Properties - Sony Developer Platform

Every property supports hex values from the GET response — hex always works. Many properties also accept human-readable formats ("1/125", "f/2.8", "400"). Always GET the property first to see what your specific camera supports. See the auto-generated API reference for full request/response schemas.

Get Property

GET /api/cameras/{cameraId}/properties/{propertyName} — returns current value, human-readable format, writability flag, and all values the camera currently accepts.

curl http://localhost:8080/api/cameras/D10F60149B0C/properties/shutter-speed

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "property": "shutter-speed",
    "value": "0x1007d",
    "formatted": "1/125",
    "writable": "true",
    "available_values": [
      { "value": "0x11f40", "formatted": "1/8000" },
      { "value": "0x10fa0", "formatted": "1/4000" },
      { "value": "0x107d0", "formatted": "1/2000" },
      { "value": "0x103e8", "formatted": "1/1000" },
      { "value": "0x101f4", "formatted": "1/500" },
      { "value": "0x100fa", "formatted": "1/250" },
      { "value": "0x1007d", "formatted": "1/125" }
    ]
  }
}

Set Property

PUT /api/cameras/{cameraId}/properties/{propertyName} — set a camera property. Accepts hex values from available_values or human-readable strings.

Format	Example	Description
Hex	`"0x1007d"`	Copy from GET response `available_values` — always works
Human-readable	`"1/125"`	For shutter speed
F-stop	`"f/5.6"`	For aperture
Decimal	`"400"`	For ISO
String enum	`"wide"`	For focus area, drive mode, etc.

The safest approach: GET the property first, pick a value from available_values, and send it back in your PUT.

curl -X PUT http://localhost:8080/api/cameras/D10F60149B0C/properties/shutter-speed \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"value": "0x100fa"}'

curl -X PUT http://localhost:8080/api/cameras/D10F60149B0C/properties/shutter-speed \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"value": "1/250"}'

The server validates against the camera’s current available_values and checks writability before sending to the SDK. If the property is not writable (e.g. shutter speed in Aperture Priority mode), you’ll get a 400 error.

Get All Properties

GET /api/cameras/{cameraId}/properties/all — returns all mapped properties with their current formatted values.

curl http://localhost:8080/api/cameras/D10F60149B0C/properties/all

Priority Key

Priority key must be set to pc-remote before the camera accepts any property changes or shooting commands.

GET /api/cameras/{cameraId}/priority-key — read current setting
PUT /api/cameras/{cameraId}/priority-key — set pc-remote or camera-position

curl -X PUT http://localhost:8080/api/cameras/D10F60149B0C/priority-key \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"setting": "pc-remote"}'

The key also changes what the camera reports

Holding pc-remote is not only about whether a write is accepted — it changes what the camera reports. Measured on an ILCE-7M5 over USB in remote connection mode, SDK V2.02.00: the same property, read seconds apart, nothing else changed.

Priority key	`GET /properties/focus-area`
`camera-position` (the default after connecting)	`writable: false`, `available_values: []`
`pc-remote`	`writable: true`, `available_values` lists the body’s focus areas

The subsequent PUT /properties/focus-area then succeeded.

writable: false is a statement about the current session, not about the body. A client that enumerates properties immediately after connecting — while the key is still camera-position — will conclude the camera does not support features it does support. Claim pc-remote first whenever a read is going to drive a capability list or a settings UI.

An empty available_values has the same ambiguity: it means either “this is a range property” or “this is gated by the current priority key.” Re-read after claiming pc-remote before concluding anything about the camera. This was measured on one body and one property — treat the shape of the behaviour as the finding, not the specific values. It applies to bodies that implement the priority key; FX3 and cinema bodies do not, and auto-enter PC Remote on USB.

Property Reference

All 56 properties organized by category. Every property supports hex values from the GET response — hex always works. Always GET the property first to see what your specific camera supports.

Properties marked R/W can be read and written. Read-only properties return data but reject SET requests. Some R/W properties report as read-only depending on the camera’s current mode — or on which priority key you hold.

