Tethered shooting: Connection issues between camera and computer

Welcome to the ultimate guide to troubleshooting tethered capture sessions.

You’re a professional photographer, ready to start your shoot, but you’re stuck because the tether connection between camera and computer isn’t working?

In this article, we review the most common connection problems during tethered photo sessions. We’ll also give you a checklist of things to check when you can’t connect the camera to the computer, to make sure your photo shoots go smoothly!

1. The first steps

1. Make sure your software (Capture One, Phocus, Lightroom…) supports the make and model of your camera in tethered mode.
2. Check that you have downloaded the latest version of your software and that all updates have been carried out. (Software does not update automatically).
3. Make sure your camera’s firmware is up to date.(Canon, Hasselblad, Fujifilm)
4. Choose a tether cable compatible with your camera and computer.

2. Connecting your camera to the software

1. Connect your camera to your computerusing the tether cable.
2. Switch on the computer and launch your software, keeping the camera switched off.
3. Make sure that no other software is running in the background.
4. Open your shooting software.
5. Start the capture session in connected mode in the software.
6. Switch on your camera. The software should detect the connected camera automatically.
7. Start shooting to see if the images display well on the computer.

3. What to do if you have connection issues between your camera and the shooting software?

• Check that your camera is supported.
• Restart your computer.
• Restart the software and check that no other software is running in the background.
• Switch your camera on and off.
• Disconnect and reconnect the cable. (Make sure it’s plugged in the right way round if it’s a unidirectional cable).
• Check your memory card.
• Check that your camera is recognized by the computer.
• Deactivate computer and camera sleep mode.
• Try to fully charge the camera battery.
• Check for updates to capture software and camera firmware.
• Test another tether cable.
• Check for damaged ports.
• Determine if you need an amplifier.

4. Best practices for trouble-free tethering

• Make sure your camera’s sleep mode is deactivated

The computer must always recognize the camera during tethering. If the camera goes into standby mode, the computer may no longer recognize it and the connection may be interrupted.

• Check battery charge

If your camera’s battery is low, the connection may be frequently interrupted. To ensure a stable connection, use a fully charged battery.

• Nikon users: remove the memory card from your camera

When shooting in tethered mode with Nikon cameras and many software programs, images are not stored on the camera’s memory card, but directly on the computer’s hard disk in the folder you have chosen. If your memory card is full or contains data, this can disrupt image transfer. It is therefore preferable to remove the memory card from the camera.

5. Camera settings

• USB-C power settings

Many of today’s cameras use a USB-C connection, which charges the battery and/or powers the camera via USB-C when connected. While these functions can be useful, USB-C power can cause problems when you want to shoot in tethered mode, so it’s advisable to disable these settings when shooting tethered.

Note that some USB-C cameras do not allow you to disable this function.

• Camera settings for tethering

Some camera manufacturers, such as Sony, FujiFilm and Nikon, have settings that influence the behavior of the device when connected via USB.

These settings can sometimes prevent the software from correctly recognizing the camera. Consult the manual to find out which settings need to be adjusted for a tethered connection.