Android phone as remote control for Nikon camera 1

Abstract

Rapid advancement in mobile technology expands the capabilities of a smart phone beyond its basic usages, mobile application further open up a new world of possibilities.

The limitation of having to use a computer to perform a certain task is becoming a thing of the past. An owner of a DSLR camera will no longer have to use remote control application such as Nikontrol 3K on a bulky computer to perform remote live view shooting with his camera. All that is needed is an Android smart phone and a mobile application.

The purpose of this project is to develop an Android application that transforms the Android device into a DSLR remote control with basic and additional control over the DSLR camera’s functions. Users will also be able to view and verify more details on the Android device’s screen as compared to the small LCD screen on the camera.

This project makes use of an open-source gPhoto library to establish communication and send control commands to the camera. The resulting Android application is able to stream live preview from the camera onto the Android device’s screen; users are also able to perform various camera’s functions such as capture, changing shutter speed, white balance, aperture, ISO at their fingertips. Additional features such as time-lapse, GeoTagging, zooming library further enhanced the application.

The end of the report will discussed the limitations and possible enhancements that can be added to this project.