Improved Wi-Fi Pairing in ShutterCount and Kuuvik Capture

October 8, 2022 by

The recently released Kuuvik Capture 6 and ShutterCount 6 brings a very convenient feature for those who use both apps on the same Mac or iOS device with Wi-Fi connection to a Canon camera.

Previously only the Mac’s/iPhone’s/iPad’s name was programmed into the camera’s menu by default, and in case you used multiple wireless tethering apps with the same camera, you had to manually edit the names to be able to distinguish between the apps.

Now we prefix the device’s name with an app identifier. Kuuvik Capture is referred to as “KC”, ShutterCount as “SC” and ShutterCount Pro as “SCP”.

App and device names as programmed into the camera’s menu by our apps.

These names are generated and programmed into the camera’s menu during the pairing process, but as always, you can change them in the camera afterwards.

Kuuvik Capture 6 and ShutterCount 6 are available for your Mac and mobile device in the respective App Store. These updates are free for existing ShutterCount (all versions) and Kuuvik Capture (5.0 or later) customers.

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Kuuvik Capture 5.6 : The Filename Template

April 16, 2021 by

I’m using the same image file naming scheme for more than a decade, and always wanted Kuuvik Capture to generate file names fitting into this scheme automatically, avoiding a later renaming step. Finally I was able to allocate some time to make it happen: version 5.6 allows you to name captured files according to your liking.

This feature is off by default, you can activate it by turning the Name image files using template session preference on.

Kuuvik Capture 5.6 Session Preferences

The first time you click on the check box the app will bring up the template editor to actually set a template – which can be later modified by clicking the Edit… button.

The template is a simple text field where you can use tokens to insert different snippets of information. For example %Y will be replaced by the 4-digit year of the image’s date. We opted for this approach instead of a graphical drag & drop one so that you can copy and paste the template easily for backup purposes or for sending it to somebody else.

As you can see on the screen shot below, there are quite a few tokens to choose form.

The Filename Template Editor

Most tokens extract information from the image file (date, time and metadata tokens fall into this category). It is important to note that date/time tokens use the date/time in the image and not the Mac’s clock. Month and day names, as well as the AM/PM indicator, use names according to the current language setting of your Mac.

I recommend you to experiment with the different tokens, and watch in the Preview field what kind of filenames your template is going to produce. The preview uses the current date/time and metadata from a hypothetical 5DS R image, so you’ll always see the same metadata field contents there.

To avoid collisions, you want to create a template that generates unique names. Besides using a time with sub-second accuracy, you have two counter fields to ensure this. One of them is the last 4 digits of the original filename that the camera generated, and the other is a 4 digit capture counter.

The capture counter starts from the number of images already in the currently open session, and is incremented with each capture. Note that shooting RAW+JPG pairs count as a single image.

Should you need to change the counter, simply use the Set Capture Counter… command in the File menu, or press Ctrl+Command+C.

The capture counter will wrap over from 9999 to 0000, in a similar fashion to the 4 digit suffix does in camera generated names.

Differences on iPad

On iPad you have the exact same functionality, but can be accessed a bit differently: all template-related settings can be manipulated from the File Naming page that opens from the Session tab of the menu.

File Naming Settings on iPad

In the template editor the iPad keyboard is also extended with function keys to be able to easily enter special characters, like the percent sign or the underscore.

Availability

The update is free for existing Kuuvik Capture 5 users. We also offer an upgrade from 2.x-4.x to version 5. New users can buy the app in the respective App Store. Don’t forget that the Mac and iPad versions are sold together – buy any of them and you’ll get the other for free!

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Kuuvik Capture 5.5 : Multi-Point Live View on EOS R5

March 14, 2021 by

The latest update to my Canon EOS tethering app, Kuuvik Capture, is now available for Mac and iPad. The headline feature is multi-point live view availability on the EOS R5.

When R5 support was introduced in Kuuvik Capture 5.2, the release notes indicated that multi-point live view is not available due to firmware bugs. Later Canon informed me that these “bugs” were actually “by design” behavior, and not going to change.

Fortunately, I’m a sucker for impossible problems, and was able to make it happen what Canon declared impossible. So multi-point live view is now working nicely on the R5. The only limitation – shared with the 1D X Mark III – is that depth of field preview is not available during multi-point live view. This is caused by another odd firmware behavior. Speaking of which…

This release also works around the aforementioned issue when moving to a marker: if DoF preview was active before the move, it will be re-activated after the new position is set.

On the iPad, a fine-tuned gesture detection improves long-tap handling when a tap is used to stop flick panning. The original implementation drove me nuts by bringing up the context menu way too early.

Plus the iPad version sports the missing “local network” permission handling message discussed in my former post.

We have published “privacy nutrition labels” for the app. It’s rather simple: we do not collect data from Kuuvik Capture. We are in the business of making and selling software to you, and not selling your private life to some sneaky data brokers. This is one reason why the prices of our apps are what they are.

The update is free for existing Kuuvik Capture 5 users. We also offer an upgrade from 2.x-4.x to version 5.

