05Aug Nexus 7 used as a monitor and usb controller with DSLR Controller
The nice thing about using this method is that the screen on the camera stays on while using the monitor. It also has the added bonus of giving you full control of camera functions from the touch screen interface which could be handy for jib operators.
After testing out the APP on the Canon t2i with magic lantern, Canon 7d, and 5d mark III, I can say that it works pretty well with the Nexus 7 tablet. There were some strange issues with the Canon 7d. I actually had to reboot the tablet before it would work with the 7d, but I think that might have been caused by changing between cameras.
The DSLR Controller is still in beta, so don’t expect it to work perfectly, but overall it was a good experience. I think if you’re willing to learn the program and sort out the controls it can make a very handy monitor slash controller for your camera. But it’s not quit as simple as plugging in a monitor cable and turning it on. Keep that in mind if you plan to use this on a project with time constraints.
August 5th, 2012 at 2:09 pm
Thanks for yet another great video DeeJay!
This is kind of the answer to a question I have for at least a couple of years now….
Do you know if there’s anything similar to that for iPad with the camera adaptor?
Even if there isn’t, I’m kinda tempted to buy the Nexus 7 and try my hand at some DIY projects for support and a screenguard instead of going the ext monitor route…
Thanks again for that!
August 5th, 2012 at 2:22 pm
As far as I know, the ipad doesn’t support the Host USB option needed to use an app like this. I have a good support option for the Nexus 7 on order I’ll post more on it once I’ve tested it out.
April 6th, 2014 at 10:41 pm
If you have a jail broken ipad, download DSLR Controller from Cydia but he currently only supports monitoring of the video which is pretty decent averages around 27fps
August 5th, 2012 at 2:26 pm
How does this compare to using a Lilliput or similar model? Is it clear enough to use it to pull focus accurately? This almost seems too good to be true.
I also assume this would require a good sunshade if the screen is as reflective as my iPad screen.
August 5th, 2012 at 4:49 pm
It seems clear enough to use for focus, and the view is as good or better then the 800×600 view on Lilliput monitors. Mounting is really the biggest issue, though it was frustrating having to turn the tablet off and back on again to get it to work with the 7d. There is also about a 20 millisecond delay between what you see on the back of the camera and what you see on the tablet. So it’s not perfect.
August 5th, 2012 at 8:38 pm
That’s good to hear. Is the screen really reflective? Here is a youTube link to a guy who attached one to a CPM film tools rig like yours. The mount looks slim, but I am not sure where it is from.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6QlT-e_hlE&feature=youtube_gdata_player
August 5th, 2012 at 5:02 pm
I have a GH1, the Nexus 7 AAAND an eye-fi card. When I’m out and about I can shoot photos and video, then when I sit for lunch or take a break all my photos and videos are available on the Nexus 7. The transfer speed isn’t blazing fast (for photos its fine) so you wont get a live preview, but its great for a simple mobile workflow.
November 30th, 2012 at 11:45 am
Not the same thing. Different purpose and concept to what you are talking about.
August 5th, 2012 at 5:42 pm
Awesome. I am considering getting a Nexus 7 for this very purpose (and I love messing with android apps anyway). I got several questions about this setup (and a suggestion).
are any time lapse functionality in this app?
if there is indeed a time lapse functionality, does the app still runs when the screen is off? this should help boost the battery life for a very long time lapse.
how long the battery last when running only this program?
My suggestion of how to mount this would be to use a very cheap nexus 7 case and make a hole in the flap to be put between the quick release tripod plate and the DSLR itself. or use a tablet clamp mount on the tripod itself, there are quite a lot of this type of clamp mount out there for the ipad but I’m sure we can find the 7 in variety.
August 6th, 2012 at 11:22 am
It does have time lapse functionality. From my quick test it seems the app works just fine taking time-lapses with the screen off. Don’t know about battery life but I expect it to be really good (especially when you turn off all wireless connectivity). You might get in trouble when switching back to the app before the entire time-lapse is complete though (for me it tried to re-detect the camera when the app got in focus again, this messed things up a bit). For more info check the website of the app: http://dslrcontroller.com
August 6th, 2012 at 1:04 am
Will this work with a straight out of the box Canon DSLR or would I have to install Magic Lantern to use this?
