Technical post - Developers needed!!! - for end users see the 1st post

This is a summary of the information I know which could be useful for people wanting to help, or develop his own application

Network Capture

I see 3 possible ways to capture the network traffic, and analyse it to understand how the Lumix Link application communicates with thr GH3. I've made a few capture using the 3d method, but if people can access to one of these methods, it will be easier to understand (and reproduce) all the missing features:

• using an rooted Android phone : install shark for root" app, launch capture on it, start the LL app and do the command sequence you're interested in, stop the capture, download the capture file and look at it using Wiresark.
• using a Wifi card that support "Monitor Mode" on a Linux PC and using Wireshark version 1.4 or higher
• using a small network (2 Wifi AP and a switch) : if you can setup a small network like this :
  GH3<->AccessPointA<->switch<->AccessPointB<->AndroidPhone with a switch that supports a port mirroring feature You have to configure one of the port of the switch to mirror the traffic received on one of the 2 interfaces connected to the access points, connect your computer to this port, use Wireshark, etc

GH3 IP address discovery

If you're not directly connected to the wifi ssid provided by the GH3, As @Vitaliy_Kiselev pointed out, you need to know the ip address of the GH3 to use the web remote, and find/replace all the "192.168.0.1" in the "requests.html" file with the IP address of the GH3. There is a way to make that automatic : make the application able to mimic the SSDP protocol behavior, which imply UDP and multicast... Or you can do a port scan (on port 50001) on all the machine in the same subnet as your machine, but you have to retrieve your subnet.
Anyone interested in coding this is very welcome (I'm afraid Javascript will not be a good tool to determine your own subnet...)
Edit v04 : I've managed to discover the GH3 IP address using Java, but I need to make a few changes in the web page to provide the ability to the end user to read it on the Java window title, and write it down on a text field of the web page.

Remote control features

For all the camera control features, it's very easy to mimic the LL application : you just have to send GET http requests to the GH3 ip address. You can do that using your browser, for example if you try to go to http://@IP_GH3/cam.cgi?mode=camcmd&value=capture the GH3 will take a picture. You can open the file "requests.html", and you will find most of the possible commands.

An interesting improvement to the actual interface could be to only display the settings compatible with the mode you're in, and lens you use (PASM...mode, focus mode, left control dial mode, minimum/maximum aperture, ...).
this can be achieved easily by parsing the XML responses to the following HTTP GETs :

• http://@IP_GH3/cam.cgi?mode=getinfo&type=curmenu : the answer to that is a xml file listing a lot of info about the actual state of the GH3. For example, if you're not in Program Mode, you will have :
  item id="menu_item_id_program_shift" enable="no" somewhere. You just have to parse this xml file and do a few checks, and you will know exactly in which modes you're in.
• http://@IP_GH3/cam.cgi?mode=getinfo&type=allmenu : a lot of interesting info here about a lot of commands, and all the GH3 menus in the different languages !
• http://@IP_GH3/cam.cgi?mode=getinfo&type=lens : lens detected. The answer is a string, ie for the 14-42PZ it's "ok,2304/256,925/256,3072/256,16384/256,0,on,42,14,on,128/1024". I think this site could help us finding the info of all the electronic m4/3 lenses there is:)

A few applications could be possible using the different commands and writing a little javascript (electronic follow focus, advanced bracketing/time-lapse, ...) and I'm sure it could also serve some very specific, rare use cases.
Application ideas and developers are welcome

Liveview

If you go to http://@IP_GH3/cam.cgi?mode=startstream&value=49152, the GH3 will send an udp stream to your ip address on port 49152. The problem is it's not RTP, so after losing hours trying to find an known header pattern at the beginning of the udp data, I finally had the late idea to look at the last bytes : it is "ff d9". A rapid google search taught me that it was the EoF marker for jpg images. The stream is a MJPEG video over UDP. If you look at this hex dump file, you will find :

• a 144 bytes "header" (with a few changing bytes, and a lot of repeating patterns in the different occurences of these headers / separators)
• ff d8 ...... ff d9 : a jpg file
• a 144 bytes "header"
• ff d8 ...... ff d9 : another jpg file
• and so on
  Edit v04 : The "header" size actually change depending on several factors (autofocus, dial mode), but this is taken care of by the live view Java program.

You will find attached to that email the hex dump of a short video streamed by the GH3 (mjpegOverUdp.hexdump.txt.zip, the data payload of the UDP stream), and the pcap capture file of the session from which it has been extracted (mjpegOverUdp.zip).
Ideally, it will be better to understand what the changing bytes in the header/separator represent.

