A camera remote... with live view!

**brucep** · 09-21-2009, 03:23 PM

I'd heard about the OnOne DSLR Remote software for the iPhone, but found it hard to believe. I have a really inexpensive cell phone service and couldn't see going to the iPhone's large monthly bills even if this iPhone app DID work.

As some of you know, I sometimes use my camera on a 12' boom, and I'm just guessing at to what it's "seeing," so this remote view would be wonderful if it worked. I then heard that the software worked equally well with the iPod Touch! No monthly bills, a PDA, an MP3 player, and a portable camera remote?

I bought a refurbished iPod Touch and downloaded the $20 app. As you can see, it works!

Take a look at the preview image on the iPod. It's just what the camera's seeing. With the iPod in this vertical orientation, I can adjust f-stop, shutter speed, ISO, color balance, etc, etc. In the horizontal orientation, the image fills most of the screen. Here my thumb's on the FIRE button, taking this photo.

The one drawback is that the camera has to be wired to a computer. Here it's wired to my laptop which has the free server software installed. Now all I have to do is "teach" my laptop to continue working when shut, then I'll close it and put it in a mesh laundry bag (so it doesn't overheat) and hang it from a shoulder harness. I'll put the iPod Touch on a small bracket mounted to the harness and I'll be able to see what my camera's seeing from out on its boom!

This only works with certain cameras, and of those, only the ones which can already do Live View will work as a remote viewfinder. Even if I didn't have live view, I'd enjoy seeing what the camera had just shot instead of bringing it down to the ground to check the LCD on the camera. I'm using it on my Canon 5D Mk II which has Live View.

I had to share this great news with you!

**sacstoy02gt** · 09-21-2009, 04:26 PM

That's really cool! You'll get good use out of that!

**fw-studio** · 09-21-2009, 04:37 PM

Wow that is really cool Bruce, you should get a heap of use out of it. I have to admit that I was never a big believer in Live View but now that we have started seascapes I have started to use it as sometimes the camera is in weird positions where you just can't look through it and Live View is a life-saver.

**sacstoy02gt** · 09-21-2009, 05:00 PM

Just popped into my head Bruce...maybe one of those cheap netbooks would be worth picking up. Lighter and smaller than a laptop, and probably powerful enough to run the app you need. Thought I'd throw that out there...

**brucep** · 09-21-2009, 05:09 PM

I think a netbook would be more difficult to hang in front of me. I have to use both hands to manipulate the pole. I have a poverty wizard camera remote which I can hold in one of my pole hands and fire when I wish (it's more compact than a real PW). I plan to place the iPod on a little gooseneck off to one side in front of me... just far enough away that my eyes can focus on it. I'll be able to watch my footing as I change position carrying my pole, too.

Susandra calls it my "one man band" rig.

I'm really enjoying the various aps I've loaded onto the iPod, too, including a calendar which syncs with my laptop, email, etc. Last weekend I even commented on a Photozo thread using it.

**sacstoy02gt** · 09-21-2009, 06:14 PM

Bruce, I was thinking netbook instead of your laptop in the mesh bag to work as the server. Lighter than the laptop - just less hanging off your shoulders.

**brucep** · 09-21-2009, 07:43 PM

Oh, I get it now, Isaac. Yes, that would be lighter and less awkward. I might even be able to clip it to a camera gear belt. If I used it all the time it would be worth the investment, but I don't and I already have the laptop. The refurbished iPod Touch 2G 16 GB was nearly $200 by itself without adding a netbook. If someone were starting from scratch with a setup dedicated to this purpose, you're right... the netbook would be the way to go.

Who knows, the Canon ?G might have a detachable remote LCD. (Are you listening, Canon?)

I think this gadget would be ideal!

**Skippy** · 09-22-2009, 05:51 AM

Susandra calls it my "one man band" rig.

Sounds like quite the set up. Very interesting how you put it all together. That is what makes this site so much fun. Just reading how you all have different ways of doing things.

Skippy

**Matt32** · 10-10-2009, 04:40 PM

Very cool, how does the laptop communicate to the iPod? Bluetooth? If so, what range do you get? I could see this being useful for wildlife too if you can put a little distance between yourself and the laptop.

