Kessler kOS vs Bluetooth+ for Blackmagic
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Kessler kOS
This advanced software provides precise wireless control for professional camera motion systems. It enables users to create complex, repeatable camera movements for various video and photography applications through an intuitive interface.
- Ultra-refined keyframe control
- Wireless iPad control
- Timelapse and stop motion modes
- Complex keyframe movement
- Editable keyframes
- Repeatable camera moves
- Event mode for live scenarios
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kOS is an advanced camera motion control software that unlocks the highest level of control and features for Kessler’s industry-leading motion control systems including Second Shooter Plus, Second Shooter Pro, and the newest motion control system CineShooter. This app allows for ultra-refined keyframe based control in a powerful and easy-to-use interface for applications such as timelapse, stop motion, live video/cinematography, event video, and advanced photography controlled wirelessly via iPad. CONTROL ANY MOTION Live, looping, stop motion, timelapse, GigaPixel* and Event Mode camera moves at your fingertips. DIGITAL KEYRAMING Simply move each axis into position and hit record. kOS saves your exact positioning for 100% repeatable moves. WIFI CONNECTIVITY Your CineShooter, Second Shooter Pro, or Second Shooter Plus device creates its own WiFi network that you can connect your device to instantly. COMPLEX KEYFRAME MOVEMENT Create up to 20 keyframes at once for ultra complex movement. EASY KEYFRAME SMOOTHING Add and manipulate curves to your moves for ease-in and ease-out motion. Also, link each side of the keyframe to match. EDITABLE KEYFRAMES No need to re-record the move if it's not exactly what you want. Edit one or all axes and keyframes into the perfect position. Featuring incremental, exact motor position plus tap and move keyframe adjustments. REPEATABILITY Repeat the exact same move over and over again at the same speed or variable speeds depending on the application. DELAY BY DATE/TIME Not going to be around when your move needs to start? No problem. Easily set a date/time or fixed amount of time to have your move begin. kOS takes care of the rest. FLASH MARK/BLOOP Sync up your moves easily via the built-in flash marks with adjustable delay. PRE & POST-PHOTOS (TIMELAPSE MODE) Easily add a series of head or tail photos to your timelapse move. GO TO POSITION Set minimum and maximum ranges on each axis (ie. slider 0" to 32") and go to any position by entering a value. LOAD & GO This feature allows for pre-loading a move so that you are able to start instantly whenever you are ready. CAMERA PRE and POST ROLL Trigger your camera to start recording any amount of time before the move begins and when to stop after the move ends. ANALOG CONTROL PANEL Manually control several axes live with the built in analog controller. EVENT MODE Event mode is mainly intended for live events or scenarios where exact position recalling on-the-fly is needed. For example, if you are filming a live concert, you can have different positions on stage saved. You can move easily from the drummer, to the guitarist, to the lead singer and so forth. This mode is also great for repeatedly hitting actor marks on set. GIGAPIXEL GigaPixel is traditionally used for 360 degree virtual tours, panoramic photographs or GigaPixel images which are extremely high resolution photographs that are compiled of many lower resolution photographs. GRAPH EXPANSION Expand the graph with one touch when precise key framing is needed. SCRUB THROUGH MOVE Need to edit a key frame or see when the camera will be in a certain position? Use the scrub feature to instantly move to a desired position. LOOPING Looping is made easy with kOS. Simply select one-time or continuous looping. CAMERA CONTROL Set CineShooter, Second Shooter Pro, Second Shooter Plus device to trigger or control your camera’s exposure time within kOS. AUTO TIMELAPSE CALCULATION Enter your desired clip length and frame rate, then kOS will calculate the run time needed. BUMP BUTTONS Move in very small increments to ensure a precise camera position. DROPBOX INTEGRATION Upload saved moves directly to your Dropbox account within kOS app. MOTOR CONFIGURATION Each axis is able to be customized with individual features such as run speed, dampening, smoothness of curves, bump button, and axis naming.
Bluetooth+ for Blackmagic
Control Blackmagic cameras remotely via Bluetooth. Manage multiple cameras simultaneously, adjust settings like white balance, frame rate, and ISO, and even control focus and zoom with external controllers.