Picture preview/download

I didn't play much with this, but the GH3 and lumix link use the UPNP set of network protocols to communicate. More testing is needed to see what SOAP messages are exchanged when doing the few interesting actions on the LL app "Playmode". As an example, I attach to this email the SOAP message sent to the GH3 to have the list of pictures (ImageBrowse_requestLL.soap.txt), and the SOAP response of the GH3 (ImageBrowse_responseGH3.soap.txt).

• If you want to go deep in the understanding of UPNP, see http://upnp.org/resources/upnpresources.zip
• If you want some info about the GH3 upnp services, start here : http://@IP_GH3:60606/2002AFF26C52/Server0/ddd
• If you want some info about the Lumix Link services, start here : http://@IP_LL:49152/dms/ddd.xml

if you want to code a program that will allow to browse and download pictures, you're welcome

THIS IS AWESOME

This should be worked on, I'd pay for it!

This is very great @lenuisible! Just because you are not seeing more reactions, don't assume we are not interested. It takes a while to digest something as new as what you have done. Hang in there, this is going to be very useful to many... Al

I have interest in this as im a blackberry user and the lumix app appears to only be for apple or android.

I just tried it and it works great! This is so cool! I did hang the GH3 initially, screen froze and had to take out the battery. Not sure what it was that I did. Once I turned it back on and tried again, it worked perfectly... Al Edit: Some handshaking to end the browser control must be needed, either that or I don't know how to terminate the control without a frozen WiFi connection that requires battery removal to recover.

@lenuisible Great work..! I'll try it tomorrow morning. windsurf.

Great work!!! I havent had time to play with this but I am very very intrested! If it is possible to add all functionality what Lumix Link has this is very BIG for my workflow. I am a mainly mac user and sending pictures from GH3 to mac is not working. With Lumix Link its possible to sent camera->phone. Maybe with this from camera->mac and also use camera remotely... :) I am also willing to pay for this kind of app... I see also possibilities that we have been able only to dream about... Thanks for your work!

At least this require removal of fixed IP from all forms action.

And addition of JavaScript that discover camera address and set it.

Wow. Awesome find. Downloaded and will have a look at it. What exactly would people need / like to see and in what form? Would like to hear from you guys. Maybe I can help.

It had been posted, if I reemember properly.

V0.3 is out

End users post (the 1st), and technical post (the 3rd) have been rewritten.

If you read the technical post, you will know as much as I do about this topic.

Just tested the latest version. Its a great start and I would love to see it become a full fledged app with full control.

With that said, is there currently any other way to controlling GH3 via Windows tablet?

Indeed very interesting research, thank you! I'll be following this as well especially for timelapse purposes. In addition to what has been mentioned previously, this could eventually allow for remote timelapse camera installations that are controllable over long distance (for example by routing through a mobile 3G device).

And assuming Panasonic will use similar network software in future cameras, this has great potential.

If it matters, I'd be willing to pay for a developed tool like this as well. But this also has potential in current form as web page app, so anyone with some scripting skills could try and make own control functions for specific needs.

In any case, your work is appreciated!

Awesome @lenuisible I got it working in my Windows 7 pc. For a guy who is not much of a programmer you are making incredible progress. It took me awhile to figure out the Live View. Here's what I did. Start a Command prompt window and cd to the folder where all the WebBrowser files are located. While there, then run
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Java\jre7\bin\java" UDPServer
This then starts a java window that will display what the camera sees once Start Stream is clicked. Unfortunatetly, no video preview while recording. I also have not been able to see what files have been stored in the camera yet. Stopping video using Playmode, appears to work, so your work is already providing new functionality not in the LUMIX link app. This work is starting to pay off and I hope someone with more knowledge and time than me can join you in continuing to make progress with this awesome work... Al

First I have -100 knowledge in java and such and right now my head's kind of tired.
So, though I read the PATH stuff, I wasn't able to set the live view. Other than that EVERYTHING'S WORKING smoothly in a mac OS 10.6.8 The interface is changed a bit, bigger (we still can't select raw alone in Picture Quality ;), I tested pancake 20mm and 14-140, all good. The slow focusing tabs are super nice, totally useful for a rack focus of some kind. BTW didn't experience any of the previous (version) black outs. Way to go!!!

