It is here, it is basic, but it works (somewhat) — Bracketing. Once again I find myself either spending an hour I have available to work on the code, or publishing what I already have working, limited though it may be.
So here we have 4.0 – the Basic Bracketing version.
Expect bugs — that’s why the version is a .0 one! However it should do you for some basic HDR or timelapse uses.
Update:
- Only works in P, A or S modes as the bracketing is controlled by adjusting the exposure compensation. I’ll do M mode support later.
- The package has the wrong version number (3.1) on the Start menu icon,but once you open the script itis the correct 4.0
- Tested on D300 and D40 ok
95 responses so far ↓
1 Bingo7 // Feb 3, 2009 at 9:48 pm
I gave it a try, don’t know if its because i use a D70, or a wrong procedure, but it gives me a lot of shots with the same exposure settings… I set the nr of brakets and the fstop distance, with my camera set to continous shooting and then shutter release, is this right?
2 raymond // Feb 4, 2009 at 2:12 am
Bingo7, it only works in P, A and S modes at the moment.
3 Free Nikon Tethered shooting software now does bracketing | g2 // Feb 4, 2009 at 3:12 am
[...] update is available for this excellent free Nikon tethered shooting script. It already allowed the camera to be operated from the computer with control over all main settings, [...]
4 Marc // Feb 4, 2009 at 8:20 am
when you so consecutive shots…does it buffer well? does the camera store the images in the card? thanks…
5 raymond // Feb 4, 2009 at 8:42 am
It is a bit slow because it does not use the camera buffer, the camera treats each one as a separate shot and saves it to the camera card.
But the script does not download any of them until the whole sequence is complete. In fact downloading is optional, you can bracket without downloading.
The end result is a bit faster than one frame a second in my test but it will vary greatly depending on your situation I think.
6 JensB // Feb 7, 2009 at 4:43 pm
Raymond,
I appreciate your program and it worked immediately (D300). Now, I changed to v4.0 and the bracketing solution is a good work-around. However, I wonder whether we can not put the 0.3 resolution of the ExpComp in consideration.
I gave them a try by just using the ‘* 3′ multiplication within the CInt() at lines 219 and 221 (…* CInt(tbBracketStops.value * 3))))). It seems to work, ’stops’ values of 0.3 and 0.7 are accepted and used. Are there any other restrictions, I don’t see?
7 Joseph // Feb 9, 2009 at 2:46 pm
Ray…..THANKS!
Can Firewire support be added please?
I’d love to link my Fuji S3pro (it’s USB connection is very frabile, I •have• to use FireWire)
8 raymond // Feb 10, 2009 at 9:32 am
JensB – doesn’t it work if you just enter 0.3 or 0.7 in the field? I thought it would as I wrote that line but forgot to test it. Will do so next and fix it if that does not work.
Joseph, sorry I can’t see how to do Firewire.
9 JensB // Feb 10, 2009 at 6:40 pm
Raymond, I tried it firstly but I recognized that the values below ‘1′ were set to ‘0′. The reason seems to be the CInt() function that truncates the float values to integers by skipping the digits after the point.
Another question: Do you see any possibility to activate AF by a button (like an on-screen ‘AF-ON’)?
10 raymond // Feb 11, 2009 at 2:45 am
Oops, yes of course you are right. Need to not make it into an Integer!
11 Peter // Feb 11, 2009 at 9:28 pm
Can I run this from a terminal/dos box? This is a excellent tool, but I really don’t need the gui since I’m going to use it just for HDR (I’m going to OVERLY use it
.
Also, I’ve noticed that it mistakenly shoots .jpg when .nef is selected, maybe that is a bug in the html though. I also noticed that sometimes the first shot is done twice, only appears to be the first exposure that is took in the application (maybe a index problem in a array)?
btw, how come I’m the only one who can’t find the source :-/
Anyhow, thanks for this, _MUCH_ appreciated.
12 Andy // Feb 12, 2009 at 6:53 am
thank you so much. i have the nikon d40 and it works perfectly. its NOT the d4ox. (i thought it only works with d40x)
do you have a manuel to your program? i want to understand every setting on your program.
thanks again~!!!!
13 raymond // Feb 12, 2009 at 9:01 am
Peter, it’s a script so the executable *is* the source. Open the .hta file in a text editor!
The current version can’t be run from a command prompt, but an old one could — but that did not have the new features like bracketing. I guess you could try to port those features back to the old script but I don’t know how practical it would be.
Andy, glad it works but sorry no manual so far!
14 Peter // Feb 12, 2009 at 10:10 pm
I’m sorry, I noticed that about the .hta along the way
.
First and foremost, can .hta write to your local filesystem?
Can you give me a link to where the common found calls you have to use with this .dll controlling the camera device? I ask this because I would think there is all kinds of references for usb imaging devices using this module.
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/scriptcenter/webcasts/sweek3/day4qanda.mspx
This page clears up most of what I want to know about .hta, besides telling me if .hta can write to the local fs (C:\or_wherever\).
I most definitely want to add que support for Photomatrix and .dng compression for RAW. I’m not sure if you are using math in combination with the bracketing mode in the camera, or just math to set all exposure settings every time to simulate a human adjustment for every shot.
