iOS User Guide

For first time users, scroll down to read Initial Set-Up Instructions and App Details to learn what all the options mean on the Home Screen and the Settings Menu.

After you've familiarized yourself with the app, read the Recommended Settings at top for which options to choose based on your phone.

Recommended Settings

Pylon Mount

• I recommend the Ski View with Active Track.

• Optionally, you can add a vibration dampening device like explained here, which should improve any ongoing "background vibration," though they may slightly worsen the momentary "rope snap shake" when the skier hooks up out of the buoy. I'll be testing a different dampening device soon as well.

Trigger Speed

• I recommend setting your trigger speed 3 or 4 MPH below your slowest ski speed, to ensure you don't miss any portion of a pass.
  
  

Zoom

• To adjust zoom, do a two-finger drag on the screen. Depending on your phone/lens and camera mount, you will want some amount of zoom, but just start lower and keep bumping it up until the skier is going to the edge of the frame but not out-of-frame. If the skier is going out-of-frame on only one side, adjust your camera mount to compensate by turning it more towards center (small movements make a big difference!).
  
  

Phone/Camera/Lens

• There are essentially four “categories” of iPhone in terms of camera hardware/behavior. My goal was to have really clear guidelines for each phone model. I'm rather confident on category #1 and #2 below, but #3 and #4 have been confusing. So you'll have to just test all the options on your phone and see what best!

1. iPhone 13-and-earlier:
- Use the Selfie lens. Manual Focus will not be available.
- Ironically, these older phones are the best options in terms of video stability. Apple's "upgraded" lenses on later models are very good at stabilizing hand-held movements, but they make video captured in high-frequency vibration situations (like a boat pylon) actually much worse.
- The one caveat is that if you are using a Shock Tube, it seems the lens might focus on the tube rather than the skier, at least on some models of phone.

2. iPhone 14-and-newer Pro models:
- Use the Rear-Main lens, with Manual Focus enabled. Adding a vibration dampener may help.
- This stability will be quite good, but not as stable as an earlier model Selfie lens.

3. iPhone 14-15 non-Pro models:
- I think on these, the Ultra-Wide lens will be very stable, but you'll lose some resolution because you'll have to zoom in a bunch as compared to the Rear-Main.  I think the 14 Rear-Main will also be decent stability, so it'd be your decision between more stable (Ultra-Wide) or better resolution (Main). But the 15 Rear-Main might be less stable, making Ultra-Wide the best on the 15, despite the lower resolution.
- If you use the Rear-Main, use Manual Focus, and adding a vibration dampener may help. Also see below** for a couple current inconsistencies with Manual Focus settings.

4. iPhone 16 non-Pro model:
- It seems this may be the worst current option.  I've seen one set of test videos, and none of the lenses looked good. Adding a vibration dampener should help.  More testing to come.

Manual Focus

• If Manual Focus is available on your selected lens, I recommend using it, particularly if you use a Shock Tube.  Even if you haven’t noticed particular focus issues, locking the focus can improve video stability by preventing the lens from constantly hunting focus during a pass.

• Based on my "dry land" testing:

  • • If using the Rear-Main lens, the ideal focus setting will likely be somewhere around 0.75-0.80, depending on what phone you have.

    • If using the Selfie lens, it will likely be around 0.60-0.65, depending on phone.

    • If using the Ultrawide lens, it will likely be around 0.85-0.90, depending on phone.

    • Regardless of lens, I think you should be able to use the same setting for every line length from 15off to 41off.

      • • At 41off the skier is still 39 feet from the pylon, and at such long distances the "range of focus" on a single setting becomes very broad. It's possible that a short-line skier would tick it just slightly closer and a longer-line skier just slightly farther, but maybe not even, and you certainly won't have to adjust in between every rope length. More testing and clarification to come.

• To set your ideal focus, get the skier sitting in the water at roughly full-rope length. Have the boat driver or passenger slide the focus slider back and forth until the skier is most in-focus. It may also help to zoom in a bunch onto the skier (much more than you would to actually record), so you can see clearly the variations in the focus on the skier. Once you have your setting, you can press to "Lock" the slider to avoid accidental adjustment, and zoom back out to an appropriate level.

• See below** for a couple current inconsistencies/bugs in isolated circumstances when it comes to Manual Focus. They will be fixed after more testing.
  
