Cam Ranger - Easily send photos to your iPad! The ultimate Nikon D4 camera control device?

Baseball HOF inductees Tony LaRussa, Joe Torre and Bobby Cox
(Nikon D4, 24-120 lens, 1/200th @ 6.3 , 250 ASA) 

As my career has progressed from B/W film, to chrome film to negative film and now to digital, I've seen the growing need for quicker delivery of images. The photographer has to be more than just a photographer - you have to be a solutions driven problem solver to make your clients happy. Technology can often help you with this.
I have previously blogged about the Nikon WT-4 transmitter.
The WT-4 allows you to send images from your Nikon camera to a configured iOS or Mac/Windows computer. The Nikon transmitter is a good piece of equipment BUT it is way too expensive for what it is and it almost takes an IT professional to set it up. Also, the transmitter was tied to the brand, meaning the Nikon transmitters work only with Nikon, not Canon. This was once a problem when I booked an architecture shoot and I needed to use the incredible Canon 17mm Tilt shift lens. Of course, that required me to use a Canon full frame body and I didn't have a transmitter to use for that shoot. I had to tether it to my Mac Book Pro to get a preview. A new solution recently presented itself to me. The Cam Ranger. I decided to use this new piece of gear on my favorite shoot of 2013 - Portraits of the newest Baseball Hall Of Fame inductees at the annual MLB Winter Meetings. 

Retired Managers Tony LaRussa, Joe Torre and Bobby Cox had been elected to the National Baseball Hall Of Fame by the Expansion Era Committee. This was announced on December 9 in a press conference inside the Disney Dolphin Hotel. 
My job was to take the first official portraits of the newest HOF inductees. 
I had my studio set up with 2 Profoto 7B packs, a 5' Photoflex Octodome for the key light and a Profoto beauty dish for the kicker. The strobes were triggered by the Pocket Wizard X. I photographed each man separately but the important photo was the group picture. Everyone wanted the photo of these great friends together. The entire shoot lasted about 3 minutes and the Cam Ranger transmitted each JPG from the camera to the iPad. The large preview on the 9.7" iPad helped me spot potential shadows that I would need to correct. After each shot, the people from the HOF would  also comment on how good they all looked together. This positive energy really helped energize the group. It became easy to get them close and to smile.

Nikon D4 transmitting JPGs to my iPad 4 via the Cam Ranger. 

Now, if sending images to a device all the Cam Ranger did, it would easily be worth the money. however, as I learned, the preview function is only one of the features.

The Cam Ranger comes with the device, power cable, a USB type A to USB mini B, battery and carry case. The removable, rechargeable battery is easy to swap out. 

On the right, the small on/off switch is next to the micro USB b port (used to charge the device). On the left, is where you plug in your DSLR usb cable. The ethernet port is for firmware upgrade.

The Cam Ranger costs $299 and will work with both Canon and Nikon cameras*. The set up is very easy. After you download the dedicated Cam Ranger app to the device, you enter a unique code when you open the app. The code is located on the backside of the Cam Ranger. No more IP addresses, Target server addresses with the WT-4.  

The Cam Ranger has the ability to:

• Send Preview images to a device (iOS or Android  device and Mac or Windows computer) for review
• Use Live view for both movie and still images
• Control exposure, ASA, focus and shoot photos (and movies) from your device
• Set drive mode, white balance, metering mode, focus mode
• Intervalometer for time lapse and bulb photography
• Macro photography, focus stacking
• HDR bracketing

I can see the remote camera feature very useful for me when I set up remotes at race finish lines. Often, these road races start so early that the finish line is in near darkness when you mount the camera. Now with the Cam Ranger, you can live view the image remotely, set focus and change exposure just before the finish. This is critical if the camera cannot be easily accessed. 

You can then hand the iPad to an assistant, and they can use the device to actually fire the camera. I will write another blog post about this feature once I shoot some of those assignments. 

*Cam Ranger  - Currently Supported Cameras:

Nikon: 

• D5000
• D5100 
• D5200 
• D90 
• D7000
• D7100
• D300
• D300S
• D700
• D600
• D800
• D800E
• D3
• D3s
• D3x
• D4

Canon: 

• Xsi
• T1i
• T2i
• T3i
• T4i
• 40D
• 50D
• 60D
• 6D
• 7D
• 5D Mark II
• 5D Mark III
• DS Mark III
• 1D Mark IV
• 1Dx

Developing an iPhone game...

