Video Control

If your Canon digital SLR camera supports video, you can use your Promote Control to start/stop your video recording, as well as control exposure parameters - both before video is recorded or while it is recording. Promote Control can also automatically time video clips of certain length, and stop recording after a preset period of time has elapsed. At this time this feature is only available with Canon digital SLR cameras (Nikon digital SLR cameras disable the rear LCD Live View and HDMI output while tethered via USB, and therefore do not allow framing the video).

Usage

Use the following workflow to get the most out of Video Control mode with the Promote Control:

1.Switch your Promote Control to the "Video Control" mode.

2.Connect a compatible camera via USB. No other connections are required in this mode.

3.Switch your camera to Live View Video recording mode. This is usually done with a switch on your camera (Canon 5D Mk II has this function assigned to a button). Please note that if you camera has a "Photo" Live View mode separate from "Video" Live View mode, you may need to use "Video" mode only for Promote Control to be able to operate your camera.

4.We recommend switching your camera to the Manual exposure mode. Other exposure modes may not allow controlling all the camera properties.

5.If you want to have control over your camera focus with your Promote Control, switch your camera to Automatic Focus.

6.Promote Control will display the current values of aperture, ISO and shutter speed on your camera. Using Left, Right, Up and Down buttons on your Promote Control you can change those values (within the limits allowed by your camera and lens combination). When "Focus" setting is selected, use Up and Down buttons on your Promote Control to drive your camera focus point farther and closer respectively.

7.You may also change your camera settings on the camera directly. Promote Control will automatically update its display to match your changes after a short delay.

8.If you want your Promote Control to automatically recording stop after a certain time, use "Clip" setting. Default setting is "Inf", which stands for "Infinite" - this means your camera will keep recording until you stop it, or until your camera battery or memory card space runs out.

When ready, press "START" button on the Promote Control to start recording. A new screen will be displayed, and you will see a running time counter. You can control all the same camera settings during recording by pressing Left/Right/Up/Down buttons. Please note that some cameras (e.g. Canon 5D Mk II) do not allow remote control over camera settings while a video clip is recorded. ^/v stand for Up/Down, </> stand for Left and Right button respectively. You can also hold "Mode" button down during pressing navigational buttons to control even more settings. For example, when you see "<+M" displayed on the screen, holding Mode button down and then pressing Left button will change the corresponding setting.

You may choose to change your camera settings using your camera controls while recording (e.g. with cameras that do not allow remote control of camera settings during recording). Just like when idle, Promote Control will automatically update its display to match the changes you have introduced using camera controls. If your camera supports remote control during recording, we recommend using Promote Control to change your camera functions in order to avoid camera shake.

When a clip of a suitable duration has been recorded, press "START button on your Promote Control to stop recording. If you used "Clip" duration limit as described above, your Promote Control will stop recording automatically as appropriate. After recording has been stopped, the Promote Control will return to the basic "Video Control" screen.

Focus Transitions

You can use your Promote Control to perform a focus transition while recording a clip. A focus transition is an effect that gradually changes your focus from one point to another while clip is being recorded. This is done by marking up to two preset focus locations on your Promote Control, and then commanding camera to refocus to those locations while recording a clip.

NOTE: focus transitions are being performed using a camera/lens defined steps. A perfectly smooth focus transition is currently not possible due to camera protocol limitations. However, focus transition steps can be selected from a number of options (just like in Focus Stacking mode).

Use the following workflow to perform a focus transition while recording a clip:

1.Activate Video Control mode on your Promote Control as described above.

2.Scroll to the "Focus" setting using Left/Right navigation keys on your Promote Control, then use Up/Down buttons on your Promote Control to set the initial focus point. At this point you can also use your lens focusing ring to do the same.

3.When ready, hold "Center" button down on your Promote Control, and press "Up" or "Down". A small dot will appear on the "up" or "down" arrow on your Promote Control screen, and a beep will sound, confirming the preset.

4.Use Up/Down buttons on your Promote Control to change the focus to another position. You can press and hold those buttons to switch focus faster. Please note that as soon as you preset at least one focus position, lens focusing ring cannot be used, as this will affect internal calculations.

5.You can now hold "Center" button and press Up or Down button again to save another focus point preset. A confirmation beep will sound, and a dot will appear on "up" or "down" arrow respectively.

6.You can continue using Up/Down buttons to keep changing focus position to where it needs to be before you begin the actual recording.

7.Press "START" button to begin recording. While recording, you can use Up/Down buttons to move focus around as you need. At this time please do not use your lens focusing ring to change focus (it will affect internal calculations and save presets just like before).

8.When ready, hold "Center" button down and press Up or Down button to have your camera lens shift its focus to the corresponding preset you have just saved. Your camera will start shifting focus to the previously remembered position. You can track the progress by observing your camera distance scale - when it stops moving, the focus transition is complete. Please note that the actual focus transition can only be done while recording the clip. When the clip is not being recorded, "Center" + Up/Down combinations are reserved for saving focus presets.

9.After the clip recording has been finished, you may want to erase your previously recorded focus presets and start over. Simply press Up and Down buttons at the same time while changing the focus setting in the Video Control mode - a confirmation beep will sound, and dots on "up"/"down" arrows will disappear. Your focus presets are now erased and you can begin saving new focus presets by using the procedure above.

The following checklist should be considered while using focus transitions with the Promote Control:

1.Once a focus preset has been saved, do not operate your lens focus ring. These changes in focus are not communicated back to Promote Control, and when you recall a previously saved focus position from Promote Control, it may not arrive to the position you actually saved. If you accidentally shifted the focus using your lens focus ring, press Up and Down buttons on your Promote as described above to erase previously saved focus presets and start over.

2.When using Up/Down buttons to move focus position while preparing your preset, take care not to hit the focusing limits of your lens. If you do, Promote Control will not know the lens in fact did not move past the limit, and again, resulting calculations may be incorrect.

3.Connecting an external HDMI monitor to your camera may assist in focusing your lens more precisely using this manual method.

If for any reason you are not satisfied with the default focus change step size, you can change that using Promote Control Setup settings. The "Video focus step size" setting can be set to "Small", "Medium" or "Large". The actual step size will depend on your lens focal length, aperture used while recording and distance to the subject. Please note that with "Large" step, your lens may not have enough time to refocus before the next focus shift command is sent, and the transition may not execute correctly. In that case change "Video focus step delay" Setup Setting to a higher value. Normally 200-300ms is enough for most lenses even with the "Large" step.

NOTE: smaller focus transition steps usually provide a smoother transition, but lead to a slower transition effect. The default setting of "Medium" works fine for most lenses. With telephoto lenses or other lenses with shallow depth of field a "Small" setting may yield a smoother result, while still maintaining an acceptable transition speed.