Saturday, February 2, 2013

A different tablet use: as camera viewfinder

The new Canon 6D, beyond super-duper-low-light capabilities (usable 25,000 ISO!!), has a built-in wifi hub. Kewl. If you install the "EOS Remote" app on an Android or iOS device, you can view pictures sitting on the camera, or shoot the camera remotely, seeing what the camera is seeing at the moment. Very nice, and free, once you paid for the camera itself.

Two small downsides: the app is not yet optimised for tablet, only for phones, so the interface is rather simplistic. And the camera of course has to use Live View and so will focus from the sensor itself, and SLR lenses (unlike, say, Micro Four Thirds lenses) are not optimised for this, so focusing takes longer, like a couple of seconds instead of less than 1/10th sec as usual.

But lookit this nice picture in picture effect, photographing the iPad while it's getting the camera's feed.


(By the way, an oddity: EOS Remote was able to email me this image. But how? The iPad was not connected to my Internet-connected wifi network, only to the Canon 6D, and how in the world does the 6D connect to the Internet? I surely had not connected it to anything.)

6 comments:

Stephen A said...

I Use DSLR controller with my 30D and it is incredible. It gives me control over most of the functionality of the camera focus, shutter speed, aperture, exposure mode etc. But more importantly, it gives me functionality beyond that of the camera itself such as macro focus stacking, HDR and time lapse (with optional HDR). Triggertrap complements this with the capacity to do even trickier exposure patterns like accelerated timelapse and GPS triggered tricks (trigger every 10 meters for example).
Good tablet support too.
More importantly this applies more broadly to any device that is too small or inexpensive to have a comprehensive interface. For example thermostats, settop boxes, even high end coffee machines.
A prime example for me is my little Raspberry Pi XBMC box it's a little $35 settop box with no interface whatsoever. But if you use one of the many remote apps (Yatse is my favorite) it has functionality well in excess of any smart tv, with the tablet or phone providing listings, metadata, and slide bars to control playback much more intuitively than any remote could.

Eolake Stobblehouse said...

That sounds really great, especially focus stacking and so on, Thanks, Stephen.

Help me here, though: most devices don't have wifi capability, so how do you connect?

Eolake Stobblehouse said...


I have bought DSLR Controller.

I saw about the USB host cable. Is this simply an adapter cable from a full sized male USB plug to a Mini USB plug?

Stephen A said...

Yes it's an USB OTG (on the go) cable that breaks out the mini or micro to a Standard female A type port which you plug the USB cable for the camera into. My friend's 60D works as well as my 30D.

Eolake Stobblehouse said...

Seems to work only with Canons though.

I would think that the camera has to be programmed with such remote control in mind, even though Canon doesn't have that functionality themselves? Otherwise it'd seem odd that the app can simply take over control of the camera like that.

TC [Girl] said...
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