Support

Purpose: Compute lens tilt angle from camera height and focal length for precise focus-plane control.
Steps: Tools menu → Scheimpflug → enter camera height → pick lens → read tilt angle and the live wedge diagram showing focus plane vs sensor.

Purpose: Live phone-camera viewfinder with sun / moon / Milky Way / 88 constellations / 120 deep-sky overlays and composition guides — works alongside any high-end camera system (Leica, Hasselblad, Fujifilm GFX, ALPA, large format, Canon R, Nikon Z, Sony α).
Steps: Tools → Composition. Left toolbar (one astro overlay at a time): ☀️ sun azimuth · 🌙 moon phase & rise/set · 🌌 Milky Way core direction · 🌠 constellation lines · 🔭 DSO ring (Messier + NGC) · 📏 grid (six guides cycle). Use ± to calibrate any drift (auto-saved). Picking a different digital back changes the viewfinder aspect ratio.
Zoom lenses: zooms (e.g. RF 28-70, FE 200-600, Phase One XF 40-80 / 75-150) now show their full range; the lower-right arrow keys push and pull the focal length within it — tap for ±1 mm, hold to step continuously — and the live frame, camera zoom, hyperfocal, crop, watermark and shooting log all follow. Custom lenses can be flagged as zooms when you create them (enter the wide and tele ends).
Medium format: Phase One XF, Hasselblad HC, Mamiya 7, Pentax 67, Pentax 645 and Contax 645 systems can now be framed here too, each with its own sensor / back selection.

Purpose: Convert equivalent focal length between digital backs; compute image-circle coverage and vignetting in stitch mode.
Steps: Tools → Focal Length → pick lens & back → read equivalent FL → switch backs to compare → enable Stitch Pano and enter shift amount; yellow / red bars warn when image circle approaches its limit.

Coverage: Leica M / SL / S, Hasselblad XCD / HC / V / XPan, Phase One XF (Schneider-Kreuznach LS leaf shutter), Fujifilm GF (primes / zooms / T-S), ALPA HR (Rodenstock), Schneider-Kreuznach LF, Canon TS-E (5 lenses), Laowa Zero-D Shift, Canon RF L, Nikkor Z S-Line, Sony FE GM, Sigma DG DN (Art / Sports / Contemporary), cinema (Angénieux / Cooke / Zeiss), large-format classics (Rodenstock / Fujinon / Nikkor / Cooke / Zeiss / Goerz / Kodak / Wollensak / Computar / Kowa / Osaka), film MF (Mamiya 7 / Pentax 67 / Pentax 645 / Contax 645).
How: Ask @Xiaoguang in any group chat (e.g., “XCD 80mm f/1.9 bokeh?”), or pick a lens from the viewfinder bottom bar / focal converter / DOF calculator and tap the name to open its detail page. Detail page: focal length, max aperture, image circle, full-frame equivalent, optical and shift parameters where applicable.

Purpose: Manage your camera inventory across brands, with cloud sync and map showcase.
Steps: Settings → My Equipment → + add bodies / backs / lenses / filters → pick from the built-in catalog or enter manually → create kits for frequent combos. Once signed in, equipment data syncs across your devices via our server. Use the global map “Edit Info” to publicly showcase chosen items.

Purpose: Real-time weather, sunrise / sunset, golden hour, planning a shoot.
Steps: Tools → Weather. Auto-fetches conditions for current location (location permission required). View temperature, humidity, wind, conditions, precise sunrise / sunset, and golden-hour windows.

Publish: after joining the global map, tap the camera icon → pick photo → fill title / description (EXIF auto-extracted) → choose city, equipment, focal length → optionally enable “Allow Original Download” → publish. Your work appears in the gallery and the city page.
Browse: Gallery tab shows curated waterfall. Tap a work for full image, EXIF, equipment, comments. Pinch to zoom into 4K detail. Tap “Appreciate” to endorse; long-press to save to a collection. Tap any username to enter their personal gallery; your own gallery has “My Works” / “My Favorites” tabs.
Multi-image posts: Photo + Details (1 main + up to 5 100% crops) or Multiple Photos (up to 10, each with its own gear and EXIF). Detail page shows them as a single-column waterfall; feed thumbnail shows count badge (e.g., 1/5).

Purpose: #tags in post descriptions auto-render as gold links — tap to see all posts using that tag.
Steps: Type #bund #street #bw etc. in description (Chinese, English, Japanese all work) → publish → tap any gold tag to open a 2-column masonry grid of every post historically using it. Use for themes, cities, gear, styles, challenge keywords.