**brucep** · 10-10-2009, 06:53 PM

The iPod Touch (or iPhone) communicates with the laptop via wifi, but the laptop has to be wired to the camera. I haven't tested the range yet. My main use for this setup will be with the closed laptop hanging from me as I walk around with my 5D Mk II on my 6-12' pole. I've purchased a little gooseneck clamp designed specifically for my iPod touch. VERY nicely made for about $7. It'll clamp to the pole or my camera bag or that bag's strap and allow me to see what I'm aiming at.

I also hope it'll have enough range (100'?) that this year I'll be able to position my camera atop one of our wine storage tanks at work (where I shot our group portrait from last year) and have my laptop up there with it, so that I can use the iPod Touch as a viewfinder and be in the group portrait myself (having checked that all faces are visible).

We haven't scheduled that shot yet.

**Matt32** · 10-10-2009, 07:06 PM

So a WiFi router needs to be included in the outfit. This would probably make the range very good, but require an auxiliary power source correct?

I am familiar with Wifi, but for this to be a compact setup then it would be nice if the laptop could provide it's own signal to keep from being tied to a wireless hotspot which you probably already have at the vineyard I would imagine.

**brucep** · 10-10-2009, 08:37 PM

No, you don't need a router (or wifi hot spot). A wifi enabled laptop has a built-in transmitter/receiver as does the iPhone/iPod Touch. They communicate directly with each other.

We have wifi at all of our wineries, but not in the vineyards. Anyway, it's not part of this remote viewfinder arrangement.

**Klown** · 01-09-2010, 06:20 PM

Bruce, Do you know if this will work for a Nikon D80? I'm looking for a remote release, and have an ipod touch already. I just need to find software for the computer that will connect my d80 to the laptop?

**brucep** · 01-09-2010, 06:42 PM

Corey, you can read the full article I wrote about using an iPod Touch as a remote viewfinder in the Photozo Article system. There's a link in the article to a page about the DSLR Camera Remote software by OnOne. Scroll down and you'll see that your Nikon D80 is among the supported cameras.

You can also vote on the recently submitted articles:
http://www.photozo.com/forum/showthread.php?t=15440

**Klown** · 01-09-2010, 07:28 PM

Bruce, after reading your article, i would like to know how you like this remote trigger? I'm still on the edge on if I want to get this. I wouldn't use it like you do, and having to have the laptop around all the time isn't the best idea. But it might just work for me. I'm also worried because in the iTunes App Store there are a lot of negative reviews.

**brucep** · 01-09-2010, 07:52 PM

I don't see it as a remote trigger, I use it as a remote viewfinder which happens to have a trigger on it. When I set up a couple of remote cameras around a family get-together, it wouldn't help me to see through those fixed cameras. I just use a couple of radio remotes which I linked to in the article (the Nikon one ran out of stock since I posted the article).

A radio remote doesn't require a laptop or a wire. As you read in the article, I first added wire to a wired remote to make it reach the distance I wanted, then I bought one (then two) of those little $30(?) remotes. They're super if you don't need a remote viewfinder and find it overly cumbersome to tote a laptop with you.

I rarely use the iPod Touch as a remote viewfinder... shooting blind from a remote camera is much easier. However, there are times when I really need to see how a remote shot is being framed... when I have control over where the camera is pointing (as on a monopod or my longer pole), so those are the times when I use the DSLR Camera Remote software.

There's also a nearly free version of that iPod software, so you can check it out. If I just wanted to use a fixed remote camera to take photos of every guest who walked through our cave entrance at an event, for instance, I'd just use a radio remote, since I wouldn't be able to adjust the camera's view. I do like to keep things as simple as possible.

**brucep** · 03-19-2010, 08:52 AM

Welcome to the 'zo, John.

If you're referring to the iPod as a remote trigger, it works very well. Often, if I just need one or two (non-critical) shots, I'll just attach that cheap radiio remote (the link is in the article) to the camera and not have to start up and lug around the laptop. For more precise work, the iPod remote viewfinder is terrific.

**aaron.adley** · 04-23-2010, 02:22 AM

The only problem with the (standard) remote on the Sony A700 is that it's wireless and has very squidgy buttons that easily get pressed in a full camera bag. I've learned to remove the battery from it when not in use. The wired remote I've got for it works wonders too, no issues with that ever (so far).

Regards troubleshooting it, I can only think if you by any chance know (or regularly bump into) someone else with the Fuji film S3 Pro you could see if their remote works with your camera. Other than that it's everybody's friend and enemy EBAY!