Anyways, if you would allow I would like to help out with the bracketing, Ui (I’ve already redone the .css for my use, but haven’t figured out imgReplacement in VB yet), and external support for other apps (depending on if .hta has write access). You’ve already done all the actual scripting/math it looks like
, so I’d like to help with the easier stuff 
.
If you don’t want help, and cease to work on this app, I just hope Nikon doesn’t mess anything up in a future firmware upgrade, because this app is perfect for many people as is to date.
15 Peter // Feb 12, 2009 at 10:20 pm
Oh sorry, I’m using a D90 in A mode, haven’t tried any other mode.
Also I would like to mention to people reading in case they overlooked or didn’t realize…
The true beauty of this app for my HDR shooting is that my camera, a Nikon D90, can only bracket 3 shots automatically. I usually do 6 shots and wind up with duplicates (I only need 4 but it’s just easier to move the EV and do another bracket). So every time I go to change the EV to get another bracket that is going to waste space (being dupes), I take a risk of shaking/moving the camera.
For people looking to do higher HDR frame counts within studios or with a camera with a limit of 3 frames per bracket, this is perfect solution.
16 Peter // Feb 14, 2009 at 9:05 pm
Well, is there a debugger to .hta? I need to step through this app :-/ being I’m rusty and there is nothing like a main() function.
All I have now is…
argLine = split(objHTAApp.commandLine, chr(34))
cmdArgs = split(trim(argLine(2)))
… and the rest of the code to parse. Also I have a work up for using a .ini file instead the moniker way you are using. Not because I think your way is insufficient, but because I don’t understand how monikers work
.
Anyhow, I’ve been reading over the samples here http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms630826(VS.85).aspx#SharedSample003 and I noticed it list “Enumerate all the Supported Events for the Selected Device”. I can’t get this to work yet for some reason in a test.hta, I know the device is connected, just mgsbox never comes with a list (not sure, this I’ll try Sunday). I was wondering if this is the call that lists the things such as EV, (A,S, or P), shutter speed, etc… and if so does it list bracketing for your camera? I assume it doesn’t or else you would of tried it
.
Also I’ve been trying to get Camera Control to write out a .txt file after every bracket just to more easily distinguish on the memory card what files are sets. It wasn’t a problem at first, until it occurred to me that I had that hard coded. Can you get the partition letter?
I gave up on the idea of creating a que to something like Photomatrix because it doesn’t support queues nor do any other apps I’ve looked into! Sunday I look forward to sitting down and focusing on 1 thing at a time.
I can say this, coming from non-windows specific languages, it’s baby steps!
17 Peter // Feb 17, 2009 at 12:00 am
Well I have downloaded the SDK and according to “D90UsbMtpE_01.doc” within the SDK, “EnableBracketing” is a possibility under MTP. However, my D90 is listed as PTP only, so I’m not sure if this will work for me. I cannot find a SDK for my D70s. (BTW I cannot give out the SDK to anyone trolling, it’s free so go get it!)
I think I’ll buy a D40x next week when I can and play with it. I have captured the raw data sent over USB and have found what I believe to be a hash to start with, but again, I only have a D90
. Also I’ve done a 3 minute search on sending data across the usb with .vbs and I have no definative answer on the subject (outside of writing a module, which is out of scope for this).
Sorry for the repetitive posts, just trying to help.
18 raymond // Feb 17, 2009 at 2:50 am
Peter, you are leap frogging over me here.
I suspect you have found answers to most of your questions already. I only got the SDK myself last week.
Sadly I have very little time for this project and my coding skills are very weak. It’s 20 years since I used a compiled language, it has all been scripting since then and for some reason that’s very different.
The hta vbscripting is annoyingly limited; this weekend I tried to see if I could extract the jpg from the nef for preview purposes, but found that vbs can’t do any binary file operations; at least not without unreliable workarounds. I haven’t found a way to step scripts either — MS Script Debugger is supposed to do it but I’ve never made it work. So it’s a lot of “msgbox” statements as I go along…
Anyway I still can’t understand the Nikon SDK about the NEF format, it is written so badly! Where are the examples?? And never having written C language I find myself unable to make much use of the sample code.
Getting myself up to speed again with a compiled language so I could use the SDK properly is outside the scope of my one-hour-a-week or so allocation of time to this project.
I’ll have to stick to simple stuff that glues existing components together. I do have some ideas in that regard, but they’ll have to wait until another weekend.
19 Peter // Feb 17, 2009 at 9:01 pm
You’re with me. I went to college for systems programming (C, VB, Java) but it’s been a very long time since I have used a system language. Like I mentioned, I’m only familiar with web languages (PHP, PERL, some Python), luckily I guess they those float around C. Doesn’t matter though, what I want to do I have never covered in any manner, so it’s still hello world for me.
You are right about the .hta limitations, I’m so confused on .vbs. Limited isn’t the word for it, it is down right confusing. To strip out the .jpg it appears to me you would have to use text based functions looking for headers and eof’s (I assume this is what you found too), so yes it’s not reliable.