THANK YOU LENUISIBLE

hope you get aid/collaboration to see make all this work you're having something even nicer :D

Thanks guys for the kind words and for testing this,

@aljimenez yep, this is another way to have the "java UDPServer" working, if you change the PATH like I explained in the first post, you will be able to run java without entering its complete path, so instead of "C:\Program Files (x86)\Java\jre7\bin\java" UDPServer you could just type java UDPServer.
About the video preview during recording, as ou say it's impossible, but at least you can change the settings (focus, zoom, aperture ...). Maybe Panasonic will unlock this in a future firmware
About accessing the pictures files stored on the GH3, I would prefer that someone else takes care of it...

@disordinary I think creating an UDP socket (which is needed in our case) with a pure web solution is tricky, WebRTC needs RTP, which GH3 doesn't use.

@maxr thanks for testing this on a MAC, it would be cool if you could try the live view, what you basically need is to launch java UDPServer from a terminal (for java installation look here : http://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/webnotes/install/mac/mac-jre.html), you can look here to see how to do it : http://www.cs.princeton.edu/courses/archive/spr04/cos126/hello/mac.html.
I forgot to add the raw quality, I will update this in the next version, but you can add it yourself adding this line : < OPTION VALUE="raw" >raw < /OPTION > at line 293 of the requests.html file

@lenuisible

I forgot to add the raw quality, I will update this in the next version, but you can add it yourself adding this line : < OPTION VALUE="raw" >raw < /OPTION > at line 293 of the requests.html file

donne and WORKING, thanks

about JAVA JR7, minimum system requirements imply OS 10.7 or later, so right now I cannot test it, I'll try to kidnap the (very requested) iMac with OS 10.7
all good

@lenuisible excellent work so far !!

this has lots of potential, I would love to see someone with some coding skills help you out.

It would be really cool to have a bramper like function for time lapse, via a web interface to ramp the settings

I would donate to the cause

If we limit it to only Chrome browsers, it looks like a Chrome App can use chrome.socket.

I really need to try this out for Astro Photography.

@maxr Thanks for confirming that it works !

@taawp & @Vitaliy_Kiselev I'm starting to like Java :). To enable more advanced features, the program needs to be able to retrieve/parse and send XML files from/to the GH3, and it's a nightmare using browser because the GH3 doesn't use any "Access-Control-Allow-Origin:*" in its response header, and browser don't like that. If you're interested in the topic, you can read this : http://stackoverflow.com/questions/3076414/ways-to-circumvent-the-same-origin-policy
I think I'm going to go one with Java for a Lumix Link like application for PC/MAC. A Web UI using JS will be better to develop specific apps. But If someone is willing to spend time on a live view player for the web, the theory is really simple :

• create a local UDP socket on port X
• send a GET HTTP like : http://@IP_GH3/cam.cgi?mode=startstream&value=X
• retrieve the bytes stream, look for 0xFF 0xD8, cut the datagram packet from this 0xFF offset to the end (finishing with 0xFF 0xD9)
• convert this into a JPG and display it

A small update, you can now download the JPG files stored on the GH3 using Chrome and the attached files.

• For security reasons, the web browsers doesn't like to parse content coming from other web sites, unless the requesting web page belongs to the same domain as the requested one.
• To make this work with the GH3, you have to launch chrome with a specific parameter : you need to use the CLI (with Windows or Mac OS), and type "chrome --disable-web-security".
• Download the attached "BrowseJPG.zip" file, and unzip it wherever you want

• You can then launch (from this "unsecured" Chrome page) the file "controlBrowseJPG.html" to access the files stored on the GH3

• you will be presented with the thumbnail pictures, if you click on one of them, you will download the full res jpg.

• FYI, 3 versions of the files are present on the GH3 :
  • http://@IP_GH3:50001/DOxxxxxxx.JPG : the original JPG file
  • http://@IP_GH3:50001/DTxxxxxxx.JPG : a small thumbnail JPG file
  • http://@IP_GH3:50001/DLxxxxxxx.JPG : a large thumbnail JPG file

Edit : I forgot to change the default value of the IP address of the GH3, which is set to 192.168.0.13 (the IP@ of my GH3).

• You should be able to change it when you launch the file (ie just change it to 192.168.0.1 before you click on load)
• If you want to change the default value, edit the "controlBrowseJPG.html" file, and on line 6, replace the value field with the IP address of your GH3 (192.168.0.1 if you're directly connected to the Wifi network of the GH3)

I thought it was just a standard applet for opening a udp stream? Haven't tested it but I'm guessing that VLC can also open it.

