Did you know that you can remotely control your DSLR or EVIL camera from your mobile? Yes Yes. Go figure. You don’t have a trigger, you need to put the camera at an impossible angle to access the menu, you want to take a self-portrait and see how the composition looks or how you look in the frame, etc., you can do it from your mobile. In addition to being able to control the aperture, the shutter speed or even the focus point. Interesting, right? You did not know that these applications existed for remote control of your camera? Well, stay because you care.
What do you need to control your camera remotely with a mobile application?
The first thing you need is that your camera has a Wi-Fi connection to be able to use remote control. If your camera does not have this function, you will have no choice but to forget about these applications and resort to other options to shoot your photo from a distance.
Now, if you have wireless connections, you’re in luck! Now you just need a tripod or a place to stabilize the camera and the right application. Then I present the ones for each camera.
When to use a camera remote control app
I have already told you something in the introduction, now we are going to see in more detail in what circumstances or moments you can use this remote control. Although, of course, it depends on your experience, your preferences, your tastes and the type of photography you do.
- Night or long exposure photography. When you take a long exposure, any vibration compromises the sharpness of the final image. Therefore, you have to be careful even with pressing the fire button. It is in this case where remote triggering becomes more necessary, which may well be with a remote trigger or one of these applications. Yes too. You can use the timer. But it’s more tedious, right? If you have your mobile and you have the app, why keep changing the timer?
- Macro photography. The depth of field in macro photography is so tight that it can be compromised by the slightest movement. So…what’s remote triggering for?!
- Self portraits. Whether it’s individual or group self-portraits, I find these remote control apps super useful, because they not only serve to press the shutter button, but also to make sure that everyone is well positioned, in the frame and, most importantly, in focus. . How many trips have you had to run the camera when you have used the delay shutter of your camera? Gone are those useless races that all they got was for you to come out with your face red as a tomato, with your tongue sticking out or hopefully flying through the air (on landing). Everything seems very crazy but it’s that some memories come to me with which I can’t help but laugh out loud 😂.
- Pictures. It may seem like bullshit to you, but sometimes people feel very uncomfortable when posing in front of a camera. In these cases where you meet a very shy person, you can use this trick. You sit your model down to relax, you place the camera on the tripod, you have a nice chat and from time to time, a tap on the mobile screen. Try it and tell us how it went.
- Product photography. Product photographs require good sharpness and a good focus. Photographing remotely, either from the mobile application or from the computer, will help you to check that everything is correct in a much more comfortable way. Not that it is necessary, but it is very practical.
- HDR. Taking a high dynamic range (HDR) photo requires taking multiple photos with identical framing. In this case, it is also very useful to control the camera from the mobile so that there is no movement, neither during the shot, nor when changing the parameters.
- Bracketing. Bracketing or bracketing is done like HDR, only it can also be focus, white balance, etc. But the reasons for shooting with an app remotely are the same.
- Panoramic. I’ve also used it a few times for panoramas. This makes it easier for me to check the start image, end image, and overlay while I’m on the site. That later at home may be too late 😉
- Nature photography. Especially animals, because of planting the camera and hiding so they don’t see you and move freely. Although also to photograph flowers and plants from impossible angles, for example.
- Pet photography. Leave your camera on the tripod, in a place where you have good light, place one of his favorite toys in front of it and walk away with your mobile. Your pet will not know that you are taking photos from the other corner of the room.
- Street photography. Here, more than a necessity, it is a trick to go unnoticed when doing street photography, something similar to what you can do with your pet. You place the camera wherever you want, a step, a table, on your legs while you are comfortably having a coffee on a terrace and while people think you are looking at your mobile, you are actually taking photos.
Other trick 😜: click on each of the links that I have been giving you to learn more about this photographic discipline, complete guides with tips and tricks.
Applications for remote control of your camera
Now yes, these are the applications that allow you not only remote control of your camera depending on the brand, but also share images at the moment:
Canyon
for Canon is CameraConnect (iOS / android). Available in Spanish, it allows viewing and downloading the images on the camera and remote shooting with direct vision. Selecting the focus point or modifying the parameters is really easy.
fujifilm
CamRemote (iOS / android) is Fujifilm’s app that allows you to control your camera remotely with both live view shooting and remote shooting. It is also possible with it to transfer the images to your tablet or smartphone. This in Spanish.
Nikon
snap bridge (iOS / android), as of today, supports D6, Z 7II, Z 6II, Z 7, Z 6, Z 5, Z 50, D850, D780, D500, D7500, D5600, D3500, D3400, COOLPIX P1000, P950 cameras , A1000, A900, A300, B700, B500, B600, W300, W150, W100, KeyMission 80.
Olympus
The app is called Olympus ImageShare (OI.Share) and is available for iOS and for android. It allows remote control from the mobile as well as the possibility of downloading photos to your smartphone. Its configuration is very simple, it is done by reading a QR code.
To check compatibility of operating systems and cameras click here.
panasonic
For Panasonic there are two applications for remote camera control.
On one side is Image App (iOS / android) for taking and playing a digital camera/camcorder and sharing photos and videos on social networks. With NFC the task is simplified. It is compatible with DMC-GF6, DMC-SZ9, DMC-TZ40/ TZ30 / TZ27 / TZ41 / TZ37, DMC-FT5 cameras.
On the other, the application is available LUMIX Sync (iOS / android). You can use it to trigger the shutter, control settings remotely, transfer images or copy settings from one camera to another and unify them if you use more than one camera. Compatible with the following Panasonic models:
- DC-S1H
- DC-S1R
- DC-S1
- DC-S5
- DC-BGH1
- DC-G100/G110
- DC-GH5M2 (GH5II)
Pentax
Image Sync is the application for Pentax and is available for iOS and for android. Of course, today you will have to practice English.
It allows remote capture, viewing images, downloading them to a mobile device and uploading them to social networks, among other functions. It is compatible with: PENTAX K-1, PENTAX K-1 Mark II, PENTAX K-3 Mark III, PENTAX KP, PENTAX K-S2, PENTAX K-70, RICOH GR III, RICOH GR II, RICOH WG-M2, RICOH G900SE.
oh! And if you have a Ricoh GR camera it is available for payment on iOS the GR Remote Viewer app for GRII and GRIII.
Sony
for sony stands Imaging Edge Mobile (iOS / android) with image transfer, location logging and remote control with live view. To use it at first it asks you for a Sony account, if you don’t have one you can skip this step or register if you want.
If you need to check compatibility or know how it connects to the camera, click here.
Other applications to control your camera remotely
These are the applications officers, of each brand, come on. And free. As in everything, the offer does not end here. There are other more complete payment applications and other free ones that are not of the brand but that you can also use with more or less guarantees, or rather, with more or less functions. The good thing about the free ones is that you can try them and if you don’t like any of them, you just have to uninstall it and nothing has happened here. With payment is another story. Here Android users are the lucky ones because except for one for Sony, I don’t know any free for iOS, if you know any, please share it in the comments. These are the other applications for remote shooting of your camera:
- Camera Connect & Control (Androids). The good thing is that it works with both Wi-fi and USB.
- dslr remote (Android). In the link you can see if your camera or device is compatible. It also works with Wi-fi and USB.
- Camera Remote Control (Android). Compatible with Canon, Fuji, Minolta, Nikon, Olympus, Pentax and Sony this is an infrared remote control.
- Helicon Remote (Android). for Canon and Nikon
- camrote (iOS). For Sony cameras.
We have reached the end. I hope this article has been useful to you. Do not hesitate to share it, I will be infinitely grateful if you make it reach more interested people.