hpl575 Loc: Indianapolis, IN

Still have the old Kodak pocket companion for a depth of field calculator, but use an app on my phone, mostly to determine hyperfocal on occasion.

The 6d has a remote ap. Very handy at times, but now I have to forget the tripod or risk being in the photo. A wired release is still the most reliable for critical applications.

gessman Loc: Colorado

gessman wrote:
Kruchoski, let me give you a quick heads up…. I rocked along about a year lovin' it and went to sleep one night with my "don't update my tablet" option unchecked and in the middle of the night Samsung came in and updated me to Jelly Bean and ruined my party.

Many thanks for your extensive feedback. So far, so good in my limited use of this app with my T2i. However, it seems almost worthless with my Xsi. I love the addition of ‘live view’ for my T2i. I assume I can use the app with both cameras as an inexpensive substitute for an intervalometer. Have you had any experience with that use?

Yes, both cameras are on the list but the XSi is shown to be compatible only "mostly." Your two cameras may have two different OS, VxWorks or DryOS on the XSi depending apparently on when it was built, and DryOS on the X2i. And as far as a replacement for an intervalometer, when you get into to the features of DSLR Controller deeply enough it will make an intervalometer look pretty primitive. It permits multiple image hdr, precise refocus for stacking in macro, time lapse, and other features that can appreciably improve your images, especially in cases when you need to keep your hands off the camera. I find that at 77 I'm developing some tremors and that isn't good around a camera. That is what got me interested in this in the first place. I have underutilized the capability due to some health issues but I intend to change that very soon.

Here's the caveat on the XSi from DSLRController.com:

"DSLR Controller supports most Canon EOS models released in Q3 2006 or later. It is specifically designed for models released in Q3 2008 or later. The older models use VxWorks, while the newer ones use DryOS. VxWorks models may not support some functionality such as auto-focus and continuous shooting. The cameras themselves may be able to do it - it just cannot be done remotely. If you have a Canon EOS newer than listed here, it is likely to just work."

If your XSi has VxWorks, you need to consider the following:

On some of the VxWorks models, you may need to enable liveview in the camera's settings before being able to use liveview with DSLR Controller. The setting is usually located somewhere under C.Fn configuration. Even with that setting enabled, some models still only support liveview in A-DEP, M, Av, Tv and P modes.

So you need to determine the date of release of the XSi, set it up according to what OS it has and it MAY work.

Kruchoski said: "I’m still pondering whether to buy a wi-fi adapter. Right now the cable is sufficient."

By all means and the cable is faster than over wi-fi so there's quicker response time. As long as you can do what you desire within a distance that you can bridge with the usb cord that came with your camera, it is fine. DSLR Controller suggests that if you try to use more cable to give you more working distance from the camera, you may create some problems. I have used extensions up to about ten feet without issue.

gessman wrote:
I don't think you need the OTG cable but rather you just need the <$20.00 Samsung adapter which takes you from a male proprietary Samsung plug to a female standard usb plug where you connect the camera with the cord that came with the camera.

Kruchoski said: As best I can tell, they are ‘one & the same.’ I’d talked to a local computer cables store a month or so back; they carry the OTG for only $9.95. So far, it’s worked perfectly.

No sir, they aren't the same and nothing else will work in this case - two specifically different purposes. You can get an OTG cable for $2 on ebay and since most "locals" will have never heard of an OTG cable, a couple of spares aren't bad to have. The Samsung adapter will cost you about the same about anywhere you find it. I think I saw one in Wal Mart electronics the other day but didn't stop long enough to check it out closely. The adapter is a rectangle about an inch across - Samsung proprietary male on one end that inserts into your Tablet 3 with a standard usb female on the other end. Since I got one I see that there is also a short cable with the necessary plugs on each end. See the first two images below.

The On The Go (OTG) cable is about 3 inches long and is female standard usb on one end and the mini usb on the other end to plug into and use with mostly certain compatible Android phones. See the third image below. i might emphasize that it MUST be an OTG cable and not just a short regular cable with the right plugs on it. There is a pin-out crossover of some sort going on in the OTG cable and a regular usb cable will not work. I'm sure you know that but someone who might be reading who is just facing this compatibility jungle for the first time might not.

There is a distinct advantage to having a 10" tablet then a 7" tablet over a phone in that you focus you camera by touching the screen and the larger screen allows you to touch the screen more precisely. You do have two magnification levels, 5X and 10X that helps pinpoint where you want to precisely focus but a larger screen is still better in the end.

