Tethered shooting, or shooting with a connected computer, is a photographic technique that has been practiced by many professional photographers for many years. In short, the leash allows you to connect your camera to your computer or laptop and view it almost instantly. digital images on the device a few seconds after shooting. Due to the cost and availability, "tethered shooting" in general was used only by photographers who work a lot in the studio and create commercial shots. High Quality... However, these technologies have become much cheaper and easier to operate, therefore they are now used by both professionals and amateurs.

If you have ever been interested in "tethered shooting", then this article will give you short review process and also describes some steps for an easy start.

Photo by Tyler Ingram

What is tethered shooting?

Tethered shooting is the process of connecting your camera to a computer, laptop, or even a smartphone using a cable or wireless app. After successfully connecting the devices, all images taken by the camera are immediately sent to the computer and saved to a predefined folder. Then you can see the image in full size on a computer screen and even do some post-processing.

Advantages « filming on the leash»

The main advantage of "tethered shooting" is the ability to quickly view the image on a large monitor within seconds after shooting. This allows you and your client to examine the image on big screen and make any necessary corrections if needed. Depending on the used software to connect devices, you can even do some editing. You and your client can see exactly how the subject is photographed and make sure your vision matches. In general, this kind of cooperation should lead to a better result.

Disadvantages of "tethered shooting"

The ability to instantly view photos has several disadvantages.

Firstly, you or your client can get too hung up on small details while studying the image, and this will slow down the photo session. As such, it's important to meet your client's expectations and move on at the same time without focusing too much on details. Secondly, binding can drain the battery of the camera and the connected computer. If your photo session is going to last longer than an hour, then you will need extra batteries and a power outlet nearby. Finally, connection software can be finicky and refuse to work without apparent reason so you'll need a backup plan in case it goes down.

What you need for "tethered shooting"

The traditional and most reliable way to connect the camera to a computer is to use a cable. There are many different cables and ports available, so which one to use will depend on the model of the device you are using. Some digital cameras with built-in Wi-Fi even offer wireless connection or remote shooting, but they are usually limited to use on a tablet or mobile device, but not on a laptop.

1. Very long (ie 4-5 meters) USB cable to connect the camera and laptop;

2. Software like Adobe Lightroom or Canon EOS Utility 3;

3. Optional - JerkStopper to prevent accidental pulling out of the USB cable.

4. Optional - portable laptop table, like Tether Tools' Aero Table

Tether Table Aero is a lightweight, durable aluminum platform that attaches to almost any tripod or stand, transforming into a convenient side table for a laptop or additional camera equipment.

To be clear, there are many programs for connecting a computer and a camera, but in this article we will look at two inexpensive and easy ways: Adobe Lightroom and EOS Utility 3.

Simple "tethered shooting" withLightroom

The quickest, and probably the easiest way to start tethered shooting, is to use Adobe Lightroom's Tethered Capture feature. Follow these steps to set it up:

Step 1 - connect the camera to the laptop

Connect your camera to your laptop with via USB cable. Then turn on the camera.

Step2 - run Tethered Capture in Lightroom

Open Lightroom and go to File> Remote control Camera> Start Remote Shooting.

Step 3 – choose settings

In the settings of the Remote Shooting Options dialog box, you have the ability to specify a Capture Name (for example, "Remote Shooting Test", specifying the names of the photos, choosing the location of the files, adding metadata and keywords... Pay close attention to where your files will be saved so you can find them later. After configuring all the parameters, click OK.

If everything is done correctly, a narrow control panel (highlighted in red below) for some remote shooting settings will appear on the screen, as well as a Library in which remote shooting photos will be placed.

However, finding a camera is not uncommon for Lightroom. If you've followed all the steps above and still see the notification below, then try to fix the issue by first making sure your Lightroom version and your camera's firmware are up to date. Also, check if your camera is compatible with remote shooting in Lightroom. Note: There are plugins from other developers for incompatible cameras such as Fuji X-T1, please do a search for your camera model and you may find a solution.

Finally, try another USB cable and make sure it's working. But if you're looking for a more stable way to shoot remotely, consider the other option below.

Reliable "tethered shooting" withEOS Utility 3

If you shoot with a Canon digital camera, take the CD that came with it and install EOS Utility 3 on your computer. When the camera is connected to your computer, you can use this software to remotely control the camera and shoot. This method is much more reliable and stable than using remote shooting in Lightroom.

