Promote Systems Promote Control, Remote Control for Digital SLR Cameras

I have been doing HDR manually for a couple of years and getting frustrated. Except for the top-of-the-line cameras, Canon only allows three bracketed exposures. Not enough for a good HDR image. The Promote lets me set up a sequence of shots, using just about any f-stop interval I want, over a wide range of shots, push the button and let it rip. HDR is so much more rewarding now.In addition, the Promote allows gives you the ability to do some other things that most cameras don't have built-in; Timed intervals and focus stacking. And it's very easy to use. Money well-spent.

I recently tried this unit with my 5Dm2. Bottom line: It just didn't work. Customer Service was frustrating as they refuse to use the phone. I returned the unit after several days delay due to the repetitive emails exchanged. Like "are you sure it's plugged in?" Maybe they have a lot of problems solved because people who spend $300 on a camera accessory aren't savvy enough to insert a plug. They returned the same unit back to me after they determined there was nothing wrong. Same unit! At least they could have tried a different unit. I knew it was the same unit because the batteries that came with it were dead and I used my own, which were still installed (shouldn't they be removed for shipping?). Between the time they shipped it back to me and its return I got an email from them apologizing, that they in fact admit there is a problem with the firmware support for my particular camera and provided another beta update to their previous firmware update(why was this not done prior to returning?). I'm sure that the many happy users, for whom this unit works with their camera, aren't wrong, but, it did not work with my 5Dm2.

I only got this to do Bulb Ramping mode for my Panasonic GH4 and it is not compatible at this time with the GH4 (as of 02-02-14). Currently only HDR, Time Lapse and One Shot modes are fully supported, and Bulb Ramping is not officially supported. Promote techs suggested I reach out to Panasonic on my own and request Bulb ramping on GH4. "This may help expedite implementation." In HDR mode it worked fine, but the GH4 can do 7 exposures, which is plenty for me. I also bought the bulb ramping assist kit, not needed on the GH4.

I bought the Promote Control as an alternative to using Helicon Remote, which gives you the same functions for Stacking and HDR. The problem with Helicon Remote is that you are tethered to your laptop which makes it awkward in the field. For studio work Helicon Remote works great and it is free if you use Helicon Focus for your stacking software. The biggest advantage for Helicon Remote is that you can focus with your laptop screen versus the Live View on your camera when you use Promote Control.I need to go into the field as I shoot panoramas with stacking and sometimes HDR, so I purchased the Promote Control. It works seamlessly with my Canon 7D and my GigaPan Pro as others have said although there is a lot to setup using you camera, the Promote Control and a GigaPan.The problem with the Promote Control is that you use Live View not just to set up your focus parameters; it uses Live View throughout your shoot. You can't turn it off once you begin shooting. For numerous stacked images and for panoramas you may shoot hundreds of photos as part of your workflow to get to your final pre-processed image. On my Canon 7D it drops the number of photos I can shoot on one battery to 240 shots if I am using Live View. I can get over 1,000 without Live View on. It is generally recommended that you not touch anything once you start shooting so switching out the camera battery mid-way is an impractical solution.An improvement which I suggested to the people at Promote Systems would be an option to turn Live View off once your shooting begins. You don't need it other than once when you are setting up your stacking and other parameters. As far as reviewing what you are shooting as you progress, your camera LCD monitor can do that more efficiently without sucking your battery dry.As a partial solution I will know have to buy a battery grip and extra batteries to double my battery life on my 7D. Not what I was counting on when I bought the Promote Control.