A Qt 6 desktop application for controlling Sony cameras on Linux: Live View, remote capture, camera settings, photo and video review, selection and import. Developed and maintained by NDRco, based on SonShell and the Sony Camera Remote SDK.
Version 0.8.5 — released. The tested installation target is Ubuntu 24.04 amd64. Hardware checks have been performed on a Sony ILCE-6700; available commands depend on the camera model, firmware and shooting mode.
Shoot without automatically transferring RAW → review the camera card → select or reject captures → import all, new or selected files.
- Embedded Live View with zoom, panning and full screen; separate image viewer with Fit and 100% views.
- Remote shutter, autofocus and video recording. Click-to-focus moves the AF point and triggers focusing when supported by the current camera mode.
- ISO, shutter speed, aperture and exposure compensation: mouse dials, wheel, supported-value lists and manual entry. ISO AUTO fits in the field.
- Focus, white balance, drive mode, photo/video recording settings and stabilization exposed according to the camera's SDK capabilities.
- Connection state, automatic reconnection and optional startup connection using saved credentials. Credentials are saved only when the checkbox is enabled.
- Camera-card browser for photos and videos, independent copy/reject marks, format filters, thumbnails and confirmed deletion.
- Original JPEG previews; original video playback through a temporary cache. Large originals are downloaded on request, with progress and cancellation.
- Import all, new or selected captures; choose RAW/JPEG and the destination.
Files are stored under
YYYY-MM-DD/Slot_N/original hierarchy. - Open the selected photo folder directly from the main window after the first import; availability is restored from the import journal on later launches.
- SHA256 verification, a persistent import journal and resumable queues. An interrupted individual file is transferred again from the beginning.
- Local gallery with thumbnails, search, sorting, RAW+JPEG grouping and EXIF. RAW viewing uses its embedded JPEG.
- Optional studio review for 2–10 seconds after capture, followed by Live View. Choose a compressed preview or an original JPEG from the card; RAW is not automatically transferred.
- Previous/next file buttons, video seeking by ±5 seconds, keyboard navigation, full-screen selection overlays, download progress and cancellation.
- Settings menu for connection, directory and preview options; offline help (F1) and English/Russian interfaces. English is the default; a saved language is retained.
On the camera card, Space toggles a copy mark and Delete toggles a reject mark. Deletion requires a separate confirmation. Use ←/→, Page Up/Page Down to browse, F11 for full screen and Esc to return.
Download the Ubuntu 24.04 amd64 package from GitHub Releases:
sudo apt update
sudo apt install ./sonshell-remote_0.8.5-1ubuntu24.04_amd64.debThe DEB includes the application backend and Sony runtime libraries. Ubuntu installs Qt, ExifTool and FFmpeg dependencies through apt; no compiler or separate SDK installation is needed on the target machine. Sony SDK terms apply separately and are presented before the first camera connection.
See installation and removal and the user guide.
git clone https://github.com/ndrco/SonShell-Remote.git
cd SonShell-RemoteThe GUI and tests can be built without Sony SDK. Camera control requires a backend built with a separately obtained SDK. The development baseline is C++17, Qt 6.4.2 and Sony SDK 2.02.00. See build instructions.
- Other Ubuntu versions and ARM64 require separate builds and installation checks.
- One camera over IPv4/Wi-Fi/LAN; USB discovery and multiple cameras are not yet exposed in the GUI.
- RAW development is not implemented; viewing uses an embedded JPEG.
- Full-resolution studio review requires a JPEG on the card, including RAW+JPEG. RAW-only uses a compressed preview. Physical bursts need further hardware testing.
- Main video playback downloads the complete original before starting. Optional SDK streaming can fail to deliver video frames for some ILCE-6700 clips.
- Video preview has no audio; copying preserves the original file in full.
- Automated tests do not replace acceptance testing on each camera and configuration.
- User guide · Russian
- Installation · Build
- Architecture · Protocol
- Localization · Test results
- Changelog · Contributing
gui/ contains the Qt application; src/ the backend and CLI; cmake/ the SDK
and packaging integration; tests/ camera-free checks; docs/ project documents.
The SonShell history is preserved through 107f9fa. Application source is
licensed under Apache-2.0. Sony SDK and third-party components retain
their own terms; see third-party notices. This is an
independent project, not a Sony product or support service.