Tethering a Nikon D7100

[Ted Evans]

Just looking into tethering and would like to see the opinions of others on the software used and what applications do you find it more beneficial for. I am not into studio photography but was thinking of using it in a blind for birds and wildlife. I downloaded a trail version of CamerRC which looks promising. However, there is one issue for me and I am hoping it is just ignorance on my part. The auto focus seems to be very slow which would not work for what I want to use it for if that is to be expected. I will not offer further information if there is no interest in the subject. Thanks.

 

[480sparky41 41]

What advantage would there be to tethering when shooting birds & wildlife that you would have over 'plain-jane' remote triggers?

 

[Ted Evans]

What advantage would there be to tethering when shooting birds & wildlife that you would have over 'plain-jane' remote triggers?

I am not sure there is one Sparky. I am old and my eyesight is not the best so thought it might help me to see better what I am shooting. It is also much easier, or though it seems, to make changes with options than going through the menus in the camera. I am curious about the value by those who have experiences in the real world. If the consensus is that it can be beneficial, then I will look into it further, if not, I will forget it. I have seen where it is very beneficial in a studio but have not seen it being used for nature or landscape.

 

[480sparky41 41]

I would recommend ControlMyNikon if you're using a laptop. DSLRDashboard if you're using a device.

 

[Ted Evans]

I would recommend ControlMyNikon.

Thanks for the recommendation, I will look into it.

 

[480sparky41 41]

Or better yet, DigiCamControl. It's free.

 

[Dave442]

All I can think of is the the focusing is using the live-view so it's going to be slower. I have used DigiCamControl with my D200 (no live view on that body) and it worked for non moving subjects. If I was sitting in a blind it would be nice to have one camera feeding a live-view onto an external monitor covering a wider field of view and then have the body with the longer lens ready for the specific shots.

Also take a look at the Nikon Camera Control Pro 2 (I have never tried it and tend to stay away from Nikon software). This program does offer the option to set many of the menu settings of the camera using the computer and then you can save those to a file and then load those settings back into the camera or another of the same bodies at a later time.

 

[Ted Evans]

All I can think of is the the focusing is using the live-view so it's going to be slower. I have used DigiCamControl with my D200 (no live view on that body) and it worked for non moving subjects. If I was sitting in a blind it would be nice to have one camera feeding a live-view onto an external monitor covering a wider field of view and then have the body with the longer lens ready for the specific shots.

Also take a look at the Nikon Camera Control Pro 2 (I have never tried it and tend to stay away from Nikon software). This program does offer the option to set many of the menu settings of the camera using the computer and then you can save those to a file and then load those settings back into the camera or another of the same bodies at a later time.

Thanks Dave, I had a bad experience with Nikon software so it is not an option for me. CamerRC seems be able to do the same functions as CCP2 and is also much less expensive.

Good point, I was using live view so that was making the focusing slower. It does not seem to be very practical for wildlife but perhaps would be more suited for macro shoots...if, they were mostly stationary. Not sure it is worth the effort and inconvenience. Thanks again for your comments.