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Kuuvik Capture 5.4 Released

November 26, 2020 by

The latest update to my Canon EOS tethering app, Kuuvik Capture, is now available for both Mac and iPad.

With this release, we’re starting to roll out a new focus bracketing engine. Building on new features of the DIGIC 8 and DIGIC X processors, Kuuvik Capture can now execute focus brackets with the mirror locked up during the entire bracket (on DSLR cameras), saving time and reducing mirror wear. The new engine is initially available for the EOS-1D X Mark III and 250D/Rebel SL3/Kiss X10/200D Mark II. Of course we’re planning to bring it to other cameras as well in the future.

The new engine also drives focus bracketing for the EOS R5, much faster than the old one did. Electronic shutter is supported for focus brackets with both the 1D X Mark III and the R5, resulting in minimal shutter and mirror wear, and rather quick operation.

Firmware for DIGIC X-based cameras unfortunately still full of bugs hindering proper tethering operation. A newly discovered one is that once depth of field preview is engaged, you won’t be able to move around the point of operation (that is, can’t move around in live view when zoomed in, or can’t jump to a marker). This is a rather serious oversight from Canon.

We’re mitigating this issue by automatically turning off DoF preview when it would break the operation you are going to perform. For example, one typically uses DoF preview with the jump to marker feature to be able to assess depth of field with the current focus placement. We faced a choice here, either a) jumping to a marker would silently fail when DoF preview is on; or b) turn off DoF preview and do what you asked for. B is a clearly better solution here, and we consistently do the same in case of all other operations where the bug would cause a problem.

On the 1D X III this bug also causes issues with multi-point live view, so we completely disable DoF preview during multi-point live view.

The update is free for existing Kuuvik Capture 5 users. We also offer an upgrade from 2.x-4.x to version 5.

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Kuuvik Capture on iPad : Gestures

June 29, 2020 by

Being an iPad app, gesture support in Kuuvik Capture takes center stage. Let’s dive right in!

Long Press

Where you normally would right-click in the Mac version, use a long press on iPad. It brings up context menus on browser thumbnails (shown on the screen shot), on the displayed image, on live view and on the bracketing monitor. It opens the corresponding option panel for the Live View, Clipping Warning, Marker, Sharpening, Focus Peaking, Guide and Image Overlay icons on the toolbar. Long pressing the camera selector in the top right corner will show the Wi-Fi and Ethernet Pairing dialog.

In Pan (Hand Tool) Mode

While an image is displayed, double tapping will toggle between 100% and Fit zoom levels. Otherwise use pinch and spread to zoom in and out. Drag the zoomed image around with a single finger, or flick it for faster movement. Swipe left or right with two fingers held together to show the next or previous image in the session, respectively. Note that the app will change the image when you lift your fingers.

In live view things work a bit differently. You can use flick-zoom (a fast, flick-like pinch and spread) to change zoom levels. And then drag the zoomed image around with a single finger. What a double tap does can be configured in the menu: initiate AF or toggle medium or high magnification levels. Swiping up and down with two fingers will pull focus. Step size for focus pulling depends on the magnification: Kuuvik Capture uses small steps for zoomed-in levels and medium steps at Fit zoom level.

Use the rotate gesture to rotate both displayed images and live view (the latter when live view auto-rotation is disabled). Rotation happens at 90 degrees. Once the app recognizes the rotation gesture, it will highlight the corresponding rotation icon on the toolbar. Let the screen go at this moment, and the image will be rotated.

In Marker Tool Mode

Tap the image/live view to place a marker, and tap an existing marker to remove it. A single-finger left or right swipe can be used to move between the markers. Two finger swipe is also recognized in this mode, just like in pan mode.

In Reposition Overlay Mode

You can resize and rotate the overlaid image with two fingers, and drag it with a single finger. Simple as that. Double-tapping the displayed image will toggle between 100% and Fit zoom levels, to facilitate precise overlay placement.

Guide Dragging Takes Precedence

When you tap a guideline (and it becomes a dashed line), then all other gestures are ignored while you hold or move that line around, regardless of the current tool or mode.

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Kuuvik Capture 5.1 Available on iPad

June 26, 2020 by

Continuing the decade long tradition of bringing you industry-first solutions, I’m pleased to announce that Kuuvik Capture 5.1, both on Mac and iPad, is now available on the App Store. It is the world’s first Canon EOS remote control app that can be used with a USB cable between your camera and iPad – thus skipping slow and error-prone Wi-Fi completely.

Camera connections on iPad work exacly the same way they do in ShutterCount Mobile, as described in my post announcing USB support, as well in the Getting Started Guide for Wi-Fi.

More information about Kuuvik Capture on iPad can be found my previous posts (here and here).

Now I’m taking a deep breath, a few days off, and start posting short articles as the handbook is updated.

Enjoy!

IMPORTANT: If you purchased the app for Mac and want to download it to your iPad (or vice versa), the App Store may not recognize your previous purchase and display the full price. Make sure that you are using the same Apple ID you did for the original purchase, and go ahead with “buying” the app. Instead of charging your card, the App Store should display the message “This update is free”. This is an App Store bug, so please address your comments to the party responsible for it (that is, Apple).

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