Send pictures straight from a Sony

The address and the port

Server: bridge01.whatwemissed.com · Port: 54000

This is what the details look like. The exact server address is on the settings card you get from the host — copy it from there along with the username and the password. The port is never 21.

How to set it up

The menu is called "Network" → "FTP Transfer Func." on the Alpha bodies.

1. Connect the camera to wifi or a phone hotspot. FTP transfer needs the internet, not just a local network.
2. Go to Network → FTP Transfer Func. → FTP Server Setting and pick a free server slot.
3. Set "Security Protocol" to FTPS. Sony calls the certificate option "Root Certificate Import" — you do not need to import anything, the camera uses the ordinary one.
4. Enter the host name and port from the settings card — the port is printed there, and it is never 21. The camera does not fill it in for you.
5. Leave the directory empty or set it to a slash.
6. Enter the username and password from the card.
7. Set "Passive Mode" to On. Active mode is not accepted.
8. Set the file format to JPEG or HEIF. RAW is refused.
9. Turn on "Auto Transfer" if you want pictures to leave as soon as you have taken them.

Four things that hold whatever the camera body is

• JPEG or HEIF is accepted. RAW is refused — the files are too large and need developing, and that is not something that should happen in the middle of a dinner.
• FTPS (explicit TLS) is the default. Unencrypted FTP can be turned on by the host, but should not be used: both the password and the pictures then cross the network unprotected.
• There is no directory structure to navigate. The server receives files and does nothing else — it cannot list, fetch or delete anything.
• The feed stops accepting when the album's window closes, and the host can revoke it at any time.