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Mobile broadband.

Posted: Fri Aug 30, 2013 8:38 am Etc/GMT-1+01:00
by dennis
Only a tenuous connection with photography, so may be out of order.
Does anyone have current experience with using the mobile network (3G-4G) to connect a tablet or laptop to broadband? Having had a couple of dispiriting arguments with BT I'd like to be able to ditch them, & all the wired suppliers have to use the BT network. Thanks. Dennis.

Re: Mobile broadband.

Posted: Fri Aug 30, 2013 9:07 am Etc/GMT-1+01:00
by George Hart
Dennis I have used Vodafone sims in my laptop and now my iPad no problem. 3G works well when it's available. Unfortunately major photogenic areas remain poorly connected or not at all, such as the Lake District. GPRS in Keswick can be extremely slow.

Re: Mobile broadband.

Posted: Sat Aug 31, 2013 8:52 am Etc/GMT-1+01:00
by Charles Twist
The 3G network is patchy, but I have a myfi hub from Three and that works for my day job, including uploading 3-5Mb images regularly. Cost is about £20 per month but they tie you in for extended periods.
Charles

Re: Mobile broadband.

Posted: Sat Aug 31, 2013 9:49 am Etc/GMT-1+01:00
by dennis
Thanks both. At least it sounds as tho' it works, albeit in the right areas. I shall wait I think for 4g to be more general & see how that fits in my area. I gather the reception is very localised. Dennis.

Re: Mobile broadband.

Posted: Mon Sep 02, 2013 11:10 am Etc/GMT-1+01:00
by Lynne Evans
Hi Dennis. Like Charles I have a mifi hub running the 3 network and have used it throughout the UK, even getting a signal in Dentdale, Cumbria, which is notoriously bad for any mobile or broadband signal. Luckily I linked up with them about 3 years ago, so mine still only costs £5/month!! Hard luck Charles :). Now that I have moved back into my permanent residence I am completely BT-less, and this is in a dodgy bit of Somerset.

Re: Mobile broadband.

Posted: Tue Sep 03, 2013 8:23 am Etc/GMT-1+01:00
by dennis
Lynne,
Thanks. Do you use a pad, or laptop with it, & is it possible to use them in a phone mode? My ignorance - I assume the mifi gadget is network specific?. I obviously need to do more research. Dennis.

Re: Mobile broadband.

Posted: Tue Sep 03, 2013 10:44 am Etc/GMT-1+01:00
by Lynne Evans
I use mine with a laptop, but my daughter has also used it with her mobile phone and tablet, so it seems multifunctional. When I bought mine it was network specific, but I've just checked on Amazon and you can get the device (unlocked) and sim card separately now. Just search amazon for mifi. Mine is a Huawei, whcih has had no problems at all.

Re: Mobile broadband.

Posted: Wed Sep 04, 2013 11:46 pm Etc/GMT-1+01:00
by acs
As other have said, coverage and speed will depend on your location(s) and the provider. They all target different coverage/ speed patterns, so try some (Vodafone, EE/Orange/T-Mobile, and 3) PAYG SIMs or check with friends at the locations you'll be using. Do remember that the speed you see will also depend on how up to date your phone/ mifi device is. But If the cheapest network works for you...

If you're going for an unlimited data contract you might be better upgrading your mobile phone contract to include tethering and just use your phone to provide the connection. It's easy to end up with lots of expensive contracts when one would do -- then again it's easier to deal with patchy data coverage than patchy phone coverage.

You may get DSL speeds (at times) but you're not going to get 'BT Infinity'/ VDSL speeds, and things get more complex if you're wanting multiple devices/ users at once.

In addition to MiFi type devices you can also get mobile routers, which are easier to tie into a home network.

Re: Mobile broadband.

Posted: Thu Sep 05, 2013 8:36 am Etc/GMT-1+01:00
by dennis
Thanks for all the replies. They provide food for thought. I don't currently have a mobile since we rarely use the phone anyway(!). Have heard rumours that Apple will be announcing an updated Macbook shortly, so shall await & see if that comes to anything. I am not in a great hurry & it may have a built-in mifi device. Dennis.

