New Android Pocket 4k control app (testers wanted)

I launched my Pocket 4k camera control app on Google Play last week. It's been in the works for a while so I'm excited for people to give it a try.

I'd like to give out access to a few forum users to test it out and give me feedback. I'll add the first four people who respond here to the Alpha testing track in Google Play. I just need your google account email address.

I would really love someone with an USRA Mini Pro to test it out as I don't have one. At least one person that has one will be prioritized on the list. I also need someone with a Power Zoom lens to test the zoom functionality. I blew all my money on a Panasonic 12-35mm f2.8 to test the focus.

The app works with Android devices running Marshmallow and up.

Some of the features of the app... Start stop recording. Adjust all exposure controls. Zoom, Pull focus and rack focus with selectable points. Change recording codec and resolution and more. I'm trying keep the user experience very similar to the the Blackmagic OS so it feels familiar.

I really made this for myself but I'm looking forward to making it into a great tool for everyone to use. I made a 3d printed phone holder that clamps onto my Movi M10 so I can tweak settings on the fly. Trying to poke at the rear screen while it was on the gimbal was getting old.

I'm also looking at Wear OS compatibility. Dug up my old Moto 360 but I'm not sure it's up to the task.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... icwireless

Bump for visibility. Post was in approval limbo.

I'm very interested, as I'm not a fan of Apple. I'm not a fan of Google, either, but I picked my poison.

Is there a possibility to have A-B-C focus marks with electronic lenes?

Something to program the focus pull speed etc to make running with electronic lenses on a budget a possibility?

Would be great if they added the functionality in camera also, I know the gh5 range has it.

Hi, thanks for this Derek An idea has cone up lately. To use a USB or SD cards WiFi dongle to present a live view of the camera shot (compressed of course) on a camera phone, as a tiltable external monitor. Is it possible to enable this through an app, or through a HDMI to WiFi dongle? Which would give your app a display mode, and also the possibility of external incremental backup. Which is all worth something.

Thanks.

I'm interested in this app, I'll test it! Thank you!

Derek, I have an URSA mini pro with the canon 18-80 cinezoom. I could test it for you. I'll message you my email.

I have a question for you. What protocol does the pocket 4k use to start/stop recording? Is it the same as canon for shutter release?
I want to be able to shoulder mount my camera on top of my shoulder with a zacuto recoil and use a physical push button (not phone) bluetooth remote to trigger recording. They have them for canon, but I wonder if it will work or not.

Is there a possibility to have A-B-C focus marks with electronic lenes?
Something to program the focus pull speed etc to make running with electronic lenses on a budget a possibility?

The focus page of the app has this, but only A<->B settings not a third one. I could add that if it would be useful.

To use a USB or SD cards WiFi dongle to present a live view of the camera shot (compressed of course) on a camera phone, as a tiltable external monitor.

Highly unlikely as the date being written to the card is massive it would have to process or transfer that data incredibly fast. I'd suggest going with a wireless HDMI setup.

I have a question for you. What protocol does the pocket 4k use to start/stop recording? Is it the same as canon for shutter release?
I want to be able to shoulder mount my camera on top of my shoulder with a zacuto recoil and use a physical push button (not phone) bluetooth remote to trigger recording. They have them for canon, but I wonder if it will work or not.

I used to shoot on a 5D mk3 with ML raw. I used a remote shutter cable to trigger recording and it was nothing more than a simple switch so I assume you're talking about the same thing. The Pocket4k and UMP have a control protocol that is available via BT LE so it's sadly much more complicated than a switch.

I'm going to add anyone who has PM'ed me their google email address to the app alpha channel now.

I bought the app. The rack focus is very good. the application interface is also very nice. Thank you.

Blackmagic pocket 4k & olympus 12-40mm

purchased. quite a few things not working right on my Note 9

To use a USB or SD cards WiFi dongle to present a live view of the camera shot (compressed of course) on a camera phone, as a tiltable external monitor.

Highly unlikely as the date being written to the card is massive it would have to process or transfer that data incredibly fast. I'd suggest going with a wireless HDMI setup

I think you misunderstood me. I'm talking about a compressed file, a proxy even for a primitive view for framing and lighting/colour/focus points magnified area if possible). It's not a file dump to the card, but card as device, however if a proxy could he saved to card and read remotely, that would also do. Very little data.

I think you misunderstood me. I'm talking about a compressed file, a proxy even for a primitive view for framing and lighting/colour/focus points magnified area if possible). It's not a file dump to the card, but card as device, however if a proxy could he saved to card and read remotely, that would also do. Very little data.

