Multi-camera Operation

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Multi-Camera can control one or more Canon DSLRs connected to a single PC or a group of PCs networked together.

 

The maximum number of cameras that can be controlled is determined by the license purchased for the software. This can be displayed by selecting "About Multi-Camera" from the Help menu. The default evaluation license will allow up to four cameras to be controlled during the evaluation period.

 

Please see the preferences section for information on how to synchronize multiple copies of DSLR Remote Pro via a network.

 

Triggering Cameras

Multiple cameras connected a single computer can be triggered via the USB connection to each camera but there will be a delay of approximately 1/10 second between each camera taking a photo. For larger arrays of cameras and more accurate synchronization (to within a few milliseconds) it is necessary to trigger the cameras via their remote release sockets. Please see this page on the Breeze Systems' website for more information.

Please see this section for information on triggering cameras using an ESPER TriggerBox

 

Auto Barcode Reader Mode

Auto barcode reader mode provides a way to automatically trigger the cameras when a barcode is scanned using a barcode reader. The barcode is copied into the comments field in the main window and the "Release" button is pressed to trigger the cameras. The contents of the comments field can be included in the filenames of the downloaded photos by selecting the "Prefix filename with comment string" option in File->Preferences or by using the {comment} token in the "Filename prefix:" field. The barcode can also be used to specify the download folder by adding the {comment} token to the "Directory in which to save images".

Auto barcode reader mode can be enabled or disabled by typing Shift+Ctrl+b.

Please note that auto bar code reader mode is intended for multi-camera inspection systems and isn't suitable for event shooting because it triggers the cameras via USB which results in the cameras being triggered with a delay of approximately 1/10 sec between each camera.

 

Photo Booth Mode

Run a multi-camera rig like a photo booth with live view display and a countdown before taking the photos.

 

Camera rear LCD blanking workaround

Some Canon camera models (e.g. Canon EOS 100D/Rebel SL1) turn the rear LCD off after 30 minutes of inactivity which can be annoying if you want to leave it on all the time to provide a quick visual check of the camera status. Multi-Camera has a workaround which reads and writes the camera's ISO setting to reset the camera's inactivity timer. This can be enabled by exiting Multi-Camera and setting the following DWORD value in the Windows registry:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\BreezeSystems\DSLRRemoteProMulti\100\IsoKickPollingInterval

 

This setting specifies the interval in seconds between reading and writing the camera's ISO setting to prevent the camera from turning the rear LCD off. Affected camera models turn the rear LCD off after 30 minutes of inactivity and the suggested setting for this value is 1700 seconds. Set IsoKickPollingInterval to 0 to disable it.