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Sony updates the remote app for tablets and mobiles

Annna T

Active member
I just saw on my iPad that Sony has issued a new version of the PlayMemory Mobile app. on the 26th October. Among the new features :

Easier connection to the camera with a QR code.
Improvements to the remote shooting app.

The remote app. inside of the camera needs to be updated to version 4.0 but it isn't yet available; last version for the moment is 3.3 and was issued back on the 30th July 2015.
Here is the link to the iPad app :

PlayMemories Mobile par Sony Corporation https://appsto.re/ch/uBhkD.i

I assume that Android users will get a similar update.

Here is where you can upload cameras apps to your camera : https://www.playmemoriescameraapps.com/portal/


 
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rupho

New member
Remote app is great but got one big problem : once activated in camera it for some unknown reason cripples the tethering port. Is this fixed now?
 
The app on the camera hasn't been updated as you can read from Anna's screen grab. We know what you know.

The addition of bulb is a big plus though. When I shoot low light it is a real pain that you can';t stay on the app without changing iso. I do like to stay at base ISO. I just checked to see if the bug is gone where it doesn't actually process a full size image for review on the iPad. The option to review/save the image at full size isn't even there, FFS. What is the point in having a large screen to check your images when you can't even check them at full size. Absolutly idiotic! :banghead:

Remote app is great but got one big problem : once activated in camera it for some unknown reason cripples the tethering port. Is this fixed now?
 

dmward

Member
My frustration with this is the difficulty in getting it installed and running. Either I'm a lot dumber than I thought or its not intuitive.
An additional frustration is the play memory software app on my phone seems to think I want to share pictures and other stuff I have no interest in.
 

Viramati

Member
My frustration with this is the difficulty in getting it installed and running. Either I'm a lot dumber than I thought or its not intuitive.
An additional frustration is the play memory software app on my phone seems to think I want to share pictures and other stuff I have no interest in.
I have found that I can only install apps directly using the camera and connecting to my network.
 
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AndyPtak

Member
I'm stuck too.

My ipad updated from iTunes update, but when I log on to the Sony site to update my camera it's showing release 3.6 as being the latest. As a result, my iPad is asking for a QR code and my camera is still showing a SSIS number.

Thanks Sony. Duh.
 
I have found that I can only install apps directly using the camera and connecting to my network.
Agreed. From experience it's the only way that worked for me too. It's quite simple to do on the camera.

Really bummed that the option to review full size images on the iPad is now gone. So stupid. Ok. Maybe turn it off in continuous mode but why not have it on single image mode. It is a fill size jpg not a raw or tif file! iPad airs can download at very high speeds and besides it worked on a camera that had just 6 less megapixels up to a few updates ago.


Also why still no bracketing mode on the app.

The bulb is a great addition but currently one needs to exit the app to check critical focus and that just dramatically affects workflow.
 

Viramati

Member
I'm stuck too.

My ipad updated from iTunes update, but when I log on to the Sony site to update my camera it's showing release 3.6 as being the latest. As a result, my iPad is asking for a QR code and my camera is still showing a SSIS number.

Thanks Sony. Duh.
Strange as I have updated my A7rII and A7s to v.4 with no problem
 

AndyPtak

Member
Strange as I have updated my A7rII and A7s to v.4 with no problem
Finally got V4 page. Not sure how I ended up on the other one. Ah well.

Next issue - my camera now displays a QR code but when I bring the camera within proximity to the rectangle shown on the iPad, my camera screen goes dark - move it away and the QR code display returns.

Not my day!
 

Annna T

Active member
Strange as I have updated my A7rII and A7s to v.4 with no problem
I made the update yesterday. First I went to Sony.ch (my country) and only 3.6 was listed. Then I picked another link, the one I gave above, to Sony apps .net or something like that and from there I could download the app. 4th version.

May be that this has something to do with language ? On Sony.ch they offer French or German, but no English. Anyway : the version installed talks me in French. Which I dislike because all the forums I visit are speaking English and having the English versions of everything makes exchanges easier.
 
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Annna T

Active member
Finally got V4 page. Not sure how I ended up on the other one. Ah well.

Next issue - my camera now displays a QR code but when I bring the camera within proximity to the rectangle shown on the iPad, my camera screen goes dark - move it away and the QR code display returns.

Not my day!
Look at the bottom of the screen showing the QR code : it says that if you push the delete button you can get a password that you can then type in the WIFI adjustment section of your iPad. The way it was done before.

I had already linked my body to the iPad, and it was connected. But nevertheless, the QR code appeared. And seems to have reinitialized the connection. Once I had photographed it, it wanted to install something and opened a page in my browser. And I had to click some OK during the installation process. I found that trickier than the old way. But now it is memorized. When I want to link the iPad to the body, I first set the wifi to on on the body. Then I go to the WIFI settings panel of the iPad where the body appears in the list if available networks and choose it. Then I launch the remote app. And voilà.

Concerning the display blackening before you can take the picture of the QR code, it happened to me too : it is just the display going into sleeping mode. Half press shutter and it should go.. or temporarily set a longer time before sleeping strikes in. Other possible issue : your phone was too near of the VF autoswitch sensor, so the output went to the VF and then back when you draw the phone back.

