This tutorial will give you everything you need to know about using a Sony camera with Mapillary—from mounting to important uploading specifics.

📖Table of Contents

1. Equipment needed
2. Device setup
3. Mounting on the top of a car exterior
4. Mounting on windshield interior
5. Capturing Mapillary imagery using a Sony camera
6. Uploading Sony imagery to Mapillary

🧰Equipment needed

1. Sony FDR-X3000, HDR-AS300, or HDR-AS200
2. Suction cup mount (for exterior mounting), or a bracket mount (if you have a roof rack)
3. Windshield car mount (for interior mounting)
4. Sony RM-LVR Live Remote
5. Sandisk 128GB microSDXC card or similar
6. External charging pack or compatible car charger 

📹Device setup

1. Fully charge both the camera and live remote prior to capturing.
2. Insert SD card and power on the device.
3. Set the time and date
4. Configure the camera to record video which provides the best density of capture. Note that the Sony cameras also support time-lapse image capture with a 1 second interval which is also supported, but will result in a lower-density capture which is less ideal for Mapillary.
   • For capturing images when the camera is mounted upside down to the windshield only, change the flip settings to allow upside down recording.
5. Make sure the following settings are on, as a final check:
   1. 4k resolution for FDR-X3000 and HDR-AS300
   2. Wide angle
   3. GPS and WiFi on
6. Connect Sony Live Remote for live preview.

🚗Mounting on the top of a car exterior

1. 1. Use a suction mount or bracket mount (if you have a roof rack bar you can fasten your camera to that).
   2. Suction mounts:
      • Clean the surface of the vehicle off first.
      • Press mount to clean vehicle roof and lift suction to tighten.
      • Level camera angle using ball mount.
   3. Bracket mounts:
      • Place the bracket on your roof rack bar.
      • Fasten and secure the bracket tightly so it does not move while driving.
      • Level camera angle using ball mount.
   4. Connect your Sony camera and Live Remote to external battery power or car charger.
   5. After mounting, use the Sony Live Remote to ensure that:
      • The field of view is level with the horizon
      • The camera does not show too much of the car hood or skyline.
      • The rearview mirror and other car components are not in the way.

🚖Mounting on windshield interior

• 1. Place your suction mount on the upper center of your windshield, making sure that there are no obstructions to the camera's view.
  2. Place your camera in the mount, press the suction mount to the window and lift suction to tighten.
  3. Connect your Sony camera and Live Remote to external battery power or car charger.
  4. After mounting, use the Sony Live Remote to ensure that:
     • The field of view is level with the horizon
     • The camera does not show too much of the car hood or skyline, and the rearview mirror and other car components are not in the way.
      

📸Capturing imagery using a Sony camera

1. Conduct a final check: making sure all of the following settings are active:
   • 4k resolution for FDR-X3000 and HDR-AS300
   • Wide angle
   • GPS and WiFi on
2. Press the red record button on either the action cam or the Live Remote to initiate capturing.
3. Capture while driving for as long as you please, then press the red record button again on the action or the Live Remote.

💡Capture tips:

• Avoid capturing at night and when it is actively raining or snowing.
• Avoid capturing too much of your vehicle hood, the sky, and the ground.
• Be sure to fully charge your device before capturing and charge it throughout the duration of your capture session.

📤Uploading Sony imagery to Mapillary

The best method for uploading Sony imagery to Mapillary is the Mapillary Desktop Uploader, available for macOS and Windows. 

1. Download the Desktop Uploader, open it and sign in with your Mapillary login credentials. You can’t use the application without signing in, so if you don’t have an account yet, be sure to first create an account. 
2. Download the videos/imagery you captured to your computer. Note that if you captured videos Sony will create separate .LOG files which contain GPS data for where the video was captured. To upload this you first need to convert this .LOG file to the standard .GPX format supported by Mapillary. 
   • Install the free GPS Babel application and select the "NMEA 0183 sentences" input format. For the output choose "GPX XML".
     
3. Drag and drop or browse for a folder/files that contains your captures into the Mapillary Desktop Uploader.
   • .mp4 videos you add will initially return an error because they do not have saved GPS information. Click the 3 dot overflow menu next to the error to add the GPX file you created in step 2.
     
4. You will now see your capture locations displayed on the map. At this stage, the capture is not yet uploaded.
5. Click on "Upload" to upload the capture to Mapillary. It normally takes a few hours to process, after which you should be able to see your imagery on the Mapillary platform.
6. For more help with the Desktop Uploader, see the Desktop Uploader guide.