It was a couple of years ago that Alpine Labs introduced Pulse, an accessory that lets users remotely control their DSLR's settings via a smartphone app. Now, the company has successfully crowdfunded a follow-up device, known as Spark. It allows users to remotely control their camera not only via their phone, but also in two other ways.
First of all, Spark can be removed from the hot shoe and used as an old-school hard-wired trigger. This is fine for taking long bulb-mode exposures without jiggling the camera by touching it, or for shooting time-lapse footage. In the case of the latter, users put the camera in time-lapse mode, then hold Spark's button down – the number of times it flashes/beeps indicates the number of seconds that will pass between exposures.
Spark can also be removed and used as an infrared trigger, communicating with the camera's built-in sensor from up to 30 feet away (9 m). This is good for getting selfies, along with applications such as shooting wildlife.
And finally it can be left on the camera, where it communicates via Bluetooth with the user's smartphone from a distance of up to 100 ft (30 m). In this setup, an iOS/Android app can be used for things like time-lapse, long exposures, and getting HDR shots. It's also possible to control up to three cameras at once, from a single phone.
Spark is reportedly compatible with a wide range of cameras, including popular models from Sony, Fujifilm, Hasselbald, Pentax, Olympus, Canon and Nikon. It should run for over 2,000 hours on one battery.
It's available now via the link below, for US$74.
Source: Alpine Labs