DSLR Controller - Android App - Brilliant App to fully control your DSLR!

I came across the Android App DSLR Controller yesterday and have been playing around with it a bit today.

It's quite an innovative app. It allows you to take full control of your Canon DSLR camera from your Android device. At the moment only Canon DSLR's are supported, but they are working on support for Nikon and others soon.

I've been testing it with my Canon 60D and Nexus 7 and it works really nicely.

You connect your camera via USB to the Android device. With the app already installed it the device detects the camera being plugged in and offers you DSLR Controller as one of the apps to launch. As soon as you launch it, the app puts the camera into live view mode and transmits the live image feed directly to the Adroid device screen. Looked great on my Nexus 7.

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You have a wealth of controls over the functionality of the camera from the app. Depending on the mode you have the camera set in, you can adjust aperture, ISO, white balance etc... you can also set the focal point by tapping where ever you want in the on screen image. Zoom into the image up to 10x to check detail. overlay live histograms. And you can also select from a number of different screen overlays, which is handy for alignment, rule of thirds position and other functions.

Another cool feature is being able to look at the images already taken on the camera and on its memory card. You can browse through thumbnails, then when you select one it transfers it to the device and displays it full screen. You can zoom in and look at it. Great feature, and one I think will come in very handy. If I'm at an event I can use this to quickly review shots and to show them to people there.

This app is still in Beta and you have to buy it before you can use it. There is no free light version. It's also not the cheapest app, but well worth it if you have a supporting camera.

Only other thing you will need is a OTG cable (on the go). These are very cheap on eBay. They are a shot cable with the microUSB connector on one end to plug into the Android device, and a standard larger USB port on the other end. You can then plug the USB cable from the camera directly into the Android device. Also handy to have this cable for plugging in memory sticks and other USB devices.

Official site:

http://dslrcontroller.com

Google Play store:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...ntroller&hl=en

As it is still in Beta I've encountered some bugs, but from what I've read from the Play store comments the developer is fixing bugs quickly.

The biggest bug for me is the app freezing after taking a picture. The app works perfectly when adjusting settings and playing around with everything, but when you tap the shutter icon it takes the picture, transfers a copy of the image to the nexus 7 and you can look at it and zoom in etc... but when you then want to exit the image and return to the love view screen to take another picture the app freezes. It remains frozen until I disconnect the usb and reconnect it, then you can relaunch the app and use it again. Hopefully this bug will be fixed soon, but even so, it is a very cool app for any photographers out there. Being able to see the live view on a tablet and adjust the settings should be interesting for tripod macro shots especially, and maybe even to play around with some stop motion or time lapse.

Yap, i use DSLRdashboard, similar to that one, works very well with my Nikon D70
I did a video to my magazine:

http://youtu.be/U2Xk2_I_5PM

Its always cool being able to control one device from another, but what actually is its use? For example, why not just control the camera directly on the camera?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Stephen Coates

Its always cool being able to control one device from another, but what actually is its use? For example, why not just control the camera directly on the camera?

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I was thinking the same thing initially, but it appears as though you can unlock extra functions. I guess so long as it does what it says it can on the wrapper, they can hide as much as they like. :eyebrow:

Still, it is good to see these kind of interfaces coming along. Macro shots are best done without touching the camera. Android is an amazing system and still loving my S3. A friend of mine uses his S2 to monitor his home Camera Surveillance system, even turn his central heating on before he gets in. I mean, how Kool 4 Katz is that!? :shades:

It's way more limited in functions than on my actual camera. I can also change settings on the camera without needing to look.

But it will come in handy for certain things. Macro photography being the main obvious one. shooting up high or down low will come in very useful. And for times you cannot be behind the camera. F.ex. If you mounted the camera up high on a pole or on a moving vehicle.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Harrison

It's way more limited in functions than on my actual camera. I can also change settings on the camera without needing to look.

But it will come in handy for certain things. Macro photography being the main obvious one. shooting up high or down low will come in very useful. And for times you cannot be behind the camera. F.ex. If you mounted the camera up high on a pole or on a moving vehicle.

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I was referring to Tiago's link:

http://youtu.be/U2Xk2_I_5PM

I guess there are some differences in Programs & actual Camera functionality to consider too. My earlier remark of Android being so good, is it's ability to interact with so many different platforms and hardware combinations, through USB/WiFi or even pinktooth.

Well, in my case, I found it useful for Macro photography.
When you are shooting at distances bellow 10 cm, focus could be hard. If you can see right away the final image, you can make small changes in "F" and "A" and focus. Without the tablet, looking at the camera screen it looks good, but when you see it in PC you think they could be better. with the tablet i can see much better.