August 6th, 2012 at 8:09 am
You do not need magic lantern to use dslr controller. The 7d and 5d mark iii used in the test did not have magic lantern installed.
August 6th, 2012 at 10:00 am
I’d say this is a good monitor option for people who DON’T use Magic Lantern. This weekend I’ve used DSLR controller on my Galaxy Note as a field monitor and found it very impractical that some Magic Lantern functions work well with DSLR controller, but many don’t.
I was experimenting with HDR and the flickering (changing iso values) made it impossible to use the monitor for anything, even re-framing while recording became impossible due to the the refresh rate of DSLR controller (the dark frames were sometimes displayed too long and I couldn’t really see much of my subject, just the sky which made following the subject hard). So most of the time my mounted Galaxy Note was just in the way as I couldn’t use it anyway.
In my opinion it’s a really useful app, especially for people who don’t use Magic Lantern. In that case I can even see it replacing a dedicated field monitor. I also prefer changing many camera settings on the touchscreen instead of the Canon in camera menus. For Magic Lantern users it might not be a worthwhile investment if you’re looking for a monitor that works well with all the options Magic Lantern brings.
Looking for a field monitor? I’d skip the Nexus 7. If you’re on the market for a tablet, go for it. When you have it there’s no reason why NOT to use DSLR controller from time to time, it can be useful.
August 6th, 2012 at 12:18 pm
I don’t see this replacing a dedicated field monitor unless you have the time to fiddle with the app. Sometimes it takes two or 3 tries to get it to sync up with a camera. A field monitor just works, while the app works perfectly sometimes and other times takes a few tries to get things rolling.
November 30th, 2012 at 11:41 am
It doesn’t matter if you use magic lantern, there’s a similar app just for magic lantern.
August 6th, 2012 at 9:51 am
Will this only work for the Nexus 7? I have two Android devices. It’s the Galaxy Note which is pretty huge for a phone and my daily driver the Galaxy Nexus.
Was wondering if it’ll work with that?
August 6th, 2012 at 10:00 am
I use it on my note. See comment above.
August 6th, 2012 at 12:12 pm
They have a list of supported devices on the site.
November 30th, 2012 at 11:39 am
Only supported devices but you can still get it on a non supported device easily.
August 6th, 2012 at 1:54 pm
I am trying to figure out a way to make something like this work on the iPad… Wirelessly. Do you have any idea how it works? Because if it could that would be sweet.
August 6th, 2012 at 2:04 pm
Teradek can send video to an ipad via wifi but it will cost about $1600 or more and there is a bit of lag.
August 11th, 2012 at 1:57 pm
Hi Deejay, Thanks for this post. I’m sure there are lots of guys out there thinking the same question. For all situations where time isn’t of the essence (weddings/ pro jobs with clients looking over your shoulder), would you recommend the nexus as a workable field monitor to frame shots, pull focus, and work on your own projects?
I think there’s a lot of guys following your blog, who could afford a cheap field monitor, or a cheap tablet but not both… With this in mind, would love to know your opinion on the Nexus as usable field monitor. P.S- thanks for all your info it’s much appreciated from here across the pond in the UK…
August 22nd, 2012 at 1:49 am
Thx for the good review,
one question, can you what say over the HDR Mode???
Thx for help?
regards from Germany
August 24th, 2012 at 10:58 am
Thanks for this post. My question is do you have to use that USB cord?
September 4th, 2012 at 2:59 pm
Does anyone know if this will work with the Panasonic GH2? I’m in the market for a field monitor to use with my jib, and this set up looks sweeeet!
September 4th, 2012 at 3:23 pm
I checked the software link, and unfortunately the software only works with Canon cameras; I have a Panasonic GH2. Oh well, I sent the link about this to my friend who has Canon 5D Mark II and 7D cameras.
September 6th, 2012 at 10:34 am
Is there anything like this for the nikon dslr cameras?
