# Manfrotto Digital Director



## CaiLeDao (Aug 1, 2015)

I saw the IPad version of this new product from Manfrotto and in the demonstration it worked really well. I have an iPad Air2 so there has been quite a delay in receiving it. It arrived on Friday and I have been seeing what it can do.

Its being heavily marketed at the moment and should be a great aid for anyone looking for a large screen to operate ether camera from.

I like everything about the product except for on thing and thats with my Canon 5D mark III the focus is not right checked the manuals and made sure everything should work but there seems to be a problem with the camera refocusing. My suspicion is this is an iPad Air 2 problem and have contacted there support for advice, no new firmware or software seems to be available.

The version I saw working brilliantly was with a 6D and iPad air.

I have also tried it with some unsupported camera's its actually pretty close to working and I could use it fro everything but focus on a 7D mark II and a 5DSR i had access to so while I can see this being really good in the future, if you are interested make sure you see it deemed working with your body.

I anyone seeing good or bad things with this?


----------



## Mt Spokane Photography (Aug 2, 2015)

But, why not get something that works? I bought a iUSBport Camera2 which works great with my ipad air2 and iphone, and it focuses, automatic or manual. It can be used for stills or video. Cam ranger works as well

To me, "almost works" means it does not work properly.


----------



## CaiLeDao (Aug 2, 2015)

Hi I have a cam ranger but find the battery life limited and it stutters a lot, so works but can be frustrating in use, so has been unused for some time.

I haven't seen the iUSBport Camera2 looks interesting but again is wireless so may be limited. The Manfrotto is very responsive, I can see their point about performance and battery life is great (15 hours and mains also). Just like any camera product involved in taking pictures if it doesn't focus its not much use.

I am hoping the "almost works" does get resolved or someone has experienced this can chip in with an answer. I obviously suffer from GAS and have rushed into trying this, without enough diligence. It works with an iPad so must work with an iPad Air2 - wrong at this moment.


----------



## Mt Spokane Photography (Aug 2, 2015)

CaiLeDao said:


> Hi I have a cam ranger but find the battery life limited and it stutters a lot, so works but can be frustrating in use, so has been unused for some time.
> 
> I haven't seen the iUSBport Camera2 looks interesting but again is wireless so may be limited. The Manfrotto is very responsive, I can see their point about performance and battery life is great (15 hours and mains also). Just like any camera product involved in taking pictures if it doesn't focus its not much use.
> 
> I am hoping the "almost works" does get resolved or someone has experienced this can chip in with an answer. I obviously suffer from GAS and have rushed into trying this, without enough diligence. It works with an iPad so must work with an iPad Air2 - wrong at this moment.



I bought my iUSBport Camera2 from B&H at a sale for $200. It has a very long battery life. You can, of course, use it from AC power if you are going all day every day, but a battery charge lasts all day.


----------



## Tinky (Aug 2, 2015)

For me the killer is the a) the cost.. I don't see how they arrive at that figure, and b) the issue that specific models of ipad go out of date quite quickly. Each shell pattern and sometimes the connections vary completely.

A more generic usb connection that could be adapted to a range of tablets might have a smarter move by manfrotto. Maybe a generic sprung frame, like what you get for mobile phones to stick to your windshield...


----------



## Valvebounce (Aug 2, 2015)

Hi Folks. 
What Tinky said, plus Apples ability to turn off support for a device, they did that to me when they dropped two of their own devices from support via an update. 

Cheers, Graham. 



Tinky said:


> For me the killer is the a) the cost.. I don't see how they arrive at that figure, and b) the issue that specific models of ipad go out of date quite quickly. Each shell pattern and sometimes the connections vary completely.
> 
> A more generic usb connection that could be adapted to a range of tablets might have a smarter move by manfrotto. Maybe a generic sprung frame, like what you get for mobile phones to stick to your windshield...


----------



## Bennymiata (Aug 3, 2015)

I use DSLR Controller with my 5d3 and Samsung Tab S.
I had to buy a proper cable from Lindy.com to connect the camera and tablet, which was a very expensive $8.00.

I also bought a RAM mount which clips on to my tripod to hold the tablet, and it all works really well.

When I do real estate work, or restaurant food photos, the clients are very impressed with the set-up and love the fact they can see the angles and layouts etc before I take the shots.

I find that as long as the camera battery is well charged (more than half charged) that it all works really well and for a very reasonable price.


----------



## jthomson (Aug 3, 2015)

Bennymiata said:


> I use DSLR Controller with my 5d3 and Samsung Tab S.
> I had to buy a proper cable from Lindy.com to connect the camera and tablet, which was a very expensive $8.00.
> 
> I also bought a RAM mount which clips on to my tripod to hold the tablet, and it all works really well.
> ...