The scripting isn't very strong : it is only a WPA key, not the now usual WEP key. May be they thought it sufficient because the body and pad/phone needs to be quite near of one another and won't be up for days like a home network.

One can choose whether to get a full sized or a 2MB picture for reviewing. What I miss is a magnifyier for MF when you are in shooting mode. And you can choose whether the pictures you take are stored on the iPad or not and at 2MB or at the original size. You have to do that on the pad/phone tapping the display you will see the word "settings" appear in the top right. Alas there isn't much things to adjust. I had the impression that when I chose the original size for reviewing lus the high IQ, the IQ of the live view increased as well.. But may be it was just a false impression.
 
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scho

Well-known member
After dealing with some frustration, I finally managed to get the update and app installed. Works OK, but I probably won't use it very much. Discovered the option to GPS tag images which is a nice feature. App completely overrides camera settings and seems to control the camera via this Sony profile that is installed. Too bad that there are only very limited options for adjusting settings. I really need to be able to shoot raw+jpg as I have limited use for the small jpegs that are saved.
 

Annna T

Active member
After dealing with some frustration, I finally managed to get the update and app installed. Works OK, but I probably won't use it very much. Discovered the option to GPS tag images which is a nice feature. App completely overrides camera settings and seems to control the camera via this Sony profile that is installed. Too bad that there are only very limited options for adjusting settings. I really need to be able to shoot raw+jpg as I have limited use for the small jpegs that are saved.
Yes, the app takes full control of the body. Nevertheless you can still manage to get a raw pictures while using the remote app.

For that while still in the remote app press the menu key on the body. There you have the possibility to choose different things that only apply when using the remote app : you can choose the size of the picture and the IQ. For IQ you can choose raw+JPEG. There are six tabs for the remote app. I'm still exploring what they do. Important to know : what you have set for regular use doesn't apply here and the default is JPEG only Large Fine.
 

scho

Well-known member
Yes, the app takes full control of the body. Nevertheless you can still manage to get a raw pictures while using the remote app.

For that while still in the remote app press the menu key on the body. There you have the possibility to choose different things that only apply when using the remote app : you can choose the size of the picture and the IQ. For IQ you can choose raw+JPEG. There are six tabs for the remote app. I'm still exploring what they do. Important to know : what you have set for regular use doesn't apply here and the default is JPEG only Large Fine.
Thank you Anna. Much better with some menu access. Can now shoot raw+jpg and also get access to focus magnification when using MF lens. I will have to try this for some remote bird photography with my 600mm lens.
 

scho

Well-known member
Another use for the remote app is shooting several images at different focus points for a composite image with wide DOF. I set up the A7RII with 150-600 Tamron on a tripod and put it into remote app mode set for flexible spot focus (small) and then used touch focus on the iPad to quickly fire several shots at different distances in the scene simply by touching the iPad screen image at desired locations. Eight shots were composited in Helicon Focus to create the final image.

a close focus image



a far focus image



the composite of 8 images

 
Look at the bottom of the screen showing the QR code : it says that if you push the delete button you can get a password that you can then type in the WIFI adjustment section of your iPad. The way it was done before.

One can choose whether to get a full sized or a 2MB picture for reviewing. What I miss is a magnifyier for MF when you are in shooting mode. And you can choose whether the pictures you take are stored on the iPad or not and at 2MB or at the original size. You have to do that on the pad/phone tapping the display you will see the word "settings" appear in the top right. Alas there isn't much things to adjust. I had the impression that when I chose the original size for reviewing lus the high IQ, the IQ of the live view increased as well.. But may be it was just a false impression.
The issue I had of "original" not even appearing as an option has for some reason ceased! I went into settings prior to connecting the wifi. Under "Copy image Size" Original was there as an option and already selected. Than when I connected the camera via wifi and went to "size of review image" Original was now also visible. This was not visible since the previous release. Strange.

However a bug that appeared a few releases ago is back. Namely the full size review image in the app is not really a full size image. It looks fine viewed at full screen on my ipad retina but if I zoom in beyond full screen the image lacks any detail. (i.e. actually a 2mge version) If I have image copy turned on and to original size, than get out of the app and view the image in the Photos app the image is in full size and has detail when viewed in. This means you have to ensure "Save Options" is turned on. Than at least you can get out of the app to check fine focus. This wa snot the case a few releases ago. Looks like an ongoing bug issue.
 

DennisHHH

New member
Another use for the remote app is shooting several images at different focus points for a composite image with wide DOF. I set up the A7RII with 150-600 Tamron on a tripod and put it into remote app mode set for flexible spot focus (small) and then used touch focus on the iPad to quickly fire several shots at different distances in the scene simply by touching the iPad screen image at desired locations. Eight shots were composited in Helicon Focus to create the final image.

a close focus image



a far focus image



the composite of 8 images

Thanks Carl! I've been using your technique in the studio for a few months now and it works great. I just sent a request to Sony, via Pro support to the user to select enable multiple points on the image and then have the camera shoot and focus of those points automatically. I also contacted helicon remote and asked them why they are supporting the Sony camera, they replied that Sony doesn't support manual focus for them to use with their like Nikon and Canon does. I also requested this to be added by Sony so that helicon remote could be used to do focus stacking. Pro support is a really good portal for making suggestions to Sony.
 
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