Core Exposure

Property	R/W	Description
`iso`	R/W	ISO sensitivity (Auto, 125, 200, 400, …)
`aperture`	R/W	F-number (f/1.4, f/2.0, …, f/22)
`shutter-speed`	R/W	Shutter speed (1/8000, …, 30s, Bulb)
`exposure-program-mode`	R/W	P, A, S, M, Auto, Movie modes
`exposure-compensation`	R/W	Exposure bias (+/- EV steps)
`exposure-step`	R/W	EV step size (1/3 or 1/2)
`metering-mode`	R/W	Multi, Center, Spot, Highlight, etc.
`ae-lock`	R/W	Auto-exposure lock (Off / On)

Focus & Zoom

Property	R/W	Description
`focus-mode`	R/W	Manual, AF-S, AF-C, AF-A, DMF
`focus-area`	R/W	Wide, Zone, Center, Flexible Spot, Tracking — determines whether an AF frame exists to move
`focus-position`	R/W	Absolute position 0-65535
`focus-position-current`	Read-only	Actual lens position
`focus-driving-status`	Read-only	Not Driving / Driving
`focus-distance`	Read-only	Distance in 1/1000 meter units
`zoom-distance`	Read-only	Focal length in 0.001mm units
`zoom-setting`	R/W	Optical Zoom / Clear Image Zoom / Digital Zoom

White Balance

Property	R/W	Description
`white-balance`	R/W	Auto, Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, etc.
`white-balance-color-temp`	R/W	Color temperature in Kelvin (range: 2500-9900K)
`awb-lock`	R/W	Auto white balance lock (Off / On)

Drive & Shutter

Property	R/W	Description
`drive-mode`	R/W	Single, Continuous Hi/Lo, Timer, Bracket
`shutter-type`	R/W	Auto, Mechanical, Electronic
`shutter-mode`	R/W	Speed (shutter speed) / Angle (shutter angle)
`shutter-angle`	R/W	Shutter angle in degrees (when shutter-mode = Angle)
`silent-mode`	R/W	Silent (electronic) shutter (Off / On)
`flicker-less-shooting`	R/W	Anti-flicker shooting (Off / On)

Flash

Property	R/W	Description
`flash-mode`	R/W	Off, Auto, Fill, Rear Sync, Slow Sync
`flash-compensation`	R/W	Flash exposure compensation (+/- EV)
`wireless-flash`	R/W	Wireless flash control (Off / On)

Image Format

Property	R/W	Description
`file-format`	R/W	RAW, JPEG, RAW+JPEG, HEIF
`image-quality`	R/W	Fine, Standard, Extra Fine
`raw-compression`	R/W	Uncompressed, Compressed, Lossless
`image-size`	R/W	L, M, S image resolution
`aspect-ratio`	R/W	3:2, 16:9, 1:1, 4:3
`color-space`	R/W	sRGB, AdobeRGB
`still-image-store-destination`	R/W	Host PC (`0x1`), Memory Card (`0x2`), Both (`0x3`)

Image Processing

Property	R/W	Description
`dro`	R/W	D-Range Optimizer (Off, Auto, Lv1-Lv5)
`high-iso-nr`	R/W	High ISO noise reduction (Off, Low, Normal)
`long-exposure-nr`	R/W	Long exposure noise reduction (Off / On)
`creative-look`	R/W	ST, PT, NT, VV, VV2, FL, IN, SH, BW, SE
`picture-profile`	R/W	PP1-PP11, Off
`aps-c-s35`	R/W	APS-C / Super 35mm crop mode (Off / On / Auto)

Stabilization

Property	R/W	Description
`image-stabilization`	R/W	SteadyShot for stills (Off / On)
`movie-stabilization`	R/W	SteadyShot for video (Off / Standard / Active)

Video Recording

Property	R/W	Description
`recording-state`	Read-only	Not Recording / Recording
`movie-file-format`	R/W	XAVC S 4K, XAVC S HD, XAVC HS 4K, etc.
`movie-recording-setting`	R/W	Resolution/bitrate combination
`movie-recording-frame-rate`	R/W	24p, 30p, 60p, 120p, etc.
`audio-recording`	R/W	Audio recording on/off
`audio-input-master-level`	R/W	Audio input level (range: 0-31)

