damage. So giving limited administrative privileges is not a problem. This may be different in your environment.
Consider the implications carefully before making changes!
Background Information
It appears that the problems observed are not uniform: some machines always show the problem, some not at all, and some only for some users.
It looks like Apple changed the defaults some time during the life-cycle of Mac OS X 10.5 (I have been unable to ascertain when exactly). Users created before the change were all members of "_lpadmin", users created later are not members.
The best solution would be to tell CUPS (the printing system used in Mac OS X) to allow members of the group "Staff" to control the printer. To do so, the file /etc/cups/cupsd.conf section
needs to be changed to something like
I did not try this myself. If you do, you may find cupsd.conf documentation useful. I would appreciate a comment telling about your experiences. Good luck!
The problem is caused by the fact that only members of the group "Print Operators" are allowed to control the printer. Normal users (i.e. members of the group "Staff") are not automatically added to the group "Print Operators". This makes sense in an environment where you don't want Joe Public messing with printer settings. It makes less sense in a lab or production environment where the staff can be trusted with the printers.
Fortunately, I found a simple solution here:
In Terminal.app, type the following:
dseditgroup -o edit -u ADMINUSER -p -a USER -t user _lpadminwhere ADMINUSER is the user name of an administrator and USER is the user name you want controlling the printer.
You will be asked for the password of ADMINUSER and then USER is added to the "_lpadmin" group, solving the problem permanently.
CAUTION
A word of advice to the wise: I do not know if adding a user to the group "_lpadmin" has any side effects. The users of the machines I administer are considered trustworthy. The only reason they do not have administrative privileges is to protect the machines from unintended damage. So giving limited administrative privileges is not a problem. This may be different in your environment.
Consider the implications carefully before making changes!
Background Information
It appears that the problems observed are not uniform: some machines always show the problem, some not at all, and some only for some users.
It looks like Apple changed the defaults some time during the life-cycle of Mac OS X 10.5 (I have been unable to ascertain when exactly). Users created before the change were all members of "_lpadmin", users created later are not members.
The best solution would be to tell CUPS (the printing system used in Mac OS X) to allow members of the group "Staff" to control the printer. To do so, the file /etc/cups/cupsd.conf section
AuthType Default
Require user @AUTHKEY(system.print.operator) @admin @lpadmin
Order deny,allowneeds to be changed to something like
AuthType Default
Require user @AUTHKEY(system.print.operator) @admin @lpadmin @staff
Order deny,allowI did not try this myself. If you do, you may find cupsd.conf documentation useful. I would appreciate a comment telling about your experiences. Good luck!
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Using PocketWizard FlexTT5/MiniTT1 with non-Canon Cameras
If you want to use a PocketWizard FlexTT5/MiniTT1 on a non-Canon (make that non-Nikon if you have the recently released Nikon version) camera, you can do so by using Basic Trigger Mode which has been available starting with FW 4.100.
It’s quite simple to set up, if you know the magic sauce.
We will set Basic Trigger Mode in configuration C2. That way configuration C1 will remain available for use in ETTL mode. To keep things simple, we’ll use a MiniTT1 as transmitter and a FlexTT5 as receiver. You can actually use many FlexTT5 to drive multiple flash units. In this case, repeat the procedure for the FlexTT5 described below for every unit.
2. Hook up the MiniTT1 to your computer using the supplied USB cable. The MiniTT1 should be turned OFF.
3. Go to Configuration C2 >> Channel and set the Standard Transmit Channel. The default is 2, you may want to change it to a different value if you expect to be shooting around other people with PocketWizards.
4. Go to Configuration C2 >> Misc and check the box Basic Trigger Mode.
4. Now press the button Apply Changes, confirm the question in the dialog box, and wait until the changes have been written to the device.
You are now done with the transmitter.
6. Go to Configuration C2 >> Channel and uncheck Use ControlTL for Receive Channel. Then set the Standard Receive Channel to the same channel you used as the Standard Transmit Channel in step 3. In this example, I used 7.
7. Press the button Apply Changes, confirm the question in the dialog box, and wait until the changes have been written to the device.
You are done with the receiver.
Repeat the receiver procedure with any other receivers you want to trigger simultaneously.
Let's test it to see if it works:
Hook up a flash to the FlexTT5, turn on the flash, and set it to M (manual mode). Then turn on the FlexTT5 to setting C2.
Next, attach the MiniTT1 to the hot shoe of your camera and turn it on to setting C2. Then turn on the camera.
If you press the camera shutter release button, the flash should fire. Congratulations, it works!
I tried this using an Olympus E-P1 with a Canon 580 EX II and it works just like a cable - without the wires. ;-)
It’s quite simple to set up, if you know the magic sauce.
We will set Basic Trigger Mode in configuration C2. That way configuration C1 will remain available for use in ETTL mode. To keep things simple, we’ll use a MiniTT1 as transmitter and a FlexTT5 as receiver. You can actually use many FlexTT5 to drive multiple flash units. In this case, repeat the procedure for the FlexTT5 described below for every unit.