September 6th, 2012 at 12:33 pm
There is an app called Helicon Remote for Nikon cameras. Not sure how well it works as I’m not a nikon owner.
November 30th, 2012 at 11:38 am
Just search DSLR controller in the app store and you easily find an app for nikons
September 9th, 2012 at 6:20 am
Hi! Before anything, really great reviews in your page man!. Now, are you tried to review the clips already recorded in the SD card to be seen in the Nexus 7 screen with DSLR Controller app (or any sign that seems the guys of are woring on that)? It’s gonna be really cool if you can check your movie in big screen and the audio with headphones or something like that.
September 11th, 2012 at 7:09 am
Great review. Does this work on Canon camcorders as well? I have HF G10 that I would like a bigger monitor for.
September 20th, 2012 at 3:37 pm
Hey, great video review/tutorial.
Just have one question.
Can you use the Nexus7 in addition to an external monitor like the SmallHD DP6?
Basically, I want my camera rig (Canon 5DMKIII) to be outputting to the smallhd for the focus puller to use from the side, while the director/operator can view the framing and composition (and controlling) the camera from the Nexus 7.
Thanks again.
-M
September 29th, 2012 at 11:48 am
Thank you for review. I am considering same option now but I have only one concern: How do you feel: Is 7 in monitor enough? Or should I look into 10 in options?
November 30th, 2012 at 11:51 am
Depends non what you are trying to do and how far away from the minister you are and what not. The 7 inch nexus is fine.
November 16th, 2012 at 11:34 am
What about audio monitoring??
i’m currently using the usb output on my t2i to monitor audio, if i’ve the nexus 7 attached, can i still monitor sound some how? thanks
November 21st, 2012 at 9:18 am
Nexus is great without magic lantern… with ML the focus assist does not work, video review does not work..for now at least. refreshing time is real slow; bumpy! maybe because of long usb cable? Still it is usefull somehow, because everything works on the next door screen: your camera. Not as good as I hoped, not as bad as I feared, will I use it on a paid job? let me think… uh maybe, it does have some usefull features. and the screen is real high resolution! Anybody got audio working?
November 25th, 2012 at 9:02 am
update on the above: I know Deejay sort of dismissed this tablet option as a replacement for your dedicated monitor. After some more research I disagree sort of with Deejee on this one, sorry Deejay….You can get around the very difficult to start up the controller: symply tab on the videocamera icon and you exit live view on nexus and mirror goes down on camera. turn dial on camera one click to nightshot then tab on display and camera is in standby modus, you can also switch to stanby on nexus by pressing small button. Sounds like a lot of work but it is real fast. Now the camera remains in contact with nexus and you wake her up in 3 seconds by reversing what you just did. But; magic lantern does not work! wich is a crying shame! hope this helps some people
November 25th, 2012 at 11:10 am
Just didn’t want to mislead anyone about how well this method actually works. In my testing some cameras would take 3 or 4 tries before they would connect to the tablet and if you are trying to get work done that’s not very useful. I’ll give your recommendation a try and see if that makes things a little smoother to use.
November 25th, 2012 at 3:04 pm
Just did a few tests and it still crashed after a few tries, had to reboot the tablet to get dslr controller working again.
November 30th, 2012 at 11:36 am
You can use ML controller from other android store that let’s you use magic lantern in the nexus.
January 1st, 2013 at 2:16 am
What’s the resolution on the nexus when used from a 60d
January 3rd, 2013 at 11:22 am
I believe it’s 720×480 with all of the cameras, someone correct me if that’s wrong.
January 1st, 2013 at 1:48 pm
hey have you Tried the nexus 10 as monitor with the DSLR Controller app? works as well or better than the nexus 10?
January 1st, 2013 at 1:54 pm
sorry I mean better or equal to the nexus 7
January 3rd, 2013 at 2:43 pm
Hi DeeJey always appreciate your posts.
My question is have you thought of or do you think its necessary to have an external power source powering the Nexus 7 when used as a monitor?
