How to Remote Control a Venice 2

[LensMeAHand]

On car shoots, being able to remotely control your camera is almost a necessity. Whether you’re hanging the camera off an arm car or whether you’re simply mounting to a car and shooting actors inside, the ability to change camera settings without having to get out of the car saves you an extraordinary amount of time.

While the Venice 2 is unfortunately not compatible with the Sony SDK (which would allow for control of multiple cameras simultaneously), the camera features a built-in remote control interface accessible through a network connection.

I should mention that it’s best to use this remote control interface with either a tablet or a laptop, as the webpage was not created with mobile in mind, meaning you can’t zoom out to see the entire page at once.

The remote control interface, as viewed on an iPhone 12 mini

Wireless: The Venice 2 does not have wireless networking capabilities out of the box, but with the Sony CBK-WA02 Wireless LAN Adapter, you can connect to the camera wirelessly.

The Sony CBK-WA02 Wireless LAN Adapter in use

To setup the connection, open the full menu (by either holding the menu button or by pressing the menu button and the selection knob simultaneously), and navigate to Techincal > Authentication > Password. Set the username and password and write them down. Then navigate to Technical > Network > Wireless. From your computer, connect to the network name shown on the Venice 2 and enter the WiFi password shown in the camera menu. Once you’ve connected to the WiFi network, you should also see an IP address in the camera menu. Enter that IP address into your web browser on your computer, and then, when prompted, enter the username and password you wrote down earlier. Now you are connected!

I was hopeful for the wireless connection because, while prepping at the rental house, I could control the camera from 70 feet away. However, when using the wireless connection with the Venice 2 mounted to a Russian arm on a camera car, it was not stable—when the arm whipped around, we were immediately disconnected. Therefore, I would recommend using a wired connection.

Arm car + wireless connection = disappointment

Wired: If you prefer the stability and persistence of a hardwired connection, then the only piece of kit you need is an ethernet cable. After you connect the cable from your computer to your Venice 2, you’ll need to configure the network settings. On the Venice 2, open the full menu (by either holding the menu button or by pressing the menu button and the selection knob simultaneously), navigate to Technical > Network > LAN, and then on your computer, enter the Venice 2’s IP address into your web browser. If it doesn’t connect, make sure you’re connecting over normal HTTP and not HTTPS. If that still doesn’t fix it, change your computer‘s subnet mask and first three numbers of the IP address to match those of the Venice 2. Then navigate to Techincal > Authentication > Password. Set the username and password and enter them into your computer’s web browser. You should then be connected and ready to go!

[IamOakley]

The disappointment equation. 😅