MiniTT1 (Transmitter)
1. Start the “Pocket Wizard Utility” on your computer. The screenshots below are from version 1.35. Other versions may differ a little. You can download the utility here for Mac and Windows.2. Hook up the MiniTT1 to your computer using the supplied USB cable. The MiniTT1 should be turned OFF.
3. Go to Configuration C2 >> Channel and set the Standard Transmit Channel. The default is 2, you may want to change it to a different value if you expect to be shooting around other people with PocketWizards.
4. Go to Configuration C2 >> Misc and check the box Basic Trigger Mode.
4. Now press the button Apply Changes, confirm the question in the dialog box, and wait until the changes have been written to the device.
You are now done with the transmitter.
FlexTT5 (Receiver)
5. Now hook up the FlexTT5 receiver unit using the same USB cable. You can leave the PocketWizard Utility running, just remember to turn of the FlexTT5.6. Go to Configuration C2 >> Channel and uncheck Use ControlTL for Receive Channel. Then set the Standard Receive Channel to the same channel you used as the Standard Transmit Channel in step 3. In this example, I used 7.
7. Press the button Apply Changes, confirm the question in the dialog box, and wait until the changes have been written to the device.
You are done with the receiver.
Repeat the receiver procedure with any other receivers you want to trigger simultaneously.
Let's test it to see if it works:
Hook up a flash to the FlexTT5, turn on the flash, and set it to M (manual mode). Then turn on the FlexTT5 to setting C2.
Next, attach the MiniTT1 to the hot shoe of your camera and turn it on to setting C2. Then turn on the camera.
If you press the camera shutter release button, the flash should fire. Congratulations, it works!
I tried this using an Olympus E-P1 with a Canon 580 EX II and it works just like a cable - without the wires. ;-)
Monday, September 28, 2009
[Howto] Using Canon WFT-E1 with Mac OS X 10.5
The Canon WFT-Ex/WFT-ExA range of products (currently E1..5) are wireless 802.11b/g transmitters that connect to Canon DSLRs and upload photos directly to an FTP server. There is also the option of connecting an Ethernet cable if you do not want or can not use a WLAN connection.
Each DSLR works with a different WFT product, so you will have to check which one is right for your camera. The WFT-E1 works with the 1D Mark II, 1D Mark II N, 1Ds Mark II, 5D, 20D, and 30D cameras, for example. The WFT-E1A is the North American version that only differs in the available WLAN channels from the rest of the world (WFT-E1).
You connect the WFT-E1 via either a Firewire (1D, 1Ds) or USB (5D) cable to the camera. Turn it on ... and nothing happens. It's actually a bit more work than that. ;-)
The following instructions will walk you through how to set up both a Mac with an Airport connector and the WFT-E1 so that you can transmit photos directly to your Mac. This is a useful setup if you want to be highly mobile. It is also possible to go through a WLAN access point, which is often better than connecting directly to the Mac, but that will be the subject of a follow-up post.
There is quite a bit of setup required to get things to work, but I believe it is well worth the effort. Let's get started!
Each DSLR works with a different WFT product, so you will have to check which one is right for your camera. The WFT-E1 works with the 1D Mark II, 1D Mark II N, 1Ds Mark II, 5D, 20D, and 30D cameras, for example. The WFT-E1A is the North American version that only differs in the available WLAN channels from the rest of the world (WFT-E1).
You connect the WFT-E1 via either a Firewire (1D, 1Ds) or USB (5D) cable to the camera. Turn it on ... and nothing happens. It's actually a bit more work than that. ;-)
The following instructions will walk you through how to set up both a Mac with an Airport connector and the WFT-E1 so that you can transmit photos directly to your Mac. This is a useful setup if you want to be highly mobile. It is also possible to go through a WLAN access point, which is often better than connecting directly to the Mac, but that will be the subject of a follow-up post.
There is quite a bit of setup required to get things to work, but I believe it is well worth the effort. Let's get started!
Monday, June 1, 2009
Using a PrimeFilm Scanner with VueScan on Mac OS X
We recently received some photos from a family event that were - gasp - made using analog film. You should have seen the look on the face of the dozen or so children when they crowded around the SLR expecting to see a preview on the LCD only to discover that there was no LCD on the back of this camera. Talk about culture shock. ;-)
Anyways, the quality of the prints was appaling, as where the scanned images on the CD that came from the processing lab. The negative, however, looked fine to my no-longer-used-to-look-at-negatives eyes. I decided to revitalize an old film scanner I still have in a box. It is a rebadged Pacific Imaging PrimeFilm 1800u scanner, which will turn a negative into a 4 Mpxl file with 16 bits per color channel.
I like using VueScan with flatbed scanners. It is a low-cost, high-power solution and Ed Hamrick does a fantastic job of supporting almost every scanner under the sun. My experience so far has been that you plug in the scanner, start VueScan, and start scanning.
With the PF1800u it turns out to be a little bit more complicated than that:
[caption id="attachment_377" align="alignnone" width="163" caption=""Open using Rosetta" in the Finder "Get Info" panel."]