I haven’t read the spec at all for NEF, I don’t plan on it either
. If need be I will peak at a open source project like “hugin” or what not to see how it deals with it.
Anyways, I have to figure out this how sniffing works (for USB), I’ve never done it and it seems so far a very useful approach.
BTW, you don’t have to use a compiled language to use the .dll’s. At this point I’m wondering if .hta can’t access them correctly itself, but it boils down to what you said, there isn’t really any examples. Really there isn’t anything at all but a string and hex equivalent for all functions/objects. On top of that, if one would use the SDK .dll’s, what is the liabilities and fair usage? I didn’t read the 50 pages of all _SEVEN_ EULA’s!
P.S. The D90 does support EnableBracketing, I overlooked it. Actually all camera models appear to. It has seemed they have dropped the “MTP” from “MTP/PTP” and just use “PTP” as the sole terminology.
20 Sergio Majluf // Feb 21, 2009 at 8:52 pm
Hi!
I have a D60 and it’s partially (not) working. Maybe it’s because I’m running XP SP2 on Parallels Virtualizer inside a Mac.
-Braketing works
-Images are not downloaded (but kept on camera)
-Time Lapse doesn’t take pictures
-Pop up advising the device may not support shutter release from computer, but it does work, althogh button remains pressed
-It keeps taking pictures, about every 20 seconds, till I get a pop error: Line: 157, Char: 2, Index out of range and the script stops.
21 Vivek Dev Burman // Feb 27, 2009 at 2:53 pm
Great work.
Great to have bracketing that can be set 2 stops or higher apart for exposure fusion & HDR. Waiting patiently for manual control.
Some bugs:
1. Every time I switch on the camera it copies the whole card to my desktop to a random folder which I had deleted earlier. It makes a new folder with the same name and copies to it. No idea how it chose that folder name.
2. Bracketing in A mode was working but seems to have stopped. Now I get the right number of pix but all exposed normally.
Hope this helps. D300 , MSI netbook/XP-sp2
22 Ryan // Feb 28, 2009 at 4:00 am
I have a D40 and, first of all, this is an awesome upgrade to the camera’s capabilities.
I have been working on doing a time lapse, but of a flower blooming. Obviously, talk about slooooow.
2 things I’ve noticed and wonder if you have experienced.
1) it seems like the time lapse “timing” might be off. I have it set for 300 secs, which should be 5 minutes, but in reality it is firing at about 8 minutes.
2) is there any way to turn the camera “off” or to “sleep mode” between shots? On a full battery, I can get about 2 hrs of time lapse photos. If the LCD could be turned off, it would extend that timing into many, many hours I would assume.
Just wondering if there is something I am doing wrong or could be doing better. Again though… what a fantastic upgrade. great work!!!
23 Ryan // Feb 28, 2009 at 4:31 am
1 quick addition… I found the same thing as Vivek’s questions #2.
24 JensB // Mar 4, 2009 at 8:07 pm
Hi Raymond,
I use the v4 already for some time and really appreciate it. I have one of this fency tiny netbooks for getting mobility with that tool. The screen is quite small, therefore I modified and re-arranged the GUI in the HTML part. Now it fits smoothly in and looks pretty well. Since, I received a lot of fun with your tool, I would like to give someting back. If you are interested I can provide this GUI part to you, you can use and share it w/o any restrictions from my side. Give me an Email I will send it.
25 Vivek Dev Burman // Mar 5, 2009 at 7:04 pm
I uninstalled/ renistalled and its working again, but still copies all my files to that same folder on the desktop.Weird.
It would be nice to be able to download Raw & jpeg together and use the jpeg for previewing.
And live view would be the icing on the cake.
Thanks
26 Another Mac Option for Tethered Shooting with Nikon DSLR Cameras - Digital Photography Tips and Techniques // Mar 7, 2009 at 2:16 pm
[...] users, the best free option seems to be the DIYPhotobits Camera Control, which is currently at Version 4.0. A basic bracketing function has been added. This should help high dynamic range (HDR) shooters [...]
27 Tommy // Mar 8, 2009 at 1:25 am
amazing it works very well on my nikon D40
Excellent lets get to high dynamic range photos
Thanks
28 michae // Mar 12, 2009 at 2:41 am
Will this work on Vista?
I downloaded the 4.0 and ran the program. The program comes on and shows an error-An error has occured IN THE SCRIPT ON THIS PAGE. Line-165
char-3
error-access denied
Do ou want to continue running scripts in this page?
can u help?
thanks
29 michae // Mar 12, 2009 at 8:39 pm
I got it to work with the 3.1 version.
ANother question is, how to get the preview pic to show fullscreen? Can this prgram link with picasa to show full page automatically?
Thank you guys in advfance
30 James // Mar 15, 2009 at 7:22 pm
I really want to use this script so bad I can taste it, but I shoot exclusively in RAW and no matter what I do it will not work in RAW.
I had the same problem with every version.
I am on Vista, can anyone tell me what I need to do to get this to work in a RAW work-flow? The script works great in .jpg but I can not shoot most of my work in jpg I need RAW.