Focus peaking would be a pretty big ask I would have thought. What resolution is streamed? I doubt its 1080p.

@dtbow yes, I'll add it to the first post when I go back home. I played with filters to try to do peaking, it's quite easy to alter the JPG files, what's more complicated is fine tuning the filters and don't kill the perfs. I played with some filters of this guy : http://www.jhlabs.com/ip/filters/index.html, and I try to reproduce what was said in this article : http://www.luminous-landscape.com/forum/index.php?topic=56246.0. The EdgeFilter does a pretty good job, but stacking other filters on top of it degrade the perf too much.
BTW, could you try to uses the files above and follow the procedure to see if you manage to download the pictures on your MAC ?

@disordinary I didn't manage to receive the stream with VLC, I think VLC only receive MJPEG over HTTP, or maybe it's looking for some info in the headers which are not there. The streamed resolution is 640x480 (640x360 when 16/9 is chosen)

@aljimenez thanks for testing, are you sure your chrome is running in the unsecure mode ? You may have to close other chrome windows before launching it with the option, if it works, you should have a message looking like this (in your language) :

Could you enable the Javascript console on chrome and look at the error message ? If it says something about Null Origin, chrome is not in the unsecure mode. If it says something about gh3ip or gh3ipaddress I may have made a mistake somewhere.

FYI the GH3 needs to be in "playmode" to get the pictures, and in "recmode" to be controlled. The browseJPG.html file enable "Playmode", so if you want to control the GH3 after using it, you have to click on the recmode button on the control web page

@lenuisible I got it running. The protocol GH3 is using to send data over UDP is actually quite simple: first 2 bytes of each packet is packet length (header + JPEG payload), the header is 132 bytes long after that you have a JPEG image until the end of the packet. So all what you need to do is to strip the first 132 bytes of each packet and there you have your JPEG. Your recording, actually, also contains the data you send over HTTP, not just the UDP stream. I had to do my own recording to find out what's happening over UDP.

Unfortunately the stream stops when in video recording mode. That is focus peaking on top of wifi is pretty useless. It kind of works, but not very precise - it is based on 640x480 resolution JPEG: not just resolution is low, but also artifacts are there. When not in video recording mode you are better off using the magnification view, when in video recording mode there is no magnification view, but also no wifi stream.

@dtbow

the header is 132 bytes long after that you have a JPEG image until the end of the packet.

actually it depends on the modes the GH3 is in, it can be 132, 144 and 156. To know from where you should cut, you have to read the 32d byte, it give you the relative position of the starting of the JPG (it's either 64, 70 or 7C).

Unfortunately the stream stops when in video recording mode.

Yep, nothing we can do I'm afraid (apart from waiting an update or a hack)

That is focus peaking on top of wifi is pretty useless

agree, but funny

I had to increase the UDP implementation's default buffer size to make it work (on iOS).

Did you code a live view player for iOS ?

When I asked you to test the above files, I was referencing to the BrowseJPG one (because you complained in another topic that you couldn't download the pictures on your MAC with Lumix Link).

Hi, I don't know if it's too much to ask, but I make some stopmotion animation and I would love to use my GH3 and lenses in my next project, this software is a good step in that direction but it will be perfect if someone could add the option to get a 50% opacity layer of the previous taken picture over the liveview.... can someone do that?! please!

Me and the stopmotion community would be the forever grateful for that!

@debaser There may be a way to do that without too much work, but it will be ugly :

• you will have to use jpg+raw so we can access a jpg file of the last picture

• i will try to make a small web page which allow to display the last taken picture and shoot a new one (it will require that you launch chrome in non secure mode, see the related post above)

• You will then have to use ghostwin to make this window transparent
• Finnaly you will use the java liveview behind it (you will have to align them well manually)

The problem I have is that it requires going from recmode (to take the picture and have the liveview) to playmode (to diplay the last one) and it takes some time, so some delay must be included in the code. you will also only have 640x480 quality to work with on the PC screen for that superposition

@fegato no, the quality of the stream is really too low : 10 fps, with 24kB jpegs

Since the G6 also supports WiFi, does anyone know if this app will control that camera as well? That would be cool.

the weird thing is that you can add in this java subsections in ss and aperture that you cannot set from gh3's body. It is great for fading in a timelapse shot with 768 subsections for one stop :P I also believe (correct me if I am wrong) it shoots only in video mode ss16000, this does not work in photos even when shot with electronic shutter. I am happy now shooting 24p ss48 LOL

