Sony announces SDK for Sony α7R IV and α9 II cameras

Sony Electronics released a new software development kit (SDK) enabling third-party developers and integrators to access control of Sony cameras. Sony says it is releasing the SDK based on extensive interest in their camera lineup from commercial customers.

Neal Manowitz, Deputy President of Sony Imaging Products and Solutions Americas.

“The customer’s voice is absolutely critical to all aspects of our business,” said Neal Manowitz, Deputy President of Sony Imaging Products and Solutions Americas. “After receiving many requests, we’re excited to finally be able to open our platform in this manner. Companies will now be able to custom develop applications to control our cameras remotely, allowing them to take full advantage of the many innovations in Sony’s lineup including industry-leading autofocus, shooting speeds and much more. Ultimately, this gives professional clients the ability to create new and different imaging experiences unlike anything that’s been done before.”

With the new SDK, key camera controls and still image data captured will be available for remote access, including adjustment of camera settings, shutter release and live view monitoring.

One partnership already cited by Sony for using the SDK is Telemetrics Inc., which is selling complete packages including a weather-resistant housing unit on a remotely controlled pan/tilt head compatible with select Sony full-frame mirrorless cameras.

“Combining our expertise in robotics and camera control with the impressive capabilities of Sony’s Alpha camera technology will allow us to create some especially unique solutions for capturing live sports entertainment, which include the newly introduced PT-CP-S5 Compact Pan/Tilt Head and the WP-HOU-A9 Camera Housing unit,” said Michael Cuomo, Vice President of Telemetrics, Inc. “We’ve been thrilled with the results and are extremely excited at the potential for future integration with our systems.”

Initially, the Camera Remote SDK will support Alpha 7R IV and Alpha 9 II bodies, with plans to gradually expand the lineup of supported cameras hereafter (The supported Cameras by current Camera Remote API are not included in compatible cameras’ line-up for Camera Remote SDK.) The Camera Remote SDK is available now and can be downloaded from HERE.

The current Camera Remote API’s provision will be closed following this new release of the new Camera Remote SDK and its support will be terminated.