Connecting your DSLR or mirrorless camera

The Touchpix app allows you to connect DSLR and mirrorless cameras wired.

This integration supports Canon & Nikon cameras (check if your camera is compatible with DSLR). The cameras work for photo functions (Photo, Gif) and video functions (Boomerang, Video, Slow motion). Moreover, Touchpix has a built-in integration that switches between the photo and video functions of the camera automatically. There is no need to perform this change manually. However, if your device does not support this integration you can’t use both the photo and video functions at the same time. In this scenario, you have to put the camera in photo mode to take photos and, in video mode to record videos.

Wired setup

Using an external camera with Touchpix is very easy. Follow these basic steps to make the DSLR / mirrorless camera work.

Required

We advise using a U3 class SD card for heavy videos. A U1 class SD card can be also used, but issues might be encountered. It all depends on your camera model and the selected video quality.

We recommend getting a ‘Lightning to USB 3’ adapter from Apple if you use an iPhone or an iPad with a lightning connection. If you use an iPad pro with a USB-C connection, we recommend getting a ‘Digital AV Multiport Adapter’ from Apple.
To make it work, get the USB cable that works with your camera. The most commonly used cable is the ‘Micro USB to USB-A’ male or ‘USB-C to USB-A’ male.

Steps

Connect the camera with the USB cable (2) to the USB adapter (1) and connect the USB adapter to the iPhone or iPad.
Tap on the menu icon in the upper left corner of the Touchpix app and tap on ‘Camera’.
Tap on DSLR and, next, ‘Connect to DSLR’ to open the connection screen.
If you are struggling with the connection, turn your device’s WiFi & cellular data OFF to connect the app to the camera. The connection screen will disappear when the camera is connected. Now you can turn the cellular data & WiFi back ON again.
If your camera is not supported by the automatic integration, then set the camera to photo mode or video mode (depending on what you want to use the camera for). Usually, you can use a switch on the back of the camera to do that.

Notes

When you want to use the camera for video
– Select MP4 as the video format in the Movie Recording Quality section.
– Enable ‘High Frame rate’ when you want to use Slow Motion video.
– Make sure to use a modern lens with autofocus. The session will fail when the camera detects an older manual focus lens or if the camera can’t focus.

Troubleshooting

Remember to update your camera’s firmware regularly. Devices and cameras often receive updates, which can help resolve issues.
Setting your device’s lock time to ‘Never’ and disabling any ‘power save’ mode can help prevent disconnections with your DSLR camera. Locking the screen or enabling power-saving features may interrupt the connection between your device and the camera.
If you’re receiving ‘There seems to be an issue with the DSLR connection.’ when attempting to record a session, please make sure the camera is set to the expected photo or video mode first. If it does not solve the issue, try formatting the SD card.

The Canon M50 is often used among our subscribers. Sometimes the live view becomes dark with the camera and that can be fixed by turning off the exposure simulation. To do so:

Hit menu on the actual camera toggle to menu page 6
Scroll to the bottom
Disable Exposure simulation