I just found some articles about Java input from MIDI, it would be great follow focus, zoom and general control with real buttons and potentiometres

did the hen came first or the egg? :P

@starios and @johnnymauser I don't know anything about MIDI and OSC, but what you need is anything that can send a HTTP GET request (basically what your web browser is doing when you try to reach a website), if the MIDI device you're speaking of can be programmed to do that, this can work, but you still need a Wifi connection.
The easiest way to have a physical interface changing the GH3 settings is maybe to use an arduino controller with a wifi shield (http://arduino.cc/en/Main/ArduinoWiFiShield).

For focusing, I'm afraid that the delay will be too long to have a nice experience.

About Zuiko lenses, I don't have any, but it should work.

Suggestion: put the code up on github.com so others can contribute

I'm confused about this program. Tried to download .jpg and rename it but says it is not a valid zipfile.

I would really like to see an Android APP for this! I will take a look myself around middle of Feb when my gm1 arrives.

@hellrazor - yes, that is my plan, too! I have a spare prototype now running in plain Java /Swing client running. I'm able to get the IP via UPnP and to successfully connect the camera. I also managed it to create a custom JPanel to display the live stream inside a JFrame without blocking the application (Threading does the trick...). I've to make the application more reliable in terms of network connections and to handle connects/disconnects. I encapsulate as much functionality as possible so the porting to android will be easy.

I also understand now how to calculate the aperture min & max values from the lens data (value 2 & 3 in the response). So I can calculate the right aperture and send it to the cam. I still have not the full understanding of all values I get as lens data. Has anybody an idea what value 3 & 4 in lens data are about?

@Brian_Siano: if we can figure out the minimum (close) /maximum (infinite) value for focus and are able to set a distinct focus value then it should be easy to implement your use case.

I will update my prototype on the weekend and upload it once I get a stable version. So stay tuned

P.S.: I've a G6 which I use for testing

@Lufthmmel Looking forward to this! @Brian_Siano if you get focus by the GUI and press a button and focus again and press a button and you wait the time from A to B and press a button... and the every time you press the button the saved scenery gets repeated, wouldn't that help? on top of that setting... lets say if you could adjust a curve? bezier preferred? ...just improvising.

@hellrazor Not sure if I follow your description. But here's what I was thinking.

1: You take your camera to the start point of your shot. You adjust focus, aperture, shutter speed, whatever. 2: On your web browser, a set of values for these settings appears. 3: When you have the settings right, you designate this set of values as "Set #1" 4: You move the camera to a point where the new settings will kick in. Again, you adjust focus, aperture, whatever. 5: Again, these new values appear on the web browser. 6: Again, when you have the settings right for this new camera position, you designate this "Set #2." 7: Repeat the above for any further changes during the shot. 8: Click on a button that says "Set #1." The camera adjusts to the first set of settings Begin the shot. 9: As the camera moves to the point described in step 4 above, you click on the "Set #2" button. The camera adjusts to the second set of settings.

I should say that I don't own a GH3 yet, that I don't know if this is at all possible, and that you ought to focus on what current GH3 users want before trying to meet my suggestions. But if you like this idea, and if it's possible, I figure people might like this capability.

Thanks for this so far - a nice added help for me on the GH3.

Here is my first (pre-) Alpha Version of my application available: https://code.google.com/p/iunxtio/

The source is under the Apache License. In the moment the application is very chatty, and the structure not yet finalized. But I'll do my best to add all basic features in the next weeks. Any help is very appreciated!

You will find a super JAR on the Wiki Tab (Downloads). To build from source best way is to use Maven, a Pom is part of the source. To start the program just type in: java -jar "name of jar file" on the command line. Start your Lumix and connect to your network. In the menu of the application just select "Connect". In the moment only LiveView, Shutter and Aperture are working. Please click on "Get Lens Info" to get the allowed aperture values.

And keep in mind - this is currently just the prototype.

You should also notice a lot of information in your terminal during the run of the application. This will be removed in later versions.

enjoy!

@lenuisible: thanks for your excellent effort, and I take some of your code as base for my program. If you dislike post me a note and I'll remove your code.

@valdi99 Thanks for testing and confirming that it works the same with the G6

@Brian_Siano & @Psyco what you’d like to achieve is doable but the challenge will be to have smooth rack focusing because there is only 2 speeds available, and obviously those 2 speeds depend on the lens used. The slow one can be really slow, and you will be limited by the number of commands you can send to the camera with it staying up to speed.

