If you've used a camera log app before, the data entry will feel familiar. Start with Install and Offline Sync.
CamLog is a web app, not an App Store download. It works best installed on your home screen.
iPhone / iPad: open app.camlog.app in Safari, tap the Share button , then Add to Home Screen. It has to be Safari.
Android: open app.camlog.app in Chrome, tap the menu (⋮), then Add to Home Screen or Install app.
Desktop: Chrome or Edge show an install icon in the address bar.
An installed CamLog opens full screen and is protected from browsers clearing data for sites you rarely visit (more below). On iPhone and iPad it also gets its own storage, separate from Safari, so you'll sign in again after installing. Deleting the icon deletes that storage, so sync first.
Creating an account and signing in need a connection. After that, CamLog works with no service. Install and sign in at the hotel, not on location. You stay signed in as long as CamLog connects at least once every 60 days.
Signing in on a third signs out the one you've used least recently. On iPhone, Safari and the installed app count separately.
New versions download on their own. When one arrives, tap the banner or the Synced pill to switch to it. The version number is at the bottom of the projects screen.
Everything saves to your phone first and syncs whenever there's signal.
Every keystroke is saved to the phone as you type. Losing signal mid-take changes nothing.
Once you're back in coverage, open CamLog and wait for Synced. That means the day is uploaded.
Signing out clears this phone's copy. If anything hasn't synced, CamLog tells you how many changes are at risk. Wait for Synced first.
The gear button on the Cameras screen opens Settings. Do this before day one.
Choose which fields the production logs, and add presets for lenses, focal lengths, characters, filters, formats and more. Presets appear as quick chips while logging, for everyone on the production.
Admins can change everything, including removing fields and presets and turning on Episode Numbers, Mag Numbers and the Base EI field. Editors can add fields and presets but not remove them. Viewers don't see Settings.
Focus/Height Full Keyboard changes only your phone, not the crew's.
The parts that pay off once you're moving at set speed.
The wand copies from your last scene. The first tap fills what rarely changes: stop, ISO, fps, shutter, color temp, filters, format. The second fills the rest. It only fills empty fields, and Undo appears after each tap.
Circle mode turns each take into a single tap to circle or un-circle. Circle All circles every take on the scene at once.
Tap a take's clip number to set how many clips it spans. Use Insert Take Before to add a take that was rolled but never logged, or a false take.
On a film camera, each take gets a dial field, and CamLog shows the difference from the previous take.
It usually means two people edited the same scene while one was offline. CamLog flags it rather than guessing which is right.
Open a scene that hasn't been touched in a while and CamLog asks before you type, so a new setup doesn't land in yesterday's scene.
If you type a roll number already used on another day, CamLog asks before keeping it.
Search scenes, or narrow the search to one field. Scenes are grouped by roll, the way the camera report reads.
A shoot day is named by its call time. A night shoot or split day keeps one date until no new scene has been started for four hours. If a roll lands on the wrong day, tap the date on its divider in the scene list to change it.
Two actions are gestures rather than buttons.
Press and hold a scene card to lift it, or drag the grid icon in its corner to move it right away.
Swipe any panel that slides up back down, or tap outside it. On Android, the back gesture works too.
Deleting a production, camera or scene can always be undone.
The trash button above the takes switches to delete mode: tap a take's × and confirm. Undo appears for a few seconds. The pencil switches back to editing.
Tap the × on a scene card and confirm. Undo appears for a few seconds, and Recovery mode can bring it back later.
The archive icon on the Productions, Cameras and Scene lists turns on Recovery mode, which shows deleted items next to live ones, ready to restore.
Deleted items are never purged. A scene deleted on day one can be restored on day forty, even offline.
Hide Production removes a show from your list only, and can be undone. Leave Production gives up your access; you'd need a new invite to get back in.
Delete a camera's scenes first.
Clearing browser data deletes what's stored on the phone. Everything that reached the server comes back when you sign in again; work that hadn't synced does not.
| If you… | iPhone or iPad, installed | Android installed, or any browser tab |
|---|---|---|
| Clear your browsing history | Nothing happens. | Chrome's default also deletes site data. Use “More options” to keep it. |
| Clear website data / cookies and site data | Nothing happens. The installed app has its own storage. | Wipes it. Signs you out and deletes unsynced work for good. Synced work comes back when you sign in. |
| Delete the app icon | Everything on the phone goes. | Everything on the phone goes. |
Two habits:
Solo projects are free. Live crew sync is paid once per project: $8 for up to 5 people, or $49 for any size crew.
An admin shares an invite link or QR code from the team menu. Nobody else pays: the crew joins free on their own accounts. Invites can be capped and revoked.
On Pro, the 5 includes you and any open invites. When someone leaves, their place frees up.
Editors log camera notes. Viewers follow the log live and can circle takes, but can't edit, which suits script supervisors, VFX and post-production. Roles can be changed later.
Changes from the crew show up as they happen, and recently edited scenes are marked.
Do it when you join, or the crew sees your email instead.
Different formats for different purposes.
Export all cameras or just one. Use Custom Export to pick specific days, cameras and rolls. Export the PDF and the CSV together, name the file, and split it into one file per roll if editorial wants that.
A full copy of the production to re-import later, hand to someone else, or keep on a drive.
Visualizing your show's data
At the end of a show, send the production's log straight to Wrapped for shareable stats about the job: lenses, filters, camera support, shots per day. It's for fun, and a good way to visualize your show's data.
CamLog is built and maintained by one working camera assistant. Email [email protected] with any questions or concerns and include the version number of your app from the bottom of the projects screen. It makes almost every problem faster to solve.