Hacker News Reader

Comment by givemeethekeys | Hacker News Reader

My recent research:

- Canon has a REST API, and the most affordable API supporting cameras.

- Fujifilm has an API, but not REST based, but it goes all the way back to the X-T3. Unfortunately, using it voids your warranty if there is a warranty.

- Sony has an API as well but mostly newer cameras.

- Blackmagic (video cameras) has a REST API, but their most affordable API-supporting cameras are meant for studio use, which isn't ideal for general use.

View on HN

I can't speak for other brands, but I started this project by digging into the LCD menu of my camera, discovering "auth", "user", "pass" and wanted to know what protocol they used to authenticate remote logins. That's when I discovered the camera just uses ssh-style auth. As a part time sysadmin, it gave me the idea to try to "log into" the camera and here we are.

This doesn't actually use ssh at all right? By ssh-style auth you just mean a username and password? Seems to work great for the intended use case regardless !

I'm guessing, but AFAIK, the camera runs some sort of sshd demon you log into, so I wouldn't be surprised it really does use ssh under the hood.

> - Fujifilm has an API, but not REST based, but it goes all the way back to the X-T3. Unfortunately, using it voids your warranty if there is a warranty.

The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act would like a word.

I read the first item as:

> ... and (the most affordable API) supporting cameras

when it was (probably?) meant as:

> ... and the most affordable (API supporting cameras)

My Pentax KS-2 (2015) has a REST API.

https://sourceforge.net/p/pentaxks2wifiremote/wiki/K-S2%20We...

any info about Nikon?

Nikon hasn't yet figured out how WiFi works, let alone a REST API!

They're firmly stuck in the early 1990s in terms of system software.

It seems most of the newer cameras (Z6 iii, Z5 ii, Z50 ii) and the Z9 support „Wi-Fi STA“ mode, as Nikon calls it. All other models apparently only do „AP“ mode, where the camera turns into an access point - super annoying.

Curiously the Z8 (which is basically a Z9) and the Zf (which is basically a Z6 iii) don’t support STA.

AP mode ought to be faster and more reliable because the camera sends the signal directly to the receiving device instead of an external AP rebroadcasting it and halving the available bandwidth.

The problem is with the software. It disconnects and sends data incredibly slowly, orders of magnitude slower than what the hardware is capable of.

I‘d happily use STA, even if equally bad, simply so my phone doesn‘t drop its internet connection.

Transferring from my D7500 has to crash once the fist time every time when transferring over WiFi before it works. They said they knew about the bug like 5 years ago so I don’t think they are working on it.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com