From a fresh download to an armed rig on eclipse morning. It's written for photographers, not engineers — work through it once at your desk, then rehearse it for real before the day.
Download Umbra, drag it to your Applications folder, and open it. Paste the license key from your beta link when prompted, and you're in. macOS 14+, Apple Silicon & Intel.
Put the body into PC / PTP mode, quit any vendor tether app (LUMIX Tether, for example — it will hold the connection hostage), connect over USB, and click Detect cameras.
LUMIX bodies work natively today. Sony, Nikon, Canon, and Fujifilm route through a copy of gphoto2 bundled inside the app — nothing to install. Sony testers can also try the native backend under Settings → Sony backend.
Pass the Manual-mode check — Umbra wants your camera off auto so exposures are predictable — then fire a single test shot to confirm the whole chain, from app to shutter to card.
Before building anything, pick a saved site or drop a pin on the map. This drives all contact-relative timing — your C1/C2/MAX/C3/C4 moments and totality length are computed from this point, and the script tools (and Validate) check your shots against the Sun's position here.
With your location set, build the sequence: the step-by-step Script Wizard (⌘K), the AI Script Assistant, or load the bundled test script. Either way, run Validate — Umbra checks that every shot clears the horizon and that your exposure cadence fits the totality time available at your site.
Switch to Simulated timing and scrub the clock to watch the entire sequence fire — no eclipse required. This is the cheapest way to catch a mistake while you can still fix it.
Flip to Live timing and Live cameras. From here Umbra fires every shot at its contact-relative moment — you can put the remote down and watch totality.
Use the Simulation Analyzer to reconcile what's actually on your SD card against the plan. It produces an HTML report so you can see, shot by shot, what fired and what didn't.
This is the one that bites people. A hot Mac throttles, and a throttling Mac drops shots. Close other apps, keep the Mac shaded and ventilated, and run it on AC power.
Most importantly, rehearse under realistic heat — a cool indoor test tells you nothing about how your rig behaves in direct sun on a summer field.
Use Report a Bug in the app, or email [email protected]. On a non-LUMIX body you may be the very first person to test that brand, so even a plain "it didn't work" is a genuinely useful — and welcome — report.