Combining a SmartPhone with a DSLR Camera

[Ed Hardy]

Paris, France - pocketDEMO is proud to release the Flash-Dock, a simple idea that will change the way photographers use their DSLR. Flash-Dock is a dock for iPhone or any other SmartPhones that is positioned in the flash-socket of DSLR cameras also called the "hotshoe" adapter ... and it changes everything!

Bruno Rousseau, founder of pocketDEMO says, "We first introduced the Flash-Dock at the Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas in January 2012. The response from visitors has far exceeded our initial expectations. Following this response, we have decided to launch the product worldwide."

Sharing pictures: Imagine a DSLR with a 3G/4G connection:
Bruno Rousseau says: "What if we could share a High Quality picture by E-mail, SMS or via cloud services like iCloud or DropBox? That is something users have done for years with their camera phone but never did with their DSLR. How does the Flash-Dock help doing that? Well, have you heard about the EyeFi SD Cards? EyeFi cards are SD Cards that store pictures and send them to the SmartPhone through their built-in WIFI chip. Again, it is possible to use EyeFi cards without the Flash-Dock, but it is not that easy. The SmartPhone being next to the DSLR, everything works seemlessly and without the user paying any special attention to it. Once the photo-shoot is finished, the photographer only has to share his photos with the world through the 3G/4G networks... they are all on his SmartPhone."

Geotagging with .GPX files: SmartPhones have a built-in GPS and most DSLR don't. SmartPhones can record tracks into a file called a "GPX file". That file is then read by iPhoto, Aperture, Lightroom, Photoshop Elements, Picasa and most photo library software's. What these softwares do is, merge this GPS data with the metadata of pictures taken during the photo-shoot. It is simple and free.

Geotagging with bluetooth: Some add-on devices like the BlueSLR are plugged into the DSLR GPS connector. Since SmartPhones also have a Bluetooth connection, they can send in real-time location information to the camera that in turn will geotag pictures. It works the same way as if there was a GPS receiver plugged into the DSLR, only cheaper.

LightMeter: SmartPhones have cameras and light sensors. Both combined, some smart developers have managed to create Light Meters that perform very well. They do require a calibration with a real light meter, but passed this stage, all the fotographer needs is a SmartPhone.

Depth Of Field calculator: These apps let the DSLR user calculate precisely the sharp area before and after the subject. These calculators take into account the lens type, the camera model and aperture to give a very precise value.

Level: Photographers have used levels for years on their tripods and now some DSLR feature an electronic horizontal line. However, some cameras do not have this feature and people can now monitor a level even without a tripod. Typical accelerometers inside the SmartPhones have an accuracy of 0.1, more than enough for a level functionality.

Microphone: The latest DSLRs all have video functionalities. However, the sound is often not in par with the video quality. SmartPhones on the other hand are made to deliver good sound quality with ambient noise cancellation and remote recording. Another good example of combining DSLR and SmartPhones.

Vibrations monitoring: What sort of vibrations does the shutter bring on a DSLR? With Seismometers apps, photographers can visually see and record the vibrations brought by their set up and correct it until pictures are taken completely still.

Design:
Although Flash-Dock seems like a simple idea, it took pocketDEMO one complete year and several prototypes to get it right. "You don't want your expensive SmartPhone to fall off the Flash-Dock while you walk" explains Bruno Rousseau. "We have designed it so it holds the SmartPhone very firmly but without requiring a strong force to put it in or remove it. Once you've used the Flash-Dock, you'll trust it the same way as you trust your hands to hold your phone".

Pricing and Availability:
Flash-Dock is available immediately through online purchase for $39.99 (USD) or 34.95 Euro. For more information, contact Bruno Rousseau or visit pocketDEMO online.

Flash-Dock: http://www.pocketdemo.fr/flash-dock/
Purchase : http://pocketdemo.oxatis.com/PBSCCat...?ItmID=9377228

About pocketDEMO
pocketDEMO designs accessories and applications for SmartPhones and focused on measurements. pocketDEMO is a French start-up established in 2002 by Bruno Rousseau, an executive with 10 years experience in the mobilephones industry and 8 years experience in the measurement industry. pocketDEMO was built on the vision of enhancing the measuring experience by adding the brains and capabilities of a SmartPhone to it. pocketDEMO product-line: Dimensions app for iPhone, Flash-Dock and soon to come... a small measuring revolution! Stay tuned
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[r0k]

Interesting product. I would imagine a lot of users are already taking advantage of their smartphones with eyefi cards. I prefer not to send DSLR photos via 3G so I let my eyefi send them when I get back in range of wifi and I never set up my eye fi card for ad hoc transfer to my iPhone. This is mainly because there were close to 3 GB of photos on my iPhone without adding anything from my point and shoot or DSLR.

The site mentions the 5D but not the low end DSLRs like the rebel series so I think it's more aimed at pro users or at least high end DSLR users.

[jigwashere]

I wonder why wifi isn't built into DSLR cameras.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S2, Epic 4G Touch using Tapatalk

[r0k]

I wonder why wifi isn't built into DSLR cameras.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S2, Epic 4G Touch using Tapatalk

It is built into some cameras but adding an eyefi card to an existing camera is a modest cost and does away with usb cable picture transfers once and for all.

[jigwashere]

It is built into some cameras but adding an eyefi card to an existing camera is a modest cost and does away with usb cable picture transfers once and for all.

I like my EyeFi card, but the cheapest one is $50 and will not connect to ad hoc networks, which is the type created by most mobile devices. The next step up is $80 and should connect to ad hoc networks, but it can't handle RAW. The Pro is $100 and will handle RAW, but it's only 8GB, so it's going to get full pretty quickly. I want to be able to shoot RAW and JPG simultaneously.

A built-in WiFi radio would add very little to the cost of a camera. Plus, I want to be able to use whatever memory card I want, with the specifications and capacity of my choosing.

Options like EyeFi and Flash-Dock are great, but they're add-ons with limitations. WiFi should be standard on all digital cameras.

[r0k]

I don't need or care about ad hoc networks because I don't use my phone to send photos I take with my DSLR. If I want to be able to quickly send a photo I take, I take it with my iPhone.

I'm not a big fan of charging extra for little features but I admit eyefi card pricing is annoying. I paid for one of the hundred dollar cards because I wanted 8 gig. I then found they wanted me to sign up for a subscription based service to prevent my photos from being summarily deleted off their site. No biggie. For cloud photo storage I have Picasa, Flickr and Smugmug.

A nice "freebie" that came with the eyefi card was the iOS software to wirelessly send photos from my phone. For on the fly sync, I now use iCloud so I haven't used that eyefi iOS software in many months now.

[Varjak]

You have to read the site a bit carefully to see that this is largely just a bracket. Sure, that helps with the low-light meter function shown; but it has nothing to do with the transfer of photos. Here's the operative quote:

Does the Flash-Dock communicate with my DSLR?
No. The Flash-Dock is an accessory that holds your SmartPhone into the HotShoe socket of your DSLR.
Your Smartphone communicates with your DSLR through wireless technologies like Bluetooth and Wifi.


I agree with Jig above, it's about time that DSLRs included Wifi or Bluetooth.

Edit: The point is that the Eye-Fi is the real technology here.