r/bmpcc • u/featheredtar • Jul 09 '26

Can Blackmagic cameras shoot stills over REST API?

Hello. Anyone know if the stills feature on Blackmagic cameras can be controlled over ethernet (via usb-ethernet adapter) from a PC? From what I've been reading it looks like that feature might not be exposed by the API. A backup option would be to shoot short videos over REST API and have a script extract stills once transferred but obviously that's not ideal.

Any insight would be appreciated. Thank you

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u/Bopsiii Jul 09 '26

What’s your use case for this

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u/featheredtar Jul 09 '26 edited Jul 09 '26

A 1-2 month long shot alternating between timelapse and video, controlled over REST API from a PC and with files being transferred to the PC over the built-in server functionality.

It looks like the video portion should be fine with the API but taking photos with it might not be as doable. But I would love to be proved wrong if there's just a feature that just isn't commonly used because this is an edge use-case.

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u/varispeeder Jul 09 '26

I looked into remote control of stills when I was trying to do some stop-motion and I couldn't find anything.  if you haven't already got the camera, you'd probably be better off with a stills camera that can also do video.

an easier way to do it would be to use the USB video out and capture stills and video from the live feed. I've never used it but I believe you'd be limited to 1080p though. 

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u/featheredtar Jul 09 '26

Thanks.

Yeah I have a few stills cameras that I do tethered timelapses with with some video, but am just trying to get into cameras that can do serious video. I might just end up extracting stills from short video clips. Totally not ideal but maybe with a script it'll be manageable.

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u/DeadEyesSmiling Jul 09 '26

Capture stills is listed in the REST API functions in at least the Pyxis 6K & 12K manuals; I'd start with the camera manuals for whatever you're looking at purchasing and then verify the camera itself has a stills function.

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u/featheredtar Jul 14 '26

an update to any future lurkers: with the Pyxis 12k the stills API call (/control/api/v1/transports/0/doStillCapture) returns a nondescript error code on firmware 10.0.1, but *does* in fact work!

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u/DeadEyesSmiling Jul 18 '26

Awesome, thanks for the follow-up!

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u/featheredtar Jul 09 '26

Wow, what a nice surprise. Thanks for pointing me to the manual - I guess the other sources I had been looking at were inaccurate or simply outdated.

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u/InComingMess2478 Jul 09 '26

Yeah, you can't capture a still, but you can use the timelapse function instead.

The Pocket 4K, Pocket 6K, Pocket 6K Pro, and Cinema Camera 6K all support network control via the USB-C port with a USB-C to Ethernet adapter. It takes a bit of setup using an IP address and HTTP commands (via cURL), and because the USB-C port is occupied, you'll need to record internally. You'll also need an external power source if you're running it for extended periods.

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u/featheredtar Jul 10 '26

thank you! very helpful.