| For a long time I refused to start a list about third-party manufacturers' camera accessories. Although I'm all ears open when it comes to reasonably priced alternatives to the original Canon products, I also prefer to buy Canon and only Canon, because their stuff simply works most flawlessly, is durable and looks the best (most important ;D). There are some exceptions, but that's pretty much it. So, since there is a whole myriad of aftermarket accessories like especially remote shutter releases and battery packs and grips, mostly useless duplicates of each other, I managed to ignore all of them for 5 years. But I can't resist any longer. The selection below will always follow the attitude outlined above, plus "Don't deal with bullshit." I will successfully continue to ignore most of it, only to settle down for an exception from time to time. So if stuff really made it on this list, it's really worth to check it out. |
| Table of Contents |
| Camera Calibration & Measurements |
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Delkin Sensor Scope and Digital Duster (2006) is a check and cleanining set for your DSLR image sensor. The Scope is a loupe with 5x magnification and lighting LEDs built in to locate dirt or scratches on the sensor surface (or in most cases just the UV filter infront of it). It usually ships together in a case further containing Sensor Vac (vacuum cleaner), Sensor Wands and Sensor Solution (cleaning fluid to be used with the wands), which make up the Digital Duster package. The Scope doesn't really mount to the camera, it just sits on the mount's rim. The flange focal distance of the loupe is calculated to fit Canon EOS (44.00 mm) and Nikon (46.50 mm) mounts. Technical Specifications are as follows:
 A quite positive review is available at Luminous Landscape. |
Denz-Deniz King Peter (2016) is a computer aided laser measurement system to evaluate the correct positioning of the camera's sensor relative to the image plane - the exact center (measuring any shift), rotation around the optical axis or deviation of the sensor (measuring any tilt). King Peter is not dedicated to Canon EF or any other mount as is, instead the system consists of the sensor positioning gauge and a massive flange adapter, together with the control unit. Technical Specifications are as follows:
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Denz-Deniz FDC multi (?) is a flange focal depth measurement system to evaluate the exact flange focal distance of the camera sensor in relation to the lens mount, which allows you to determine the amount of correction required (e.g. using shims) to reach the ideal flange focal distance. The system is primarily equipped with a PL mount, but can be adapted to Canon EF and other systems as well. An FDC multi S is available as well, which is dedicated to NIR sensor systems. Technical Specifications are as follows:
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| AF Assist Lights |
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YongNuo YN12AF AF-assistant (2014) is the first ever available stand-alone AF assist light available for Canon SLRs.
*If used ontop of radio triggers, this function requires full TTL pass-through. The device itself does not feature a switch. |
In case you are into applications requiring radio triggers anyway, there are also a few models with AF assist lights integrated. Refer to Speedlites > Radio Triggers for more information. |
| Advanced Remote Control |
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The following tools are intended to be used as follow focus systems for video applications. They are connecting via USB directly with the camera. The clue here is, since they control the camera via USB, they can also control other camera functions than just focus, which makes them useful for still photography as well. You will most likely not want to use such a unit for travel photography, but in certain situations, especially studio and table-top photography, where you can mount the camera to a tripod and even connect it to a computer for remote monitoring and control, you might consider these a nice add-on. I would. It's simply not the same to control functions via software and mouse or by the help of a physical unit with a turning knob and some buttons on it. |
  Aputure V-Control UFC-1 (2012) is the most affordable of its kind up to date.
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CamFi Remote Camera Controller (2015) is a WiFi transmitter. It allows full remote control as well as it serves as wireless view finder. Supported are Android and iOS devices as well as Windows and Mac OS machines.
CamFi Matrix (2017) is a companion freeware package for CamFi remote units, which allows to control multiple cameras simultaneous via Wifi or Lan, given that each camera is equipped with its own CamFi unit. |
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Cinematics USB Focus Controller (2011) and 3D Focus Controller
*There is a review available at DSLR News Shooter outlining some differences. |
PrimeCircle K-Circle (~2015) is another more advanced wireless USB camera remote controller aiming at cine geeks.
