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The SonyCameraInfo.exe utility

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Doug Henderson edited this page May 30, 2021 · 1 revision

This utility is primarily designed to search for, and display information about detected cameras.

For new cameras, this will teach the driver how to talk to the camera, and also output the information I need in order to be able to have the camera auto-detected for other users. When new camera info is submitted I will update the driver so other users of that camera get a driver that "works out of the box".

Where to find the utility

The utility is installed in the ASCOM Cameras directory on your computer. This is normally C:\Program Files\Common Files\ASCOM\Cameras. Since version 1.0.0.30 of the driver, the utility can be run in its default "scan" mode by double clicking on it. Prior versions required the tool to be run from the cmd prompt.

  1. Press "Windows+R"
  2. Type cmd and press ENTER
  3. Type (or copy) the following: cd "C:\Program Files\Common Files\ASCOM\Camera" and press ENTER
  4. Type SonyCameraInfo.exe and add any desired parameters to run the utility (i.e. SonyCameraInfo.exe /h) and press ENTER

Current features

Whenever run, the utility will attempt to load each of the support DLL's the driver uses. If there is a problem with any of these it will print some error information.

Scan For Connected Cameras (this is the default action and does not require any parameters)

In this mode, the utility will search for any MTP devices and attempt to identify them. With the exception of the latest A7RIV and A7SIII all Sony cameras appear to be MTP devices (and the exceptions can be adjusted using the Windows device manager - see the installation page).

If a device is recognized as a camera, the utility will check to ensure the driver is aware of its capabilities. As the driver evolves, more information is collected and used. If any information is missing, the utility will attempt to collect it, either by taking a test shot, or by manipulating the Shutter and/or ISO settings of the camera - it does this so that it can control the camera better, and in some cases show additional info within your chosen AstroPhotography app.

If additional information is collected, it will ask that you email it to me (and provide an email address). If you choose to do this, please use your mouse and Copy/Paste to copy the text from the window. A screenshot or photo is nowhere near as useful.

C:\Program Files\Common Files\ASCOM\Camera>SonyCameraInfo.exe
Sony Camera Info
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Loaded 'turbojpeg.dll' from 'C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\turbojpeg.dll'
Loaded 'libraw.dll' from 'C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\libraw.dll'
Loaded 'SonyMTPCamera.dll' from 'C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\SonyMTPCamera.dll'
  Product Name:    Sony MTP Camera Driver
  Product Version: 1.0.0.29

Scanning for Cameras

1 portable devices found

--------------------------------------
Device #1
  Manufacturer: Sony Corporation
  Model:        ILCE-6400
  Connection:   Connected
  Get Info:
   Manufacturer:                     Sony Corporation
   Model:                            ILCE-6400
   Device Path:                      Sony Corporation\ILCE-6400
   Preview image width:              1024px
   Preview image height:             680px
   Full-size image width:            6024px
   Full-size image height:           4024px
   Full-size image width (Cropped):  6000px
   Full-size image height (Cropped): 4000px
   Available Exposure Times:
     0, 19660810, 16384010, 13107210, 9830410, 8519690, 6553610, 5242890, 3932170, 3276810,
     2621450, 2097162, 1638410, 1310730, 1048586, 851978, 655370, 524298, 393226, 327690,
     262154, 65539, 65540, 65541, 65542, 65544, 65546, 65549, 65551, 65556,
     65561, 65566, 65576, 65586, 65596, 65616, 65636, 65661, 65696, 65736,
     65786, 65856, 65936, 66036, 66176, 66336, 66536, 66786, 67136, 67536,
     68036, 68736, 69536,
   Available ISO Values:
     16777215, 100, 125, 160, 200, 250, 320, 400, 500, 640,
     800, 1000, 1250, 1600, 2000, 2500, 3200, 4000, 5000, 6400,
     8000, 10000, 12800, 16000, 20000, 25600, 32000, 40000, 51200, 64000,
     80000, 102400,

C:\Program Files\Common Files\ASCOM\Camera>

/l List Supported Cameras

The utility will display a list of the cameras that the driver currently recognizes.

C:\Program Files\Common Files\ASCOM\Camera>SonyCameraInfo.exe /l
Sony Camera Info
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Loaded 'turbojpeg.dll' from 'C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\turbojpeg.dll'
Loaded 'libraw.dll' from 'C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\libraw.dll'
Loaded 'SonyMTPCamera.dll' from 'C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\SonyMTPCamera.dll'
  Product Name:    Sony MTP Camera Driver
  Product Version: 1.0.0.28

The following is a list of cameras that have been tested by individual users.

