One creative maker has come up with a way to control a DSLR camera with a smartphone. Luis Salha called in a Raspberry Pi (opens in new tab) for his DIY solution, dubbed Black Box, which uses Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to communicates with a DSLR camera and control almost all of its settings.
While professional tools already exist on the market that do what Black Box can, Salha proved that you don't necessarily need them to get the job done -- especially if you've got a Pi. In fact, this Pi project features everything you'll need, from a graphical interface to wireless control.
Black Box has a number of features, including wireless DSLR tethering, on-click backup for SD cards and even the ability to stream with Apple Airplay. The project uses two screens—one reserved for the GUI and another for the terminal. Salha hasn't yet confirmed if he developed an app (potentially Android) for his solution, but we do see the GUI functioning on a smartphone.
The GUI uses DDServer to send commands to interface with the DSLR camera. It's an open-source tool that runs on Linux machines and devices (like the Raspberry Pi) that support OpenWrt. You don't even need an outlet, the whole unit is battery-powered.
Salha emphasized in his post that this is still a work in progress. He already has new features in mind though, like an AI algorithm to help the DSLR camera with auto-focus.
If you'd like to see more, check out the full post on Reddit (opens in new tab). You can also follow Salha on Instagram (opens in new tab) for more videos and updates on this creative Pi project.
