CamRanger

1.6.6 Update

Dave — Wed, 22 May 2013 17:51:47 +0000

The 1.6.6 update brings official support to the Nikon D7100 and D5100. These cameras use a USB cable with special connectors that are custom to Nikon. The cable that came with your camera will work or they can be purchased as well, but it is not a standard USB cable.

The update allows also LCD image playback on the back of the camera for newer Nikons. It’s still not available on older models, but the latest and greatest Nikons allow images to be seen on the back when connected to the CamRanger. You do need to have the connection within the CamRanger app set to “Cam”.

Windows v 0.1

Dave — Thu, 16 May 2013 06:08:37 +0000

We have a very early Windows Beta version that we are making available. It may be of use to some users or perhaps others are just curious. It is possible that it has enough functionality and stability to be used in an actual working environment, but I would be hesitant to recommend it. There is much to be done, but image capture, live view, and changing settings are pretty well developed.
Please email us if you would like a copy.

Android & Windows Progress

Dave — Mon, 06 May 2013 07:20:30 +0000

We have been hard at work on both Android and Windows PC applications. We wanted to show a little video of what we have for Android right now. As you can see things are coming along very nicely. There is definitely much to be done both with adding functionality and polishing things up, but quite a lot has been accomplished. In case anyone is wondering the device used in the video is a Nexus 7 tablet. We are anticipating a beta version to be available by the end of May, or perhaps pushing into the beginning of June.

Android Demo Video

On the Windows side, we are expecting a beta version to be available in one week, on May 14th.

Both applications will be available at no charge and will use the existing CamRanger hardware.

1.6.4 Update

Dave — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 21:43:00 +0000

The 1.6.4 update to the iOS app added a number of small features and fixed a number of issues. The most noteworthy of the new features are both for Canon only and are a depth of field preview while within live view (a button will appear to the left of the capture button and is iPad only) as well as the ability to do HDR and intervalomter shots while in live view. A note of caution that keeping live view active can potentially cause some delays on things and in rare occasions issues, but it can be done. We do hope to be able to roll out the live view HDR/intervalometer feature to Nikon, but don’t have any timeline at this point.

The most noteworthy issue that was fixed dealt with improper rotation of some NEF’s when viewed as well as incorrect aspect ratio’s of portrait images when saved with a watermark. I’ll also take the time to note that saving to the iOS library does take longer with “Save with Watermarks” on, so if you are most concerned with speed, be sure to leave that off.

Alternative attachment options

Dave — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 20:23:49 +0000

We get a number of questions from customers about the best way to attach or secure their CamRanger. The answer really depends on the photographer’s setup and workflow. While working on a tripod, the included black pouch and carabiner clip can be a good choice as there are number of attachments points on a tripod or camera strap.

Included Pouch

If the photographer is more mobile then the pouch can be used attached to a camera strap or or shirt pocket, but isn’t as convenient. There are some third party options, TetherTools makes a couple of products that can be secured to the CamRanger that allow a 1/4″-20 screw mount. This opens up a number of possibilities, including using in conjunction with a hot shoe adapter to attach the CamRanger to a hot shoe. The two options are the Mighty Mount, which actually uses adhesive to stick onto the CamRanger, and the Smart Clip, which is has strong spring clip to clamp around the CamRanger. TetherTools also has a number of iPad mounting options, including the wearable TabStrap, which can be helpful if trying to hand hold a camera and iPad.

Mighty Mount	Smart Clip

For photographers with a bit more creativity, we have seen a few homemade solutions that seem to have worked well for them. A couple of the better ones we have seen are to velcro or rubber band the CamRanger onto an L-bracket (nice if a hot/cold shoe isn’t an option) or another customer who used some double sided foam tape with a little bubble level.

Velcro(TM) on L-bracket	Tape on Hot Shoe Bubble Level

1.6.3 Update

Dave — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 03:30:09 +0000

The 1.6.3 update adds two major features:

T1i / 500D Support

The T1i, or 500D for our European friends, is now fully supported.

Movie feed during recording

Previously a number of Canons (notably the 5D II) did not display the live view feed while actually recording. This has now been fixed and live view continues to update during recording. Additionally we added a “Movie Restart” feature within the settings. Each camera has a different maximum video record length due to legal / technical limitations after which recording stops. Now within the settings you can tell recording to automatically stop recording and then restart automatically before that limit is reached. You can set the restart to occur at 10, 19, or 29 minutes. Based on our testing about 2-3 seconds of video is lost during the restart.

1.6, 1.6.1 & 1.6.2 Update

Dave — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 04:46:45 +0000

We have been very busy with some new updates to the iOS app. Version 1.6.1 and 1.6.2 were both minor fixes to the much larger update of 1.6. Most of these changes were the direct result of customer feedback. Some of the larger changes are detailed below:

HDR

HDR control has been tweaked slightly. Steps are now listed in actual stop values. The functionality of how the bracketing steps through the values for the selected property (shutter speed, aperture, or ISO) remains the same, it just makes it easier for the user to set up the bracket. Additionally, we added a new HDR setting. The user can select if the list HDR value represent the Highlight (most exposed value), Shadow (least exposed value), or Mid-Point (the middle exposure in the sequence). This setting is located under Settings->Controls.

Compare Images

Between two and four images can now be compared at the same time. This can be done through the card contents view. When two, three, or four thumbnails are selected, the “Compare” button on the bottom bar will become enabled. Tapping it will show you the selected images at the same time. It will not show full resolution images, but you can independently zoom (including pinch zoom) and pan on each image.

Ratings

A ratings system has been implemented. Now whenever an image is presented a small rating button with three stars will be present underneath. The button itself will actually show the rating, and if selected a little dialog will popup allowing a three star rating to be selected as well as a text comment to be entered. To view all the images on the camera with associated ratings, selected the “Show Ratings List” button within Settings->Ratings. This will show thumbnails, file names, the three star rating, and the comment for each rated image. From here the rating can be double tapped to view the image, the rating can be edited or deleted, or the entire list deleted. To use the ratings list, select the “Email List” button which will provide a way to email the ratings list to yourself, or whomever you choose. Note that while you are connected to the CamRanger network, the email will not actually be sent.

Watermarks

Text watermarks can now be overlaid on top of the images. The watermark settings can be accessed in the Settings->Watermark area. From here the user can enter a word or phrase to use for the watermark, the watermark location (center, bottom right, or bottom left) and the watermark size (small, medium, or large). Lastly the user can select whether or not the watermark should be embedded in images saved to the photo library.

Settings

The settings screen has been reorganized to hopefully make it clearer. The settings are now divided into different categories that can be tapped to expand or collapse that category. A settings lock was also added that can be turned on under the Controls section. When on, the settings lock requires the user to enter a password before being able to access the settings. This is intended to prevent clients or other third parties from changing the settings. The code to unlock the settings is always the first 4 character’s of the CamRanger’s serial code.

Auto-Thumbnails

An “Auto-Thumbnails” setting has been added that allows the user to turn off automatic downloading of thumbnails. This can be useful in situations where for example the photographer is in continuous mode and having dozens of thumbnails being downloaded can slow things down. When thumbnail downloading is turned off, a white button will appear with the number of pending thumbnails to be shown. Pressing the button will download any pending thumbnails.So as you can see, this was a pretty major update that added a lot of new functionality. There were also a number of smaller improvements and fixes made as well. So thanks to everyone who provided valuable feedback.