The 1.4.1 update includes the following:

• Added support for the Canon Rebel T3 and T3i (600D)
• Added support for the Nikon D5100
• Added the option to not download movies when in video mode (makes it faster to shoot another video)
• Added video mode for no charge to the Pro iPhone version (used to be an in-app purchase)
• Now saves your settings in the intervalometer and bracketing panes during the same session

Important - For this release both the server and client need to be updated and must both be the 1.4.1 version to work together. You can update your DSLR Camera Remote Server app (no charge) on our Support Updates page.

Even More Important for Older Canon Owners

At this point, I'm not sure how long it will take for it to appear in iTunes as something you can buy (or as in the case if you already have version 1.3 on your iPhone or iPod touch, update) but as soon as I hear, I will let you know.

In the past, we've had a couple of questions and answers back and forth with the iTunes app approval people since our app requires the download of a separate app, the DSLR Camera Remote Server, but that shouldn't have a significant impact on anything.

If you are a current user of DSLR Camera Remote 1.3 on your iPhone or iPod touch, you can update to version 1.4 for free. The free update does not include the ability to start, stop and monitor video. That feature can be enabled via an in-app purchase of $9.99.

If you want to add this to your iPad, the DSLR Camera Remote HD application (also version 1.4) is a new purchase (there is no upgrade path from a previous version) for $49.99. The HD version includes the video start, stop and monitor functionality and there is no in-app purchase upgrade option on the version that is specific for the iPad.

Thank you all for your patience. This has taken longer than any of us would have liked, but I think you'll be pretty happy with it!

In the meantime, here's a rundown of what is and is not coming in this new app.

First, DSLR Camera Remote HD has a redesigned interface that takes advantage of the additional screen real estate available on the iPad. There is a much larger preview area, a row that shows thumbnails of recent photos taken, larger controls and a much larger Fire button that should make it easier to take photos.

We've also added gesture controls so you can swipe left or right to scroll through images. Double tap to zoom in and then double tap again to zoom even closer. Once zoomed in, you can touch an image and move it around so you can pan around the image.

New in this version also is an option to save a JPG copy of the image to your iOS device in addition to the copy saved to the memory card and to the computer you are tethered to.

Also, we've added the ability to start and stop recording video on your video capable DSLR from the iPad (and then iPhone and iPod touch which I'll get to in a second). While recording, you also get to preview the video stream on your iOS device.

The new Canon 60D will also be supported. We're hoping to get our recently ordered Nikon D7000 in for testing before we submit this release so we can support it as well, but that one may be supported in a future maintenance release.

We anticipate that the DSLR Camera Remote will be available in the iTunes app store in late November but that date may vary so I will keep everybody posted here on the blog. DSLR Camera Remote HD for the iPad will have a price of $49.99.

For those of you who have previously purchased the original DSLR Camera Remote version 1.x for your iPhone or iPod touch, the following features will be available as a free update (the new version will be version 1.4).

• Gesture controls
• Canon 60D support
• Save JPG to iOS device

To get the video start/stop feature on the iPhone or iPod touch, it will be a $9.99 in-app upgrade purchase option.

No Direct Camera Connection

Many, if not all of you were probably hoping for a direct to camera connection rather than having to go through a computer still. Believe me, we know how much you want this feature - and so do we. Here's why it hasn't happened yet.

Not to make light of the amount of effort that goes into the development of the actual application that runs on the iOS device, because there's a fair amount of work going on there, but a big component of what makes all of this work is the DSLR Camera Remote Server application that runs on the computer the camera is tethered to.

One of the most important things that goes on in the Server is the ability to recognize and then correctly talk to each of the cameras that are supported ((Currently 32 cameras as of 10/31/10.)) How do we do that? We use the software development kits, or SDKs, provided by Canon and Nikon to third party developers like us. Without these SDKs, we would have to guess and/or reverse engineer how to talk to and subsequently control each camera. As you can imagine, that saves a lot of time.

But here's the thing, those SDKs are developed to be used on a Mac OS X or Windows computer. They are not designed to be run on an iOS device. It is a completely different operating system and the currently supplied SDKs won't run on an iPad, iPhone or iPod touch. To do that, we would have to develop it ourselves because, as far as I know, neither Canon nor Nikon have publicly stated that an iOS version of their respective SDKs are either in the works or coming any time soon.

So, for the foreseeable future, I don't see a direct iOS device to camera connection option coming. Trust me, it has nothing to do with whether or not the Apple Camera Connection kit can do more than what Apple says it can do or if there is a USB adapter that could be attached to the end of the Apple 30-pin connector to attach it to your camera.

Think of it this way. You need to give instructions to someone on how to do something over the phone. You dial their phone number and when they answer, you don't say anything. They keep waiting for the instructions, but they never come. So guess what? They don't do anything. Just because you can make a connection, it doesn't, sadly, mean that you can get your message across.

In the mean time, if you're interested in our current solution and method, I would encourage you to give the free version of DSLR Camera Remote a try to see if this is for you. With the free version, you can see exactly how it works and what is required for setup. You'll only be able to fire the camera shutter, but it should give you a good idea and there's no risk.

If it works for  you, great! If not, we thank you for trying it.

1. DSLR Camera Remote will run on the iPad; and
2. Will this will finally let them directly control their camera using our app from the iPad without a computer in between the two

The answer is Yes for number 1 and No for number 2. Here's why.

The iPad is running the iPhone operating system (OS) so our DSLR Camera Remote application runs just fine. As far as our app knows, it doesn't care if it is an iPad, iPhone or an iPod Touch. Because our app was originally designed for the iPhone and iPod Touch, the user interface was designed for the 480 x 320 pixel resolution found on those devices ((iPhone specs from Apple and iPod Touch specs from Apple)). As you well know, the iPad is substantially larger. 1024 x 768 pixels to be exact ((iPad specs from Apple)).

