magic lantern vs promote systems remote control

Hi folks,

I was really interested in the promote systems remote control (i was planning on using it for both HDR as well as the interesting effect of DOF control)
and then I noticed that magic lantern seems to do similar things
for a lot cheaper!

can anyone confirm or deny the issue? I mean, is there a benefit of the promote system remote control over magic lantern in these specific issues?

as you may see below - I use solely a EOS 7d
many thanks.

After having a quick look at the remote you are asking about I cannot say there is anything that stands out to me in any form which would cause me to consider an any way paying for a replacement to magic lantern.

I used to use the Promote. Now I use my phone and dslr controller.

thanks folks for that. It seems that magic lantern is the best option. Appreciate your feedback!

ceriltheblade wrote in post #16728603
thanks folks for that. It seems that magic lantern is the best option. Appreciate your feedback!

Keep an open mind. Think some more before selecting ML. It is certainly the cheapest option. I found it difficult to use for focus stacking and HDR, etc. It can be done but dslrController does it much better, more things and it does it on a tablet or phone screen. You can get much better control of live view focussing on a bigger screen. You can combine focus stacking and HDR. There is so much that dslrController can do including WIFI to a remote tablet or phone.

Thanks for the heads up on the dslr controller but isnt that a smartphone app which connects vis a vis wifi of the camera? Considering that I have a 7d which doesn't natively suoport wifi, are you suggesting that I buy the app and the wifi module for the camera?

I use dslr controller and my 7D with the cheapo ebay USB adapter thing to connect to my S3 and I think it's a top app. I also have magic lantern, but sometimes I find it easier to just use dslrcontroller. You don't need to purchase and use the wifi module. wifi connectivity is only a new inclusion by DSLR controller anyway.

i had never heard of that - do you have a link forthat usb "thingy" as you call it
i have a note II - so probably the same device would work, no?

check their site to confirm if it works with your device.

The "thingy" turns the phone into a USB host device. I am not sure what that really means but it makes it work basically. I believe some tablets already support USB host. Check your device, you may not even need one, just a USB cable. I think the samsung tablets have a OTG adaptor which I believe does the same thing as the converter? (not sure)

you can buy 2 of those converters for about 10 bucks off Ebay. You'll have to google it as I got mine off the brother in law who put me onto the program and bought the adaptors. They are tiny and connect to the micro USB on the phone, then a normal usb cable goes between it and the camera.

Hope it helps.

edit: here is basically what I use on my S3. $2 delivered.

http://www.ebay.com.au …Cable-Black-/261342745960

i will check into that. thanks for the info. I hadn't ever heard of that.
appreciate the answer and the effort

ceriltheblade wrote in post #16730315
Thanks for the heads up on the dslr controller but isnt that a smartphone app which connects vis a vis wifi of the camera? Considering that I have a 7d which doesn't natively suoport wifi, are you suggesting that I buy the app and the wifi module for the camera?

You can connect DSLR Controller to an Android (not IOS) phone or tablet using either a wired USB or wireless WiFi connection, and wireless does not require your camera to have native support for WiFi.

For wired connection you need something called a USB OTG cable, or USB Host Adapter, for your specific phone or tablet. An OTG cable allows your phone or tablet to act as a USB host (e.g., a computer) instead of a peripheral. And it is useful for more than running Magic Lantern, you can also plug a USB memory card reader into an OTG cable to transfer photos or other files from memory card to your phone or tablet. For DSLRC, you connect a USB cable from your camera into the OTG cable and then into the phone. Use a quality USB cable, as cheap or excessively long cables WILL NOT WORK RELIABLY. The USB cable included with your camera works perfectly.

For wireless connections, if your camera supports WiFi you might be able to use it for DSLRC. The TP-Link TL-MR3040 pocket router -- a tiny, battery-operated WiFi Router -- can be used reliably to connect DSLRC wirelessly to your camera. The pocket router connects to your camera's USB port, the router gets configured per the DSLRC WiFi setup video, and then DSLRC can connect wirelessly from your phone or tablet to your camera.

DSLR Controller costs $7.99. A free app, Remote Controller, can be used to test that your phone/tablet and camera are compatible before buying the full app. A USB OTG cable can be bought on Amazon for as little as $9. The TP-Link TL-MR3040 is available on Amazon for around $35. Your camera comes with a quality USB cable so that's free.

Final notes:

DSLR Controller offers many of the photographic features and benefits of Magic Lantern, in addition to the remote camera monitor and control. DSLRC does not provide the audio and video features. DSLR Controller is NOT compatible with Magic Lantern. If you have Magic Lantern installed you will need to disable it (by using a clean memory card, disabling it through setup/bootflag options, or by holding the SET key during camera start-up) or DSLRC will crash immediately when launched.

ML does have an early test version of their own Android remote control app, but it is not ready for any real world use at present.

For what it's worth, I actually had ML running at the same time as DSLR once and I didn't get a crash. I was hoping to see ML info on the live view on the phone via DSLR controller, but at the same time knew deep down it wasn't going to happen, I just wanted to confirm.