I am using a Nikon D80 someone has to know what I can do, Please help.
31 Gearscout // Mar 24, 2009 at 8:33 pm
James,
You have to use a program to view the file like Lightroom v. 2
Because it can view NEF files, you can set LR to watch an “Autoimport” folder and as soon as a photo is loaded there, it will come up inside LR.
Works perfectly with RAW/NEF files. I suppose any other program that could view your raw files would work…but it would need that “Autoimport” feature or you would have to keep refreshing the folder.
Hope that helps.
32 James // Mar 24, 2009 at 8:49 pm
Gearscout,
Thank you, I use Lightroom as well as Photoshop. I have Lightroom set to auto import and it does. The problem is that the Photobits Camera Control does not import an NEF from my Nikon D80.
When I shoot a .jpg Camera Control inports the file – then it is auto imported into Lightroom.
When I shoot a NEF Camera Control just sits there and the image is not imported at all out of the camera.
I know some others have had this problem with Vista while some Vista users say it works just fine. Very strange.
Thanks for the help though.
33 RyanG // Mar 27, 2009 at 5:18 pm
Just recently got a chance to try this out on your recommendation over on my blog. Pretty cool stuff!
Had me wishing for a larger preview of the image, since that’s the real draw to tethered shooting for me, to evaluate focus and exposure etc. But I can certainly see the utility of this for HDR. I should really get into that.
Thanks for the comment and suggestion!
34 James_R // Apr 7, 2009 at 11:41 am
Thanks for the great software.
I shoot RAW on the D200 and although the preview does not support RAW, pointing
Bridge to the relevant folder and setting it to order files by descending date allowed it to preview the latest image automatically on my system.
Thanks again,
James Reynard
35 Marco R // Apr 9, 2009 at 2:47 pm
http://www.diyphotobits.com/2009/02/03/diyphotobitscom-camera-control-40-basic-bracketing/
36 Marco R // Apr 9, 2009 at 2:49 pm
Why Camera Control 4.0 tries to connect to the internet at start-up? Phoning home at 66.150.96.119?
37 raymond // Apr 10, 2009 at 12:50 am
That IP is Feedburner, the Google RSS feed tool. Camera Control 4.0 is loading the recent posts from my blog to display at the bottom of the script.
38 Marco R // Apr 11, 2009 at 1:10 am
Background connection to the internet could be exploited and become a security threat. What about the possibility of:
1) Have the connection removed and replaced by a URL link for the feed?
2) Having a user’s option to switch the connection on / off (similar to the auto update in many softwares)?
Other than that, it does the work. Just tested with my Nikon D200 (USB set to PTP, not MASS) and Adobe Lightroom 2 with Auto Import functionality set. Works pretty well.
39 raymond // Apr 11, 2009 at 1:27 pm
It is an HTML page, which loads a blog rss feed via google, that is hardly a security risk! Anybody that concerned can read the script code to see it isn’t doing anything bad, or if not nobody is forcing them to use this. I don’t exactly have a lot of time to work on this and would rather spend any time I have on real useful features rather than things like that.
40 Marco R // Apr 11, 2009 at 3:57 pm
Raymond,
I am sorry I was misunderstood. I never considered that the legit connection started by the application could be a security risk, but the exploitation of an open connection for someone else is a reality. The connection the internet can be hijacked and redirected to another place, a typical infection strategy. Just keeping a not need connection closed minimizes this kind of risk.
Another typical security exploit (pretty common) is someone downloading the application, repacking it with a modified code and a redirect to another site. It works pretty well since people does not consider a risk since it is known that the application connects to the internet.
Personally, I have no reason to not trust on a Google site or on your application, but on my computer the connection to them from the application is already blocked by my firewall – just to risk to take a change. Sorry, but internet is not safe place, and drive-by infection is a reality.
So far, I like the application, and I am glad that people like you have spent time and resources to make it available to everybody for free. I started using it to shoot tethered with my Nikon D200 (along with Lightroom2), and I am happy with the results.
Marco R
41 snah // Apr 15, 2009 at 2:07 pm
Will you add exposure times > 30secs?
in CameraControl.hta the longest exposure value is:
dicShutterTable.add 300000,”30s”
Adding increased values up to 10 minutes would be a great help for shooting night-time HDRs.
Just a thouhgt when manual-mode will be supported.
Keep to good work up.
42 Julien // Apr 25, 2009 at 2:23 am
Hi Raymond,
I dont know if you remember but a while ago i asked you if you planned to make some bracketing options for CC. Well i then tried on my own and went and learn VBscript and so on and managed to modify your script…
Now i see that you release version 4 already ! I didnt try it but i thought i might share with you the version i did and maybe you’ll want to grab some code (it’s very beginner i think but it works so far, except for very long exposure >15s ).
Here is the file:
http://www.filesanywhere.com/fs/v.aspx?v=896d658e606072aa71a1
(i’ll delete it after you download it, the password is ‘raymond’ )
I’m more of a graphist so you’ll see i made some interface changes too.
Anyway thanks so much for CC, it’s really pretty cool !