Henry & Hailey's Preschool mix and Match

After a busy season of baseball playoffs and the World Series, I suddenly found myself with some down time. When a freelance photographer has no work, it is easy to get nervous and paranoid. I find that the older I get, I am better at channeling that energy into something more useful. Normally I hit the golf course or just happily spend time with the family, but recently I decided to use my extra time to finish up a big goal in my life - I was going to develop a video game.

I have always wanted to design video games. When I was in high school, one of my first jobs was as a game tester for Infocom (any other geeks out there remember Zork?).

In August 2007 I bought an iPhone. This is the third smart phone I've bought in 2 years. I have used the Blackberry 8100 and the Palm Treo 700P. There was always something just annoying enough about both phones that made me want a better device. I knew that the iPhone would fit my needs perfectly. My wife groans every time I decide to buy a tech gadget, but she agreed to the iPhone purchase if I could use it to entertain our son Henry when we were out at restaurants or running errands. I thought initially that I would just show him movies on it, but then I decided I would rather have him interact with a game and learn something. That was my opening.

I had downloaded the iPhone SDK (Software Developer's Kit), but with my busy work schedule I never had the time to sit down and really figure it out. The Apple model for their App Store is really groundbreaking. It levels the playing field and allows developers of all kinds to submit their programs on the same platform as everyone else, including the big developers like EA and Aspyr. In the past, small time game makers had trouble competing because there is a lot of costs involved with packaging, inventory and distribution, just to name a few. With the new digital world, these costs are eliminated. With that hurdle out of the way, I decided to start the tutorials...

Very quickly, I figured out that Objective C programming wasn't going to be a walk in the park. I had a hard time with interface, headers, objects, methods... AARRGGGHHH! I realized I would need to hire out some of the game development.

The first step was using my research skills to find software developers. I found one that was affordable and trustworthy. Next,

I turned to my contacts that I knew through photography. I called on art directors and public relations managers that I work with and asked for their recommendations. I was quickly able to find a great character illlustrator, musician, and a graphic artist. My idea was simple - I wanted to create a mix and match game similar to the ones I had created when I was a child. When I was really young, I remember coloring three identically sized characters on a piece of paper. The teacher then cut the sheet of paper into three thin horizontal strips and taped them to a can of soup. I remember playing with these strips of paper, moving them around and making these funny looking characters with mismatched body parts. I wanted to make a digital version of this for my so

n because I just knew he would find it funny.
In my photography I strive for a clear vision and a unique style. For this game, I had a very clear idea of what I wanted and what the characters should look like. that really drove this project forward. As any photo editor can tell you, managing people and their egos can be a delicate balance. Artists and musicians are very similar to photographers. You have to deal with them very differently than with a software programmer. For my artist, I knew that he would work at his pace, when he was inspired. I tried to never back him into a corner and limit his creativity. As I photographer I understood his need for inspiration but as a game developer I also needed to keep him on a set production deadline. Anyone who has worked in journalism understands the importance of deadlines. Unfortunately, artists usually never worked in the journalism field under tight deadlines... the art that was promised on a Tuesday was usually delivered on a Saturday. I then had to explain to the very punctual and organized programmer why the art was late....
I outsourced the components I couldn't do but did everything else. The many years of Photoshop experience, of course, proved invaluable. There were long hours of tedious but necessary imaging work to polish the game up. These things I could do on my own time, whenever I had time away from photography assignments. I also quickly learned Garage Band, the Apple iLife music program. I had a great time making the recordings and multi tracking the layers of sound. I think that these details really bring life to the project.
In the end, I can say that these 6 weeks have been very rewarding. I was able to utilize the skill set that I had developed as a professional photographer and applied it to something that seems to be completely different from what I do. I wanted to make a great iPhone game for kids, and I think I was able to accomplish that.

I hope that all of you reading this article will log into the Apple iTunes store and check it out. My best time is 41 seconds... can you beat it? (It is only .99 cents, so please download it... And while you are at it, please leave a nice review).

My first iPhone game, Preschool Pals Henry & Hailey was uploaded to the iTunes store in late November.
http://tinyurl.com/6pet2f

My second application, ABC Alphabet game with Henry & Hailey
http://tinyurl.com/6ruxma

My third application, iWingman - Pickup Line Generator was just released.

Developing software will never replace my love for photography, or generate the same income. However, I learned that if we can harness our skills and apply it to other fields, we would be surprised at what we can accomplish. I fear that the upcoming year will be very difficult for many of us. It will be important to try to stay positive and productive through this rough patch. Remember, your creativity is not limited to photography. The more you create and innovate will help you in all aspects of your career.

(Originally published on Sportsshooter.com - 12-21-08)