Creators' App Reviews

by Mackle Kang

Won’t connect via usb to iPhone 13 Pro Max. Says go to settings and allow access to files and folders, but it doesn’t show up there. It says restart the phone if it doesn’t show up, so I did and nothing. Wireless transfer initiates, but is either stuck or the progress, as indicated by the file transfer progress bar, is extremely slow. All I want to do is transfer files from the camera to the phone, not enter into yet another problem solving quagmire. This is not working for me, it’s working against me by eating up my time. Fail.

by Scott Fraser

Incredible how you purchase a top-of-the-line out of the box brand new camera from Sony, they prompt you to install this application and it won’t even let me create a new account and just gives continue errors every time I try and login. And I’m not even sure why I’m installing it. I just wanted to make sure I could update the firmware on this unboxed camera. It’s clear as soon as you start CreatorsApp that it’s just trying to upsell you on lots of cloud storage and other services and here I am just wanting to use my brand new camera. Terrible Sony. 👎🏽👎🏽

by Snake2107

I have an A7IV with up to date software. iPhone is also up to date. I can’t connect to import images nor can I connect to remotely make photographs. I’ve tried weekly for months. I get hopes up thinking it will connect and it never does. Then I get a big message on my screen asking for permission to submit the error report, which I do submit. CreatorsApp is garbage. For as much money Sony has for R&D, I would think a mobile app would be half decent. It’s not even 1/4 decent. As a former Canon user, I regret switching. If you’re debating between Canon and Sony and a useable mobile app is important to you, I highly recommend Canon.

by Joshuatbrown

As others have noted, the popups in CreatorsApp are horrific. They’re among the worst I’ve seen in an app. But the biggest issue I have, as someone who’d like to remotely control just the shutter on my camera via Bluetooth, is that CreatorsApp requires location access to “find nearby cameras.” My camera, the a7 IV, doesn’t know where it is since it doesn’t have GPS, so I’m not sure why CreatorsApp would need my location. It’s offensive to even ask when all it actually needs is a Bluetooth connection.

Please, Sony, just let me use Bluetooth to connect to my camera.

by Niyha Pooh😘

I recently purchased a Sony camera to start my “content creator” journey. I have TONS of space on my camera (SD card) and the device I’m importing it to have a large amount of space. However, I can not import a 15GB video from my camera when I have way more than 15GB on my device. It takes forever to load and then gets almost to the end and says “Not Enough Memory Space”. Creating content is how I make my money and this is such a huge set back for me especially being a college student.. which isn’t cheap

by Nelson0394230948098

Im tired of sony having so many different camera control apps. Recently bought a zv-e1 and learned that to do smartphone control it only works with this latest app. Why do they feel a need to release a completely new app every year. As well as keeping the old ones in circulation…. Its insanely confusing. Also cannot get CreatorsApp to recognize the camera. Its shows up to start the connectiong process but it never shows up on the accessory list? Why are there so many steps in the first place?! The camera should just connect from that first selectiong but they make you go through a five step process. Just simplify thing please CreatorsApp system is a NIGHTMARE. There at least six different ways to connect just in the camera menu! Why are there six? just stick to one and make it reliable! I don't six different methods to connect that are all programmed badly. I would like just one reliable one. And ONE phone app. Just stick with making one app and make it good, update it. Please stop constantly rebranding your camera control apps and make ONE! Anyways i was not able to connect this to a zv-e1 and eventually deleted it

by Cdplam

I’ll start with “I’m not a tech idiot.” I have a ton of apps including other photo apps. This is simply one of the worst and most frustrating apps I’ve ever encountered. I’ve tried for over a week to just get signed IN to CreatorsApp and have to walk away in frustration. I put in my email get a message to reset the password, so I do. Then I get a message I have to start the registration process completely over again. I’ll be researching other options to connect to my camera. This is an awful experience.

by Epv2

Marketing material suggests that location data is transmitted from CreatorsApp to the camera automatically even when the phone is locked; however the reality is that the bluetooth link between phone and camera can only be established when the phone is out and unlocked, and only persists until the camera is switched off. In practice you need to fiddle with the phone before almost every picture in order to have GPS location tags.