- External controller support (Tilta Nucleus)
- Multi-cam control (up to 12 cameras)
- Camera grouping and custom settings
- Remote focus and zoom control
- Start/stop recording
- Adjust white balance, ISO, frame rate
- Digital slate metadata entry
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-- NEW External Controllers -- Connect Tilta Nucleus Nano & Nucleus-M to control Focus, Iris and Zoom, as well as Start & Stop Recording. Zoom and Focus control supported on Pocket 4K only. This is part of the new Pro feature set, which also includes Multi-Cam mode. -- MULTI-CAM MODE -- Multi-Cam Mode is now part of the Pro feature set, and includes these fantastic features: • Control up to 12 Blackmagic cameras at once • Create up to 3 distinct Control Groups, to give you fine-grain control over different settings for different cameras • You can choose to have changes made on one camera automatically update all the other cameras in its Control Group, or control everything straight from Bluetooth+ • Give your cameras Nicknames to quick, easy control Multi-Cam gives you control over the following features synced across an entire Group: • Start/Stop Recording • White Balance + Tint • Project frame rate (off-speed frame rates not supported) • Shutter Angle/Speed • ISO • Overlays • Slate • Trigger Auto-focus You can still control all other settings on a camera-by-camera basis, including: • Trigger stills capture • Iris control • Focus + Zoom (on supported lenses) • Codec + Resolution • Playback control • You can also set ISO specifically, rather than by camera group And of course, everyone has access to all of these amazing features: • Follow Focus (limited support for EF Mount cameras). See below for more info • Zoom Control on supported lenses • Trigger Stills capture • Record Start/Stop • White Balance + Tint, including 5 helpful presets and Auto White Balance • Audio Controls • Trigger Autofocus (for supported electronic lenses with autofocus enabled on lens) • Off-speed frame rates • Aperture (for supported electronic lenses) • Shutter Angle • ISO • Auto-Exposure Control • Active Card • Power On/Off • Monitor Overlays • Codec & Resolution • Enter metadata in the Digital Slate (including location data from your iPhone or iPad if you give permission) • Control Lock - locks critical controls while recording, preventing accidental settings changes during takes -- Follow Focus -- You can now pull focus wirelessly right from your iPhone or iPad. There are some limitations outlined below. • Currently only fully supports Pocket 4K, but as of v1.4 we now have limited support for EF mount cameras - Pocket 6K, Ursa Mini Pro G1 & G2 • The camera does not supply the app with any information on the lenses current focus distance, so the app will not update in real time if you pull focus manually on the lens • Due to the nature of bluetooth, focus pulls may not be 100% smooth. It works well for nice slow pulls, but fast pulls my not feel entirely natural and organic. Unfortunately this is a limitation of the available technology. • On EF mount cameras, we can only offset focus from its current position, with no broader knowledge of where the lens is in its focus range. This means that focus marks are not possible. In addition, focus pulls on EF mount cameras can be quite jerky depending on the lens in use. -- Playback Control -- With Bluetooth+ you can control the playback of clips right from your iOS device. There are some notable limitations at this point. Currently you can: • Start playing a clip, either forwards or backwards • Navigate between clips, either forwards or backwards For now, you will not be able to: • Pause a clip that is already playing • Change the speed of a clip that is already playing • Control clip looping -- Zoom Control -- Control the zoom level on supported lenses. For the most part, this will only work on MFT lenses with electronic zoom. We are currently unaware of EF lenses that support this feature -- Slate-Only Mode -- As the name suggests, this feature locks the app into Slate-Only mode, without the ability to change critical camera settings or start/stop recording. This means you can let an assistant keep metadata up to date without the fear of interfering with important camera settings.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Bluetooth+ for Blackmagic at 60% against Kessler kOS's 0%. Bluetooth+ for Blackmagic also leads on rating (4.7 vs 3.0) and ratings volume (1.2K vs 3). Kessler kOS's advantage is price (Free vs $5.99) and in-app purchases (none vs 2). On ads there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Kessler kOS is free to download; Bluetooth+ for Blackmagic costs $5.99 up front. Bluetooth+ for Blackmagic sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Kessler kOS asks for nothing beyond the download.
Bluetooth+ for Blackmagic holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Bluetooth+ for Blackmagic has 1.2K ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 0% of Kessler kOS's written reviews are positive against 60% of Bluetooth+ for Blackmagic's.
Kessler kOS ships an update every 3 months, Bluetooth+ for Blackmagic every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Kessler kOS | Bluetooth+ for Blackmagic |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $5.99 |
| Rating | 3.0 (3 ratings) | 4.7 (1.2K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 0.0% of reviews | 60.2% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 3 | 1.2K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 6 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | — | #52 — better |
| Devices | iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 39 MB | 17 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Kessler Crane Inc. | We Are Empire PTY LTD |
Customer experience
Kessler kOS
Bluetooth+ for Blackmagic
Bugs and requests
Kessler kOS
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Bluetooth+ for Blackmagic
Reported bugs
4 issues- Recording issues with high frame rates
- Incorrect codec/resolution display for some cameras
- Focus control not working with certain lenses
- App freezes during playback
Requested features
6 requests- Add ability to take photos remotely
- Implement live video feed from camera
- Allow custom focus preset points
- Improve focus control sensitivity and UI
- Add support for more camera models
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- Integrate Apple Watch remote control
In-app purchases
Kessler kOS
No in-app purchases
Bluetooth+ for Blackmagic
- Multi-Cam Control$9.99
- Pro$9.99
Questions
Is Kessler kOS free?
Is Bluetooth+ for Blackmagic free?
Which has better reviews, Kessler kOS or Bluetooth+ for Blackmagic?
Do Kessler kOS or Bluetooth+ for Blackmagic have ads?
Which is updated more often, Kessler kOS or Bluetooth+ for Blackmagic?
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