If you have a compatible Canon camera, or other supported DSLR camera, the camera shutter can be triggered directly by clicking on the camera button from within the application (Preset Documentation and Cue List). The resultant photograph will then be imported directly in to the application.
To enable this functionality the camera must first be enabled in the menu Setup->Camera....
| Camera Control | Select a control module to match your make of camera. |
| Port | The computer port the camera is connected to (most commonly USB). |
| Device | Typically The camera make and model. |
| Tether | Must indicate ‘Yes’ if the camera is to be remotely controlled by Moving Light Assistant. If the camera cannot tether, Moving Light Assistant will be unable to control the shutter release, but the camera may still be able to download pictures automatically after you push the shutter release manually on the camera. |
| Session | Will display the status of the camera connection. |
To use the camera it is first necessary to select the camera control from the drop-down list of camera manufacturers. When the camera is now connected and turned on, it should appear in the list of available cameras. Select your camera (by clicking on its name), and then connect to it using the Connect button. If the connection is successful, ‘Open’ will appear in the session column besides the camera.
Once connected pictures may be taken and imported directly in to Preset Documentation or Cue List by clicking on the camera icon button.
As each photograph is taken, a copy is also saved in a back-up folder called ‘cameradownloads’. This folder is created in the same folder as the Moving Light Assistant application when the ‘Camera Setup window’ is opened. (Some cameras, when operated in tethered mode, do not store a copy of each photograph on the camera memory card. The camera downloads folder may be the only repository of these photographs. Once a photograph has been imported in to the show file, the copy in the camera download folder can be deleted if required.
There is a checkbox option in the setup window to preview each photograph taken before deciding whether or not to include it in the show file.
The ‘Camera Setup’ dialog no longer needs to be kept open while capturing images from a tethered camera, and is only used to choose and connect to a camera. Once this has been done, the dialog should be closed. The status of the camera is shown in the status bar. An icon will show if the camera is connected (Green = connected, Red = Disconnected). As images are downloaded from the camera, the file name will be shown in the status bar.
