[wowtip]

I saw that some guy is working on an Android tethering solution for Canon, will probably add support for Nikon as well later on.

You Tube

You Tube

[Android 2.3.4/3.0][04.08.2011] DSLR Controller v0.5 BETA [USB HOST REQUIRED] - xda-developers

Anyone know if something similar is in the works for Pentax, looks nice already and could probably be useful with a large screen surf board.

[mactrash]

Current just eye-fi can provide similar function... it's a SD card with wifi transfer. I now use it in most of my shoot.

[adr1an]

The issue is the Tether implementation with Pentax.

It wasn't a referenced API - so its had to be reverse engineered. Thanks to some efforts of some projects out there - the basic code set for tethering is sort of now known and some apps are turning up.

BUT.. Pentax tethering is a bit different to Canon/Nikon.

Mainly there is no LiveView function within the Tether code as implemented in the Firmware. So the only thing you can do is what you could using Pentax Remote Assistant - Take a still image and review it for focus etc...

You can of course then do Video Out for the LiveView - but then you can't use the USB Port - since once you activate the USB port for Tether mode - the Camera will not store images and doesn't activate the rear-LCD LiveView function. So you have to resort to interfacing using either the Grip Port or using the IR Remote Control functions - or just doing shutter/AF via the 2.5mm 3-pole Jack..

And as referenced - when in 'tether mode' - the camera will NOT store any images - so you also need to transmit the image to a device for storage.

So in short - its frustrating - because everything is 'almost there' - but there is also severe limitations in how you can go about implementing it (refer the above USB situation for example... )

heh.. can you tell I've spent some time recently looking at this

(p.s.. Eye-Fi is great if you shoot JPG.. but the RAW version (Eye-Fi Profesional) is still only 54mbits Wi-Fi - so it takes 4-5 seconds to transfer each RAW image to your PC.. Which would work fine if its one or two shots - but maybe not so ok if you shot 20 or 30 in a 5 minute period - and forget using 7FPS Bursts .... It also relies on pairing quite heavily last I looked - so wont work with "any" WiFi - just one that you have specifically configured it with - so wont for example auto-post to Flickr if you are shooting Downtown at a Starbucks... it just gets stored on the 8GB SD card section of the Eye-Fi Device...)

[wowtip]

Current just eye-fi can provide similar function... it's a SD card with wifi transfer. I now use it in most of my shoot.

Seems like the eye-fi is most for direct upload? I thought this solution looked interesting as it is a full tether solution with live view, etc.

So in short - its frustrating - because everything is 'almost there' - but there is also severe limitations in how you can go about implementing it (refer the above USB situation for example... )

heh.. can you tell I've spent some time recently looking at this

That is a pity. Something like this would be very nice with a Samsung or HTC with big, hi res screen. Also, it would be a selling point for Pentax, or rather, a real drawback if not possible in the future. Many of today's youngsters would see things like this as a make or break thing.

"What, you can't use that DSLR with a smartphone?? Not for GPS, remote, tether, storage? Better get a Nikon then..."

[mactrash]

Its not real tether . It mean you cannot control the camera etc.

I shoot raw+ and send the jpg 2mp or 6mp to the pad or notebook as needed during the shoot.

Sometime this is good for client check how the image will look like and not disturbed the shoot.