January 3rd, 2013 at 2:52 pm
I don’t think it would be possible. The USB port is used for data to and from the camera, as far as I know there isn’t a way to split the cable and it power at the same time.
January 3rd, 2013 at 5:13 pm
This brings me to my next question than how long will it generally last when shooting before needing to be charged?
I am aware that it would depend on the shoot but do you have a clue to a rough figure?
January 4th, 2013 at 10:26 am
On a full charge (very ruffly figured) I get 4 to 5 hours of use, but that number could swing wildly in either direction depending on all kinds of things.
January 20th, 2013 at 5:58 am
Thanks for all of the great videos that you share. Based on this one, I jumped at the chance and bought the Nexus 7. The first time I used it, all worked great. Each time after that, It will connect but after a few takes, the Nexus and 5DMIII will no longer connect. Have any users found a better way to increase the chances that the Nexus 7 and Canon 5DMkIII will connect. My suspicion is that an application that is running in the background is the problem or some type of cache issue is the problem. Any suggestions would be very welcomed. Thanks again for all the work that you share.-Jim
January 23rd, 2013 at 3:43 am
In case others have the same problem. I tried changing custom functions settings, bought new GTO cables and was not able to connect. Finally, I simply erased and re installed everything on the Nexus 7. It is working now. Thanks again for the info you share.-Jim
March 30th, 2013 at 8:04 am
The nexus must ne rooted? My EOS 7D doesn’t connect
It’s a 32 GB versione I bought in feb 2013, it doesn’t see USB drives
March 30th, 2013 at 8:30 am
You don’t need to root your tablet for the program to work.
March 30th, 2013 at 11:00 am
All right, better then
But any suggestion on how to make it work? 😉
March 30th, 2013 at 12:05 pm
It helps to restart your tablet if things aren’t working. Leave the camera off, connect the usb cable and adapter to your tablet, turn the camera on, then start the app. If everything goes well it should see your camera and you’ll just have to hit the start button on the camera for live view to start working.
August 9th, 2013 at 5:43 am
I have a Nexus 7 tablet and a Nikon D5100 camera, and I just downloaded an app, Helicon Remote from google play app store for free. Just plugged it in and it worked wonderfully. Has Live View and camera control on screen. Need a OTG cable and USB to USB micro cable. Bob
September 9th, 2013 at 4:15 am
i have a weird question!
beside the function of controlling the dslr,
is there a “controller” that can connect the nexus 7 or other “pad” to a notebook, so that making the pad as an external (2nd) monitor? even if just 7″-10″
September 9th, 2013 at 7:00 am
This program does allow you to use the nexus 7 as a monitor.
September 9th, 2013 at 8:29 am
really? it can link up with notebook/pc? cool
my friend got a abandon samsung tab 7″…. but another adapter is needed, the OTG can be diy.. but not the adapter.
September 9th, 2013 at 8:52 am
Sorry I misunderstood the question. This program doesn’t solve that problem, but you can use an app like splashtop, that will allow you to use your tablet as a monitor and give you remote access to your notebook or desktop.
September 9th, 2013 at 8:57 am
oh ok, splashtop.
i don’t need remote access, only want the split the screen or clone the screen like plug in a ext mon with vga cable.
it is good to have a 2nd mon when using a tiny 11″ lcd on field.
September 9th, 2013 at 9:17 am
Splash top will clone the sceen but it won’t split it.
September 9th, 2013 at 9:23 am
I think redfly might be the android app you’re looking for. It allows your tablet to appear as a second monitor.
September 10th, 2013 at 9:01 am
redfly… mostly link has it been deleted…
some hack in it?
September 10th, 2013 at 12:05 pm
Looks like they’ve changed their name to iDisplay in the app store. Might also check out Air Display.
November 26th, 2013 at 4:39 pm
Has anyone tried this with ML Raw video enabled?
5DIII or 7D
November 26th, 2013 at 10:56 pm
I’ve tried raw on the 5dmkIII, it’s a lot more work than its worth for 90% of application.
November 26th, 2013 at 11:00 pm
What do you mean?
