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FieldMonitor 8.0 supports Canons

My iOS app FieldMonitor now supports Canon EOS DSLR and mirrorless cameras for Wi-Fi remote monitoring and control. If your Canon works for video recording using Canon’s Camera Connect app, it should work with FieldMonitor, too.

FieldMonitor’s Canon support was built using an 80D and an RP, and tweaked with a 5D Mk IV, 6D Mk II, and M 6 Mk II on a one-week rental from LensRentals.com — Canons mostly communicate consistently, but different models have different minor idiosyncrasies. A crack multinational beta-testing crew helped catch odd bugs, too.

The cameras with rubber-banded shoulder straps are the rented ones

Canons work well with remote control: all exposure adjustments can be tweaked and white-balance settings adjusted, including the Kelvin color temperature. You can tap-to-focus or move the focus point while recording — and in recording formats allowing DPAF, using autofocus while recording is perfectly viable; the camera may focus more smoothly, more accurately, and more consistently than you can. The live-view image is a measly 512×288 pixels (by comparison, Sonys and Panasonics send whopping huge 640×360 images), but FieldMonitor’s Focus Assist helps you focus manually, and it feels like the more compact Canon images are somewhat less subject to hangups and timeouts than the live streams from the Ss and Ps.

Some Canons even report audio levels while in video mode. If a Canon sends audio level info, FieldMonitor automatically displays a level meter:

iPhone SE screenshot with audio level meters for an EOS RP

I have a video showing Canon-specific operations. If you’re interested, it’s on the App Store — but make sure your camera works in the modes you need when using Canon’s Camera Connect app before buying FieldMonitor, because FieldMonitor can’t make the camera do anything that Camera Connect can’t make it do. And no, FieldMonitor doesn’t provide playback or image transfer, just live monitoring and control.

Full disclosure as per FTC rules: I make money when you buy FieldMonitor. So I’m not saying, “hey, go buy this app”, because I’m obviously biased, and you should be rightfully skeptical of any recommendations from me. I’m just saying, “here’s what it is, here’s what it does.” Caveat emptor.

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