Canon EOS Utility Alternative?

[JMitchell23]

Hello all,

I'm currenty running Catalina 10.15.2 on my Macbook Pro(mid-2012) and have discovered Canon EOS Utility no longer works on this iOS system. I am a one person crew and typicall use the app to film myself for my Youtube videos. I'd specifically need an app that will allow me to remotely control the autofocus like the EOS Utility does. Any other apps that can help me achieve this?

Thank you in advance for your time!

By the way, I'm shooting with a Canon Rebel T6i and typically use a 24mm f/2.8 lens. This setup doesn't give me much room to set the autofocus and forget (it hunts HORRIBLY and sometimes doesn't focus at all) it so I need to be able to monitor it while filming.

[Waddizzle]

Sorry to hear about your issues with Catalina.  Welome to the club.

As far as substitutes for Remote Live View shooting with the EOS Utility, I do not know of any.  I was not aware that you are able to use a T6i for remote movie shooting, BTW.

In regards to autofocusing, how much refocusing do you need to do?  If you are using a Live View as a remote monitor, then does not sound like you are moving around much, and neither is the camera ... not if you are making selfie videos.

So, I ask.  Why do you need to autofocus during a video shoot?  With careful selection of your aperture, you can take advantage of focusing at the hyperfocal distance of the lens.  There are many online Depth of Field calculators on the internet. I like to use dofmaster dot com.

According to their DoF table, you can set your aperture to f/5.6, and everything beyond 9 feet is in focus.  At f/8, this minimum focusing distance drops to 6 feet with a 24mm lens.

So, I ask again.  Why do you find a need to refocus the lens during a video shoot?  What is it about the content of your videos the require you to refocus the lens when you are making what I am guessing are selfie videos?

[JMitchell23]

Hello, thanks for your reply!

I don’t need to refocus while shooting, but rather, I need to make sure I’m in focus while I’m in front of the camera if that makes sense. I’m usually too far from the cameras viewfinder to adequately see if I’m in focus, let alone tap the touch screen. I like to set up my scene, sit in place, adjust my focus using EOS Utility on my Mac that’s usually in arms length, and then hit record.

I also shot in a very small room that most likely won’t allow me to be more than about 3 feet from my camera, but I will be sure to try your suggestion of shooting at a higher aperture. I like having depth of field, but looks like I’m going to have to do without it until I can find an alternative or Canon updates the firmware. Thanks again for the advice!

[jrhoffman75]

Canon has updated EOS Utility for Catalina; you can download from the Canon support site.

Howver, I believe the problem with Catalina is not EOS Utility but the Apple USB driver/interface, so I think you may not find a solution outside of a macOS update.

https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom-classic/kb/macos-catalina-compatibility.html

[JMitchell23]

Ah, thank you, yes you’re actually correct. That is the issue and unfortunately doesn’t solve my problem. Hopefully we can find a solution as it was such a wonderful tool to use. Thanks for your input, John!