Canon Photo 5 - 2011 Competition - High Speed

Looks like I missed the deadline for the Canon photo 5 2011 competition because I only learnt about it the other week and by the time I received my neat little box submissions were closed.

I have decided to still complete all the briefs for a bit of fun and would like to share what I did with brief #4 Powder - Fast shutter.

dslr.Bot iPhone App Review

Have you ever wanted to control your Canon EOS DSLR camera with your iPhone?
Well you can via infrared with this handy little iPhone app dslr.Bot developed by Studio Canvas.

$4.99 USD / $5.99 AUD

Before reading on please note: For this iPhone App to function correctly you need an infrared transmitter. When it comes to infrared transmitters you have two options. You can be like me and try your luck at making one Instructables have an easy to follow tutorial. The second option is to purchase a pre-made one from the dslr.Bot webpage for around $20.

Overview of remote features

• Shoot
• Long Exposure
• Time Lapse
• HDR Bracketing
• Movie Mode

Shoot

As the name suggests this is the main mode for taking pictures, it even has the ability to log and track GPS location. The GPS syncing is achieved by setting your cameras clock to the precise time of your iPhone (dslr.Bot displays the time down to the second making this easy). All of the GPS information can be exported via email.

Long Exposure

Set the camera to Bulb mode and select the desired time from dslr.Bot. A nice touch is the ability to stop the session at anytime. You must have the infrared transmitted pointed at the camera to start and stop the session.

Time Lapse

Did I hear someone say time lapse video?

The time lapse feature is simple to use and very versatile. One thing to keep in mind, the signal is being sent via infrared if you move the infrared transmitter or the camera out of range shots won't fire.

HDR Bracketing

HDR (High Dynamic Range) dslr.Bot achieves this by opening the shutter for different time durations. I played with this feature for quite sometime and although it is wonderful when it works I found that my camera kept missing the close shutter command and left the shutter open.

This may have been caused by my home made infrared transmitter or I may have to work with longer time durations to make sure the IR is ready.

Movie Mode

Movie mode allows you to start and stop movie recording as well as track recorded time, this mode also allows export to email. DSLR film makers will find this mode the most exciting, taking out the need to track shots and total footage separate.

The Verdict.

I would to like to start off by saying with any infrared device there will always be interference and miss fires. Putting the infrared issues aside this app is absolutely amazing, it is feature rich and of a very high quality. I get the feeling the developers over at Studio Canvas have a passion for Photography and gadgetry. I have been over to the app store and rated this one 5/5 stars.