I'll start, perhaps, with the programs for controlling the camera from a computer. There are quite a few different types of them. Here are some of them.
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I will give four more programs designed to simplify the process of downloading, processing and printing digital photos for documents as much as possible.
Can drive the following models:
Canon PowerShot: S60, Pro1, G5, G6, G7, G9, G10, A75, A80, A85, A95, A510, A520, A620, A640, S3iS, S5iS, SX100iS, SX110iS.
Canon EOS SLRs: 40D, 1000D, 450D, 500D.
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Using a Canon camera as a web-camera (see the list of supported models on the manufacturer's website !!!):
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Recently, many in the department were cut off access to the Internet and ICQ was cut off. A private conversation with the admin and the boss did not lead to a consensus. But everything was not so bad - there was a car with full access... Proxia will save us, I thought, and started looking. Stopped for two. For ICQ, HTTP-Tunnel v4.4.4 was ideal, I did not find a crack, and why - the speed for ICQ is not so important. For the Internet, I installed Etlin HTTP Proxy v1.0.0, I attach the crack (when asked to register, type something in the fields, or do it right after installation). These programs have quite simple settings, clear interfaces work stably. Problem solved.
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Once I came across the site http://www.detiseti.ru I found a lot of useful things for kids. There are three good generator examples: for multiplication and division (two-digit numbers), for memorizing the multiplication table and losses for training oral counting. But I was very tired of printing, I wrote 2 simple generators for solving examples on a computer: one for addition and subtraction, the second for multiplication and division. It is convenient to type answers on numeric keypad and the Enter button is next to it. If you find bugs, write to the soap ( [email protected]).
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On January 24, libgphoto2 and gphoto2 version 2.4.8 were released for download. Even more imperceptibly, on February 1, the gtkam-0.1.17 program was released. The appearance of the latter is not reflected even on the first page of the project, so at the time of this writing (end of February) the program 0.1.16.1 still appears. from December 2008, and only by clicking on the Download link, you can find out that the program has been updated. In my opinion, an epoch-making event took place, since before that time in digital photography there was a task that could be realized only using computers under Windows control or Mac OS X. Namely, the task remote control with the help of a computer Canon DSLR cameras with live picture. For the gPhoto2 program itself, perhaps the event is not so significant - a few more cameras have been added to the 1100 with which it already knows how to work. However, for many tasks, especially in scientific and technical photography, only remote control from a computer allows you to fully realize all the advantages of digital photography. Among the manufacturers of SLR cameras, Canon is the only company that offers complete with a camera free program EOS Utility, of which CameraSetting / Remote Shooting is a computer remote control program. I wrote briefly about its capabilities in an article about the Canon EOS 450D camera. Unfortunately, the camera does not come with a free operating system capable of working with the supplied programs. There are signs of a monopoly conspiracy :-). Considering that during shooting the photographer has no time to be distracted, and it is extremely reckless to load the laboratory computer with extraneous tasks during the experiment, I believe that a bootable Live CD with an OS that allows you to run only programs for the camera would be in demand. If desired, the photographer would have the opportunity to work on someone else's computer without disturbing his settings.

As I showed in the article on software, and then in the article on calibration, today all photographic problems can be solved under Linux. All but one. There was no software required to take advantage of one of the most lab-ready cameras, such as the Canon EOS 1000D. Generally speaking, the ability to work with this camera was announced in the previous version of the libgphoto2 library. But then it was still only a hint of efficiency, I really didn't manage to work with it. I remind you that the main program is libgphoto2, and gphoto2 is the interface command line and gtkam is graphical interface to this library.

gPhoto2 allows you to see a picture in text mode in the style of the 80s, funny, but in practice it only allows you to evaluate the presence of motion in the frame.

Gtkam allows you to view and download photos on a memory card from almost all supported cameras, change settings and remote shutter release for many, and finally, for some, see a live image on the computer screen.

Finally, it happened. You can see the live picture on the computer screen in graphics mode, you can control the focus of the lens. The header photo with multiplying images demonstrates that the remote viewing images are indeed updating. It is still not as comfortable as in the EOS Utility program, which, by the way, it seems, has not yet been made to work under Wine. The gtkam program has demonstrated that the libgphoto2 library works, and now that the main task of interacting with the camera has been solved, the photographer can take a chance and try to write a graphical interface that is convenient for him, in which, as I plan to add, control not only the camera, but also the slide, it moving. In macro photography, the hands of the photographer are sometimes too crude tools and it is better to do everything remotely. On the this moment the screenshots of the gtkam program are as follows.

The main window of the program with a tree of folders and thumbnails of pictures on the memory card. Right button mouse, you can select "Capture" and call the preview window.

The picture changes much more slowly than in the program under Windows, but already in the version that can be downloaded from SVN, significant progress has been made in this matter. There is no screen magnifier yet. Pressing the "Parameters" button brings up a window with six tabs.

The first tab is responsible for focusing. The lens is controlled by 6 buttons that allow you to move the lens back and forth with different steps. Unfortunately, in this implementation, you need to select a step and click the "Apply" button. Moreover, in order to take the next step, you must either change its value, or do zero step, it will not be possible to move twice with the same step. The menu also features an autofocus button, but it does not function yet. It can be assumed that in the future, focusing will be carried out desktop computer rather than a camera processor, which will potentially allow us to use not only native lenses, but also a separate drive for any others.

The second tab of the configuration window has changed little compared to previous versions, here you can set the date and time and specify where to save the picture - to a memory card or to a computer.