Purpose: Save favorites into private or public collections, syncing across devices.
Steps: Long-press any thumbnail or tap the star button → pick a collection (or create new) → manage in My → Collections. Each collection has title, description, cover, public / private toggle. Long-press a work inside a collection to remove it. Data syncs across devices on sign-in.

Purpose: A daily admin-curated work to spark creativity.
Steps: Gallery filter bar → tap the gold ✨ Inspire → today’s pick (gold badge) sits at top, past entries below in reverse date. Each row: thumbnail, date, photographer, caption preview. Tap any row for the full image, EXIF, gear, story. List uses 7-day stale-while-revalidate disk cache, instant on reopen. New entries trigger push notifications if enabled.

Purpose: Pre-shoot planning — reference cover, gear checklist, astro / weather forecast, linked log. Plans cloud-sync across devices and keep a local offline cache.
Steps: My → Shooting Plans → +. Fill title, location (auto-geocoded), date, time of day (8 windows: sunrise / golden / blue / night / etc.), priority, notes. Optional: cover image (≤1024 pt / ~150 KB), gear checklist from your library, save as template. Detail page shows astro card, WeatherKit forecast (10-day window), and a Link Log button to connect a future shooting log entry.

Purpose: Side-by-side compare any two pieces of gear in three modes — Backs (sensor / pixels / RAW / print), Bodies (mount / weight / built-in back / price), Lenses (focal / aperture / image circle / shift / weight).
Steps: My → Gear Comparison → top segmented control switches mode → pick left and right items, grouped by brand. Backs mode includes a sensor-size visualization drawn to physical scale; Lenses mode includes image-circle and shift headroom visualizations. The “⇄” button swaps sides.

Basics: DMs and groups; text, images, in-chat camera. Long-press a message for copy / reply / recall (within 2 min) / edit (within 2 min) / emoji reactions. Read receipts, typing indicator, unread count, message search from the top bar.
Special sharing: Shooting Parameters card (body + back + lens + settings), Before / After (recipient swipes to compare), Location, Weather.
Voice / video calls (TRTC): 1-on-1 voice and video, front / back camera switch, photo review with EXIF overlay, equipment-card sharing. PiP floating window when you leave the call view; in-call camera for capturing right inside the call; live image annotation on shared photos that the other party sees in real time; one-tap send of annotated photos to chat; staying in the chat after hangup. Real-time network indicator. 60-min cap per call.
View-once photos: auto-destroy after one viewing (10-second countdown). Chat is stored permanently on device; the server retains messages 3 days for offline delivery.
Group management: owner / admin can mute, restrict images, promote, transfer; public groups are open, private groups invite-only; admins can post group announcements visible to all members.

Subscription: the Global Map (public spots, user locations, posting, creating spots / routes / events) is Pro-only. Free users can still browse the gallery.
Purpose: Discover Optaxis users worldwide, share spots, post shooting status.
Steps: Map tab → Join Map → fill in city. Toggle the Satellite layer (hybrid imagery with labels, on by default) from the map controls. Tap any user avatar to view gear, featured works, status. Long-press the map to Create Spot; open a spot’s detail to share it as a card — into an Optaxis chat, or out to other apps via the system share sheet. Edit Info to update city, showcase equipment, upload featured work. Profile sets shooting status (Shooting / Looking to shoot / Resting). Mainland China auto-uses AutoNavi data — no network restrictions.

Subscription: submitting and voting both require Pro. Browsing the list and winning entries is free.
Steps: Challenge tab → tap a challenge for theme + deadline → Submit Entry → vote on others’ entries. Rankings and winners appear after the deadline.

Subscription: 14 quota-gated AI features (assistant, photo critique, caption / title, bio, article summary, hashtag, before-after, shoot plan, spot description / recommend, route, gear checklist, log summary, challenge theme) are Pro-only with a shared daily quota — Monthly 20/day, Annual 40/day. Free users have no quota AI access.
Free AI: voice-to-text (Paraformer-v2, 50/day) + 5 auto-translations (caption / bio / comment / spot / article in 4 languages, no quota cap).
How: in any group chat, type @Xiaoguang followed by your question. Strengths: body / lens comparisons, system purchase advice, Scheimpflug / shift / swing principles, scene techniques, Optaxis tools usage. Examples: “X2D 100C vs GFX 100S II?” · “Summilux 35mm f/1.4 ASPH FLE bokeh characteristics?” · “How to mount 907X 100C on ALPA 12 MAX?”. AI responds as a high-end systems expert across Leica, Hasselblad, Fujifilm GFX, ALPA, large format, Canon RF, Nikon Z, Sony FE.

