# Best way to shoot tethered in 2016?



## drmikeinpdx (May 24, 2016)

Time to tap into the tech knowledge of this great forum! Here's my situation:

I have a 5D3 and I use Lightroom CC. I'd like to try tethered shooting and I'm starting from scratch, with no previous tethering experience. I would like to connect to a laptop running Windows X. I can do wired or wireless or both, at this point I don't know which will be best for me.

If you were in this situation, what products would you buy? How would you make the connection? What pitfalls should I watch out for?

Thanks in advance!


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## privatebydesign (May 24, 2016)

For tethered shooting a long USB cable. Tether Tools make great ones that work longer than 15' but they are pricey, I'm sure many others make them too. Just shoot straight to LR.

https://www.tethertools.com/camera/canon-eos-5d-mark-iii/

If you want wireless get a CamRanger, the best and most robust wireless system I have come across, much better the the WFT's.

http://camranger.com/


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## Don Haines (May 25, 2016)

privatebydesign said:


> For tethered shooting a long USB cable. Tether Tools make great ones that work longer than 15' but they are pricey, I'm sure many others make them too. Just shoot straight to LR.
> 
> https://www.tethertools.com/camera/canon-eos-5d-mark-iii/
> 
> ...


I have a 50 foot USB cable..... it works surprisingly well....


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## jolyonralph (May 25, 2016)

Depends what sort of tethered shooting you want. Lightroom isn't great compared to the Canon Remote software because it can't control the camera settings from the computer. For doing tethered macro etc that's really quite important.

What I do is set up the Canon Remote software to write RAW files to a folder on my HD, and then set that up as a watched folder in Lightroom for automatic import.


I also use the excellent Helicon Remote software for when I want to do automated shots for stacking.


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## privatebydesign (May 25, 2016)

Don Haines said:


> privatebydesign said:
> 
> 
> > For tethered shooting a long USB cable. Tether Tools make great ones that work longer than 15' but they are pricey, I'm sure many others make them too. Just shoot straight to LR.
> ...



When I had a Canon WFT for the 1DS MkIII I used to use the Ethernet port and a 100' Ethernet cable, worked a charm and the network never dropped! 100' Ethernet cables cost a fraction the USB cables do too.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (May 25, 2016)

drmikeinpdx said:


> Time to tap into the tech knowledge of this great forum! Here's my situation:
> 
> I have a 5D3 and I use Lightroom CC. I'd like to try tethered shooting and I'm starting from scratch, with no previous tethering experience. I would like to connect to a laptop running Windows X. I can do wired or wireless or both, at this point I don't know which will be best for me.
> 
> ...



You do not need to purchase anything, if you want to tether at a distance, you can buy a 30 ft USB cable, otherwise a ordinary one will do. Canon provides very good software in Canon utilities, no need to look further. Breeze also sells DSLR Pro which I have. Its basically Canon utilities with a different skin.

Now, if you want wireless tethering, you will have to spend money, and even then, results will not equal those where a USB cable is used. I have a Wi-Fi device called usbportcamera2 that wirelessly tethers my 5D MK III to my phone or tablet. I paid $188 for it. Its similar to a cam ranger but a little more refined and has a much better battery life.


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## Don Haines (May 25, 2016)

privatebydesign said:


> Don Haines said:
> 
> 
> > privatebydesign said:
> ...


Ethernet cables will go a surprising distance..... I ran a temporary cable last winter to one of the outbuildings at work...... about 450 feet!


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## drmikeinpdx (May 25, 2016)

I can't imagine needing to shoot tethered at more than about 25 feet from my laptop computer, so I guess the cheap way to go, at least at first, is a long USB cable and the Canon Utility software. You can download the latest version from the Canon site, right? That might be easier than digging up the various old disks I have stashed away somewhere.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (May 25, 2016)

drmikeinpdx said:


> I can't imagine needing to shoot tethered at more than about 25 feet from my laptop computer, so I guess the cheap way to go, at least at first, is a long USB cable and the Canon Utility software. You can download the latest version from the Canon site, right? That might be easier than digging up the various old disks I have stashed away somewhere.



The Canon site has updates for already installed software, or a disk that you can download to do the initial installation. If you do not have Canon software installed, download the current disk. I see this for the 5D MK III

EOS Digital Solution Disk Software 29.1A for Windows (For users who cannot use the bundled CD)


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## drmikeinpdx (May 25, 2016)

Thanks Mt. Spokane! I think I deleted the Canon software some time ago after I started doing all my post processing with Lightroom and PS.

Everything new thing I learn to do these days requires me to download a new app! LOL


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