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Okii Systems FC1 (2011) was the original one, the first of its kind on the market. It looks a bit like the Birger controller.
Patima also offers the FC1 in a package with an underwater housing as accessory to their Canon EOS 5D Mark III cine housing. Refer to System Cameras > Accessories > Underwater Housings for details. *It seems like there was some kind of firmware upgrade since the first release. The original Okii specs do not mention the 5D III, but recent shop listings do. Looking at the 5D III issue of the Aputure controller (not yet supported ...) supports the impression of a differing USB protocol. The Cinematics review at DSLR News Shooter supports that idea as well. **Lock-up problems are reported for Canon EOS 7D using Tokina lenses, if the focus command rate is set higher than the lens can actually focus. |
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Sevenoak USB Focus Controller SK-F01E (2011)
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More USB Focus Controllers:
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| Sensor Triggered Shutter Releases |
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AEO Photo (Adams Electro-Optics Photo, 2009) started with a series of rather simple light sensor triggers. The MT models are little more advanced light and motion triggers and in 2012 AEO is going to add an EMF trigger as well. There really is no science factor here: Just mount one of the sensors to the camera's hot shoe (or tripod nearby) and connect it via cable to the remote release port of the camera. System ready. Model History:
Technical Specifications:
The following reviews are available: John Birch on the original Strike!, Ben Neumann on the Strike! II and Tom Redd on the Strike! Pro |
Camtraptions launched their PIR Motion Sensor (2014), a complete module to be wired directly to the camera using the Canon's N3 or E3 remote port. The units are powered with 6 AA cells. While with the first version of the units (black painted case) the batteries lasted over a period of a month, with the 2017's version (olive green housing) that could be extended to approx. 3 months. |
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FlagHead Photographic introduced the TriggerSmart (SabreSwitch 2012), an out-of-the-box remote shutter release system triggered by sensors for sound, light intensity, movement or by an infrared beam. The release lag is short enough to use the sound trigger mode to shoot gun shots and their results. With the help of the MCT-1 control unit you can adjust sensitivity of the sensors and delay of shutter release. It's also possible to connect and trigger secondary photo equipment like more flashguns, a backup camera, photofloods etc.. Modules & Parts:
Technical Specifications:
Read a review at ePhotozine.com. |
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Hähnel released the Captur (2015), a modulary 2.4GHz radio flash trigger and event triggered shutter release system. Modules:
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Mumford Micro Systems' The Time Machine (2001) "[...] is a programmable intervalometer/controller for unattended, triggered, high speed and time lapse photography. It responds to a variety of input sensors, calculates a variety of delays and sequences and provides outputs. Inputs may be sound, light, motion or electrical signals." (bmumford.com) The Moco Time Machine "[...] is a special version of The Time Machine made for motion control applications. It contains most of the functions of the "standard" Time Machine, but adds expanded features for motion control projects. [...] The standard Time Machine is limited to 256 motor steps per frame. The Moco Time Machine supports up to 9,999 motor steps per exposure, with smooth ramping up and down." (bmumford.com) That said, the system is pretty comprehensive with its choice of 2 central control units (see above, in the following abbreviated to TTM), a wide range of sensor types and further accessories (see below). Sensors:
Accessories:*
Technical Specifications:
*The Canon specific IR Emitter being available emulates the Canon WL-DC100 (for Canon PowerShot G series, Pro 90IS, S60, S70 ...) and will not work with Canon EOS cameras. |
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Nero Trigger (2013) is an all in one solution offered by Eron Elektronik, Bilgisayar ve Yazilim San. Tic. Ltd. Sti. located in Istanbul (Turkey). responding to sound, light and laser, additionally providing timelapse and HDR modes as well as a port to plug-in your own sensors or event triggers. Technical Specifications:
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Patchmaster is another company offering plug 'n play event triggers. Models and Parts:
Common Technical Specifications:
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Stepping Stone Lightning Trigger (1998) seems to be the oldest solution. Like the AEO Photo Strikes! it's a very simple device to plug onto the camera or a nearby tripod, connected to the camera via remote shutter control port. Triggers at lightnings, fireworks, flash strobes, IR bursts etc.. Technical Specifications:
There seems to be a huge number of reviews, see a list here. Didn't check all of them. However, find one at Luminous Landscape. |
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Ubertronix ... what a freaking great company name :D. They offer the StrikeFinder triggers, including a StrikeFinder App for iOS 4.0+. So, theoretically, if you were into hacking, you might even be able to turn any iOS driven mobile camera into a remote shutter release trigger, depending on the resulting lag ... I don't have a clue. Well, back to the facts :P. Same simple setup like many of the other triggers above - mount to camera hot shoe or tripod nearby, plug in the dedicated camera remote cable and there you go. Models and Parts:
Common Technical Specifications:
More Models:
*Light barrier break triggering, no laser included. |
More Sensor Triggered Shutter Releases:
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| Geotagging Solutions |
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Early Innovations GPSPhotoLinker (since 2004) std. version is a popular piece of freeware for Mac OS. You take whatever GPS device you have available, that can export GPX or TCX tracking files (or have your unit's format converted to by using GPSBabel, another freeware available for Win, Mac and Linux). GPSPhotoLinker reads the time of creation from the pictures and then adds the proper GPS data from the track file to the EXIFs. RAW, JPG and TIFF picture formats are supported. For Windows check out GeoSetter (since 2007). |
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GiSTEQ PhotoTrackr Mini DPL900 does not require any connection to the camera. It continuously records time and position. The GPS data is written into the EXIFs after uploading the pictures and the GPS data to a PC or Mac using the included PhotoTrackr software. To get correct results, the camera clock necessarily needs to be synchronized with the PT's clock. Technical Specifications:
The older PhotoTrackrs DPL700, CD110BT and CD111 work similarly, but I can't find complete specs. The CD110BT somehow adds Bluetooth, not sure for what function exactly. The DPL700 runs on a single AA battery (22 hours), where the CD units both feature a built-in rechargeable. Known Issues: The standard software only works with JPG files. For tagging RAW files you'll need to buy the Pro version. Compatible are EOS D2000, D30, D60, 300D, 350D, 400D, 10D, 20D, 30D, 40D, 50D, 60D, 7D, 1D Mark II /N /III, 1Ds Mark II /III, 5D Mk I /II RAW files (as of 2012-09-28). To update the units firmware, also the Pro version is required. If you buy this used, take care you get the corresponding old software package, because newer versions will refuse to work until you update the firmware. At least the older versions of the software are also reported to require the installation files kept on the computer in order to run. *The specs say "2MB [...] 16 bytes binary data per record that stores up to 250K", well ... 2MB = 2097152 byte : 16 = 131072 positions. PT can be set up to record positions up to every single second (131072 positions = 36h 24min 30sec, max. interval is 30mins) or every 2 meters. |
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Jobo PhotoGPS (2008) seems to be the only device available, which mounts to and is triggered via hot shoe (X contact, thus working with all the EOS cameras not yet compatible with the Canon GPS modules). It records the time and position of every shot and merges the data into the EXIF files of the pictures, when both pictures and GPS data are uploaded to a PC or Mac. There are 2 versions. The original one is the plain black one (#GPS001, released in 2008). The advanced one features a more refined design (#GPS512). It's selling as PhotoGPS 4, but is actually not labeled accordingly. Technical Specifications:
Known Issues:
2) To transmit the GPS data to the EXIFs you need to be connected to the internet and to the Jobo servers. I actually don't fully get the hows and whats, but the PhotoGPS will download some required data from a Jobo server. That means the whole story only works as long as Jobo exists and runs this server. 3) The units don't work on open water locations (oceans). 4) The servers, that provide the GPS data conversion index (the system seems to work like IP/DNS), were shut down at the end of 2015. Jobo is unable to provide a fix for this situation and thus the units will no longer work. |