When you sync your iPad with your computer, the DSLR Camera Remote will load just fine and assuming you've got our DSLR Camera Remote Server running and your supported DSLR tethered to that computer, you'll be set. By default, the DSLR Camera Remote application will run in it's smaller user interface. However, you do have the option to go into 2x mode where the interface is automatically scaled up to fill the screen. I'll be honest, I thought it would look bad, but it actually looks okay.

The screen shots below give you an idea of how it looks. Both are full size screen shots taken on an iPad. Note in the lower right hand corner that there labels/buttons for 1x and 2x. Those are not labels for the image, but rather buttons to toggle between 1x and 2x modes. Therefore, on the screen shot of the smaller interface, you'll see 2x which, when tapped, will enlarge the interface to what you see in the second screen shot.

DSLR Camera Remote running on the iPad in 1x mode.

DSLR Camera Remote running on the iPad in 2x mode.

If you click either of these images, you'll see the full 1024 x 768 version to give you a life size idea of how it looks running on the iPad ((In case you're wondering, the person in the photo is Chris Pethick, our VP of Engineering, who shot the photo remotely from the iPad.))

So, that answers question number 1 and you can see that the DSLR Camera Remote as it is today, works just fine on an iPad. Now on to question number 2 - will the iPad allow me to eliminate the computer from the equation and connect the iPad directly to the camera.

The short answer is no, you still need to tether the camera to the computer. The longer answer is that while there is the Apple iPad Camera Connection Kit, it only solves one portion of the connection problem. This adapter neatly solves connecting the iPad to USB to mini USB connection issue, but it doesn't get around how our product was initially designed using the supported software developer kits (or SDKs) that are provided by  Canon and Nikon.

Those SDKs, provided by Canon and Nikon, are only available in a format that runs on a Macintosh or Windows based computer. They are not provided in a programming language that is easily portable to the iPhone OS, the Android OS, etc, etc.. What we did was to embed those SDKs into our DSLR Camera Remote Server and then made sure that we put the code in place to have those SDKs (which are completely different between Canon and Nikon and even between camera models from the same manufacturer) talk seamlessly to the iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch and your tethered camera.

In order to eliminate the computer in the middle from the setup, we either have to wait for Canon or Nikon to make a version of their SDK available that runs on the iPhone OS ((The Canon SDK specifically says that they have no intention of porting their SDK to any programming language other than what they currently provide.)) or we have to recreate it ourselves. This is something we've thought about doing, but obviously isn't something we've started doing yet. I'm not ruling it out, but it's no small undertaking so we aren't taking the effort lightly.

So at the end of the day, for the foreseeable future, you will need to continue to have a laptop or desktop computer running the DSLR Camera Remote Server along with our DSLR Camera Remote app running on your iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch. We know that you want us to get the app to the point where the computer isn't needed and we want the same thing. I just don't know when it will happen. In the meantime, it continues to work as it always has.

The 1.3 update adds support for the following cameras:

• Nikon D3s
• Canon EOS 7D
• Canon EOS 1D MK IV

Additionally, version 1.3 includes some bug fixes including:

• Improved logging to aid in troubleshooting network connectivity issues
• Improved compatibility with the Canon EOS Rebel T1i
• Improved compatibility with Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard
• Simplified using multiple options simultaneously

Please note, this new version 1.3 requires that you download version 1.3 of the DSLR Camera Remote Server as well. The DSLR Camera Remote Server is a free download available on our downloads page.

To get the update, go to your iTunes store or on your iPhone or iPod Touch, choose the App Store application, click on Updates and find DSLR Camera Remote.

In the meantime, I wanted to let you know the final and official list of DSLR cameras supported in the 1.1 release, so here's the list broken down by camera manufacturer. You'll note some supported features such as LiveView, Bulb Mode and Burst Mode are listed per camera as well. You'll see quickly that not all features are available on all cameras. This is due to a lack of support in the camera manufacturer's SDK or a physical limitation in the camera itself.

Supported Canon Cameras

Supported Nikon Cameras

So there you have it, the full list of supported cameras in the upcoming DSLR Camera Remote for iPhone app version 1.1. Whether you get the Lite version that only triggers the camera shutter or the Professional Edition which does so much more, the supported camera list is the same. The final feature list will be posted next.

The 1.1 update to our DSLR Camera Remote app for the iPhone is not yet completed. We haven't slowed down working on it and we won't until it's completed. We're estimating 2 more days of testing and bug fixing before we submit it to the iTunes App Store which means it should be submitted this week if we don't find any other show-stopping bugs. For those of you who have read Rob Galbraith's review of a pre-release beta version of the upcoming 1.1 update, please note that it is just that. A pre-release beta. As such, if you're looking for it on our website or in the iTunes App Store, you're not going to find it because we haven't finalized it yet.

I suspect many of you are asking "What's been slowing you guys down from your previous mid-July release statement?" The answer is that we're working with two completely different software development kits (SDKs) that each have their own nuances. Whenever we implement a new feature for one camera platform (Canon for example), we have to start over on the second camera platform (Nikon for example). Some of the code can be copied & pasted, but not all. Add in that for each different camera body, each SDK treats each camera a little bit differently so a feature we implement might work on several of the cameras, but not on another and we have to stop and figure that out. I'm not making any excuses, just providing some context.

I'm pretty sure that you would agree with us that it is better to wait a few extra days to get it right than to release it, have you get it and find that it's not working and then make you wait to get another update. That doesn't benefit anybody. It's inefficient for us and extremely frustrating for you.

Thank you for your patience and understanding. I'll be posting a complete list of the new features that have made it into version 1.1 later today.