43 David T // May 2, 2009 at 9:40 pm
Great program with a lot of promise. Am trying to use it on a D90 but it will only take 1 exposure when using Time Lapse. It uses the delay correctly but only fires once. I am in “A” mode.
44 Charles T // May 17, 2009 at 1:39 pm
Hello, great program ! I have a D90 and had a similar problems as for David T, but it seems to work fine now if I put the focus to manual. Cheers, Charles
45 M. Easton // May 31, 2009 at 9:40 pm
I get an install error using XP, SP2. Device not available. This happens right at the start of running the msi.
46 BobS // Jun 1, 2009 at 1:31 pm
Love the features on this. I have been looking for a teathering solution. When using a D200, whenever I select auto-download, I get a script error; “Index out of range. Line 157. Char 2″
47 David T // Jun 2, 2009 at 3:10 am
GREAT! Works in Time Lapse very good now. I am trying to get the bracketing to work but have still not gotten that down pat yet.
48 toby // Jun 6, 2009 at 4:17 am
hello could you add fuji s5 pro device and vendor id to your app so it will work with it
productid 0×01c3
venderid 0×04cb (fujifilm Corporation
49 Doc Mario // Jun 6, 2009 at 10:49 pm
Successful Bracketting on my D60 ! But I have to close and open the program again to start a new AEB shot. Thank you.
50 DonLiborio // Jun 12, 2009 at 8:55 pm
I’m gave it a try but got stuck like BobS (comment 46). When i press the “Release shutter” button the camera shoots but then I get that same error message: “An error has occurred in the script on this page.
Line: 157
Char: 2
Code: 0″
Thanks for doing this,
DL
51 Marcelo // Jun 12, 2009 at 10:13 pm
Raymond,
I would appreciate your help. My D40 shoots with the same exposure setting, in P, S and A mode. How should I set up your program?
I’m using Windows Vista.
52 Marcelo // Jun 13, 2009 at 11:30 pm
Ups!,
Related to my previous post, I was talking about bracketing. Even though I set the program to bracket, my Nikon D40 still shoots with the same exposure in P, S, and A mode. I’m runnig Windows Vista.
Someone to help me?. Thxs
Marcelo
53 raymond // Jun 14, 2009 at 1:34 am
Marcelo, can you check the Exif on the image files to see if they have different exposure compensation? They should.
54 Marcelo // Jun 14, 2009 at 2:48 pm
Raymond,
Thanks for your answer. I checked Exif info and they have the same exposure compensation.
I’m shooting raw with a Nikon D40, using Lightroom 2 running under Vista. ¿Any clue?.
55 Marcelo // Jun 14, 2009 at 3:49 pm
Raymond,
I’ve been trying a little bit more. I discovered that I can switch Exposure Mode from the program, so I can’t switch from A mode to S or P mode for example. Even though if I switch it from the canera knob, the program doesn’t “know” the change. I have to switch it off and on again and close and open the program to make it “read” the change.
Another thing is that I can´t set exposure compensation to negative values from the program. I have all the possible values in the list, but when I choose a negative one, it is not set in the camera.
May be, these could be clues for you in order to know what is going on. Thanks in advance.
56 raymond // Jun 15, 2009 at 2:11 am
Good clues but not sure what is happening; the list of possible values is extracted from the camera so that part at least is working. It does work with my D40. I will think about it more.
You don’t have to restart the program to get the new settings; just click the “Select Camera” button again to reconnect and it should read the new status of the camera.
57 Marcelo // Jun 15, 2009 at 4:33 pm
Raymond,
Yes, everything should work as you say but I can´t make it happen under Vista.
So, I installed your program in a notebook running Windows XP and voilà… It works!.
I could switch modes from the program, shoot tethered, bracketing, etc;. It’s a pitty I can´t make it work under Vista. If you have a solution or at least a workaround, it will be appreciated. Thxs.
58 Michael // Jun 15, 2009 at 5:04 pm
Marcelo, Try the 3.x version.
I use it with vista, no problem at all. Works like a charm and I tether to LR2
59 Tethering. Controlar la cámara desde nuestra computadora | Fotogeek // Jun 15, 2009 at 7:02 pm
[...] correctamente bajo esta plataforma. Todavía no sé que puede estar pasando. Incluso le coloqué comentarios y preguntas a Raymond, su autor, quien me respondió sin resultados positivos hasta [...]
60 Marcelo // Jun 15, 2009 at 7:41 pm
Michael,
Thanks for your answer. I tried with 3.0 and 3.1 version. Sadly, I had the same results. There must be something wrong with Vista, I suppose. Did you tried 4.0 version under Vista?.
61 Gil // Jun 21, 2009 at 3:27 am
Any chance, Raymond, that a version will be made available for Canon EOS (XTi) cameras?
62 raymond // Jun 21, 2009 at 12:23 pm
Gil, have you tried it with a Canon? I think it would work at least for jpg as nothing in the program is Nikon specific except for a few raw things.
63 Gil // Jun 21, 2009 at 3:59 pm
I will give it a go, thanks. Would it be a lot of trouble to make it work with Canon RAW as well?