 I too use DSLR controller with a 5D3 wired to a Samsung tabpro. I also got the wireless router that allows you to work wirelessly but find the time to download from the camera to the tablet to be too long especially when shooting raw files. It works, but it is slow. The wired set up isn' t really fast as it runs on usb 2, but it isn't as slow as the wireless.

As for not having an android version, that isn't so unusual. The android system is open and that can lead to compatibility issues that don't exist in Apple. Dslr controller has several android devices that it doesn't work on. Trigger Traps dongle has way more functionality on Apple than on Android,


----------



## Tinky (Aug 3, 2015)

I was able to achieve something similar five years ago with my iphone, macbook and capture one remote software, the app was around £12, the software was free but useless without the paid for app. The beauty was that the softeare operated on various version of the mac os10, different hardware set ups etc... they dropped it altogether going into ios7...

It used a tether connection between the macbook and the camera, much like the eos utility does, and then a local wifi network between the phone and the laptop, it had its failings in that you were remote from your camera and laptop, but to my mind it was a cheap way, non hardware specific way of getting off camera control.

Given how little you can buy a very compact netbook for these days such a set up would be far more portable, less of a finabcial risk etc... and available to a wider range of users.. I don't know why capture one dropped it.


----------



## Mt Spokane Photography (Aug 3, 2015)

Tinky said:


> I was able to achieve something similar five years ago with my iphone, macbook and capture one remote software, the app was around £12, the software was free but useless without the paid for app. The beauty was that the softeare operated on various version of the mac os10, different hardware set ups etc... they dropped it altogether going into ios7...
> 
> It used a tether connection between the macbook and the camera, much like the eos utility does, and then a local wifi network between the phone and the laptop, it had its failings in that you were remote from your camera and laptop, but to my mind it was a cheap way, non hardware specific way of getting off camera control.
> 
> Given how little you can buy a very compact netbook for these days such a set up would be far more portable, less of a finabcial risk etc... and available to a wider range of users.. I don't know why capture one dropped it.



You can remotely tether most brands of cameras to your mobile unit via Wi-Fi, the catch is that it must have Wi-Fi.

However, there is a big difference when it comes to practicality.

DSLR controller has stopped development, so its a end of life product that may or may not work with new cameras or devices.

All of the devices have a limited useful life for that matter. 3-5 years and its all obsolete.


----------



## Tinky (Aug 3, 2015)

yep, just making the point that manfrotto haven't discovered any brave new worlds, and that their hardware specific approach gives it a limited shelf life. it is very expensive also.


----------



## jthomson (Aug 3, 2015)

Mt Spokane Photography said:


> DSLR controller has stopped development, so its a end of life product that may or may not work with new cameras or devices.



Too bad. It is a great product.


----------



## CaiLeDao (Aug 7, 2015)

Having raised a support call with Manfrotto and had really good responses, I am now happier with the purchase. The focusing between the camera and the Digital Director is working fine. I had never actually used the live view focusing always been AF or manual. So I was actually learning about the limitations of contrast focusing on the camera and not the digital director.

Also now tried it on a 5DSR and happy with that, although it does give me a not supported warning, so the firmware across the 5D's is pretty consistent it would appear.


----------



## lorohungary (Apr 20, 2016)

Hi, Someone could help me setup my 5D Mark III for Manfrotto Digital director. I have iPad Air2 64Gb. Problems: - Touch AF not work, -the software is very slow. I could not find a description of the settings.. 
Someone has experience? Robert


----------



## LDS (Apr 20, 2016)

It looks to me a device that can become obsolete too quickly being based on Apple products that may "obsoleted" whenever Apple decides.

I prefer to use a Windows tablet through a standard USB cable. It runs EOS Utilities without issues, and Lightroom as well.

Now, if only EOS Utilities could be made a little more touch-friendly...


----------



## coffee_king (Jul 2, 2016)

Hi Guys

Ive just received a Manfrotto Digital Director for use with my iPad Air 2 and Canon 5d iii and I cannot view exposure preview in manual mode on the iPad.

On the app under “Troubleshooting” it states to enable this in the camera, but there is nothing in the camera to enable such a thing.

Does anyone have any advise here because if I cant see the exposure preview in manual mode then this thing is going to be completely useless.

Thanks in advance.


----------



## privatebydesign (Jul 2, 2016)

Page 205 of the English manual. Camera menu page 4, 5th option from the top, Enable 'Expo,simulation'.


----------

