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Sony Smart Remote Control App

I bought my Sony A7r last summer for situations where low light and the need for speed were prohibitive on my Hasselblad H3D 39/Arca Swiss RL 3d combo.

At the time I tested the pretty basic Sony Smart Remote Control App. I wasn't very impressed TBH and since than I just used the fantastic EVF. However I recently updated the app and there is a huge leap in what it brings to the table.

You now get full control of white balance, shutter speed and aperture in all settings including manual mode.
It's really is very useful for architectural work, especially when tweaking lighting because the wifi works well (so far). You can walk around the shot taking test shots and adjusting things as you go. Much better than the Sony remote control where you have to stand on one leg reciting Ulysses in Japanese. I just tested the wifi, leaving the camera in one room and walked to the furthest point in my apartment and it works perfectly. Walls weren't an issue re. signal.
You can review the images in full size or 2meg. Full size is great for testing focus. 2meg is grand once you've focus 100% correct. Zooming in on the full size image previews on an iPad retina display is fandiddlytastic. 2 meg transfers quicker so it makes sense to use this file size after focus is sorted. A RAW file is transferred to your memory card once jpg and RAW are selected.
I have a few gripes though. You need to turn on and off the image magnifier on the camera and not on the app. The magnified live view image will appear on the LCD and iPad but it just means fiddling between devices. Maybe that's an update for the future.
Also it would be great to get a bracketing option which can be controlled from the iPad. Bracketing on the A7r is prehistoric in comparison to other cameras so agin hopefully that's an update for the future.
The EVF is fantastic on the A7r but if you're shooting something which requires you to move away from your camera location a lot it is a Godsend. The Camranger for Canon and Nikon setups is quite expensive. It's another physical thing you have to connect and charge and it's as buggy as Hell. This app does most of what it does and it's free!
 

Annna T

Active member
I bought my Sony A7r last summer for situations where low light and the need for speed were prohibitive on my Hasselblad H3D 39/Arca Swiss RL 3d combo.

At the time I tested the pretty basic Sony Smart Remote Control App. I wasn't very impressed TBH and since than I just used the fantastic EVF. However I recently updated the app and there is a huge leap in what it brings to the table.

You now get full control of white balance, shutter speed and aperture in all settings including manual mode.
It's really is very useful for architectural work, especially when tweaking lighting because the wifi works well (so far). You can walk around the shot taking test shots and adjusting things as you go. Much better than the Sony remote control where you have to stand on one leg reciting Ulysses in Japanese. I just tested the wifi, leaving the camera in one room and walked to the furthest point in my apartment and it works perfectly. Walls weren't an issue re. signal.
You can review the images in full size or 2meg. Full size is great for testing focus. 2meg is grand once you've focus 100% correct. Zooming in on the full size image previews on an iPad retina display is fandiddlytastic. 2 meg transfers quicker so it makes sense to use this file size after focus is sorted. A RAW file is transferred to your memory card once jpg and RAW are selected.
I have a few gripes though. You need to turn on and off the image magnifier on the camera and not on the app. The magnified live view image will appear on the LCD and iPad but it just means fiddling between devices. Maybe that's an update for the future.
Also it would be great to get a bracketing option which can be controlled from the iPad. Bracketing on the A7r is prehistoric in comparison to other cameras so agin hopefully that's an update for the future.
The EVF is fantastic on the A7r but if you're shooting something which requires you to move away from your camera location a lot it is a Godsend. The Camranger for Canon and Nikon setups is quite expensive. It's another physical thing you have to connect and charge and it's as buggy as Hell. This app does most of what it does and it's free!
I like it too.. but there is one thing that irks : usually I have the AFL set to the AEL/AFL button. But 1) none of the sony apps are working properly unless you put the AF back on the shutter button. 2) To change from the AF with shutter button to AF with the AEL/AFL button and vice versa, you have to dig deep into the menu, you can't put it in the FN quick menu.

It is the same for scene modes too, they won't allow me to use the AFL/AEL button to focus. For instance I don't usually shoot at people, but I like to take a few portraits of the children during family events. Using the portrait scene mode would allow a quick change from all my usual settings to what is usefull. But unless I dig down into the menu, to change the way of activating focus, I'm bugged.
 
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