DSLR Camera Settings

While you can always change settings directly on your external camera, Snapspin360 also allows you to change most of the camera's settings from in the app too. This is for both convenience and flexibility.

If you decide you set the camera settings in the app, the app will also save the settings so that each time you use the app, you can be sure that your desired settings will be used.

This page in the app allows you to adjust the camera settings. There are 5 tabs to control different categories of settings, which are all detailed below. The screenshot above shows the Image tab selected, which is where you can change the settings affecting how the image comes out.

The Image settings are divided into two sections, Capture Settings and Live Preview Settings. By default, Snapspin360 will use the same settings for capture and live preview. If you scroll down to the Live Preview Settings section, you can deselect the Use Capture Settings toggle to specify different settings for the live preview. This is useful when using a flash if there isn't enough light to see the live preview when the flash isn't on. The app will then apply the settings chosen in the Capture Settings or Live Preview Settings as needed.

Because the settings that are currently applied to the camera can be different depending on what's happening in the app, there is a Current column (labelled 1 in the screenshot above) that shows the value currently set on the camera. The value that is currently set may be different from the value you have selected in the app, depending on if the app is currently showing the live preview, or capturing.

The button labelled 2 in the screenshot above shows the currently selected value for this setting. Tapping the button will allow you to choose a different value. When Default is selected, that means the camera should just use the current value that is set. The app won't change this setting when applying the settings.

Not all cameras allow changing all the settings, and some settings can only be changed when the camera is in a specific mode. For example, most cameras will not let you change the ISO if the camera is on Auto mode. For the most control, ensure the camera is in the Manual mode (M on the mode dial). If the selection button does not have an outline, then that setting can't be changed in the current camera mode.

General

Live Preview Rotation

You can use these buttons to rotate the image by 90° clockwise or anticlockwise.

Mirror Live Preview

When enabled, the image will be mirrored horizontally. Enable this option when the subject being captured can see themselves while interacting with the screen, and disable it when they can't (for example, when roaming).

Image

Three settings that will have the biggest effect on the outcome of your image: ISO, Shutter Speed, and Aperture. The easiest way to manage them is to put your camera on Auto. In this mode, it will automatically select the best value for these 3 settings based on the environment.

You may need more fine-grained control over this though, and understanding how these 3 settings work together is important. Each setting has a tradeoff, or a negative effect for setting it too high, so you will need to adjust all 3 together to find the optimal settings.

The Image settings tab allows you to change these settings, as well as a few others. This article gives a basic description of each setting, but you should look for additional material in order to fully understand how these settings all work together.

Auto Focus During Countdown

Enable this option to trigger a single autofocus operation when the countdown starts. The camera will attempt to obtain focus, and then stop autofocusing.

Auto Focus During Capture

Enable this option to trigger a single autofocus operation after the countdown ends, right before capturing the image. The camera will attempt to obtain focus, and then stop autofocusing, and then trigger an image capture.

ISO

This setting affects the brightness of the image. The higher the ISO value, the brighter the image. This comes at a tradeoff though, as high ISO values can cause the image to become grainy, or noisy.

Aperture

The aperture is the opening in the camera lens that allows light to enter the camera's sensor. The aperture value controls the size of this opening, where higher aperture values correspond to a smaller opening. This means that the lower the aperture is, the more light can enter the sensor.

More light means a brighter image, the tradeoff here is that the wider the aperture is, the shallower the depth of field is. This makes it harder to keep everything in focus with low aperture values. You generally want to keep everything in focus by using a smaller aperture, but using a wider aperture can also create a pleasing bokeh effect, where only the subject is in focus.

Shutter Speed

This controls how long the shutter stays open for. This option is specified in seconds, meaning the higher the value, the longer the shutter stays open for. When the shutter is open for longer, it allows more light to enter the sensor. As with aperture, more light means a brighter image. The tradeoff this time is that when the shutter is open for longer periods, the image will become blurry if the subject is moving. Keeping the shutter speed open for long periods (more than 5-10 seconds) can be done to achieve a "light painting" effect.

Exposure Compensation

This is useful when using automatic ISO/shutter speed. It allows you to adjust the brightness of the image, even though the camera is on Auto.

White Balance

This affects the color temperature of the image.

Config

Auto Exposure Mode

The camera's current mode (Manual, Auto, Aperture Priority [A/Av], Shutter Priority [S/Tv], etc). Most cameras don't allow the app to change this, it needs to be changed using the shooting mode dial on the camera.

Focus Mode

The camera's focus mode. Most cameras won't allow the app to change this value, there is normally a toggle on the camera's lens to change this.

AF System

This controls how the camera adjusts focus when using autofocus. Common values for this are Face Detection, Quick Focus, and FlexiZone Single. Refer to your camera's manual for more details.

Image Quality

This controls the camera's image quality setting. Most cameras don't allow the app to change this setting.

Noise Reduction

This controls the camera's noise reduction setting. Most cameras don't allow the app to change this setting.

Color Tone

This controls the camera's color tone setting. Most cameras don't allow the app to change this setting.

Info

The settings in this category aren't adjustable, they just provide information about the camera.

Power Source

Shows the camera's current power source (battery/AC adapter).

Battery Level

Shows how much charge is left in the battery.

Shots Available

Shows how many more images can be captured on the memory card with the camera's current settings.

Compatibility

Reset Camera Settings to Default

This will restore any settings you have changed to their default setting. Note that this won't change any settings on the camera, it will only tell the app to revert back to its default values. By default, the app is set to not update any camera settings, and instead use the settings that the camera currently has set. This gives you an opportunity to use the camera to set the desired settings instead of the app.

Keep Live Preview Running

To reduce the amount of time waiting for the camera's live preview to start, you can enable this option. This will use up the charge in the battery faster. It may also cause the camera to overheat in warmer environments, or when shooting outside in direct sunlight.

Capture Delay After Focus

Some cameras will refuse to capture an image if the camera isn't currently focused, or is busy focusing. If this happens frequently, you can increase this value to cause the camera to wait for the specified delay before capturing.

Capture Timeout

Some cameras can take longer to capture images. This setting lets the app know how long it should wait after capturing an image before giving up with a timeout error. If your camera captures fast enough, you can decrease this to improve waiting times when a camera is unable to capture due to not being in focus.

When doing long exposure or light painting, you will want to increase this slider to stop the app from timing out too early.

Recording Speed Multiplier

Some cameras (especially Canon cameras) don't record slow-motion videos properly.

For example, when recording a 5-second video at 120 fps, the camera will slow the video down by 4x when saving it. This means it will save the video as a 20-second video at 120 fps, instead of a 5-second video at 120 fps.

In order for VideoFX to process this video properly, it needs to know what the actual duration is. In this case, you will need to choose the 4x Recording Speed Multiplier to reverse the 4x slow down applied by the camera.