Canon 70D remote capabilities

[Moglex]

I have a special application for which I need a camera that will 'stream' to a PC. It does not need to be a particularly fast frame rate as it is for critical lighting adjustments, but it does need to continuously update - not just update after taking a shot.

Despite a great deal of searching I'm having a lot of trouble determining exactly what various cameras are capable of. Some sources seem to say that some EOS cameras cannot show live views remotely but there are also youtube videos showing some doing precisely that.

So I was wondering if anyone with actual experience of an EOS 70D could answer the following questions:

1) Is it possible to connect a PC to the 70D via USB (as opposed to just Wi-Fi)?
2) Can you view live images on the PC (i.e with the camera operating as a sort of CCTV)?
3) With the remote shooting app, can you make small adjustments to the focus prior to exposing?

Thanks in advance if anyone is able to help with these questions.

 

[cwright0428]

I have a special application for which I need a camera that will 'stream' to a PC. It does not need to be a particularly fast frame rate as it is for critical lighting adjustments, but it does need to continuously update - not just update after taking a shot.

Despite a great deal of searching I'm having a lot of trouble determining exactly what various cameras are capable of. Some sources seem to say that some EOS cameras cannot show live views remotely but there are also youtube videos showing some doing precisely that.

So I was wondering if anyone with actual experience of an EOS 70D could answer the following questions:

1) Is it possible to connect a PC to the 70D via USB (as opposed to just Wi-Fi)?
2) Can you view live images on the PC (i.e with the camera operating as a sort of CCTV)?
3) With the remote shooting app, can you make small adjustments to the focus prior to exposing?

Thanks in advance if anyone is able to help with these questions.

1. Yes - this is easiest with canons included software but can be done with a number of other programs as well. Google " tethered capture 70D"

2. Yes although this vary from app to app and another thing to consider is if you aren't taking photos the camera will go to sleep after a bit of inactivity.


3. Yes but your limited to your autofocus points which on a 70D is better then a lot of others.

I'm no expert but I hope that helps

 

[Moglex]

1. Yes - this is easiest with canons included software but can be done with a number of other programs as well. Google " tethered capture 70D"

2. Yes although this vary from app to app and another thing to consider is if you aren't taking photos the camera will go to sleep after a bit of inactivity.


3. Yes but your limited to your autofocus points which on a 70D is better then a lot of others.

I'm no expert but I hope that helps

Thanks very much for the info.

On point 2, I was hoping to be able to use the Canon supplied software to display a live view on the PC's monitor. That's what I've seen done on youtube (don't know which Canon) but elsewhere I've seen it stated that you can't (again, it wasn't clear which particular camera they were talking about).

On point 3, I was wanting to use manual focusing and be able to 'nudge' the focus from within the remote shooting program.

 

[Big Mike]

On point 3, I was wanting to use manual focusing and be able to 'nudge' the focus from within the remote shooting program.

I don't think that will be possible with any DSLR lens.

If you can't or don't want to physically adjust the focus...you might try using a deeper DOF so that precise focusing won't be required.

 

[Moglex]

Thanks. I was afraid of that.

Unfortunately a greater DOF is not practical as the reason I wanted to nudge the focus was to automate focus stacking.

 

[Big Mike]

Another option might be to find a way to change the position (distance) of the camera or subject, thereby changing the point of focus on it.

 

[pdq5oh]

With the EOS Remote app you can manually focus using the phone. The lens must be set to autofocus. You can, also, move the focus point around by touching the screen on the phone. I set the camera to single point and it works just fine.