Using the E-Series Cameras with Camera Controller 

eCSM Overview

The e-series CSM provides PC control support for the Olympus e-series cameras.  This support includes all of the primary exposure controls, capture, download, and viewing.  Functionality not supported by Camera Controller is not supported.  Unsupported features include;

• The e-series camera control mode.
• Manual Focus.  The e-series cameras use a manual focus ring.  All auto-focus modes are supported, however.
• Zoom.  The e-series cameras use a manual zoom ring.  Zoom can be adjusted manually, however.
• LCD Live View mode.  Live View ouput is output to the Video-Out adapter and is viewable in the Camera Controller Video Preview window.
• Various exposure and feature settings such as; sharpness, custom whitebalance adjustment, exposure bias step size, and others.

All primary exposure controls that are typically supported by Camera Controller are supported in the e-series CSM.  This includes; program mode, resolution and image format, aperture, shutter, preset whitebalance, metering modes, ISO, and flash mode.

Obtaining the e-series CSM

The e-series CSM is distributed in a separate installer that installs just the e-series CSM.  In addition to the eCSM license, you must have a full-function code to use the e-series CSM. 

To obtain the installer, indicate the number of e-series licenses needed when you make your full-function code shareware donation.  These licenses are in addition to the full-function code licenses and are provided when you make additional donations.  For example, to use the e-series CSM on one computer, enter 1 in the "Full-function codes" box and 1 in the "E-Series CSMs" box.

The e-series CSM installer will be sent to you via email. 

Start the donation process by clicking the Donate button at http://www.pinetreecomputing.com/camctl.asp .

Installation

To install the e-series CSM;

1. Double-click the eCSM installer in Windows Explorer and follow the typical prompts to complete the installation.
2. In Windows Explorer, navigate to the eCSM installation folder, typically C:\Program Files\PTC Camera Controller.
3. Double-click the CameraControlDriver.exe to start the required camera driver installation.
4. Follow the typical prompts to complete the install.  It is recommended you allow the installer to create a shortcut to the camera setup tool on your desktop.
5. Reboot the PC, if required by the CameraControlDriver installation.
6. Run the Camera Setup tool by clicking the shortcut installed on your desktop by the CameraControlDriver installer.  If you did not allow the shortcut to be created during the install, the camera setup tool is installed to "C:\Program Files\Common Files\OLYMPUS\Service\SetupCam.exe" by the installer.
7. Follow the instructions presented by the camera setup tool to complete the installation of the camera drivers.

Using the E-Series CSM

Once installed and your camera is registered, one or more new e-series camera models will appear in the camera controller model list.  You will see the model list when you start camera controller using a new configuration.  Optionally, you can change the model stored in a configuration by selecting View/Advanced Tools and then Tools/Select Camera Model from the Camera Controller main menu.

Once you select an e-series model camera, Camera Controller will locate the connected cameras and present you with a list.  Select the camera you wish to control from the list.  Camera Controller will initialize the configuration with default settings, and initialize the camera.

The following notes will help you use the e-series CSM.  Typically, it will work exactly like any of the other supported cameras with the following notable exceptions.

• Manual focus is not supported.  Although the camera controller manual focus slider is visible and enabled, it will be ignored.  This is because the e-series cameras use a manual focus ring that cannot be controlled through the camera.  You cannot control the manual focus while in PC control mode.
• There may be multiple Autofocus settings available.  These settings will be shown in the camera controller focus mode drop down and can be changed in the typical manner.
• Zoom is not supported.  Although the camera controller zoom slider is visible and enabled, it will be ignored.  This is because the e-series cameras use a manual zoom ring that cannot be controlled through the camera.  However, unlike the manual focus, you can manually change the zoom using the zoom ring on the camera.
• Occasionally, you may see "Error:SendCmd" errors with error number -2147213283.  These errors mean camera controller tried to set a camera property to an invalid value.  This is caused when you change an exposure setting to a value that invalidates another of the settings you are using on the exposure window and click the apply button.  For example, if you are in auto program mode using auto flash mode, when you change the program mode to manual and click apply, you will receive this error.  This is because auto flash mode is not available in manual mode.  To continue, close the exposure settings window and re-open it.  All of the dropdowns will be reset to the currently valid values when the exposure window is opened.
• The Olympus e-series SDK only supports buffer mode.  Consequently, you cannot use camera controller to download pictures stored on the camera media.  While in buffer mode, any pictures that are taken are stored in camera memory and subsequently downloaded directly to the PC.
• The Olympus e-series SDK does not support multiple e-series cameras at once.  Consequently, you cannot use camera controller's multi-camera support to control multiple e-series cameras concurrently on the same PC.  You can, however, have one e-series camera, plus one or more V3.0 cameras, plus one V2.0 camera.