Tech Tip: Air Direct to Mobile

Posted by: on Aug 19, 2020

Tech Tip: Air Direct to Mobile
If you haven’t yet tried out your Air Direct to your mobile device, either iOS or Android, let’s do that now. Remember, Air Direct to a mobile device supports either Canon or Nikon cameras. Be sure to check all your batteries; camera, Air Direct, and mobile device – ready? Then, let’s get started!

For first time use, you’ll need to download the Air Remote app for either iOS or Android and install it on the mobile device you plan to use – be sure to give it the permissions it asks for when downloading and installing:

APPLE iOS – Apple App Store (iPhone/iPad)
ANDROID – Google Play Store (phone/tablet)

Follow our Quick Start Steps:

Step 1
Connect the Air Direct device to the camera by inserting the supplied compatible camera connector cable into the Air Direct and the end into your camera’s USB data port. At this point, keep the camera turned off.

Step 2
On the Air Direct device, set the switch to MOBILE, choose a Wi-Fi network, either 2.4 or 5 and switch the Power ON.

The Air Direct Wi-Fi network (indicated by the blue light) will initiate. After 10 seconds, the blue light will blink fast for approximately five seconds, then slow blink for approximately 10 seconds, then turn to a solid blue light. Once solid, the Air Direct Wi-Fi network is ready for connection.

Step 3
Access the Wi-Fi Settings on your iOS or Android mobile device and connect to the Air Direct Wi-Fi Network, enter the default password, 12345678. The password will be remembered by your device.

Step 4
On your phone or tablet, launch the Air Remote Mobile Tethering App. It must be open and running to communicate with your camera.

Step 5
Turn the camera ON. The Air Remote Mobile Tethering App will recognize your camera and you’re ready to begin!

Now that we’re connected, let’s open the Settings and make any changes we need. All white dots to the right indicate the ON position. All white dots to the left indicate the OFF position and any grayed out indicate it is not available. I have set View Thumbnails and Ignore RAW Files both to ON. This means my thumbnail images will show up in my Filmstrip feed and it will not try to send the larger RAW files. This allows me to shoot in RAW + JPEG, then only my smaller JPEG thumbnails will transfer to my phone. I recommend trying out the different settings for your particular needs and camera + mobile device until you get it set to exactly what you want.

I’ll run through the main Air Remote app screens. Once you start using it you’ll see how easy it is to completely control your camera via your mobile device. See Image A below.

Capture View, this is the default view. Across the top, from left to right is the Camera Mode, tap it to access Camera Settings. In the middle is the connected camera model; in this case the 700D is also known as a Rebel T5i. And on the right, the three dots provides access to the Advanced Features.

In the middle you’ll see your camera settings and the camera battery level. Then the filmstrip with your thumbnails. Below that are the remote controls, see Image B below.

Image A
Image B

You can see in Image C, I have taken several shots but now I want to change my camera settings. I tap on the M and access slides in the from the left, from here I can change my Image Quality and any setting change available within Manual Mode. If I was in Shutter Priority or Aperture Priority Modes, then I would only have access to change the settings available within those modes, exactly the same as on the camera body itself.

Image C

Another place to quickly make camera setting changes is by tapping on the three lines with three dots icon, see Image D below.

Image D

Below in Image E you can see the Advanced Features, tapping again closes the options.

Image E

Next, let’s try Live View, if your Nikon camera requires turning a manual switch on the camera body, do that now. Tap the eye icon to turn on Live View. See Image F below.

Image F

Below you can see my primitive set up for my Live View image. You can quickly see how you could use the Air Direct + your camera + your mobile device into your workflow to best suit your needs, especially in situations where your camera can easily go but where it’s not always easy for you or desirable.

We’ve seen the three main views: Capture, Settings; now the last screen I want to share is the Album View. The Album View shows everything that is on the camera’s memory card. Choose images by tapping and then download to your mobile device.