by Sphalerityn

I really do not understand… at first I was happy with it… but now it logged me out, asking me to sign in again to update my camera. Fine. I tried once, never received the email… I tried again, received the email 15 minutes later…. I tried AGAIN, told me it can’t connect to the server. I tried AGAIN and kept telling me that it can’t connect to the server.
I tried the website on my computer and signed in perfectly fine. What is wrong with CreatorsApp?! No clue. I tried contacting Sony but they can’t help with the Creator’s App. So really, what do I do now? I can’t connect to this stupid app for 0 reasons…

by BirderScott

Incredible how you purchase a top-of-the-line out of the box brand new camera from Sony, they prompt you to install this application and it won’t even let me create a new account and just gives continue errors every time I try and login. And I’m not even sure why I’m installing it. I just wanted to make sure I could update the firmware on this unboxed camera. It’s clear as soon as you start CreatorsApp that it’s just trying to upsell you on lots of cloud storage and other services and here I am just wanting to use my brand new camera. Terrible Sony. 👎🏽👎🏽

by SkizzyBarrz

You would assume a new app transition would mean improved functionality…not the case. First I can log in to my account because the login button just doesn’t do anything. Then I try to simply access photos on my camera…can’t because it tells me to allow “all photos” in CreatorsApp settings, but there is no such setting available in CreatorsApp . Completely useless and now I can’t access photos on my expensive state of the art camera…this is in acceptable Sony.

by RoarinRow

I updated my camera to the latest 2.0 release. Installed CreatorsApp and I cannot login to my creators app account through CreatorsApp. Keep getting an error message that says a connection to the server could not be established. I can log on to my account directly through my Safari and Edge mobile browsers but not through CreatorsApp . I tried logging on when connected to my WiFi and just cellular. I powered off/on my iPhone 14 Pro. Still not working.

by RomanMF

CreatorsApp worked flawlessly for the first week or so. The connecting process was slower than I wanted but it worked. Now every time I join my camera’s access point and successfully connect, the system auto disconnects immediately after. It’s absurd. It pops up some ridiculously long error message and asks if I want to report it, but nothing has improved. I can usually connect fine right after this has occurred but this shouldn’t happen at all. Leica and Fuji have figured this out already. I need Sony to get better at the software.

by EVL0101

CreatorsApp is constantly crashing and giving me a “not enough memory” error when there is PLENTY of memory (I even went ahead and deleted half my pictures). The transfer times (when it does decide to work) is painfully long. CreatorsApp needs some major updates.

I am not able to transfer directly using a usb cord because I have a MacBook Air and CreatorsApp is the only way I can transfer my files so the fact that it hasn’t been working for me is really frustrating and disappointing given the price point of the camera.

by Supercross 26953

It has been a huge pain to get this to work. I finally got it to work with my iPad but still cannot get it to work with my iPhone. Sometimes it does sometimes it doesn’t and the whole interface is very antiquated. I also use the RED CONTROL app, on both my iPad and iPhone which is amazing and quick the interface is excellent. Disappointed on this Sony app I would expect much more especially seeing what RED has done. I will give it two stars which is generous, because it does work sometimes but the frustration is not worth it on a real job maybe to play around with filming or photographing your pets.

by Thundernixon1

[I struggled to give Bluetooth access, but that is because I needed to allow apps to request it, within Settings > Screen Time > Content and Privacy. After changing that, CreatorsApp could request Bluetooth access.]
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CreatorsApp technically worked for me to import a few photos over WiFi, but it is functionally unusable. As many other reviews have said, CreatorsApp continually demands full photo library access. Why?? Apps don’t need that full access to save photos to my library, yet this one refuses to import any photos unless it has FULL access to my personal library of 20k+ photos. Are they trying to vacuum up my personal and private data, or is it just lazy app development? I granted access to import a few photos, then revoked it. Hopefully they didn’t steal much of my data in that window.
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Weird and terrible, especially when I’ve just spent a bunch of money on an otherwise truly amazing camera.

by Jnetrox

This is likely an oversight. There is no allow photos access in settings. When I do remote images, no copies of images are saved to photos app since there’s no photo access. The images are still in card so it’s not critical but concerning that this important feature is not tested thoroughly and I expect that to be fixed in next update soon.

