CameraController

Controller for supported DSLR cameras via digiCamControl application

Controller v1.3.9 for tethered DSLR cameras using digiCamControl app.
C = CameraController -create class
C = CameraController(dcc) -digiCamControl location
C = CameraController(dcc,debug) -set debug level
dcc: digiCamControl's webserver IP or CMD remote utility folder.
If empty this class tests the default webserver, 'localhost:5513', then
default app install locations, 'C:\Program Files (x86)\digiCamControl'.
debug: 0=silent, 1=minimal (default), 2=print requests, 3=print replies

Description:
-This class uses digiCamControl (windows only app) to control supported
cameras: set ISO, exposure, focus, aperture(fnumber), white balance,
stream liveview, capture photos & video, configure file download, etc.
-digiCamControl is a multi purpose, free, open source, Windows only
application that can control a host of supported cameras.

Setup:
1.Install latest version of digiCamControl from:
https://sourceforge.net/projects/digicamcontrol/files/latest/download
2.Enable webserver: File > Settings > Webserver > Enable "Use web server,
& "Allow interaction via webserver", use port "5513" > !RESTART APP!
3.Connect one or more cameras using USB cable (or WiFi if supported?).
4.For full control of a Canon DSLR set body and lens to manual.
5.Use digiCamControl app to ensure camera is working.

Remarks:
-This class communicates with camera(s) via digiCamControl's included
webserver(recommended) or CMD Utility.
-The webserver is much faster and allows camera(s) to be controlled from
any Windows/Linux computer on the network or via the internet.
-Visit http://digiCamControl.com for documentation, forums and to donate.
-Method in this class are Capitalised and have additional descriptions.
-When this class is created it does a one-off retrieval of allowed camera
options. Reinitialise this class when swapping cameras.

Limitations:
-This class can only stream liveview (low-rez, noisy, ~15Hz) from
supported cameras. However digiCamControl does support "Open Broadcaster
Software" (OBS) and "XSplit", see Streaming and Search the Forums for info.
-Non-alphanumeric characters found in some Nikon camera properties are
being removed. These properties can be read but cannot be set.
eg "-", "." in "center-weighted_area" "active_d-lighting" "long_exp._nr"
-See digiCamControl Knwon Bugs: http://digicamcontrol.com/phpbb/viewforum.php?f=4
-Focus method does not know how long it needs to wait after a focus change
is requested, see Focus method help to set custom delays.
-LiveView can only be 'streamed' when using the webserver.

Camera Settings:
-Some settings will not have affect if camera is not in Manual mode (M).
-To control focus ensure lens is set to Manual Focus (MF):
-Focus step size & speed can be modified in: File>Settings>Live view
-Note: Lenses use servo motors which have no discrete physical 'steps'. To
achieve a specific focus reproducibly try to go to the lens's physical
limit, in either direction, and apply the same 'steps' from there.

Image Capture:
-To reduce capture latency from 0.3-0.6 sec to ~0.05s ensure webserver is
enabled, File>Settings>Webserver>Enable>RESTART APP
-To measure delay and variance try imaging the computer's own clock by
calling the Clock method provided with this class, C.Clock, however
I do not know how to measure monitor display latency and variance.
-Cmd('CaptureAll') will trigger all connected cameras but there will be a
lag of 0.005-0.020 sec between consecutive cameras.
-To record video turn on live preview using Cmd('LiveViewWnd_Show') and
user Cmd('StartRecord') and Cmd('StopRecord').

Image Download:
-Download is affected by Transfer mode (in app) and session settings.
-Transfer mode is set via the main app to: PC & Camera | Camera only, if
set to Camera only some session settings will be ignored. Set it to PC
& Camera and use session setting "deletefileaftertransfer" if needed.
-session setting "filenametemplate" works only if "useoriginalfilename" is
disabled, and it is applied to downloaded files only, not camera files.
It supports many useful [tags], eg: [Date yyyy-MM-dd], [Time hh-mm-ss],
[Date yyyy-MM-dd-hh-mm-ss], [Exif.Photo.ExposureTime],
[Exif.Photo.FNumber], [Exif.Photo.ISOSpeedRatings], etc
(for a full list go to: Session>Edit Current Session>File Name Template)
-"filenametemplate" can be set when calling the Capture method and applies
to all connected cameras. To distinguish cameras use [Camera Name] or
[Camera Counter 4 digit] tags in the template.
-"folder" does not support [tags], instead use "" in "filenametemplate".
-Manual download of files from the camera can only be done via the app.

Example:
C = CameraController; %initialise
C.session.folder = 'C:\DSLR'; %download folder
C.session.filenametemplate = '[Camera Name][Date yyyy-MM-dd-hh-mm-ss]';
C.camera.isonumber = 3200; %camera settings
C.camera.fnumber = 5.6;
C.camera.shutterspeed = 1/200;
C.Capture %capture
C.lastfile %last filename

Serge 2018-2024
GitHub: https://github.com/serg3y/MatLab-digiCamControl
Email: [e-mail]
Note: I am not a developer of digiCamControl app, only this wrapper.