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Just in case you do use your camera with a WFT unit*: Dawntech's di-GPS USB physically mounts to the hot shoe and connects via USB to the WFT. The GPS data is directly stored in the EXIFs. Technical Specifications:
*Note: Only WFT-E2 to E5 and E7 will do. The WFT-E1 and E6 don't feature a USB port. **Also have a look at this discussion at DPreview. It implies the use of various GPS units via WFT and Bluetooth instead of USB. The Kensington micro USB Bluetooth 2.0 for example is reported to work and extremely small. However, none of those solutions are covered in the GPS unit's manuals or manufacturer's descriptions. |
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More Geo Taggers:
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| Image Stabilizer |
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SteadXP+ (announced for 10.2016) is the first ever external unit to help stabilizing hand-held footage. The units are of approximate size of a Canon ST-E3 and as well can be mounted to the camera's hotshoe. The working principle differs from traditional built-in IS systems. It does not 'stabilize' the camera, but records the movements of the camera during the shot to a file. After uploading both the video and motion data files to a computer, the supplied software will evaluate the movements and apply changes to the video frames accordingly to smoothen shaking effects. Currently the units are available via Kickstarter campaign, which means they are not yet ready to be produced or shipped. The supplied demonstration videos look very promising so far. Due to the nature of the working principle the SteadXP is not applicable to still image photography, but clearly targeted at video recording. Technical Specifications:
Dan Chung published a detailed review of a SteadXP prototype. *SteadXP is offered in 2 different versions. SteadXP@ is only compatible with GoPro Hero 2, 3, 3+ and 4. SteadXP+ is for all other cameras. |
| Sound Blimps |
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Sound Blimps are extra housings similar to camera armor, but instead of protecting from shock their job is to reduce noise polution emitted from the camera body - mainly caused by the shutter and mirror movements. Just a quick selection:
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| Wireless HD Video Transmission Over HDMI or SDI |
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With the release of the Crystal Video CVW 100 some blogs started to rave about an affordable wireless HD video transmission solution, which made me look into its field as well and add some here. At the end, looking at price tags, I can't find the 'affordable' part. Indeed cables can be a pain in the ass, but on the other hand they turn out to be a bargain compared to radio systems. But ... as with some other cool stuff collected all over the Technoclopedia, there is still a good point to considering radio technology. In this case it's not the price at all, but transmission distance. And last but not least it again all depends on the point of view. If you look at a set of Anton Bauer Gold Spectrums throwing in a ridiculous 23000$ per set while not even offering an HDMI option, the selection below is almost a gift. Still the so much hyped Crystal Video units rather aren't the most affordable choice, nor are the choices within the same price range that new. Note: If not otherwise specified, the listed systems support full 1080p 60Hz HD video with data being transmitted uncompressed. |
Bon Electronics SDI Wireless Transmitter BW-100ST + Receiver BW-100SR (2012)
Besides the BW-100S system Bon also offers the BW-100M (HDMI only, 127.5 x 90 x 26.6mm, 470g, DV battery mount only) and the BW-100SV (152.2 x 90 x 42.2mm, 1020g, V-mount battery only). The BW-100M goes for approx. 1600€, the S and DV systems almost double the price. |
CMR Radian Pro and Radian MC (2013) CMR is the shorty for Camera Motion Research.
Pricing: A set of Radian Pro comes for 850$, pay 1150$ for a basic MC set of transmitter and receiver. |
Crystal Video CVW 100 (2014)
Crystal Video CVW Pro 300 (2014)
As for the price tag, the units are not yet available in stores. Rumours claim a final price at around 1100$ for the CVW 100. The CVW Pro 300 was advertised at Photokina 2014 and isn't even present at their homepage at the moment. |
IDX Cam~Wave CW-1 (2012)
The IDX CW-1 is one of the cheapest wireless transmission systems available with only 740$ a pair. But you will not achieve 1080p60 and the battery adapters are extra, too. Further available are the IDX Cam~Wave CW-3 (2014, 3G-SDI), Cam~Wave CW-5HD and -7 (2008 resp. 2013, HD-SDI) and Cam~Wave CW-F25 (2015, H.264 3G-SDI) systems. |
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Marshall Electronics WP-1C and WP-2C (2013 ?)
