Instant view on laptop

Was at the local photograph shop yesterday. I spotted they used a laptop to see the shot instantly when shooting portraits in the shop.

I inquired about the program, but was told it only worked for C***** models.

Anyone use or know a program that alllows instant views on the laptop :

If you do - what do you need - cables, adapters or similar??

Pentax provided the Remote Capture software for the K10D... which goes part way to getting live view on the laptop. You just need to connect the USB cable and fire away.

The remote capture will not, AFAIK, display the last image full screen - which is a shame. I tried linking it up with Capture One Pro, but it still didn't do what I'd imagined...

I think the Canon protocol is known (if not documented). At the moment I don't think the Pentax protocol is supported in anything except Pentax's own software (at least on the PC).

There may be other options for Mac though...
Matt

Thanks Matt - will dig that program from the box when I get home.

Btw....whats AFAIK??

AFAIK == As Far As I Know

HTH

Maybe not what Matt is looking for but if you use C1 Pro and Remote assistant together it does work sort of, I use this method in the studio...........

Set Pentax Remote Assitant to "Auto Save Mode" in the file dropdown menu then browse to the folder you want to save your shots in from the Tools/Options menu, uncheck the "use subfolder(s)" option, if you don't your files will go into a subfolder named "1" (remote assistant will create this folder if the option is left checked). You can also setup a different file name and sequence from the standard _IGP*** here (shots taken with the remote assitant are not recorded in the body total).

Fire up C1 Pro and set the capture folder to the same one as you specified in Remote Assistant...................................... .

BTW, I can't do this with Lightroom

r u using a mac?
aperture can do it with a free plugin.
use pentax software to remote capture, and aperture does the rest.

Thanks - I will try that out.

#Don - thanks but I'm using a normal Laptop - not Mac

I've been having a little tinker with things...
(For Windows)

With a little effort I can make the Pentax Remote Assistant window much bigger
Here's a quick guide:
1. Run up PRA
2. Select "View / Separate Screen Display" so the image is unhooked
3. Download the little ZIP file from here (Application not source... unless you're interested!)
http://www.codeproject.com/tools/WindowScraper_Utility.asp
4. Run the "WinScraper.exe" file.
5. Drag the cross-hair onto the top bar "Screen: #1 K10D"
6. Now punch in a bigger width and height and click "Resize"
(You get a bigger window but the image is the same)
7. Drag the cross-hair onto the image itself
8. Repeat step 6 for the inner window.

So now I can get full screen display... just that the quality is terrible.

But it's a start for Windows

(Pentax could have made this window resizable which would've solved the problem nicely!!)

Have fun! (BTW, PRA seriously eats the K10D battery )

EDIT: If you do this without the screen separated you can adjust the dimensions of the main "PENTAX REMOTE Assistant" window. I set it to 1024 x 768 .... and it saved the size So, you only then have to adjust the inner window.. say to 800x600 (but that doesn't remember, alas!)

Matt

Is it definitely PRA, Matt?

I've noticed that if I leave mine connected via the USB port the battery runs down very quickly... regardless of whether I'm using PRA.

Chris,
Thanks for the correction... yes, it's when USB is plugged in (for which PRA is the only reason I'd use the USB on the K10D)
Matt

Just done an experiment....................The cheap option..........but just as good if you don't have C1 Pro etc.

If you refer to my previous post on how I use the remote assistant and C1 Pro............................change C1 Pro to Picasa 2

Maybe its getting late, but I can't find Remote assistant.
I have downloaded the latest and installed it but I can't find it and no mention in any documentation.
in Pentax Photo Browser the tools menu has it greyed out.
if I connect the camera with the USB it goes into PC drive mode and the menu remains grey.

any ideas?

Have you got the latest version of remote assistant from here http://www.pentaximaging.com/customer_care/show_software?softId=8793673

Are you running version 1.2 or higher firmware on the camera?

Yes, I downloaded the latest version.
and the camera is on 1.3 firmware.
When I ran the Pentax software installer, I didn't take any notice of the destination but it looked like it was going into the Pentax folder.
If I try to run the installer again it tells me it is already installed and quits.

What is the exe called? ( I could search for it) but I am fairly sure Pentax Photo Browser 3.12 should identify it and display the menu properly so something appears to be amiss. (I have restarted the computer).

RA standard installation path............

"Crogram FilesPENTAXDigital Camera UtilityPRMAST03.exe"

EDIT. RA is not part of the Pentax Browser software, it is is a seperate install (see above posts for software download).