Trying to take photos programmatically with my Sony a7 iii

[KyleMika]

Hello everyone. I am in the process of building a 35mm film scanner using my Sony a7 iii (this post has nothing to do with the film aspect). My issue is that Sony does not seem to have an API currently that allows for me to write a script/program to take a photo. My really bad current work around is using an Arduino Leonardo in conjunction with the Sony "Imaging Edge" remote on windows. I do this by having the Leonardo issue the "1" keystroke while in the application, which triggers the camera to take a photo. The problem is that this process is not 100% reliable when trying to take photos faster than 2-3 seconds, as it will just ignore/miss the "1" keystroke at that speed. I know the camera can be faster than that, especially with the silent shutter enabled. Any advice or tips on having my computer trigger the camera to take photos programmatically, preferably not through the Remote software? Or any advice on how to speed up that software?

 

[4season]

Not a developer, but does Sony's Camera Remote SDK not cover your needs?
https://support.d-imaging.sony.co.jp/app/sdk/en/index.html

 

[KyleMika]

The issue is that that API does not currently support my camera, ILCE-7M3, they only support these a7 models near mine: ILCE-7SM3, ILCE-7M4, which is the a7s iii and a7iv

 

[4season]

Might have to look for an older version of the SDK? This one covers models prior to yours:
https://developer.sony.com/develop/cameras/

 

[KyleMika]

Thanks, I can attempt to use that but it seems that API has to be via wifi and it still seems to be a one-way communication (as in, will not respond if it actually took the photo) but it's possible it might not miss photo commands like the UI application and could be faster. Still, Sony really dropped the ball on this one, Cannon has way better APIs

 

[4season]

Found an old video which refers to Sony software which has since been merged into Imaging Edge, but it gave me some insight about how they expected the USB functionality to work. In this particular example, the workflow relies on a watched folder on the tethered computer to give you confirmation of the photo, rather than the camera itself sending an acknowledgement.

 

[sonya7r_macro]

Thanks, I can attempt to use that but it seems that API has to be via wifi and it still seems to be a one-way communication (as in, will not respond if it actually took the photo) but it's possible it might not miss photo commands like the UI application and could be faster. Still, Sony really dropped the ball on this one, Cannon has way better APIs

@KyleMika did you ever find a way to programmatically trigger? I'm also trying to programmatically trigger and save while tethered, and the Sony ADK has limited support for my a7Riii

 

[KyleMika]

@sonya7r_macro no, I did not find a good way to programmatically trigger. The method mentioned was the best I could do, although the watching the folder as mentioned in the last post would have been a better step. However, the easiest solution for my need was getting a cheap physical cable that was made to remotely (by cable) trigger the shutter. I dismantled the switch, connected it to a solenoid, and was able to trigger much quicker and reliably. This did require the photos to be only on the SD card (not tethered), but I don't think I actually tried if this could be used in the tether mode. It just seems to me that this camera is not friendly at all to doing this type of thing unlike some other cameras/manufacturers, and I am disappointed that Sony did not care. The photo scans I get from this camera are exquisite, but I have begun looking for a different camera for these needs.