dSLR Camera Remote App for the iPod Touch and iPhone

Written by: Balachandar Radhakrishnan • Edited by: Rebecca Scudder
Published Jun 4, 2009 • Related Guides: iPod Touch | iPhone | Iphone App

The iPod Touch and iPhone are fabulous interfaces for not only media consumption, but for many other purposes. Now you can use the fabulous display of the iPhone and iPod Touch as a secondary display for your digital SLR. The dSLR camera remote makes it possible, read on to learn more.

iPhone/iPod Touch as Interface Devices

When a device that you create surpasses your intentions and ideas for it, you have a smashing hit on your hands - a revolutionary product! Now the iPhone and the iPod Touch started out as smart phone and a smart media player, but their potential as pure interface devices was an unexpected one. The intuitive interface provided by the devices has allowed them to go where no phone or music player has ever gone before. We are starting to see applications coming out that make use of the user interface provided by these mobile devices for unexpected tasks such as measuring blood pressure, acting as remote controls, etc. And now they have become a wonderful photographer's companion with the dSLR Camera Remote app.

dSLR Camera Remote

Photography is one of the most popular hobbies on the planet. Now the iPhone/iPod toting photographers just got an edge over their counterparts in the form of the dSLR Camera Remote from One on One Software. This wonderful app allows the user to control their dSLR from the comfort of their iPhone/iPod touch interface. There are times when its difficult to get down on all fours to shoot from a low angle or to shoot high angle shots with the camera mounted on a tripod raised to an uncomfortable height - better yet self potraits always involve running to and fro towards the camera and fiddling with the timer! With the dSLR Camera remote all this can be done from the comfort of your iPhone or iPod touch.

Features
Rating

The dSLR Camera Remote is available in two flavors, a lite version ($1.99) and a professional version ($9.99 on offer!). As expected the lite version is for users who are satisfied with the very limited controls that it offers. Which is triggering the camera's shutter, battery status, memory status and a post capture preview. This lite version however lacks some of the significant features that makes having this app worthwhile.

The professional version of the app is the one to go for. It offers a plethora of powerful features that makes it worth having the app.They include Fire Camera Shutter, see post-view image, Battery Status, Images Remaining, Zoom-in on post-view image, LiveView and much more. The only feature limitation of the app that nags me is that presently the app supports only selected Canon cameras. The developer has stated that support for more canon as well as Nikon cameras are in the pipeline.

Images

Ease of Use and Interface
Rating

I bought the app from the iTunes Store and it was easily installed on my iPod Touch. On firing up the app the application tries to detect the camera server, which is a free utility that can be downloaded from the One on One site and has to be running on your computer for the mobile device to detect it. The connection takes place through the wireless connection on the computer, both devices should be on the same network. Once the app detects the server, the app shows up the option screen starting with very basic options like fire shutter, aperture, white balance etc. All these options appear as buttons like they do on the software that comes with the camera. Tapping on the buttons takes you to the screen where they can changed according to your requirements. The interface will feel right at home if you have used the Canon camera software before. The buttons are legible and easy to access and use.

Final Word
Rating

The dSLR Camera Remote app is available now for the introductory price of $9.99 and will set you back $19.99 after this offer expires. If you are a (compatible) Canon dSLR owner as well as an iPhone or iPod Touch user, then it makes sense to buy this wonderful app. The very fact that you run around with a dSLR makes you a photo enthusiast, and trust me when I say that this app should definitely help your photographic explorations and might allow you to frame and compose shots that would have never before been possible. If you're a photography nut you know all about spending money on gear, and its not a stretch to say that $10 dollars spent on this app is definitely worth it. Happy shooting.