Hi folks from a newbie member, especially to those who've known me in previous lives.

I saw the debate on how useful the forums were and thought I might add the following, just for a bit of discussion:


Has anyone else tried using their camera tethered to a laptop / computer with the relevant software (eg. Nikon Camera Control Pro etc.)

In a nutshell, using the camera to shoot with storage direct onto your hard-drive, or for that matter also being able to remote control settings and remote shooting from the software.

I've used it successfully a number of times over the last few months:-

- Shooting and printing in real time:
Children sitting with Father Christmas at my son's school Christmas fair, shooting to laptop and printing on a £25 dye-sub printer - one print sold and taken away every 2-3mins. (ps. Yes I am CRB cleared!)

- Group portrait shooting:
Allows the subjects to look at what worked / didn't work, concentrate on what they like. More importantly, can allow real-time choosing and purchase (=£££)

- Checking the focus:
Trying to photograph a blooming lilly (just the right colour to match the new paint scheme!) in close up without a macro lens, with a plain focussing screen, no liveview and the camera's focus points just aren't up to the job. Focussing in manual and trial and error shooting worked, adjusting minute amounts of focus between checking on the monitor.

If you're a Nikon user, you can (or at least could previously) download the software valid for a month. Shout back for info.

Stu

-- Edited by Kent photographer at 01:01, 2008-06-24