November 27th, 2013 at 8:34 am
It requires very fast CF cards, dealing with a large batch of image files, editing/syncing audio and several rounds of rendering. Results can be great, but you can avoid all the hassle, huge file sizes, and expensive CF cards by simply setting up your shot correctly when you film. If you light your scene correctly and get your white balance and exposure correct, most people wont be able to tell the difference between ML RAW and the camera’s native codec.
November 27th, 2013 at 8:59 am
Oh.. Now I see what you mean.. yes I’m aware of that workflow, but actually that’s the only right way to do it if you’re into a pro cinematography(you get the same thing with pro cine cameras like BM or RED). Especially when you have to shoot outdoors or indoors with low light condiotion. )r if you’re into compositing/CG, you really need that sharp 3K footage. you get a 14bit image with a huge dynamic range witch is great for Grading and stf.
BTW can easily skip the raw2dng process by installing the Ginger HDR plugin for AE or Premiere (both Win adn Mac) which allows you to import ML RAW video files directly and also generates jpg proxie sequences.
Back to my question. So have you tried to shoot a Magic Lantern raw video with the DSLR Controller? I know it works with default h264 canon video but some say the app freezes when you try to shoot a raw video. Can you test that(if you don’t have a fast card just set the lowest res in ML raw) I’m just curious.
November 27th, 2013 at 10:10 am
The AE process is also a hassle. Really RED has the best implementation of raw with their R3D files. Open it up, make your grade and it writes to the meta data, work with the files and you can make changes at any time without having to re-render or deal with proxy files. BM and ML RAW = not worth the trouble for most people (and most applications), pro or otherwise. I would argue that there are more projects each year shot in a native codec than raw and this will continue to be true until more companies adopt an REDCODE like work flow. CinemaDNG is not the answer IMHO.
As for DSLR controller. I’ll see if I can test it out with raw mode this weekend and let you know what I find out.
November 27th, 2013 at 10:14 am
Ok thnaks a lot, looking forward to hearing from you
January 14th, 2014 at 10:25 am
I would assume, however dangerous that might be, this would work with a Nikon as as well as a canon since it’s just signal. But the Mac issue is the major set back. However if you have a external monitor with HDMI input would the HDMI to usb work from the router to the Monitor. It’s all external,battery powered it just doesn’t have WIFI.
January 14th, 2014 at 11:24 am
Don’t think HDMI to usb will get you anywhere, completely different signals.
January 21st, 2014 at 11:16 am
question about the set up- is it possible to have ML clear overlay enabled (using canon 60d), recording from the hdmi output, and the tablet hooked up at the same time?
January 21st, 2014 at 11:22 am
The usb connection of a tablet, shouldn’t have any effect on your HDMI output.
January 21st, 2014 at 11:32 am
I was asking because we tried using the hdmi out to atem and monitor hooked up to the rca, but it turns out you have to choose one or the other. Ill test this asap and post back insha Allah.
January 21st, 2014 at 11:45 am
If you are using the RCA to usb connector you have the choice of HDMI or rca output, if you are using the USB port for DSLR controller or eos utility I don’t believe your hdmi port is affected.
January 27th, 2014 at 6:51 pm
using ML controller on galaxy s4 otg connected, hdmi output is clear and runs well. Im hoping to find some cheap tablets that will work with this set up.
February 8th, 2014 at 2:40 pm
Good news people, i grabbed up two cheapo tablets from ebay 57$ a piece and tested ml controller today, and i can confirm that ml controller worked 🙂 Heres the ebay link http://m.ebay.com/itm/400492616425?nav=SEARCH
February 10th, 2014 at 2:14 pm
i also confirm it works with my pipo m9 pro 🙂
even with ML loaded
http://www.pixhost.org/show/4405/20332518_20140202_163346.jpg
June 7th, 2014 at 3:24 am
This is a nice idea. I have everything up and running, but what kind of salutations are there if you would be shooting a wedding the whole day. The nexus battery won’t hold for a whole day and is remarkable slow to charge. Charching between pauses would not be enough. Does anyone have tips on this???
John