64 Gil // Jun 21, 2009 at 4:27 pm
Okay, I just gave it a go, here’s my results (not much, I’m afraid).
Connected the Canon XTi to the computer, Vista loaded up the necessary drivers automatically. I then ran the script at which point I made a “test” folder (not sure if/when LR2.3 should be started, so started it up and pointed to a new catalog in the “test” folder.
Was able to SELECT the Canon XTi from the script, at which point the Shutter button on the camera and in the script, did nothing (in the script, it produced an error, on the camera it was no responsive.. no info on the back of the camera and no indicators inside the view finder.. it was like the camera was dead – except for the glowing power light on the top of the camera).
The error in the script can be repeated, and in all fairness there was a warning saying that the script may not fire the camera from the Shutter Release button in the software, and that I would have to use the one on the camera. Tethered was selected and there was no exposure info coming from the camera to the script (not sure if this occurs AFTER the shot or is a live feed from the camera).
Script error after the Shutter Release button in the software was activated:
Line: 157
Char: 2
Error: Index out of range
Code: 0
URL: file:///C:/Program%20Files/DIYPhotoBits.com%20Camera%20Control%204.0/Camera%20Control.hta
??
65 raymond // Jun 24, 2009 at 7:00 am
Gil, thanks so much for testing that. I’m surprised and disappointed it went so badly. The script mostly uses only basic WIA/PTP commands which in theory all cameras support. Can you open the camera via Windows explorer and take a picture and transfer it like that? I’m wondering if Windows can see the camera properly at all.
66 Gil // Jun 24, 2009 at 6:15 pm
Okay.. so here’s the follow up.
I connected my Canon Xti to the laptop, running Vista, and the laptop added the Canon as a Camera/Scanner device in the Control Panel Tool. All Okay so far…
Then I opened the Canon Xti from the Control Panel Scanner/Camera tool, and it only gave me a properties view of the camera. Nothing special and no ability to take pictures from there.
I was able to see the camera, from Explorer, as a CF card device (Rebel XTi), and was able to view files on the camera’s CF card.
In order to take pictures with the Canon EOS XTi, I must load a Canon Utility called EOS Utility (funny enough)… That connected perfectly with the camera and allowed remote shooting and control over the settings like ISO and Aperture, etc.
I will check Canon’s web site to see if there are any more updated drivers, but the XTi is not a current product anymore, with the XSi being at the bottom of the DSLR scale…
The only updates I saw were for the DPP, and other included software packages (add-ons). No driver update for Vista.
Was that any help?
67 Gil // Jun 24, 2009 at 6:39 pm
2nd follow-up…
I took a closer look at my Canon EOS Utility, and while it “seemed” that it only supported 2 of Canon’s applications, I decided to try something…
In the application’s registration area, it wanted to know WHERE DPP.EXE was on my hard drive, and gave me a browse button to go find it. While it did not have an “other” application so that I could add more to the tool, I decided to see what would happen if I pointed it to “Lightroom.exe” instead…
Well… it WORKED!
The remote triggering of images in EOS Utility popped up Lightroom, and brought up the Import window where I could load them into the application!
Obviously the EOS utility is triggering the import from CF card function, that’s in Lightroom, but ultimately, this was what I was looking for. And if it wasn’t for spending the time to try and get your script to work, I would have never found out this “hidden” ability of EOS Utility/Lightroom.
So THANK YOU!
If you ever do get a version that works with Canon EOS cameras, I’d be happy to give it another go…
Cheers!
68 Nathan // Jun 29, 2009 at 5:58 am
Raymond,
I wanted to echo Marcelo’s comments and experience. I have a D40 and when using v4 on either a Vista Home Premium desktop or a Windows 7 RC laptop, I get:
- everytime I hit Select Camera, I get a warning message about camera may not react to Shutter Release button (though the button does in fact work)
- I periodically get Javascript error messages
- the Exposure Mode selector has no affect on the camera, nor does Shutter or Aperature
- ISO and White Balance does change the camera
- Exposure Comp works on positive numbers but not negative numbers
- Battery status works
- Shutter Release works but Raw/JPEG options don’t
- Download Immediately and Start Tether work as long as camera was set to JPEG
- Time lapse works
- Bracketing does take correct number of shots but makes no change to the exposure comp on the photos (checked the EXIF to validate)
If I plug the same camera into an XP SP2 laptop, everything in the application works perfectly including bracketing and negative exposure comp values. Noteworthy is that Exposure Mode is never selectable but says Dial and the Sutter and Aperature fields are settable based on setting of the Dial.
One thing that worked on XP that I haven’t tested on Vista/Windows7RC is the option to change preview size.
Any chance something with WIA changed since XP? Or possibly a change in Javascript? I am inclined to suppect WIA but the other difference between the operating system is that the XP laptop has IE7 while the Vista and Windows 7 machines have IE8 and Chrome.
This is a great tool and I’m very excited about it… just need it to work on a non-XP laptop.
Thanks,
Nathan
69 Nathan // Jul 2, 2009 at 6:54 am
I think I’ve uncovered at least a part of the root cause of issues I and others have seen trying to use any version of Camera Control under Vista (or Windows 7).
