Page 92 - Photoshop User December 2016

REVIEWS › › Triggertrap
iOS Device Creates Time Lapses and More
Review by Erik Vlietinck
Using an iOS device to trigger your DSLR is a tempting idea but, as it turns out, not straightforward to implement. The Triggertrap system lets you use an iPhone or iPad to control the shutter button, create time lapses, HDR image series, bulb ramping, and sensor-driven photos.
The Triggertrap Mobile Kit consists of a camera-specific cable and a dongle. The dongle translates the app’s com- mands into simple shutter-release commands, while also protecting the iOS device against power surges that a speedlight might generate. The dongle plugs into the head- phone jack of your iOS device. Optional hardware includes a Triggertrap Flash Adapter.
Triggertrap offers two apps: the free Triggertrap Mobile and the Triggertrap Timelapse Pro to create complex time- lapse photography. However, the latter would only fire my Sony A700 at random intervals.
An interesting feature that Triggertrap Mobile offers is TimeWarp, which allows you to create time lapses with a speed curve. You can increase the number of shots at the beginning and end of the sequence by changing the curve. It’s cleverly designed and very easy to use.
Kyno
Simple User Interface to
Speed Up Your Video Workflow Review by Erik Vlietinck
Kyno is a management app for screening video files even while they’re still on recording media. It allows you to create subclips and Excel shot lists, convert footage, and send clips to Final Cut Pro X and Premiere Pro.
The app is optimized for screening video. For example, you can select a drill-down option that lists all the files in any of a selected folder’s subfolders. It’s a handy way to quickly view all the files on camera-recording media.
Kyno offers search capabilities and filters; how- ever, these can’t be saved, and you can’t create Boolean filters. You can batch-rename files using 27 variables, including popular ones such as “folderName” or “take.” In screening mode, you’ll get a large preview and a sidebar containing tabs for metadata, content, subclips and track information. The preview works much the same as in NLEs, but the JKL shortcuts work in a nonstandard way.
While previewing, you can set markers and In/Out 092 points, as well as export the current frame as a JPEG or
There’s a basic bulb-ramp- ing mode as well. Making it work required that I set the camera to its fastest settings,
which included changing a lot of menu options. Some sensor modes don’t work well either. The interface is well designed and user-friendly enough, but sensors sometimes act in unex- pected ways or the app is too slow, making this sort of pho- tography a frustration instead of a pleasure.
Triggertrap also supports LE HDR (Long Exposure High Dynamic Range), a basic version of remote-controlled HDR shooting. It allows you to take a set number of shots at differ- ent exposure lengths. Triggertrap’s LE HDR requires the cam- era to be in bulb mode, which means it will only work well with exposures above 1/15. ■
Company: TriggertrapLtd. Rating: ◆◆◆
Price:$37(dongle&cameracable); $29 (Flash Adapter)
Hot: Qualitycables/accessories;inexpensive;mobileappworkswell
Not: Doesn’tworkwithsomecameras;sometriggersworkrandomly
PNG—or set it as a poster frame. The clip preview has a zebra feature (only useful if you don’t have that fea- ture on your camera or monitor/recorder). You can also loop I/O selections and play slow-motion recordings at playback speed so you can really evaluate what the end result will look like. In addition, Kyno lets you convert clips to a number of formats.
Kyno works with images too, but I found that it’s very slow at creating thumbnails. Its features aren’t well suited for still images either. One thing I didn’t like at all is that it creates hidden folders (without asking or informing) across all of the volumes it accesses. ■
Company: LesspainSoftware Rating: ◆◆◆
Price:$159
Hot: FastProResconversion;subclips;interface;filerenaming
Not: JKLtransportshortcutsnonstandard;noclipscrubbing
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