The dongle transmitter sets sell for around 800$. For the belt version sets add another 100$. |
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Nyrius Aries Pro (2013 ?) are the real cheapos with all the usual pros and cons - the pros primarily to find at its price and the cons mainly to look for at quality issues and feature limitations. The units are made for home use only (e.g. PC to TV video signal streaming), but are reported to work as HDMI transmitters with for example the EOS 5D Mark II or other semiprofessional cameras as well. At least according to some available forum postings a lot of people seem to experience harsh quality issues with their samples, where others do not. This would mean you probably first need to track down a well working set before taking it into production. See Blackmagic Forum and DSLR Film Noob to get a picture. After all it seems worth it, since even after a later upgrade to the Paralinx Arrow the Aries Pro can still be used in one set (reported to be compatible).
The Nyrius Aries Pro is on offer for something around 250$ a pair. |
Paralinx Ace (2015) is the successor of the Arrow (see below). Housings are made of aluminum and ABS.
In 2016 the Ace was updated with a 2pin Lemo power connector and optimized chassis. Paralinx Arrow (2012) consisted of the Arrow PX888T(ransmitter) and PX888R(eceiver). The original units did already share most of the features of its successor - the Arrow+. Paralinx Arrow Plus (2013): A notable difference between the Arrow and the Arrow Plus resulted from the use of superior electronic parts, which then allowed to couple multiple receivers to each transmitter.
Paralinx' Arrow-X (2014) again pushes a few steps forward and presents the professional version in the Arrow line.
Paralinx' Triton 1:1 (2015).
The Paralinx Arrow Plus sells for approx. 1100$ a pair, the Triton's MSRP is close to 1400$. The Arrow-X basic system already hits the 4k mark and additionally requires power cables, battery plates, antennas and other options. The Arrow-X is also available for SDI input. The Arrow and Arrow Plus can only be used for SDI input with a SDI-HDMI converter like the Paralinx Crossbow. And of course we got the Tomahawks (600m range and more using special antennas) for HDMI and SDI each exceeding the 7k mark. Just to provide a little completeness for this entry. |
Teradek Beam (2014)
Teradek Bolt Pro 2000 (1st Generation 2012/2013)
Teradek Bolt Pro 300, 600 and 2000 (2nd Generation 2014)
Teradek Bolt Pro 500, 1000 and 3000 (3rd Generation 2016)
Teradek Bolt 4K series (4rd Generation 2019)
As of late 2014 the still available 1st gen. Bolt HDMI [810] was the cheapest of the Teradek systems selling for approx. 1600$ a pair, followed by the Pro HDMI [830] for 2000$ and the Pro SDI [730] for 2500$. To pair up a transmitter with a receiver you need to connect both via USB to a computer running the Teradek Bolt Manager. |
Transvideo Titan (~2002) sets consist of a Titan Tx and a Titan Rx. Reading between the lines of user comments available online they made up the earliest generation of wireless video transmission devices by means of usability, reliability and pricing.
Transvideo Titan HD (~2007)
An additional type of transmitter with extended functionallity - the TitanHD Tx 3DView - has been released as well. It can transmit stereoscopic imagery (lossless like the original system) at the cost of analog audio (SDI-embedded still supported), higher weight (1630g), size and power consumption (32W). Transvideo Titan HD2 (2016)
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Wicam Cypress HD (2015) is a full remote video control system, not only made of a video signal transmitter and receiver, but also incorporating a wireless 7" monitor.
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More Wireless HD Video Transmission Systems:
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