Multicam only for money: Sony brings camera control to the Mac
The praised Monitor & Control app can be used to control expensive Sony Alphas. With the brand-new macOS version, the company is attracting criticism.
Multicam in the M&C app from Sony: Useful, but on the Mac only for a lot of money.
(Image: Sony)
Sony's Alpha cameras are very popular, but not known for one thing: Their ease of use. The Japanese company agrees and has developed the Monitor & Control (M&C) app, a comprehensive remote control solution for iPhone, iPad, and Android devices. This is not only used to monitor the image, but also to quickly configure the FX6, FX3, FX2, FX30, A1 and A1 II, A9 III, A7R V, A7S III, A7 IV and ZV-E1 photo and video cameras. The PXW-Z300, PXW-Z200, HXR-NX800 and Burano video cameras are also supported. Sony has now released a Mac version of M&C in the App Store for the first time. Although this is initially very positive, it also has disadvantages of a purely economic nature.
For Sony, Macs are basically for professionals
Anyone who has already purchased an expensive Alpha actually expects a tool like M&C, which makes it easier to use, to be free of charge. This is basically the case: most features can be used free of charge. However, there are additional features such as shooting data as a snapshot, the simultaneous application of settings to all cameras and more presets for cropping/framing (up to 10 instead of 2), for which Sony wants a "basic" premium fee.
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It only gets really professional with the Premium tariff: this can control not just four, but up to 20 cameras. And here's the catch: while multi-cam monitoring is included in the mobile versions, including the iPad, even without paying for four cameras, Sony requires a Premium subscription for this function on the Mac. Otherwise, only single-cam monitoring on the computer is permitted. Only the company itself knows why Sony has implemented this – apparently assumes that Mac users are always "professionals".
Confusing pricing model – month cheaper at first
The tariffs for this are steep. According to Sony (login required), the premium plan, which includes multi-cam support for the Mac, costs 21.99 euros per month or 261.68 euros per year. Confusingly, despite the statement to the contrary, almost nothing can be saved by taking out an annual subscription (263.88 instead of 261.68 euros) – or you even pay extra in the first year: In the monthly subscription, the first month is free as a trial.
In comparison: For the Basic tariff, which includes most of the premium functions for M&C apart from Multi-Cam, you pay 4.99 euros per month or 59.38 euros per year. The same applies here too: If you use the first month as a trial, the monthly subscription is significantly cheaper than the annual offer, otherwise only minimally cheaper. M&C requires at least macOS 14.7 or macOS 15.3 on the Mac. The app is based on the iPad version.
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