The third tab gives us information about the status of the camera.

The fourth very long tab allows you to set the recording format and white balance.

The fifth tab allows you to set exposure parameters and shooting mode. So in the case of aperture priority, you can set exposure compensation, Shooting mode: single frame, burst, and timer time. And of course, the diaphragm itself.

The last tab is responsible for communication with the computer.

That, in fact, is all I wanted to say. Linux is an operating environment for DIYers. The tool in the form of the libgphoto2 library has been given to us, it's time to start creating our own Photographic complexes. Although I was not able to fully get H. Dersch's 2005 program to work with the Canon EOS 1000D, I find it very tempting on the net, including the PDA. P.S.

The idea that the camera is a computer peripheral, I promoted in the last century. Then, by the way, as a percentage of the total number of cameras, control was more common. However, today cameras can solve significantly more problems and the approach to them must be individual, which means that programming is included in the photographer's functions, as well as the choice of the scene and shooting mode. The firm cannot know what a particular photographer needs, but, unfortunately, does not give him the tool to do the work himself. A programming tool designed specifically for the photographer, in my memory, was offered only by Kodak, along with its early cameras, such as the Kodak DC265, then the idea was picked up by the creators and. So far, in terms of friendliness and documentation, gPhoto2 is far from these projects, but open source codes and the GPL license leaves me with hope to live to this bright time.

Fair, not overpriced or understated. There should be prices on the Service website. Necessarily! without "asterisks", it is clear and detailed, where it is technically possible - the most accurate, final.

With the availability of spare parts, up to 85% of complex repairs can be completed in 1-2 days. Modular repairs take much less time. The website lists the approximate duration of any repairs.

Warranty and liability

Any repairs must be guaranteed. Everything is described on the website and in the documents. The guarantee is self-confidence and respect for you. A 3-6 month warranty is good and sufficient. It is needed to check quality and hidden defects that cannot be detected immediately. You see honest and realistic terms (not 3 years), you can be sure that they will help you.

Half the success in Apple repair- this is the quality and reliability of spare parts, so a good service works with suppliers directly, there are always several reliable channels and your own warehouse with proven spare parts of current models so that you do not have to waste time.

Free diagnostics

This is very important and has already become a good form for service center... Diagnostics is the most difficult and important part of the repair, but you shouldn't pay a dime for it, even if you don't repair the device as a result.

Repair in service and delivery

Good service appreciates your time, therefore, offers free shipping. And for the same reason, repairs are carried out only in the workshop of the service center: correctly and according to technology, it can only be done at a prepared place.

Convenient schedule

If the Service works for you, and not for itself, then it is always open! absolutely. The schedule should be convenient so that you can be in time before and after work. Good service works both on weekends and on holidays. We are waiting for you and working on your devices every day: 9:00 - 21:00

The reputation of professionals consists of several points

Age and experience of the company

Reliable and experienced service has been known for a long time.
If a company has been on the market for many years, and it has managed to establish itself as an expert, people turn to it, write about it, recommend it. We know what we are talking about, since 98% of incoming devices in the SC are being restored.
We are trusted and transferred by other service centers for difficult cases.

How many masters by directions

If several engineers are always waiting for you for each type of equipment, you can be sure:
1. there will be no queue (or it will be minimal) - your device will be taken over immediately.
2.you give in Macbook repair expert specifically in the field of Mac repairs. He knows all the secrets of these devices

Technical literacy

If you ask a question, a specialist must answer it as accurately as possible.
So that you have an idea of ​​what exactly you need.
They will try to solve the problem. In most cases, the description tells you what happened and how to fix the problem.

Canon and Nikon camera control software
DigiCamControl 2.0.0.

We present to your attention the free program DigiCamControl version 2.0.0 (developed by Duka Istvan) for remote control of Nikon and Canon cameras (DSLRs are fully supported). Despite the fact that this program is free, it has pretty good functionality. The interface is shown below:

In the top menu, in the “File” tab, there is a “Settings” item, in which you can select the color scheme of the working window (design theme), interface language (Russian language is present), photo viewing settings, full screen mode, set up keyboard shortcuts for quick control, and much more.

Initially, the program will be installed with an English-language interface, and if you find it difficult to Russify, then follow this path:

In the horizontal top menu, click the "File" button, then select "Settings", the "General" settings window will appear, now it remains in the "Interface language" tab to select the Russian language "Russian", click the "OK" button and restart the program to make the changes took effect.

The main settings menu looks like this:

When you press the Live View button, a window will appear in which you can control photo and video shooting, and your future photo or the frame from which you plan to start filming will be displayed on the screen. Camera settings are made remotely, that is, right from the program, you can adjust the white balance, select the sensitivity (ISO), set the required shutter speed and aperture, etc.
The archive file contains an image of the program in msi format, after unpacking, simply run this file and follow the instructions of the installation wizard. Archive size - 60.3 Mb.