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Tethered Shooting with Live View/Remote Control


ben_hutcherson

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Even though I've essentially switched to Nikon for all my "on the go" photography and even most of my studio work, I am still using my Digital Rebel for Ebay photos and some other specialized applications.

 

Basically, using the software included with the Rebel(and updates provided since) I can tether the camera to my computer. With the camera on a tripod, I then generally will pull up live view on the computer screen. From that, I have full control of the camera, can manually set the white balance with a dropper on any area of the photo(i.e. on a gray card) and can use AF motor to manually focus at 100% magnification and VERY tiny steps. It's a workflow I have down very well, and then release the shutter. The image goes straight to my hard drive(not to the card) and I can work with it from there.

 

I seem to recall once doing this in Lightroom also, but only did it once since I didn't find LR as usable as the Canon software.

 

With Nikon, I can't seem to find any way to get a workflow similar to what I've described above nor can I find the feature in LR with a Nikon DSLR connected(I'm using up-to-date LR 6, the last non-CC version). I've tried both a D300 and a D800, both of which support live view.

 

Is there a way to do what I'm describing with a Nikon DSLR? It looks like Camera Control Pro 2 MIGHT be able to do it, but I'm hesitant to spend $150 on software without knowing if it will do what I want it to.

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Ben, I am using an open source app with my D7100 for copystand macro and negative copying--tying the camera to my Surface notebook. The price is right (free) and you can find more info and a download here:

 

Easy to use, free solution for complex camera control | digiCamControl

 

Try it and see if it works for you! :cool:

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The FotoFora Community Experience [Link]

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There are also commercial options (I have HeliconRemote, although mostly for focus stacking, so it's going to be less appealing once I get a D850). I actually have the Android version because I wanted to use it in the field, but there are PC and Mac versions too. I've not tried alternatives to know whether they offer much over the free solutions (or Camera Control Pro, which I've also heard good things about) - although there's a free trial if you want to find out.

 

If you're not focus stacking, you could also connect the HDMI output to a screen and use live view to focus (give or take the D800's idea of 100% magnification) and either use USB or an Eye-Fi to get the shot to your computer. That doesn't require extra software, but you might not prefer that workflow.

 

Best of luck with it!

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Thanks guys.

 

Focus stacking HASN'T been a concern, but it's something I could definitely use if I wanted to play with it.

 

I'll try the free program above, although I'll either need to set up a Windows 7 VM on my Mac or upgrade my old Thinkpad. I'd prefer the former, so that's likely what I'll end up doing.

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