Free Sony Hack: Record the Camera Viewfinder Feed without an External Monitor

Here's a fun camera hack for Sony users that will cost you nothing. In the below tutorial, portrait photographer Manny Ortiz shows you how to record footage from the rear display or EVF on a Sony camera without needing an external monitor.

That's right, you can record the live feed in your electronic viewfinder or on the rear screen for free. It's a great little trick for anyone who wants to play back footage from a photography shoot for sharing or learning purposes or to post behind-the-scenes clips on YouTube or Instagram.

So, what's the secret? Sony's oft maligned Imaging Edge Mobile app.

"This little trick that I'm about to show you, it's not going to cost you any money," Ortiz says. "It's probably going to cost you your mental health because I'm going to ask you to download the Sony remote app."

It's worth it though, as Ortiz explains below.

"What I'm about to show you is how you can record the Sony viewfinder without having to buy those expensive monitors that you have to attach on here via HDMI and record what's going on in the camera," he says. "Go in the app store and download the Sony imaging app and then connect that to your camera. Now I can see everything that my camera sees on my phone including the focusing points, which is really cool. It doesn't intrude on your process and it's free."

Watch below as Ortiz walks you through the relatively simple process and then give it a shot on your Sony camera today.

"This content [I'm recording] here provides a nice little BTS [behind the scenes] for an Instagram post where you want to show someone the before and the after," he notes. "It's great for social media."

X