  

Quality/FPS (frames-per-second)

• Between 4K and HD:

  • • 4K has a sharper image than HD, but will quadruple your file size. If you are watching back only on an iPhone-sized screen, the difference between HD and 4K is definitely present but not drastic. The larger the screen is, and the more you zoom in, the more the quality of 4K will become apparent.

    • 60fps will yield more fluid motion and allow for 0.5x speed playback* as compared to 30fps, but will increase file size by roughly half.

    • There is a chance that recording in HD will also yield more stable video. I still need to test this more though.

• For frames-per-second, even on a small screen the difference between 60fps and 30fps will be noticeable. So I recommend using 60fps regardless, and then decide HD or 4K based on concerns (or lack thereof) regarding file size.

• If you record in HD120, Apple will default the video to playback in 1/4 speed slo-mo. You can adjust individual videos playback at full speed by following these instructions.

• One important note regarding file sizes: If you go to phone Settings > Photos, you will see that "Optimize iPhone Storage" is likely selected by default. If your iPhone is running low on space, the Photos app will keep only low-resolution versions of files on your local phone, while storing full-resolution versions in iCloud. This means playback quality on your phone could be reduced, and/or your phone will need to download full-resolution versions from iCloud before you can view a video (particularly older videos), requiring data or wifi. To check your storage space, go to phone Settings > General > iPhone Storage, which will show you how much space you've used and how much you have left. If you have the space, I'd change the setting to "Download and Keep Originals", and you can always switch it back later if you need. This keeps full-quality version of your videos stored locally on  your device.

• Also note, if you text someone a video, Apple often compresses/degrades it on the recipient's end, sometimes significantly. If you want to ensure you share a full-quality video, you must upload it to a file storage service like Google Drive and send a link.
  
  

*0.5x Speed Playback

• If you record in 60fps (frames-per-second), the standard video playback is regular speed, but it’s super simple to convert it to 0.5x speed, which I find to be a great speed for more detailed analysis – not too fast, not too slow. Here's a video demonstration of adjusting the playback speed (this applies to any 60fps video, not just those recorded with PylonCam).
  
  

Directional Trigger

• Unless you are using PylonCam Pro for jump, leave this Off, or you will miss passes being recorded.
  
  
  **Current Manual Focus Inconsistencies

• It seems on some models, if you are on the Selfie lens, you will see Manual Focus as an option, and if you select it, a Focus Slider will appear. However, adjusting the slider won't actually do anything.

• If you select the Rear-Ultrawide lens, and you are able to select Manual Focus but don't then see a Focus Slider appear on the main screen, Manual Focus is not actually available for that lens. Selecting Auto or Manual won't change anything. But fixing that may break something else, so I need to test more first.

• All this will get sorted out with more testing, and I thought about waiting to release the app until then, but I'd rather get it out there now and tweak it as-needed later.

Initial Set-Up Instructions

NOTE: If you have Portrait Orientation Lock/Rotation Lock turned On on your phone, the videos will be stored rotated. Turn off Rotation Lock before using PylonCam Pro.

When opening the app for the first time, you will get a series of prompts:

1. Allow "PylonCam Pro" to use your location?
   - You must select Allow While Using App .
   - If you need to verify that you selected correctly, go to your phone Settings >Privacy & Security > Location Services. Find "PylonCam Pro" in the app list and click it. The setting should be "While Using the App" or "Always."

App Details

Home Screen Overview

• The top middle shows the current Zoom level. Use a two-finger drag in and out to adjust the zoom, as you would in the standard Apple Camera app.

  • • The zoom level will save even if you full-close and re-open the app. It will, however, reset to 1.0x if you change the Quality/FPS (in the Settings menu).

• When a video is being recorded, a small Red Circle will appear in the top right.

• If Manual Focus is enabled in the Settings menu, a Focus Slider will appear. Drag the white circle left and right to adjust focus. Click "Lock" to lock the slider to avoid accidental adjustment, or click "Unlock" to make the slider adjustable again.

• The bottom left button accesses the Settings menu (see below).

• The middle number shows the current trigger speed, and the - and + buttons next to it adjust the speed. This is the MPH or KPH at which the camera will start recording (once user speed goes above trigger) and stop recording (once speed goes below trigger).

• The bottom-right toggle switches between Auto-Record Enabled (green) and Auto-Record Disabled (gray). When it is Disabled, no recordings will be made. This defaults to Enabled when you full-close and open the app, though if you switch it to Disabled and only put the app in the background, it will remain Disabled when you open it again.