Camera Control

Initially, the Shinobi II supports controlling most of the recently released mirrorless cameras from Canon, Panasonic and Sony, as well as the compact cinema cameras from Z CAM’s E2 series. Later on, we’re planning to add support for Nikon, Fujifilm, Olympus, and Sigma cameras via firmware updates, but the setup process should remain identical to the USB setup described below.

Note: To use the Camera Control feature of your Shinobi II reliably, please ensure that your camera is running on the latest firmware provided on the camera manufacturer's website. 

Controllable Camera Settings

1. Internal Camera Recording (Start & Stop)
2. White Balance
3. Shutter Speed
4. Aperture (electronically controlled lenses only)
5. ISO

Camera Status Parameters

1. Camera Battery Charge
2. Remaining Record Time
3. Recording Format (Frame Rate + Resolution for internal camera recording)
4. Recording Codec
5. Focus Mode

Camera Control Setup

To utilize the Shinobi II’s powerful new Camera Control feature, please follow the setup instructions down below:

1. Navigate to the Control menu.
   a. You can either get there by pressing the camera icon in the top menu, which should have a text label saying “Inactive” next to it, the first time you boot up the Shinobi II.
   b. Press anywhere on the top menu bar, and select the Control menu tab once the main menu opens.
2. Once you’re in the Control menu, set the Device Type to Camera, by pressing the underlined text saying Off.
3. Ensure that the Connection is set to USB (or LanC for Z CAM).
4. Connect the included USB-C cable to both the Shinobi II and the camera’s USB-C port (or use Atomos USB-C to Serial cable for Z CAM).
5. Next, connect the camera to the Shinobi II via an HDMI cable.
6. Power on your camera and switch it into Movie mode.
   a. Some cameras will automatically detect that they’re connected to a “Control” device. If yours does, skip to step 8.
   b. If your camera doesn’t detect the Shinobi II automatically, check its USB Settings. For Camera Control, it should be set to Tethering/Remote Shooting.
7. If your camera is detected by the Shinobi II, check if the Manufacturer and Camera Model are displayed correctly in the Control menu.
   1. The Camera Control icon in the bottom row menu (2nd to the left) should’ve turned from Grey to White now.
8. Pressing the Camera Control icon, will bring up the Record Trigger, White Balance, Shutter Speed, Aperture, and ISO controls in the bottom row menu.
   a. The displayed settings should match what the camera is currently set to. If any of these settings are set to Auto on the camera, you might not be able to control them, but you’ll still see them updating live on the Shinobi II, whenever they change in the camera.
   b. For maximum control, we recommend setting the camera to manual exposure and white balance mode.
9. Close the main menu and start controlling your camera.

Note: When your Shinobi II is connected to your camera via USB-C, it may supply it with USB PD power (up to 13w) if the camera supports that.

Enabling the Camera Status Feature

After setting up Shinobi II and your camera for Camera Control, you can also monitor the camera’s status on the Shinobi II. Here’s how you can access it:

1. Navigate to the Input menu of your Shinobi II by tapping on the Input status on the far-left side of the top menu bar.
2. Switch on the Camera Status option in the first row.
3. Exit the main menu to view the Camera Status indicator at the top left of the Shinobi II’s screen. Initially, it will only display the cameras’ battery charge level and its remaining record time.
4. Tapping on the Camera Status indicator should increase its size to display five lines of useful information about the camera’s settings: Camera battery charge level, remaining record time, the internal recording resolution & frame rate, the recording codec, as well as the camera’s focus mode.
5. Tapping it again, will decrease its size to the small variant.