Timecode

Property	R/W	Description
`timecode-preset`	R/W	Timecode preset value
`timecode-format`	R/W	Drop Frame (DF) / Non-Drop Frame (NDF)
`timecode-run`	R/W	Rec Run / Free Run
`timecode-make`	R/W	Preset / Regenerate

CineEI & LUT

Property	R/W	Description
`movie-shooting-mode`	R/W	Normal / CineEI / CineEI Quick / Flexible ISO
`movie-shooting-mode-color-gamut`	R/W	S-Gamut3.Cine, S-Gamut3, etc.
`base-look-import-enable`	Read-only	Whether base look import is available
`embed-lut-file`	R/W	Embed LUT in recording (Off / On)
`pp-lut-base-look`	R/W	User base look selection for Picture Profile LUT
`exposure-index`	R/W	Exposure Index in CineEI mode (e.g. 800 EI)
`base-iso`	R/W	Base ISO sensitivity (High / Low)
`base-look-value`	R/W	Active base look / LUT with real names (e.g. “s709”, “User5:February.cube”)
`shutter-angle`	R/W	Shutter angle in 1/1000° units

License & Image ID

Property	R/W	Description
`shooting-enable`	R/W	Enable/disable shutter operation (license-gated)
`image-id-string`	R/W	MakerNote string ID (Exif tag 0x2043, UTF-16)
`image-id-string-max-length`	Read-only	Maximum string length the camera accepts
`image-id-num`	R/W	MakerNote numeric ID (UInt64 range)
`image-id-num-setting`	R/W	Enable/disable numeric ID writing (Off / On)

Battery & Media

Property	R/W	Description
`battery-remain`	Read-only	Battery percentage (0-100%)
`overheating-state`	Read-only	Camera thermal state
`media-slot1-status`	Read-only	Slot 1 media status
`media-slot1-remaining-photos`	Read-only	Remaining photos on slot 1
`media-slot1-remaining-time`	Read-only	Remaining recording time on slot 1 (seconds)
`media-slot2-status`	Read-only	Slot 2 media status
`media-slot2-remaining-photos`	Read-only	Remaining photos on slot 2
`media-slot2-remaining-time`	Read-only	Remaining recording time on slot 2 (seconds)

Camera Settings File

Property	R/W	Description
`camera-setting-save-enable`	Read-only	Camera will allow a settings download (0 Disable / 1 Enable)
`camera-setting-read-enable`	Read-only	Camera will accept a settings upload (0 Disable / 1 Enable)
`camera-setting-save-read-state`	Read-only	Settings transfer state (0 Idle / 1 Reading)

Notable property notes

shutter-speed

Shutter speed is only writable in Manual (M) or Shutter Priority (S) mode. In P or A mode, the camera controls it and writable will be "false".

exposure-compensation

Values are signed — the server formats them as EV (e.g. “+1.0 EV”, “-2.0 EV”, “0.0 EV”). The step size depends on exposure-step (1/3 or 1/2 EV). Negative values use two’s complement (e.g. 0xf830 = -2.0 EV).

white-balance-color-temp

Range property. Min 2500K, Max 9900K, Step 100K. Set white-balance to Color Temp (0x8003) first, then adjust the temperature.

still-image-store-destination

Set to 0x1 (Host PC) or 0x3 (Both) for auto-transfer in remote mode. Also requires SetSaveInfo path to be configured.

shutter-angle / shutter-mode

Primarily available on cinema cameras (FX3A, FX3, FX2, FX30). Set shutter-mode to Angle (0x2) first. Values are in 1/10 degree units (e.g. 1800 = 180.0°). Value 0x0 = Off.

creative-look / picture-profile

Available look/profile slots vary by camera — A9 III supports 9 looks, A7 IV supports 8 looks; FX30 supports 13 profiles, A9 III supports 9, A7 IV supports 3. Custom slots (0x41–0x44) are used with PPLUT workflows.

