New iPhone and iPad App Lets Filmmakers Control Up to Four Canon and Sony Cameras At Once
Italian filmmaker Claudio Ripalti released Director Mode, a new iPhone and iPad app that lets videographers monitor and control up to four wirelessly connected cameras. As of now, the app works with a wide range of Canon and Sony bodies.
As of writing, Director Mode works with many Canon cameras, including the C50, C70, C80, C300 II, C400, and C500 II EOS Cinema cameras. The app is also compatible with the Canon EOS R1, R5 II, R6 II, R6 III, R6V, R8 II, R8, R50V, and PowerShot V1.
On the Sony side, compatibility is similarly wide. The app works with the FX2, FX3 (FX3A), FX30, and new FX5. It also works with Alpha-series bodies like the a1, a1 II, a9 III, a7S III, a7R VI, a7 V, and a7C II.
Once a camera is connected to Director Mode, the app can do all sorts of things. It includes live monitoring with camera telemetry, recording controls, and settings controls. It also includes “pro” monitoring tools like waveform, focus peaking, frame guides, anamorphic desqueeze, LUT monitoring, custom LUT import, touch focus and control, and more. Users can monitor and change ISO, shutter speed (angle), aperture, exposure compensation, and white balance, as NewsShooter explained in its coverage of the beta version last month.
Speaking of “pro,” while Director Mode is free to download and use with a basic membership, the full suite of features requires a paid upgrade. Director Mode Pro is $29.99 for lifetime access to all features.
While it’s compelling enough for people to use their iPhone or iPad as a real-time remote and monitor, Director Mode can do a lot more than control one camera. In fact, the app can show live feeds from up to four cameras side by side, each with monitoring and controls. This also works with a mixed-camera or mixed-brand workflow, meaning users can monitor and control a Canon EOS R6 III and R6 V alongside a Sony a7 V and FX5.
“On a small set, the person watching the image is often the one adjusting a camera and calling the take,” says the app’s developer, Claudio Ripalti. “Director Mode lets a solo operator run a multicamera setup from an iPhone with great ease.”
Director Mode is available now on the Apple App Store.
Image creditsDirector Mode, Claudio Ripalti
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