In Vista, MS implemented the Windows Portable Device API and then implemented a WPD driver that provides support for Windows Image Acquisition (WIA) API. It appears, based on testing I’ve done, that you get significantly different and reduced functionality with WPD->WIA on Vista vs. WIA on XP.
Here are the properties reported by WIA under XP when I have my D40 connected:
http://docs.google.com/View?id=ddg4fnpf_21fjknk4cb
Compare that to the properties reported under Vista:
http://docs.google.com/View?id=ddg4fnpf_20cz7qq9g3
Under Vista, properties like picture height & width no longer exist, and the values for properties like Exposure Comp are completely different (at least for negative values, which explains why Camera Control can’t set a negative exp comp value when running under Vista).
Anyone up for learning the WPD API?
70 raymond // Jul 4, 2009 at 4:11 am
Great detective work Nathan, would love to follow up on this but no time now. Just had our 3rd son born but he has some medical problems and is in hospital. I hope later in the year when he is well and other kids are back in school to return to this project!
71 Jean-Pierre Lorge // Jul 6, 2009 at 12:42 pm
to have all 1/2 stops copy this and replace line 214 to 221
in the set braket juste 20 for num and 1 for stop thas all
___________________________________________
If cbBracket.checked Then ‘ bracketing is on so have to adjust expo comp
‘ MsgBox (((int((ShotsToTake-1)/2) + 1) * CInt(tbBracketStops.value)) * 1)
If abs(ShotsToTake) mod 2 = 1 Then ‘ odd vs even
dev.properties(“Exposure Compensation”).Value = arExpCompTable (CurrentExpoCompOffset+(((int((ShotsToTake-1)/2) + 1) * CInt(tbBracketStops.value)) /2))
Else
dev.properties(“Exposure Compensation”).Value = arExpCompTable (CurrentExpoCompOffset-(((int((ShotsToTake-1)/2) + 1) * CInt(tbBracketStops.value)) /2))
End If
End If
____________________________________
72 Jean-Pierre Lorge // Jul 6, 2009 at 12:43 pm
or juste change the value by comparaison at line 215, 217, 219
73 Jean-Pierre Lorge // Jul 6, 2009 at 10:14 pm
I make a mistake 20 shots 2 stops = -5 to +5
step o,5
sorry
74 Nate Eaton // Jul 10, 2009 at 2:32 am
Thanks, Raymond. Congrats on the new arrival… hope he has a rapid recovery and is home soon.
In the mean time, I may fiddle with this myself (if I can carve out some time around work and family).
Regards,
Nate
75 Troy Simpson // Jul 27, 2009 at 3:36 am
To fix the index out of range at line 57, edit the .hta file, and at line 175 (after the downloadOne function), insert this new sub (thanks to Fredledinque from http://www.visualbasicscript.com/m_48600/tm.htm):
Sub Sleep(MSecs)
dim objOutputFile
Set fso = CreateObject(“Scripting.FileSystemObject”)
If Fso.FileExists(“sleeper.vbs”)=False Then
Set objOutputFile = fso.CreateTextFile(“sleeper.vbs”, True)
objOutputFile.Write “wscript.sleep WScript.Arguments(0)”
objOutputFile.Close
End If
CreateObject(“WScript.Shell”).Run “sleeper.vbs ” & MSecs,1 , True
End Sub
Then, insert the following code at line 157:
sleep 50
The error will go away and you will get the image preview. Time lapse will also start working.
Raw will not show in the preview, so use an external viewer as mentioned earlier. Selecting JPG will not override the output of a D90, you need to use Qual to select the JPG image output if that’s what you want to do.
Working with my D90 on Windows 7 x64. Looking forward to updates, thanks for the script!
76 Troy Simpson // Jul 27, 2009 at 3:52 am
Oops, that was meant to be ‘index out of range at line 157′ in my post, not 57…
77 Robin Geys // Aug 8, 2009 at 10:37 am
First of all, very nice program. I really love it. As I try to do some astrophotography it really helps me as I can make series of a couple of hundred photo’s.
Still, got a question. Isn’t it possible to program shutter times above 30 seconds? It would be nice if I could say that it should be f.e. 45s or even a minute (or even longer
).
Regards
Robin
78 Robin Geys // Aug 8, 2009 at 10:41 am
Sorry, was supposed to post this on the download page.
79 Ed in Cleveland // Aug 28, 2009 at 1:44 am
Thanks! It works, kind of, with my D60 running with Vista. The software can fire the camera’s shutter, but no image gets downloaded from camera. When I fire the camera directly or using the Nikon remote, the images get downloaded! I have not been able to control the exposure settings via your software either. BUT just having the ability to shoot tethered is pretty cool.
80 Ed in Cleveland // Aug 28, 2009 at 2:00 am
Update…I can in fact control the camera’s exposure from the software, but I have to follow a specific sequence: with camera disconnected from laptop, I set M or P or A or S modes. Then connect camera to laptop and turn on. Then I start software, and it sees the camera in that mode. I can then control settings. Still cannot use software to fire shutter. To change camera from say M to A modes, I have to disconnect camera and shutdown software and start from beginning again.