CreatorsApp seems to be more performant but too soon to say much.

by 还行有进步

I don’t understand why CreatorsApp keeps asking access to all photos? It seems clear it is trying to steal information. Otherwise many users only want to share locations when taking photos or control the camera. Not everyone wants to read photos directly back to phone. Please change the settings. Unless you want to force customers to share photos with you.

by JPSmitts

I cannot get CreatorsApp to connect to my camera with a USB. Connects via Bluetooth/wifi no problem but I want the fast , reliable cable option. Even after trying multiple times to reinstall CreatorsApp , power my phone down and also camera too. All settings are correct on the camera and phone too. In CreatorsApp it asks to allow files and folders in privacy/security but CreatorsApp will not show up. I’m unable to proceed to the what I think is the final step in connecting. Big let down….
Creators app have any help with this?

by Quentinchen

When you import photos from the camera, and save them into iPhone’s photo library, the timestamps would become the time when the import happens, rather than when the photos were taken. However, when the photos are copied to the computer via a card reader, the timestamps are correct. This is really annoying and should be fixed.

I am using A7CR (firmware 1.0.1) and Creator’s App version 2.2.0.

by Hugh M

First, please stop constantly asking for permission to access all photos. I don’t want or need to provide that. CreatorsApp disconnects during live shooting often, despite being less than 3 feet from the camera. I look forward to seeing improvements. Location Linkage is also unreliable, forcing me to check my phone every time I power on the camera.

by JPCinPHX

When you open CreatorsApp it connects to the camera’s Bluetooth then wants to connect to a WiFi. When it can’t find a WiFi it wants to use the cellular data. The pop ups are annoying. All I want it to do is connect to the phone’s Bluetooth. I don’t want to use CreatorsApp to upload images. Please provide a settings option to turn these annoying pop ups off. Camera control and transfer of images to phone works ok.

by TiosGOGO

My iPhone11 is connected successfully with A7IV. Needed to remove BT settings manually both phone and camera, though. Remote control function is great and improved from imaging edge. Sometimes connection is unstable and the data transfer is failed. I’ve experienced the same with other companies’ camera and app… That could be how wireless content transfer between phone and camera should be, but it’s painful. I hope this will be solved.

by BufferUnderrun

Sony changed to this new app for A7 owners and its an upgrade for UI and finally you can wirelessly transfer RAW. Unfortunately I have to unlock my phone and open CreatorsApp every time to sync GPS. The old app could do this automatically after setup. Stability is still a bit hit and miss.

by Agoode

The old IEM app worked great with my a7c for sending GPS information to the camera. That worked completely reliably with my phone in my pocket.

CreatorsApp never works as well. I have to open CreatorsApp manually every time I want location information and sometimes manually connect. Hope this gets fixed in future updates, but for now it's a major regression.

by HeyThisIsAndrew

CreatorsApp is great. I been using it recently to get some self portraits and practicing with it so I can use it with ease.
The Wi-Fi access point feature is not functioning properly, though I have gone through the steps and I can’t get the camera to connect to my phone even though both devices are connected to the same Wi-Fi. I do not like doing the direct Wi-Fi connection because then my phone loses network connectivity while I’m using the camera.

by Grider Lee

Sonys chat support was quite good.

The Sony website describes updating from 1.01 to 1.05, then upgrade to level 2.0 . That means, if you have NEVER upgraded your A7IV, you must use the aforementioned process.

IF you have previously upgraded, then your A7 IV will have a version 1.10, which confused me a bit. Once Sony Chat Support confirmed I had previously upgraded the Firmware because the 1.10 was showing as the current version, they recommended skipping the 1.05 (attempts by me to load 1.05 were failing) update, and instead perform the 2.0 upgrade immediately.

by Cwinckler71

I have limited storage on my computer well, IPAD Pro. And would love to be able to upload directly to an external hard drive. Videos take a lot of memory. There is not way that I have found to do this. Even when I take the memory card and plug it in directly. The video format is not recognized by my IPAD. So I cannot select it to transfer it. The only way I have been able to transfer it is directly from the camera then to my hard drive. This takes a lot of time and effort then I have to delete the files on my computer to save room. It would be wonderful if you came out with an update that allowed me to select a location to save my files to. Otherwise CreatorsApp is working ok. I can honestly say I have not used all of the features it has to offer since I just started using it this week with my new camera.

by Basic Functionality

Pro:

On my A7R5, setting up the connection has a more visible and sensible workflow, although slow. The connection seems more reliable. And tap-to-focus works on my iPad, which is an enormous improvement.