Re: Mobile broadband.

Posted: Thu Sep 05, 2013 2:25 pm Etc/GMT-1+01:00
by Thingy
I use EE (formerly Orange) on my iPad and used a Vodaphone USB modem with my old MacBook, which were fine. I used my Vodaphone USB modem on the many occassions when BT's landline based broadband service failed. I cancelled by BT landline braodband & went for TalkTalk's faster, cheaper & much more reliable service.

Re: Mobile broadband.

Posted: Thu Sep 05, 2013 6:50 pm Etc/GMT-1+01:00
by vanman
I'm just interested! What exactly is this thread saying about Large Format Photography in The United Kingdom today? Does anybody here (in the U.K., it's The U.K Large Format Photography Group, not the USA or Europe or anywhere else, the U.K.) actually take a field, view, LF press or monorail camera out into the big wide world and use it to capture images? I do, fairly frequently, can anybody else own up to taking their camera/s out of their comfort zones and using them to capture images on big sheets of film?
Vanman

Re: Mobile broadband.

Posted: Fri Sep 06, 2013 10:20 am Etc/GMT-1+01:00
by Thingy
vanman wrote:I'm just interested! What exactly is this thread saying about Large Format Photography in The United Kingdom today? Does anybody here (in the U.K., it's The U.K Large Format Photography Group, not the USA or Europe or anywhere else, the U.K.) actually take a field, view, LF press or monorail camera out into the big wide world and use it to capture images? I do, fairly frequently, can anybody else own up to taking their camera/s out of their comfort zones and using them to capture images on big sheets of film?
Vanman
I think the question was a general off-topic one.

I still do film (& after meeting Tim earlier this year) digital photography (with a Nikon D800). I have been out in the last fortnight armed both with my Hassy (I love the square format) & my Ebony - trying out my stock of QL Provia for the first time in woodland - inspired afresh by Dav Thomas's lovely book of tree photographs. In fact last week on the bus I met a Londoner armed only with a Nikon F5 film camera and we got chatting about the metits of film over digital. I have to say that the resolution of the D800 is excellent, combined with excellent lenses (Nikon & Zeiss primes), but film is still appreciated & imposes a discipline and technical understanding, as well as allowing time for contemplation when interpreting a landscape in a specific way. :) :)

Re: Mobile broadband.

Posted: Sat Sep 07, 2013 10:11 am Etc/GMT-1+01:00
by dennis
Yes, the original message did, I think, make clear that it was an 'off-topic' question, & it has aroused some useful - to me - answers. Who knows, perhaps others too have found it of interest. Thanks anyway to all who have replied. Dennis.

Re: Mobile broadband.

Posted: Sat Sep 07, 2013 11:13 am Etc/GMT-1+01:00
by Andrew Plume
Dear 'Mr Thingy'

yes, this was clearly a "general off-topic post"

6 x 6, is as you say a great size...............why not flog the Hassy gear and pick up a 6 x 7 rfb, that way you've made a very decent turn and are able to do mf work with the movements and you can crop the negs too...............?

I've had a brief look at DT's work, very respectable, one Eliot Porter did all of the colour tree stuff (very many) years ago (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Eliot-Porter-In ... 1606061194) but of course the choice of subject material is no longer 'bottomless' etc etc

fwiw (and it's not for me to influence anyones interests vis a vis subject matter), if you're into 'trees per se' with the intention of creating some kind of 'artistic abstract images' and also abstracts generally, take a look at the work of Merg Ross (http://www.mergross.com/), friend of the incomparable Brett Weston and very much a living breathing artist. He is a genuine kind person

andrew

Re: Mobile broadband.

Posted: Sun Sep 08, 2013 7:23 pm Etc/GMT-1+01:00
by Glenn Haworth
vanman wrote:I'm just interested! What exactly is this thread saying about Large Format Photography in The United Kingdom today?
Absolutely nothing as it was a discussion about mobile broadband.