Trigger Controls

Configuring multi-camera triggering

The Trigger Controls window provides fine-grained control over how and when cameras are triggered. It is particularly important in multi-camera setups where the timing of capture across cameras matters — for example, in capturing a moment from many angles at the same instant.

The window is organised into three sections, each providing a different type of control:

  • Direct shutter button control — direct manual control of the shutter button on the active cameras

  • Synchronised latching and trigger — triggering multiple cameras together with latch support

  • Power zoom controls — adjusting power zoom on cameras that support it

Note

Screenshot pending — Trigger Controls window showing the three sections.

For the basics of taking a photo on the active camera(s), see Camera Control. The Trigger Controls window extends that with timing, synchronisation and zoom controls that go beyond the regular trigger action.

Direct Shutter Button Control

The first section of the window provides direct manual control of the shutter button on the active cameras. This mirrors the behaviour of physically pressing the shutter button on the camera body — you can hold the button to trigger continuous shooting, half-press to acquire focus, and so on.

This is useful in scenarios where you want the same timing control that a physical shutter press gives you, but applied across multiple cameras at once.

Note

Screenshot pending — Direct shutter button control section.

Synchronised Latching and Trigger

The second section coordinates triggering across multiple cameras so that all selected cameras fire as close to the same instant as possible. This is the key CaptureGRID feature for capture scenarios where temporal alignment between cameras matters — for example, sports analysis rigs, bullet-time rigs, or any setup where the parallax between cameras must be captured at a single moment.

Synchronised trigger works across both:

  • Multiple cameras connected to one computer — all selected cameras are triggered as close to the same instant as the local hardware allows

  • Multiple cameras across multiple computers — when the GRID networking feature is enabled, the synchronised trigger coordinates across all nodes in the network so that cameras on different computers fire together

For more on configuring GRID networking, see Networking.

The latching control holds the shutter active for the duration of the latch, which is the model required by some cameras and some capture modes.

Note

Screenshot pending — Synchronised latching and trigger section, with selection of cameras and nodes visible.

Tip

For tightest synchronisation across nodes, ensure that the system clocks on all GRID nodes are synchronised. CaptureGRID’s GRID network does its own clock synchronisation between nodes, but starting from system clocks that are already close together gives the most reliable result.

Power Zoom Controls

The third section provides controls for adjusting the power zoom on cameras that support it — predominantly Sony Alpha bodies with power-zoom lenses.

The controls apply to the currently selected cameras (see Active Camera). Cameras without power-zoom support are unaffected. By restricting the active selection to the power-zoom cameras in the rig, you can adjust them together without affecting other cameras.

Typical controls in this section include zoom wide, zoom telephoto, and setting a specific zoom position. The exact set of controls depends on the camera model.

Note

Screenshot pending — Power zoom controls section.