You could also use the "touch to focus" to memorize the different focus point you’re interested in, but I didn’t clearly understand what the value sent means when you touch the screen somewhere, it needs more work.

@Lufthummel Thanks for working on this, it’s great to see someone looking into it. Do you have a way to capture the traffic between the camera and the app, or are you only using what’s provided in the html code ? Don’t hesitate to ask me if you need something, It may take some time as I may have to get my access point and switch out of the closet, but it’s doable during the week-end. Rgds

Warning to all G6 users - do not install the latest firmware update 1.2! WiFi connection is even worse than ever. I'm not able to get a stable connection which lasts more than a few seconds!

And they changed (!!!) the protocol so ImageApp, Lumix Link and my own App are not working correctly in the moment.

Be aware of that!!

Hellouuuu! I got my new GM1 and tested your nice LiveView. But LiveView will stop after some seconds. I must click "Connect"-Button again to reactivate LiveView. BUT "shutter release" button works always! hope this helps.

@Zaphod no, you have to download "testLumixLinkv04.zip", unzip it, etc... You can also look at @Lufthummel code at https://code.google.com/p/iunxtio/

@andrevanberlo Do you mean the GH3's IP?
System Preferences - Network - here it will show below the status when connected to camera's wifi.
Also if you click in the Advanced buton and then go to TCP/IP tab =)

I tried it with the Panasonic HC-V727 and it works!! I also added some missing commands, like record stop. But LiveView ist not working. Maybe it streams another video format. What can i do to determine what format is used?

This thread is very interesting! I was hopping to use the remote focus command to perform focus stacking on my new FZ1000. However the network doesn't seems to be working as the GH3, it seems that I absolutely need to do a direct link with a smartphone. Anyone knows if it is possible to remote control the fz1000 with this method?

-Update: After playing a little bit more with the thing, I figured out that just needed to use a wireless laptop and do a direct connect rather than using my home network. The IP address of the FZ1000 is 192.168.54.1, I don't know if it is the case for all FZ1000... Most commands from the GH3 works, except that I will have to update some list with the actual FZ1000 possible values. (Ex ISO 125). Thanks a lot for sharing, very good stuff!

-Update: I have very few knowledge in javascript. I think I managed to do something interesting so I tough it would be a good idea to share. Feel free to improve my solution for focus stacking. So here how it works:

1-First start the Controls.html, then focus_stack.html. (Or you can add it as another Frame.) 2-Adjust your focus manually. (Not too far to start because the script goes in that direction.) 3-Adjust the number of shots per images. This is the number of shot to stack to make a picture. Note that at this time, the focus range is either normal or fast, so if you need the whole focusing range, you will need to increase this value. If you want less shots per pictures, edit the file focus_stack.html to set the speed to _fast instead of _normal. 4-Adjust the interval per image. This is the time between multiple picture. Example if you want to make a movie out of it. If you just want one picture, set this number very high, ex: 999999. 5-Click Start Focus Stacking. 6-Click again to stop when enough sample are capture.

Don't forget if your address is different then 192.168.54.1 to edit the address in focus_stack.html. I made a global variable to have to change it to only one place...

Enjoy!

-Update: I forgot to mention, make sure to use electronic shutter when using my script as it can produce a large amount of pictures!

Probably yes

Does it work well with a G6 ?

@maxbogue: this sounds very interesting! How fast can the FZ1000 shoot with your script? I mean how much time does it take i.e. to take 10 shots at different predefined focus settings? I do panoramic Gigapixel photos, sometimes with focus stacking. speed would be important in that case.

Case pips are focus stacking, an easy way to blend the images in PS CS4 and up =)

I hope sometime to be able to set focus points in camera, like those some wireless ff keep in memory, and the camera to focus without gaps through wifi (for shooting video). Probably this would be a hack in firmware of the camera in combination with the wifi remote control. I don't know :(

GH4 Camera Control and Video Preview on OS X: Results - Very Good!

I searched for hours trying to find a way to get the Panasonic Image App on a Windows 8 Tablet or my Mac before I stumbled across this. I'm so glad I found it.

This browser based software is like Panasonic Image App for OS X or Panasonic Image App for Windows.