MTP Connection
--------------
  DSC-RX10M4 (RX10 Mk IV)
  ILCA-77M2 (a77 Mk II)
  ILCA-99M2 (a99 Mk II)
  ILCE-5000 (a5000)
  ILCE-5100 (a5100)
  ...
    
C:\Program Files\Common Files\ASCOM\Camera>

/d & /d[0-5] Display/Set Debug Logging

Running with just /d will output the current debug-log setting. Running with a number following the /d (as in /d0 or /d1) will update the setting. Normally you would only use the values /d0 to disable logging, or /d1 to turn it on. When enabled, it will write a log file to your home directory. This is usually C:\Users\_your_name_\, the log file is called sonycamera.txt. If you are reporting issues with the driver, please use /d1 to enable logging, then send the log file to me.

Displaying Debug Level C:\Program Files\Common Files\ASCOM\Camera>SonyCameraInfo.exe /d Sony Camera Info ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Loaded 'turbojpeg.dll' from 'C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\turbojpeg.dll'
Loaded 'libraw.dll' from 'C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\libraw.dll'
Loaded 'SonyMTPCamera.dll' from 'C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\SonyMTPCamera.dll'
  Product Name:    Sony MTP Camera Driver
  Product Version: 1.0.0.29

Debug level is set to 0 (1 = everything... 5 = errors only)
Driver DLL IS NOT configured to log to a file (clear)


C:\Program Files\Common Files\ASCOM\Camera>

Turning Debug Log On C:\Program Files\Common Files\ASCOM\Camera>SonyCameraInfo.exe /d1 Sony Camera Info ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Loaded 'turbojpeg.dll' from 'C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\turbojpeg.dll'
Loaded 'libraw.dll' from 'C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\libraw.dll'
Loaded 'SonyMTPCamera.dll' from 'C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\SonyMTPCamera.dll'
  Product Name:    Sony MTP Camera Driver
  Product Version: 1.0.0.29

Debug level is set to 1 (1 = everything... 5 = errors only)
Log file set to '%HOMEDRIVE%%HOMEPATH%\sonycamera.txt'

Note: %HOMEDRIVE%%HOMEPATH% translates to C:\Users\_your_name_

/c & /c[0-2] Display/Set Crop Mode

The default mode of the driver is to output ALL of the pixels that the camera provides. Most cameras have a small number of extra pixels that applications like Photoshop and PixInsight will either remove, or expect to be removed. Use /c to display the current crop mode. Use /c1 to set the driver to automatically trim the extra pixels (this relies on this information being available to the driver - see the Scan option above) Use /c2 to set the driver to crop a custom number of pixels from the image. This should never be used.

/e List Known Exposure Times

This lists the different exposure times that the connected camera supports. This is a more user-readable list than the one given by the Scan option above.

C:\Program Files\Common Files\ASCOM\Camera>SonyCameraInfo.exe /e
Sony Camera Info
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Loaded 'turbojpeg.dll' from 'C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\turbojpeg.dll'
Loaded 'libraw.dll' from 'C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\libraw.dll'
Loaded 'SonyMTPCamera.dll' from 'C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\SonyMTPCamera.dll'
  Product Name:    Sony MTP Camera Driver
  Product Version: 1.0.0.29

Listing supported Exposure times

1 portable devices found

--------------------------------------
Device #1
  Manufacturer: Sony Corporation
  Model:        ILCE-6400
  Connection:   Connected
   Available Exposure Times:
    1 - BULB (0)
    2 - 30" (19660810)
    ...
    52 - 1/3200" (68736)
    53 - 1/4000" (69536)


C:\Program Files\Common Files\ASCOM\Camera>

/i List Known ISO Values

This lists the different ISO Values supported by the connected camera. The driver learns this during a Scan. This is a more user-readable list than the one given by the Scan option above.

C:\Program Files\Common Files\ASCOM\Camera>SonyCameraInfo.exe /i
Sony Camera Info
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Loaded 'turbojpeg.dll' from 'C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\turbojpeg.dll'
Loaded 'libraw.dll' from 'C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\libraw.dll'
Loaded 'SonyMTPCamera.dll' from 'C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\SonyMTPCamera.dll'
  Product Name:    Sony MTP Camera Driver
  Product Version: 1.0.0.29

Listing supported Exposure times

1 portable devices found

--------------------------------------
Device #1
  Manufacturer: Sony Corporation
  Model:        ILCE-6400
  Connection:   Connected
   Available ISO Values:
    1 - AUTO (16777215)
    2 - 100 (100)
    ...
    31 - 80000 (80000)
    32 - 102400 (102400)


C:\Program Files\Common Files\ASCOM\Camera>

/v List All Loaded DLL Information

At startup the utility loads all of the DLL's that the driver uses and prints some information about each of them. This option will print information about ALL of the DLL's that were also automatically loaded.

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