Creative · 6 Pro: photo critique · caption & title · article summary · bio writer · hashtag suggestion · before/after analysis.
Planning · 5 Pro: shoot plan suggestions · spot description · smart spot recommend · route optimization · equipment checklist.
Review · 1 Pro: shooting log annual / monthly trend summary.
Conversational · 1 Pro: @Xiaoguang in 1-on-1 and group chat (RAG).
Community · 1 Pro: challenge theme generator (season / month aware, bilingual).
Multilingual + Input · 6 free: voice-to-text (Paraformer-v2) · caption · bio · comment · spot · article translation (Simplified Chinese, English, Traditional Chinese, Japanese).

Purpose: Log film stock, roll, holder, metering, reciprocity comp, push-pull processing, and developer recipe alongside gear and weather. Cloud-syncs with the standard log; full-size attached photos go to OSS (path shooting-logs/) visible only to you.

Purpose: Calibrate your true film speed using a Zone VIII workflow, see how your EI compares to the community, sync across devices, share your result with one tap.

Purpose: 11 manufacturer recipes (Kodak / Ilford / FOMA / Adox / Bergger), Ilford MG IV / V contrast correction, automatic chemistry decay compensation, built-in test-strip timer.

Purpose: A single screen that runs the whole film-exposure workflow end to end and keeps track of where you are in a holder or roll.
Steps: Tools → Exposure Session. Pick film brand and stock, enter the metered shutter, then stack corrections — bellows compensation, filters, and a manual ±1/3-stop adjustment. The result waterfall shows each contribution (metered · filters · bellows · manual · reciprocity failure) down to a final exposure time.
Holder tracking: A holder / roll number plus current frame counter; tap “Exposure done · next frame” to advance. Optionally link a film roll from your library — the app then warns on out-of-stock or ISO mismatch, can decrement inventory when you change rolls, and can auto-open a shooting note after each exposure.

Purpose: NPF star trail rule, Milky Way visibility planner, full Messier 110 + 10 NGC catalog with FoV calculator and focal-length ruler, 88 constellations with mythology / bright stars / in-range deep-sky / recommended focal lengths, 5-D observability rating (cloud / moonlight / atmospheric transparency / altitude / light pollution), and a global VIIRS-driven light-pollution map with Bortle overlay.

Purpose: Pro subscribers can generate a QR code containing user ID, plan, transaction ID and HMAC signature, shown to authorized dealers for offline verification. Personal use only — no transfer or sharing.

Purpose: A major Live Shift upgrade. Camera and lens hero shots now sit beside the viewfinder — tap any thumbnail for a full spec card. AR detects vertical lines in the live scene for a quick level reference, and a top-of-screen compass shows true-north bearing (e.g. N 023°). New depth-of-field preview (near-far + hyperfocal) and cross-mount lens shift: Canon TS-E (5 focal lengths), Fuji GF T/S (30 / 110), Laowa Zero-D Shift (15 / 20) can now combine with any body and back, with image-circle clamping enforced. Lens-only shift, body-only shift, and combined shift are all status-chip-readable. Generic LF bodies are available so large-format shooters can jump straight in.
Steps: Tools → Live Shift → pick body / lens / back (any combination). The status chip shows the resolved shift envelope (L±X / B±Y / ⌀±Z). Drag the frame or use the D-pad to apply shift. From any shooting log entry, tap "Reproduce in Live Shift" to restore the exact gear loadout from that day.

Purpose: Four Gibellini bodies — ACN 45Ti / ACN57 / GP810Au / DCG66 — now ship with full specs and product photography (sourced from gibellinicamera.com, verified 2026-05-24). ALPA 12 SWA / STC Silver Limited bodies and the 40mm lens gain official hero images. Fourteen large-format, ULF and roll-back panoramic bodies are added — Chamonix's current production lineup, plus a "Generic LF Body" entry so any 4×5 / 5×7 / 8×10 user can step into Live Shift v2.
Steps: Gear → Browse catalog → Bodies, filter by brand or format. In Live Shift, the body strip now shows real hero images for these models. Pick "Generic LF Body" if your camera isn't listed individually — front-rise / fall / left / right limits fall back to a conservative envelope.