So the camera would have to be set to Prores proxy quality all the time? Hardware as small as a memory card wouldn't have the power to do any type of transcoding.

I see. The ability to do a separate proxy on maybe the display data. But as you have not heard of such functionality and everybody has discovered everything, maybe it doesn't exist.

A suggestion and a question.

Please could you change the order of the pages. It would be helpful if the page with the iris and iso control is next to the page with the focus control because these are parameters that often need to be changed. At present it is necessary to scroll past the other two pages (containing parameters that need changing much less frequently). This would improve usability.

The app is working better thank I expected. I was not really sure what to expect with focus and zoom. Focus works well but zoom doesn't. What kind of lens is required to enable zoom (I am using a Lumix 12 to 35 II)?

Thank you for your good work

A suggestion and a question.

Please could you change the order of the pages. It would be helpful if the page with the iris and iso control is next to the page with the focus control because these are parameters that often need to be changed. At present it is necessary to scroll past the other two pages (containing parameters that need changing much less frequently). This would improve usability.

The app is working better thank I expected. I was not really sure what to expect with focus and zoom. Focus works well but zoom doesn't. What kind of lens is required to enable zoom (I am using a Lumix 12 to 35 II)?

Thank you for your good work

Thanks for the feedback! That's a good idea!

There are some small power zoom lenses out there. They are labeled PZ usually. One example is the Lumix G X Vario PZ 45-175mm. I don't own one but I added it to the app in case someone out there does.

Thanks Derek, that is good thing to do, thinking of others.

Love this app.

The focus raking is great, but unfortunately, if I autofocus at one object, then store the value (the focus distance box shows it correctly) and then I autofocus to another object and store that value again to the other point, the raking does not work as expected. When I focus manually using the slider, it works.

I think it should be simple to fix as the focus distance indicator works correctly in both cases.

Love this app.

The focus raking is great, but unfortunately, if I autofocus at one object, then store the value (the focus distance box shows it correctly) and then I autofocus to another object and store that value again to the other point, the raking does not work as expected. When I focus manually using the slider, it works.

I think it should be simple to fix as the focus distance indicator works correctly in both cases.

Hrmm. I'll look into that asap. Maybe something changed in a firmware update that I did not test.

Thanks for the feedback!

Just purchased the app as it seems like a great tool for remote control of the Pocket!

However, I haven't been able to get past the "looking for camera" screen. Bluetooth connection is established, both the camera and my phone (Xperia XZ Premium) show the connection. But when I open the app, it never "discovers" the camera.

I cleared and reset the connection several times, checked and unchecked "share contacts" in the BT options, rebooted both the phone and the camera and nothing seems to work. The Bluetooth connection with is always successful and quick, but it doesn't seem to work for the app...

Any ideas?

Hey folks, I am interested in a link to any kind of information regarding how to use the rack focusing feature. If you have got it, please flaunt it.

App works great by the way. Thanks Derek!

Thanks all!

Hi Derek

A few more thoughts, having used the app for longer.

I discovered that the quickest way to move between pages is the menu at the top right of the page. So the order of pages is not quite so important.

If it could be made possible to customise views this would be most welcome, although I appreciate this may be difficult.

There are some buttons which I am never going to access via the app eg changing the selected media. So for me they are wasted space.

And there are some that I would like be able to access but cannot.

In particular I have two of the three preset buttons on the camera configured to false colour and to peaking. I wonder if it would be possible to make the camera preset buttons available on all of the screens in place of the select media buttons, as an option? Or two of them at least.

Another idea. Would it be possible to be able to lock buttons by pressing on them for three seconds. For instance it is very easy to accidentally change settings such as the shutter angle when adjusting the iris (in fact the shutter angle is another button that I don't really need in the app - but I realise it may be useful to other people). Or perhaps have a global toggle for locked/unlocked and to be able to unlock the buttons that you are expecting to use by pressing them for three seconds (and for them to stay unlocked until you press for three seconds again or use the global toggle switch)?

Overall it would be good to be able to configure the app so that the most-used parameters are clustered together at one end of the menu and the least-used parameters are at the other end.

Please take these as suggestions rather than complaints. It is a very useful app as it is

Has anyone tried this app on the Ursa Mini Pro 4.6K?

Anyone using it on a moto g6?

Thanks

Has anyone tried this app on the Ursa Mini Pro 4.6K?

Interested in that answer, too