81 raymond // Sep 2, 2009 at 2:48 am
@Jean-Pierre Lorge
Thanks for looking at that, I really must package a new version with these types of corrections.
@Nate Eaton
Thanks, he is well now and doing the normal baby things (e.g. keeping us awake at night at occupying all our time).
@Troy Simpson
Nice piece of troubleshooting there. So it seems that the camera is taking too long to inc the item count after the release shutter method is called. Probably depends on the exact PC and camera specifications. I’ll think of a way of coding to allow that without unnecessarily delaying; as some set ups are able to respond fast.
@Robin Geys,
Sorry but no. Exposures more than 30 seconds are not possible with the scripting interface I have available (PTP) and I don’t have the skills to learn the SDK at the moment.
@Ed in Cleveland
I would have though just re-selecting the camera would work, not shutting down and disconnecting. But Vista is different from what I’m used to so I’m not sure. Someone else posted some of the differences between WIA in Vista and XP and when I have a chance I’d like to use that info to make a more vista-friendly verison of the script. Vista version of WIA is still more limited and would restrict the possibilities for the script, but at least it could not crash or do unexpected things.
82 MisterPhotoCyclist // Sep 4, 2009 at 3:20 am
Anyone,
Has anyone had success with Vista 64 bit? I’m using a D80 and all the functions work fine except for the actual capture of the image to the PC. I get a script error when the shutter is pressed (manually or the via the programs control button). I have Bridge open on the watched folder but no images are downloaded. I’ve tried version 4.0 and 3.1. Very frustrating to be so close!
83 Nathan // Sep 20, 2009 at 3:49 pm
Raymond,
Just a quick note to highlight another user who could benefit from Camera Capture but is running Vista:
http://groups.google.com/group/adobe.photoshop.elements/browse_frm/thread/ba060503c17b557c/c735fa3feafc1cdb?tvc=1#c735fa3feafc1cdb
Regards,
Nathan
84 J.J. // Sep 29, 2009 at 2:12 am
any way to use this script with a firewire? I have a sony cybershot that doesn’t seem to work at all with the usb and a panasonic that also doesn’t work with the usb, but it has a firewire too. any thoughts
85 raymond // Oct 2, 2009 at 9:50 am
Type of connection cable shouldn’t be the problem, it is whether it is recognised as a camera by Windows that is what matters.
86 Ed in Cleveland // Oct 5, 2009 at 12:10 am
Just got a Nikkor Macro lens and set up a test studio area for taking 1:1 shots of various items. Used this software to see the shots. I send all photos to a folder called “tethered shots” and use FastStone Image Viewer to look at the files as they load from the camera. Shooting in Aperture priorty mode, controlling aperture from the software just fine. Using Nikon wireless shutter release since the software will fire the Nikon 60 shutter but then doesn’t send the file. No biggie. I cannot adjust exposure +/- with the software either. But doing macro work tethered is really nice. Again, thanks for the software.
87 raymond // Oct 9, 2009 at 7:26 am
Ed, glad it’s helping you. But you said it won’t download if you fire from the software? Do you have the “Start Tether” button depressed when you press the “Shutter Release” button? Maybe it’s a timing issue if you do. Please check out the new version 4.1 which improves on this part (slightly). Exposure comp not working means you are using Vista right? In Vista they changed the way that works and I don’t have Vista to try myself so can’t fix it.
88 Ed in Cleveland // Oct 9, 2009 at 6:26 pm
I have the “Start Tether” button depressed for sure, since that is required when I use the Nikon wireless remote as well. Just doesn’t send the photo to the software. But as I said, the software allows me to control the aperture just fine and using the external viewer FastStone to monitor the folder allows me to zoom in on the image, etc. Yes I’m running Vista. I’ll try your latest 4.1 version next chance that I get. But it’s quite usable for me as it is. Thanks again.
89 Timelapse Photography « Gary Danton's Digital Scrapbook // Oct 28, 2009 at 10:22 pm
[...] Timelapse Photography October 28, 2009 garydanton Leave a comment Go to comments As a follow on to my post on tetherered photography i’ve also been playing with the timelapse functions available with tethered photography software. Since my post on DCamCapture i’ve since switched software to one with a little more functionality, the software i’m now using is called DIYPhotobits.com Camera Control 4.0. [...]
90 Jim // Nov 1, 2009 at 11:38 pm
I have downloaded this and I seem to be doing something wrong. When I hook my D 300 to laptop and turn it on what am I supposed to do next. n I press the shutter and then where am I supposed to find the file? I’m new to all of this so is there some place I can go to to get complete instructions as to how to use this program. Thanks.
91 raymond // Nov 2, 2009 at 7:14 am
Have you watched the tutorial video? It’s a little outdated but the basics are the same.
92 Ed in Cleveland // Nov 9, 2009 at 9:10 pm
I watched a video podcast about how to use Adobe’s Lightroom 2 to shoot tethered and that works just great with your software since LR2 can watch any folder for photo import. The podcast is free on iTunes for those of you that have an iPod.
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