remote control by laptop
 

Is there a way to control a ex3 with the aid of a laptop?

Got to get the quetion clearer.

I have a pair of barn owls in the loft of my barn, above my office. Could install my camera up there as a kind of webcam to watch the birds, when I connect it to a screen in my office. But of course it would be fun to do some remote filming as well. Is there any software to control the camera by laptop (rec/stop, posibly zooming etc.)?

sure , learning remote software on the computer, and an IR connection of some kind. would require another computer at camera location.
like they now have USB to IR adaptions even. IR connects were avilable on many motherboards, but not used very often, now with serial and USb IR adaptions, you could send out Remote signals out of about any computer or laptop without cracking it open.
they do this type of thing more in the "Media Computer TV" kinda places, i have only seen them talk about it all.

potentially you could add in one of them cheap IR pan tilt heads with remote to get camera movements.

they also have crasy motion tracking software that is scriptable and all, which potentially could be combined in a "web cam turns on HD cam" thing :-)

simple a IR repeater, a device used to jump the remote signals to a different location when EX: viewing tv in your room VIA the DVR in the living room wirlessly or through cables. they use a IR repeater thing, that send the IR blinks from one box to another box, which in turn then talks to the device you would have aimed the remote to.
with something like that, you would point your camera remote at the "repeater" and have the other part of it sending its IR signals to the camera.

Thanks Marty. So it is all possible. Don't even need IR solutions since I can easily work with cables. However, I like to know what software to look for, for remotely control the camera. Any suggestions are most welcome.