[/caption]
You can skip steps 3 & 4 if you are using a PowerPC Mac. CyberViewX_SF is a PowerPC application, so Intel Macs need to be told to run PowerPC code because though VueScan is a native Intel application. I wish Pacific Imaging would update their driver!
I had some difficulties because CyberViewX_SF is not in the default install location on my system. In this case, VueScan can not find the driver it needs and complains.
If you - like I - want to put your applications in a non-default place, you can create a soft (or hard) link to it to make VueScan happy:
where "/Applications/Graphics/" is the location of the CyberViewX_SF folder. That's it!
Thanks to Ed Hamrick for the great support!
Anyways, the quality of the prints was appaling, as where the scanned images on the CD that came from the processing lab. The negative, however, looked fine to my no-longer-used-to-look-at-negatives eyes. I decided to revitalize an old film scanner I still have in a box. It is a rebadged Pacific Imaging PrimeFilm 1800u scanner, which will turn a negative into a 4 Mpxl file with 16 bits per color channel.
I like using VueScan with flatbed scanners. It is a low-cost, high-power solution and Ed Hamrick does a fantastic job of supporting almost every scanner under the sun. My experience so far has been that you plug in the scanner, start VueScan, and start scanning.
With the PF1800u it turns out to be a little bit more complicated than that:
- Download the latest driver from Pacific Imaging, an application called CyberViewX_SF. Localized non-english variants are available.
- Install the driver at the default location (/Applications).
- Find VueScan on your hard drive and Get Info in the Finder. You can do this by using the context menu (right-click or control-click), hitting CMD-I, or File > Get Info in the menu.
- Make sure "Open using Rosetta" is ticked (see below).
- Connect the scanner to your computer and power it on.
- Start VueScan.
[caption id="attachment_377" align="alignnone" width="163" caption=""Open using Rosetta" in the Finder "Get Info" panel."]
[/caption]You can skip steps 3 & 4 if you are using a PowerPC Mac. CyberViewX_SF is a PowerPC application, so Intel Macs need to be told to run PowerPC code because though VueScan is a native Intel application. I wish Pacific Imaging would update their driver!
I had some difficulties because CyberViewX_SF is not in the default install location on my system. In this case, VueScan can not find the driver it needs and complains.
If you - like I - want to put your applications in a non-default place, you can create a soft (or hard) link to it to make VueScan happy:
$ sudo ln -s /Applications/Graphics/CyberViewX_SF /Applications/CyberViewX_SF
where "/Applications/Graphics/" is the location of the CyberViewX_SF folder. That's it!
Thanks to Ed Hamrick for the great support!
Monday, March 30, 2009
Change Keyboard Type on Mac OS X
I had an interesting experience with Mac OS X (10.5.6 for the record) today: I use a KVM switch to connect a single keyboard, monitor, and mouse to a number of computers. I swapped my Microsoft Comfort Curve Keyboard 2000 for a Unicomp Customizer 105 (which rocks, by the way!) and started typing away. To my dismay, the ^° key was recognized as <> - and vice versa.
The keyboard layout was still correctly set to a German layout but Mac OS X thought that the KVM switch was the actual keyboard (it certainly identifies itself as a HID). So it looks like Mac OS X can not see that the keyboard type has changed and the wonderfully simple process that works when connection a keyboard directly fails to even get started.
The keyboard layout was still correctly set to a German layout but Mac OS X thought that the KVM switch was the actual keyboard (it certainly identifies itself as a HID). So it looks like Mac OS X can not see that the keyboard type has changed and the wonderfully simple process that works when connection a keyboard directly fails to even get started.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
[HOWTO] Install Xubuntu 8.10 Intrepid Ibex on Asus EeePC 900A
Amazon just offered a really good deal on the Asus EeePC 900A, which is very much like the original 701 (which I purchased for my trip to India last year) in outward appearance, but offeres a bigger screen with higher resolution and a much faster CPU. The internal SSD [solid state drive] grows to 8 GB, but it uses MLC instead of SLC, which makes is slower than the 701.
Anyways, I will not review the 900A in this post, maybe that will come later. Instead, I provide a detailed account of how I replaced the less than stellar Xandros Linux with the more than decent Xubuntu.
Caution: By following these instructions you will completely erase any data that may have been stored on your EeePC, including the Xandros Linux it came with, and any and all files you have created. Make a backup before you proceed!
General Disclaimer: I describe what worked for me. Your mileage can - and will - vary considerably. Consider this a travel report, not a guided tour. Know what you are doing, don't play with matches, and do not run with scissors! You have been warned. :-)
Anyways, I will not review the 900A in this post, maybe that will come later. Instead, I provide a detailed account of how I replaced the less than stellar Xandros Linux with the more than decent Xubuntu.
Caution: By following these instructions you will completely erase any data that may have been stored on your EeePC, including the Xandros Linux it came with, and any and all files you have created. Make a backup before you proceed!
General Disclaimer: I describe what worked for me. Your mileage can - and will - vary considerably. Consider this a travel report, not a guided tour. Know what you are doing, don't play with matches, and do not run with scissors! You have been warned. :-)
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