Con:

To connect to my iPad, I must turn on not only WiFi but Bluetooth, which is insecure. I must also turn off my VPN.

Biggest problem: Swiping away -- to check the time or adjust the brightness of my iPad -- disconnects CreatorsApp . That's dumb. Only quitting CreatorsApp should disconnect. Setting up the connection again is slow and I've lost shots

Way too much screen real estate wasted by controls. At all times the image should be as large as possible, and I should be able to hide all the controls but the shutter button, which could float over the image

by B. Mantis Toboggan

Prior to 2.0, I had been using the Imaging Edge Mobile app for my A7iii and now A7iv. It was terrible but it worked sometimes. The Shutter app ($20) was great for my A7iii, but would frequently be unable to connect to my A7iv, which caused great frustration.
The new Sony Creators app 2.0 has brought with it massive connectivity and reliability improvements, as well as a general improvement in usability and UI. Of all the camera OEM apps I’ve used, this has to be the best by far.

by SpiderPunkDude

I think too many people expect iphone level performance from these apps. This is the best one Sony has made yet, with faster low latency previews than with a tethered connection (idk how) on my mac. The one issue I have is that you cannot use touch to set the focal point, but you CAN use touch to set the tracking? Clearly the functionality is there so I removed a star for what feels like a simple oversight. Once that function is added I no longer have to get up so often to film myself and I can have perfect focus every time! The ability to manage a whole host of other settings is just icing on the cake. Well done!

by Ncstarman

I really like CreatorsApp for control of my cameras and transferring photos but the connection can be annoying. It typically disconnects once then after that, it’ll stay connected. Transfers are also pretty slow. Would like to see those aspects improved. Also perhaps video transfer would be another nice thing to have.

by _this_is_Andrew

CreatorsApp is great. I been using it recently to get some self portraits and practicing with it so I can use it with ease.
The Wi-Fi access point feature is not functioning properly, though I have gone through the steps and I can’t get the camera to connect to my phone even though both devices are connected to the same Wi-Fi. I do not like doing the direct Wi-Fi connection because then my phone loses network connectivity while I’m using the camera.

by HeyThisIs…

CreatorsApp is great. I been using it recently to get some self portraits and practicing with it so I can use it with ease.
The Wi-Fi access point feature is not functioning properly, though I have gone through the steps and I can’t get the camera to connect to my phone even though both devices are connected to the same Wi-Fi. I do not like doing the direct Wi-Fi connection because then my phone loses network connectivity while I’m using the camera.

by Rocky Roma

Using the: - Sony a7iv (v. 2.00) - iPhone 13 (iOS 16.3) I downloaded the new firmware as soon as I heard it was released, but was a bit hesitant due to the terrible reviews.

At the time of my download CreatorsApp had 1.7 stars. :-( I had the latest previous version already on the a7iv, so I decided to take a chance, and it turned out to be a positive experience.

I went to CreatorsApp Store and grabbed the new Sony app, then went to the website and downloaded the new firmware (v.2.00) to my laptop. I then put it on an SD card and downloaded it to the camera, all without issue.

After everything was downloaded and installed I turned it and it worked well. I can now control my camera from my phone and have almost no latency as I watch the screen on my phone. I can control all my settings directly from my phone in real time and things seem to work really well so far.

I’ll keep experimenting with CreatorsApp and update as issues as they arise, but so far it works better than I expected and I’m happy with it.

by MYBT2004

Clients are so accustomed to images being available instantly on their device that every working pro is up against their client’s need for immediate delivery. The Creators’ app is a great way to review and send a few images to clients on the fly. I’m happy with the connectivity and options for delivery.

by Bigloog

Just start using CreatorsApp and I’m telling you it has been really cool to be able to see my cameras current view from my phone. Haven’t had any lags and I’m able to easily send and edit these videos and photos… I’m sold. Absolutely love this feature.