To be honest I’ve never looked into that subject and I’m not sure if they have like an open API that you can use to do it… There are remotes that you can buy that usually allow you to remotely control the camera.

Dear Rui
Your analysis is spot on. The info from Sony about their WiFi seems not to be available. There are Sony apps that one can use to remotely control the camera, e.g. for time lapse applications from a telephone. There is also USB remote control to be used as a wired shutter. I have found out how that works and what I intend to do now is make a set-up with 2 ESP32’s; 1 in the turntable to control the stepper motor and 1 in a small box near the camera to close a contact that is wired to the USB port of the camera. Once I have it working I will let you know. By the way, I am making use of the excellent info in your ESP32 course, thanks a lot for that.

I’m glad you’ve found the course helpful!

About your question, I could only find this German post about that controlling a Sony Camera with ESP8266 (you can use the Google Chrome auto-translate feature to read it, but make sure you use the original code before the auto-translation): https://glaskugelsehen.wordpress.com/2016/01/08/sony-camera-remote-control-mit-esp8266/

I also found this code that controls a Sony Camera: https://github.com/kuczy/Sony-QX-10-WiFi-Remote-Control-ESP8266-Arduino/blob/master/Sony_QX-10_Remote/Sony_QX-10_Remote.ino

That’s pretty much it, I’m sure it’s possible to sniff the commands and then replicate them with the ESP32 or ESP8266, but unfortunately I don’t have anything like that available at the moment…

Dear Rui

Thanks a lot for this info, it realy was a big help in making some steps forward. Unfortunately not yet with the final result.

I ported the code from Reinhard Nickels https://glaskugelsehen.wordpress.com/2016/01/08/sony-camera-remote-control-mit-esp8266/ to an ESP32s from nodeMCU  main change was to use the <WiFi.h> library instead of <ESP8266WiFi.h>, and of course modifying the SSID and PW of my HX400 camera, but making the wifi connection between the ESP32 and the camera has not been successful yet.

I also found the Sony API information : https://developer.sony.com/file/download/sony-camera-remote-api-beta-sdk-2/ but that is only useful when I can establish a connection with the camera. Will continue to try and find a solution.

To be honest I’m not sure, I haven’t tried those examples so I honestly don’t know how to help in this exact question.

You might also find helpful reading this tutorial (you should be able to make it work with the ESP):

circuitbasics.com/control-your-dslr-camera-with-an-arduino-intervalometer/

Dear Rui
 
Thanks a lot for your help in trying to find a way to get the ESP32 connected over Wifi to my camera. So far I have not been succesfull in establishing the connection. The program (derived from Reinhard Nickels version of the sketch) runs on the ESP32 without error reports, however no wifi connection yet. I wil now try the same set up with an ESP 8266 maybe the different wifi library is the cause?
The example that you mentioned above is for a wired solution, which is a fall back solution for me connecting to the camera via its micro USB port.
Whishing you a nice weekend

It might be easier to connect an ESP wired to the camera. Then, you have a 2nd ESP that sends the commands via Wi-Fi to the ESP. I know it’s not an ideal solution, but it might be easier/possible to implement. 
Yes, the ESP32 and ESP8266 Wi-Fi libraries are different, but if you import the WiFi.h library in an ESP32 sketch it should work.

Dear Rui
Thank you very much for your responses. I have already made the solution with 2 ESP32’s connected via Bluetooth, one ESP wired to the camera. The challenge for me, however remains to get the direct-wifi connection to the camera operational. For the moment I am working on a few other things, so little progress at the moment. There must be some hidden tricks in the Sony camera that make it difficult to use other 3rd party equipment.
 
 

Exactly! Good luck with that project!

Dear Rui
It has taken some time, but now I have a working turning table that triggers my Sony camera via Bluetooth (BLE) every time the turntable stops at selectable angles. The full description of the project can be found on Hackster.io  :
https://www.hackster.io/Pedro52/arduino-controlled-turntable-for-3d-photography-7c26c3
All this thanks to your help and the clear instructions in your books, especially Lear ESP32!
Best Regards
 
 

Thank you so much for taking the time to share your final project. I’m glad you made it work!
Regards,
Rui