As the reader of my blog knows, I tend towards
the technical side of photography; hence I love posting about new technology.
In the last post I mentioned the MaxStone IR trigger as a rather unique and
cheap cross platform solution
In this post I wish to discuss another
piece of (affordable) cross platform (Canon, Nikon & Sony) remote control technology, namely DslrDashboard
(http://dslrdashboard.info/), which,
like CamRanger, allows full control of a camera wirelessly. However, unlike
CamRanger, which costs some $300, DslrDasboard achieves a similar result for
less than $50.
The DslrDashboard is a free cross platform
application for controlling Nikon and Canon DSLR cameras. It uses the PTP and PTP/IP protocol to communicate with the connected DSLR camera. It runs on Windows, Linux and Android platforms and the iPad/iPod version is available in the iTunes store
for under $10.
An important disclaimer is that the DslrDashboard
is still under development, however, from my experience with my Canon 5DIII and
my Sony A6000, the product is stable enough for all users. Also, by experimenting with it, you are helping in DslrDashboard's development through your user feedback. Also, please consider a donation to the developer, for what is a fantastic photography tool.
To use DslrDashboard you need to create a
wireless interface to your camera (unless it has one built in like my Sony
A6000). The DslrDashboard website has all the details and the only cost is to
buy a $35 TP-LINK TL-MR3040 from Amazon: http://goo.gl/bXKtMe
To allow DslrDashboard to communicate with
your Canon or Nikon camera (for those with WiFi built in you do NOT need to buy
the TP-Link 3040) you need to load OpenWRT into the TP-Link firmware. This is a
pretty easy operation and well described on the DslrDashboard website or here: http://goo.gl/1fsBQL
Once you have connected the TP-Link to your
camera, via a USB cable, and switched on the TP-Link 3040 modem, you can now
connect to the TP-Link from your iPad, iPod or Android device etc.
Before using DslrDashboard I recommend
reading the manual: http://goo.gl/scKKm1
Once you use DslrDashboard you may well
change the way you capture images. There are so many benefits to using a
wireless tethered solution, eg: camera placement relative to you; focus
stacking; bracketing beyond the manufacturers limitations etc etc etc.
I will write about my DslrDashboard
experiences in future posts and I’m sure the developer (Zoltan Hubal) has great
plans for this cross-platform tool. According to your setup, for the princely sum
of a few dollars to less than $50, you can turn your Nikon, Canon or Sony
camera into a photographic capture power house; and of course its great fun as
well!
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