Equipment and Software Specs:

• GH4 with v1.1 firmware

• Lumix 12-35 lens with 1.2 firmware

• OSX Yosemite 10.10.1

• MacPro 5.1 (Mid 2010 12-core)

• 32GB RAM

• Safari 8.0.2

• Comcast Arris TG862G wireless router with default settings.

• v.04 software

Procedure:

• Downloaded the v.04 file and unzipped it. (The instructions for how to do this are VERY unclear and easily took the most time)

• Downloaded and installed the latest Java (8u25).

• Connected the GH4 to the Comcast wifi. (There are 10 other devices on this WIFI)

• Found the IP of the GH4 in the router control panel under "Connected Devices"

• Opened requests.html from the v.04 download in Text Edit (set to view html as code) and did a "find/replace" search to replace the IP address throughout the document with the IP from the GH4.

• Opened "Control.html" (if you get to this step quickly enough, the camera won't have timed out of wifi waiting for the "Image App" to connect

• Opened UDPServer.class

• Switched back to Control.html in Safari

• Clicked "recmode"

• Clicked "Start Stream"

Voila! Very hassle free.

Tested successfully:

• shutter speed

• aperture

• iso

• focus

• start record and stop record (by using the playmode button).

• Live view worked flawlessly for the 20 minutes I used it. It was necessary to click "Start Stream" after using the "played" button to stop recording. The resulting 4k video files on the camera did not show any errors and played back normally.

I did not test the other functions.

Wow I would love to see this polished up. Combined with Melihdummy's focus control, easier install, and a pleasant interface (Which I would love to help with) and you would have a highly desirable, (salable if you care) product. What a great start. Thank you for writing it.

Attached is a Python "security camera" program; it uses PIL to look for motion (simple image deltas with a dumb rolling average.) Run this from your Dropbox folder and, viola, free cloud-based security solution.

Anyone know the protocol for deleting pics off the camera? I haven't been successful in sniffing network traffic between the app and my camera.

For now I just download but never delete; be sure to clear your card every so often (format does the trick.)

Edit monitor.py to set your IP's and run it...It'll show the rolling averages and tell you when it's capturing.

@cloudnein Kind of solved. Transfering pictures work (but really slowly) when I only shoot jpegs. Fun script. :)

I've just uploaded a new app to the play store. The app uses dlna to get a list of images from the camera and synchronizes all images to the Android device:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ch.masshardt.dlnacamsync

Hello,

Has someone figured out how the GPS data log recorded on a smartphone is uploaded to a lumix APN which support geotagging with the help of Image App ? My plan is to record a GPS log on a dedicated device (a USB keylogger or a Raspberry Pi board with a GPS) and then upload it with the right protocol to the APN.

Thanks !

Hello there. Im really appreciate all great work you have doing. Im flying with a octocopter with my gh4. And luke to control exposure and iso ass well as focus and record remotely. Thinking to use arduino or raspberry pi.have some of you doing something like that? I do not need video feed. Thanks in advace

I am currently working on a solution for the hc-v727 All the stuff from "allmenu" works. The problem is that the camcorders seem to use a slightly different video protocol. The best i could imagine would be a way to get a 720p video feed over the local network like it can stream to ustream via stupid panasonic services.

Btw. Has anyone an idea how to change the localisation to unlock the 60hz modes?

thanks, this is such a great progress! Did anybody manage to run it on a Macbook??

thanks @cloudnein ! If I'll get a Gh3 or gh4 then I'll try it.

I started a thread about using the app with the GH4, with an eye to using it with an Android tablet or a Windows tablet running an Android emulator: http://www.personal-view.com/talks/discussion/14044/panasonic-image-app-use-with-laptops-and-tablets#Item_4

Has anyone gotten this to work with the G7? I keep getting err_unsuitable_app.

the UDPServer actually works with the TZ 40, the program had just the wrong server IP. thank you!

How is the current status? I can't access the code and am currently trying to get liveview to work with my v727 using qt but any solution to get liveview to work would be great. I can attach wireshark captures of the stream but i have no idea how that format on the v727 works. One time i got some jpegs out but that was pure luck and i can't remember what i did.

For anyone interested, this works with the Panasonic HX-A1 action camera as well (uses the same cam.cgi control + actions).

How much money and where does it go? hahaha... seriously, this was a life saver.

@lenuisible Thanks for the original work on this. It's helped me out.

I just wanted to let people know that I'm working on a viewfinder app. --> Moved to new thread

@Vitaliy_Kiselev Sure thing.