I hate to state the obvious but this is the original Samsung adapter, called a kit because it comes with a cap for the Samsung male plug on one end as you see below:


This is new since I began this pursuit and appears to be the same thing as the adapter above:


OTG cable and must be specified as such as opposed to simply being a short usb to mini usb cord...

kruchoski Loc: Albuquerque, NM

Appreciate the detailed info about DSLR Controller's features & the reminder about the OS differences. I'd never bothered with possible firmware updates, but I might just look into that now. I only keep the Xsi around as a backup body. When I spend lots of money to travel to Brasil (for example), the last thing I need to be doing is trying to buy a 'gray market' replacement body on the road in a foreign country. I've "worn out" two DSLRs so far (had to replace the shutter mechanisms), and of course it had to happen in mid-shoot. Never again!


Good to hear that. It was going to be my next test. Can do easy: I've got a veritable computer cable store here in my office. :-) Comes from years of building my own computers.


and


I see. The Tab 3 actually uses a standard micro-B now instead of Samsung's older proprietary male plug. So their switch allows the use of an OTG (male micro-B on one end and female A on the other), which is so much more flexible. I can use it to connect to a lot more than just my cameras.

gessman Loc: Colorado

That's good to know. Thanks. They needed to get rid of that clunker plug they've been using but those mini plugs just scare the dickens out of me. Have you run across an item known as a "jerk-stop?" If not, Google it. It looks very useful. I knowingly was preaching from a vantage point of my own unique trek into this wilderness over a year ago with the aid of what is indicated on the DSLR Controller chart of eligibility which actually says it has not verified the Tablet 3 for compatibility, as I'm sure you noticed. Please s'cuse me! Enjoy!

kruchoski Loc: Albuquerque, NM

Well, I gotta admit, ya coulda fooled me.


I chuckled at this. So, I took a quick -- well, maybe not so quick -- peek at your web sites. Nice photos, for sure. (Really! But then you know that.) However, upon looking at your cockpit pics, with all those knobs & switches & dials & displays, might I ask, when are you going to learn to be an aviator? Wouldn't a single stick or two & a set of foot pedals suffice? Or are there circumstances where all the 'intelligent' systems might actually be helpful? IFR? "We don't need no stinking IFR! VFR all the way!"

Umm, a smile, okay? :-) C'mon, it's easy. You can do it.

kruchoski Loc: Albuquerque, NM

Umm, I think that's what the young lady used last night at a business networking event. The photographer asked if he could take a publicity photo of the two of us. I agreed, then draped my arm around her shoulder & smiled. She wasn't nearly as agreeable.

"Jerk! Stop!" :-)

Or did you mean something else??

CaptainC Loc: Colorado, south of Denver

That is how I started - a 1946 Aeronca Champ. No electrical system, had to have someone spin the prop to start. Flight instruments were just Airspeed, Altimiter, and wet compass. Engine instruments were tachometer, oil temperature. Navigation was a pencil line drawn on a map and dead reckoning navigation.

And yes, when I flew the B777, it was quite normal to turn off the auto flight stuff and just hand-fly the airplane. Something the Asiana pilots at the SFO crash were incompetent to do.

kruchoski Loc: Albuquerque, NM

A few days back I'd been reading this & smiling (as we heard about how useless all this newfangled stuff is):

"What if, going forward, the people who are considered the best and brightest are those who aren’t adamant in their opinions and conclusions but rather strive to see problems in new ways, seek more evidence and consider different points of view?

"... (Among traits) the mega-successful company looks for in potential hires, the overriding theme is: 'Perfectionists, overachievers and know-it-alls need not apply.'

"On the Google campus in California’s Silicon Valley, employees are encouraged to take risks, make mistakes, consider alternate theories, weigh new evidence, recalibrate their thinking and, along the way, learn, learn, learn.

"... The company puts a high premium on 'learning ability' and 'intellectual humility,' Bock said. You have to be willing to not dominate a project or run roughshod over a team, he said. Instead, you should learn from others, own up to your mistakes and lead by relinquishing rather than asserting power.

"All this Google wisdom is very interesting and it makes a good amount of sense. Who can argue with success?"

I'd had more important things to grapple this week, so it's only today that I've had the time to share. Hope you enjoy. :-)

boberic Loc: Quiet Corner, Connecticut. Ex long Islander

Another DOF idea. Why not a built in DOF calculator in the menu, visable on the screen

IR Jim Loc: St. Louis

DOF calculators are great, I have one on my smartphone. It takes a minute to run the calculation and many times you must guess the subject distance. I merely envision a faster method by rotating a command dial and let the camera do the work.