movie-shooting-mode

Values: Normal (0x0001), CineEI (0x0301), CineEI Quick (0x0302), Flexible ISO (0x0201). See the CineEI guide for full workflows.

pp-lut-base-look

Only writable when picture-profile is set to a Custom slot (0x41–0x44 = Custom 1–4). Shows PPLUT 1–8 as options. May appear read-only in getAllProperties — use an individual GET for accurate state.

exposure-index / base-iso

Set movie-shooting-mode to CineEI (0x0301) first. The available EI values depend on base-iso — always re-read exposure-index after changing base-iso.

base-look-value

Requires CineEI mode (movie-shooting-mode = 0x0301). The first request may take ~3 seconds as the server fetches display strings from the camera. Returns real LUT names (e.g. “User5:February.cube”) when available; falls back to “Preset 1”, “User 5”, etc.

shooting-enable

Setting to Disabled (0x2) blocks all shutter operations via the SDK. License-gated — see Guardrails.

image-id-string

Stored as UTF-16BE in the SDK, decoded to UTF-8 in the API response
Maximum length from image-id-string-max-length (default 64, up to 128 chars)
Setting an empty string "" clears the Exif tag from subsequent images
With a license enabled, supports alphanumeric + symbols: . - _ ' @ ! ? # $ % & * + / = ^ { | } ~ ( ) : ; < > [ \ ] space

The string is embedded in the next image after setting. If you shoot immediately after setting, it may not be recorded — wait for the property change confirmation via SSE propertyChanged event.

image-id-num / image-id-num-setting

Enable numeric ID writing first (image-id-num-setting = 0x2), then set image-id-num (UInt64 range, decimal strings only — no hex).

image-id-num-setting resets to Off when the camera is powered off or PC Remote is disconnected. You must re-enable it each session.

camera-setting-save-enable / camera-setting-read-enable / camera-setting-save-read-state

The camera’s own gates on Save & Recall Settings. Read all three before calling settings download or upload — a 400 from either endpoint almost always means one of these is 0 rather than that the request was bad.

The camera will not enable either flag without recording media present, and on a two-slot body the card must be in slot 1. An ILCE-7M4 with a card only in slot 2 reports camera-setting-save-enable: 0.

For typed property getters and setters, use the SDK pages: TypeScript, Python, or Swift.

​Get Property

​Set Property

​Get All Properties

​Priority Key

​The key also changes what the camera reports

​Property Reference

​Core Exposure

​Focus & Zoom

​White Balance

​Drive & Shutter

​Flash

​Image Format

​Image Processing

​Stabilization

​Video Recording

​Timecode

​CineEI & LUT

​License & Image ID

​Battery & Media

​Camera Settings File

​Notable property notes

​shutter-speed

​exposure-compensation

​white-balance-color-temp

​still-image-store-destination

​shutter-angle / shutter-mode

​creative-look / picture-profile

​movie-shooting-mode

​pp-lut-base-look

​exposure-index / base-iso

​base-look-value

​shooting-enable

​image-id-string

​image-id-num / image-id-num-setting

​camera-setting-save-enable / camera-setting-read-enable / camera-setting-save-read-state

Get Property

Set Property

Get All Properties

Priority Key

The key also changes what the camera reports

Property Reference

Core Exposure

Focus & Zoom

White Balance

Drive & Shutter

Flash

Image Format

Image Processing

Stabilization

Video Recording

Timecode

CineEI & LUT

License & Image ID

Battery & Media

Camera Settings File

Notable property notes

shutter-speed

exposure-compensation

white-balance-color-temp

still-image-store-destination

shutter-angle / shutter-mode

creative-look / picture-profile

movie-shooting-mode

pp-lut-base-look

exposure-index / base-iso

base-look-value

shooting-enable

image-id-string

image-id-num / image-id-num-setting

camera-setting-save-enable / camera-setting-read-enable / camera-setting-save-read-state