Hi. I have never been able to connect my GH3 to a router - or maybe it only happened once accidently. It just does not work - WiFi is random, and so is the Panasonic Android app Wi-Fi functionality. I don't think they have it figured out. I'm guessing it's still the same issue with GH4.

It's surprising as Panasonic generally makes great products, so why can't they figure out Wi-Fi - that is anybody's guess. I have done too much testing and I'm not prepared to use it anymore, unless I really need to.

Hello, fellow GH3 users and devs. The original starting post is pure gold, got me inspired to spend 2 days coding yet another viewfinder app for android, I had this idea to implement 2 modes:

• fit mode where the whole picture from the camera will be displayed (leaving some unused space on the screen, because of difference in aspect ratios)
• fill mode where the whole phone screen is used and picture from the camera is upscaled and cropped so that user could see the central part of it in maximum size

long story short, it worked and looked good until I realized that GH3 can't serve live video feed while recording a video (or in fact even saving a picture). Bummer! I think GH4 users are more lucky, so I'll maybe even finalize it if I could find some friendly GH4 user in my town to share camera for app testing.

Question for other devs in the thread: so I guess there is no way to overcome it with GH3? Any thoughts?

Has anyone got the live view working in a broadcasting application like OBS or X-Split?

Does anybody know format of UDP data between liveview frames? I can find instant aperture, shutter, iso, zoom and camera orientation but it gets shifted every time.

Hi,

I've got a solution for live view in VB6 (and VB.NET I assume) directly, without Java It uses the csxImage OCX control of Chestysoft (www.chestysoft.com).

it's rather simple:

Initialize ...

' UDP-Protokoll einstellen Winsock1.Close 'Winsock1 ->Microsoft Winsock control in VB Winsock1.Protocol = sckUDPProtocol

' Port, der überwacht werden soll nPort = 49199

' Eigene IP ermitteln sOwnIP = Winsock1.LocalIP

' Port an die IP "binden" Winsock1.Bind nPort, sOwnIP

'geht nur im 'recmode' txtStatus.Text = Inet1.OpenURL("http://" & CameraIP.Text & "/cam.cgi? mode=camcmd&value=recmode") 'Inet1 ->Microsoft Inet control txtStatus.Text = Inet1.OpenURL("http://" & CameraIP.Text & "/cam.cgi?mode=startstream&value=49199") Timer1.Enabled = True 'damit der Datenfluß nicht abbricht txtStatus.Text = Inet1.OpenURL("http://" & CameraIP.Text & "/cam.cgi?mode=setsetting&type=liveviewsize&value=vga")

...

Private Sub Winsock1_DataArrival(ByVal bytesTotal As Long) Dim sData As String Dim bArray As Variant

On Error Resume Next

'im Stream werden ganze Bilder übertragen 'Header ist 167 Byte, Rest - JPG 'Das JPEG-Bild beginnt also bei Byte 168 (Lumix GX7)

Winsock1.GetData sData, vbString

sData = Mid(sData, 168) bArray = sData ImageBox1.ReadBinary2 bArray 'ImageBox1 ist the csxImage OCX

End Sub

Private Sub Timer1_Timer() Dim dummy As Variant

If CameraIP.Text > "" Then If Not Inet2.StillExecuting Then dummy = Inet2.OpenURL("http://" & CameraIP.Text & "/cam.cgi?mode=startstream&value=49199") 'Inet2 ->Microsoft Inet control End If

End Sub

The length of the header seems to be different in the cameras. For GX7 it is 167 bytes (the JPEG picture begins at FFD8, look for this bytes in a hex editor).

Hello, i need help. When i turn on my gf7 after few mins the screen is getting stuck and i cannot turn it off. The only way to shut it down is by removing the battery. I cant use my camera because of this issue. Please help me..

Hi all, can you help me out?

I am looking for a way to read the current aperture value of the GH5 via Wifi (browser?).

It must be possible as the apps out there notice any changes made directly on the camera... But "/cam.cgi?mode=getinfo&type=lens" is not sufficient.

Thank you in advance!

Barkeeper

Wow, i only found this great research & code after having bought a G9 and am about to sell my GH3. I used a HDMI capture box to use the GH3 as a webcam...

Dear Christoph,

I have a G9 with the latest firmware. Do you have a handshake for that? I'm currently building a project that needs automated picture taking, the WiFi http method here works with my GX80 but I'd like to use the higher quality G9. I only need to shoot individual images and get a response acknowledging the picture was saved.

Thanks!!