Canon devolves

Sort by date Sort by votes
#4
neuroanatomist said:
Or...Canon evolves, and 3rd party developers complain if they can't keep up.
Click to expand...

Canon cameras were VERY popular for astronomy partly because of the remote support, allowing DIY programs to be developed that could interface and control the camera and download images etc.

The other thing is Canons RAW files have historically been RAW, unlike Nikon files which have been meddled with, which for astronomy is a major no no.

Having said that, decent dedicated astro cameras are not the price they once were, so if Canon decides they don't want to play any more I'm sure we'll all survive.
 
Upvote 0
#5
msatter said:
The developer of DSLRcontroller noticed that Canon is making it more difficult to develop stable interaction with the camera.

"Talking to the M3/80D/5DmkIV is a drag. It appears Canon has devolved the protocol - anything unexpected crashes camera. Nice."

https://mobile.twitter.com/ChainfireXDA/status/786594034403778560
Click to expand...

So what you are saying is that if the remote control software gives the wrong command, the camera does not do what you wanted it to do :)

Part of my job is to write software to control satellite ground stations and to write software to log data from the test equipment monitoring that system plus log status from the components of the system.... You have to know what the communications standards are and you have to adhere to them if you want everything to work.... you should also be logging any communications errors..... Step one should be to contact the manufacturer and ask for the remote control programming manual which should list all the available commands.

It is the same for remote controlling a camera. Anything less is the sign of a poor programmer(s). If they can't make it work, then they are the ones having the problem.
 
Upvote 0
#6
Don Haines said:
Anything less is the sign of a poor programmer(s). If they can't make it work, then they are the ones having the problem.
Click to expand...

Don, you apparently missed the part where it's Canon's fault. If you can't make it work, it's always someone else's fault. ;)
 
Upvote 0
#7
neuroanatomist said:
Don Haines said:
Anything less is the sign of a poor programmer(s). If they can't make it work, then they are the ones having the problem.
Click to expand...

Don, you apparently missed the part where it's Canon's fault. If you can't make it work, it's always someone else's fault. ;)
Click to expand...

Funny, isn't it..... always blame someone else.....

The thing is, digital cameras are not a stable mature device, they are improving and new features get added.... this means changes to the remote control coding and eventually, updates to the protocol. The programmer can not assume that just because it worked on the Mark3 that it will work on the Mark4... A command that previously had 2 parameters might now have 3 or 4.....so the camera now sits waiting for the additional parameters while the user of the faulty software assumes that it is broken.....

The fact that you can reliably tether it while using the Canon software is a HUGE indication where the fault lies....
 
Upvote 0
#9
Canon offers SDK (Software Development Kits) That offer access to commands that work for each model. https://www.usa.canon.com/internet/portal/us/home/support/details/cameras/dslr/eos-5d-mark-iii?tab=drivers#Z7_MQH8HIC0L88RB0AMD0F1Q42K25

What is happening is that some are finding undocumented commands and using them in their software. The commands may be undocumented because they were used for testing, and planned to be removed. This is what the whinning is about, using undocumented software commands and finding that in the future they no longer work. If you take advantage of a bug in the software, it may indeed go away at some point.

The other issue is that the SDK may be updated from time to time, adding new commands or changing the way older ones work. The changes are documented and described, so a developer can choose to keep using the older SDK, but on new camera models, there is likely no choice, to support them, the latest SDK must be used. If a software developer adapts the new SDK, he may indeed have to change his software to remove or change features. It happens.
 
Upvote 0
#10
Don and Mt. Spokane make a lot of sense to me.

I'm not expert, but I do know that I've never had a problem with Canon and Adobe playing nicely together. Admittedly, I'm not an early adopter, but it seems like whenever a new camera is released, it's only a matter of days before Adobe has software that works with the camera.

I suspect that's because they cooperate and Adobe doesn't attempt to hack or work-around Canon's core programming.
 
Upvote 0
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

S
Why You Should Stick with Your Canon DSLR and Forget Sony FF Mirrorless
Replies
201
Views
96K
Larsskv
L
Top Bottom
Home
Forums
Media
Menu