Purpose: Share a group with a short universal link — optaxis.app/g/<id>. Tapping it on iOS opens directly into the app's group join sheet (universal link); on the web it falls back to a join landing page. Separately, seven content-browsing sheets (post detail, profile, help, kit detail, shooting log, plan card, news article) gain a unified swipe-from-left dismiss gesture, matching iOS's native push navigation feel.
Steps: In any group → Share → "Copy invite link" produces the short universal link. Paste anywhere — iOS recipients land in the app; non-iOS / web recipients see the landing page. To dismiss content sheets, swipe from the left edge instead of pulling down.

Purpose: The shooting planner now covers planets, deep-sky objects and celestial events, with a shootability score and a "best night for stars" recommendation. The map-first layout was redesigned, shooting plans sync to the cloud with plan-bound reminders, and planning cards can be shared.
Steps: Open the Planner → pick a target (sun / moon / planet / deep-sky / event) → check the shootability score and best night → tap "Save as shooting plan". Plans and their reminders sync across your devices; tap share to send the planning card.

Purpose: Optional email two-factor authentication. Once enabled, signing in on a new device requires an extra verification code emailed to you — an additional layer of protection for your account.
Steps: Settings → enable Email 2FA. On the next sign-in from a new device, enter the code sent to your email. You can turn it off again anytime in Settings.

Purpose: Track every report you have submitted and its review status — reporting content is no longer a black box.
Steps: My → My Reports (listed below Blocked Members). The list shows each report you filed, newest first, with its current status: pending, reviewed, actioned, dismissed, or resolved. When moderators finish handling a report, you receive a push notification and an in-app notification.

Capabilities: multi-emoji reactions, pin a comment (post author only), photo attachment, hot/new sort tabs, pagination + reply fold for hot posts, local draft auto-save, report & block author, long-comment fold, author chip, hashtag and shooting-spot parsing, quote another post (renders as a quote card linked to the source).
Steps: Tap any post comment input → choose reaction / photo / quote-post / shooting-spot from the bottom toolbar. Long-press a comment for pin, report, or block. Switch hot/new at the top of the thread.

Purpose: Follow any hashtag for an aggregated feed segment and new-post push notifications. Per-tag mute lets you follow without push.
Steps: Tap a hashtag chip → Follow. Manage from Search → Following Hashtags. Mute a single tag from its detail page bell icon. Frequency cap: each followed user can trigger at most 5 hashtag pushes per hour to prevent burn-down on hot tags.

Purpose: Detects Classic Chrome / Velvia / Acros and other Fuji film simulations from the EXIF of uploaded photos.
How: When you create a post, the detected simulation surfaces as a suggested hashtag. Each simulation is also a first-class chip in the search screen — tap to browse posts shot with that film look, or follow to get them in your aggregated feed.

Purpose: Attach a shooting log, kit, film roll, or film simulation to a post. Each attached chip is rendered on the post detail and links back to a reverse index page (e.g. all posts shot with that kit, or that film roll).
Steps: In the post composer, tap the context section to pick a shooting log, kit, film roll, or simulation. Optional — leave blank to post without context.

Purpose: Pin one of your own posts to the top of your profile page.
Steps: Long-press one of your own posts on your profile → Pin. Long-press again → Unpin. MVP allows one pinned post per user.

Purpose: Bellows extension compensation now supports LiDAR auto-ranging on iPhone Pro models — tap the screen and the app simultaneously meters and ranges in one action.
Steps: Tools → Bellows → toggle LiDAR mode → tap the live preview to set focus distance and meter exposure in one gesture. Manual measurement remains available on non-LiDAR devices.

Confirm internet connectivity, that your Apple ID is signed in to the device, and that your Optaxis account email is correct. If you forgot your password, use the “Forgot password” flow on the sign-in screen — a reset email will be sent.

Check the source image format. Optaxis accepts HEIC and JPG up to 80 MB per photo. TIFF and most camera RAW files are not accepted directly — export to HEIC or JPG first. If the network is unstable, try again on a stronger connection.

Weather requires location permission and an active internet connection. Apple WeatherKit covers the next 10 days; dates further in the future are not available.

Calibrate the iPhone compass by moving the device in a figure-8 motion. Use the ± buttons in the AR viewfinder to fine-tune any residual offset — the value is auto-saved per device.

Pull to refresh the Profile screen or sign out and back in. If the issue persists, send your Apple original transaction ID to support@optaxis.app — Apple Server Notifications V2 will reconcile within minutes.