One of the most useful tools in my arsenal, especially for macro and product photography under controlled conditions, is my Epson P-2000. The wonderfully sharp screen allows me to whip the CF card out of my camera and really get in close to see whether I've achieved that crucial sharpness and DOF I've been looking for and check that the exposure is spot-on.
However there's one crucial aspect of these devices (the latest Epson range and the Canon M range being the immediate choices) that is missing, and I can't work out whether it's a limitation of the technology, an unnecessary feature or an oversight on the part of the manufacturers - especially Canon with the M30 and M80. That feature? Tethered shooting.
Now I know you can use EOS Capture with some of the Canon range (but, rather bafflingly, not the 5D) and I believe Capture One PRO and Aperture allow tethered shooting (anyone know with what cameras) but both these options require a laptop or PC within range. So what's stopping me being able to link my camera up via it's built-in Mini-B USB port to the Media Storage Device I'm using and be able to view my images real-time?
If I want to I can remove the CF card from my camera, insert it into the P-2000, call up the image, check exposure/focusing/DOF and then return the CF card to my camera to continue shooting. It's a usable method of working, but a little long-winded.
Surely the camera (or the device) could be programmed to pull the images across to the internal hard-drive, or at least read the image directly off the memory card?
However there's one crucial aspect of these devices (the latest Epson range and the Canon M range being the immediate choices) that is missing, and I can't work out whether it's a limitation of the technology, an unnecessary feature or an oversight on the part of the manufacturers - especially Canon with the M30 and M80. That feature? Tethered shooting.
Now I know you can use EOS Capture with some of the Canon range (but, rather bafflingly, not the 5D) and I believe Capture One PRO and Aperture allow tethered shooting (anyone know with what cameras) but both these options require a laptop or PC within range. So what's stopping me being able to link my camera up via it's built-in Mini-B USB port to the Media Storage Device I'm using and be able to view my images real-time?
If I want to I can remove the CF card from my camera, insert it into the P-2000, call up the image, check exposure/focusing/DOF and then return the CF card to my camera to continue shooting. It's a usable method of working, but a little long-winded.
Surely the camera (or the device) could be programmed to pull the images across to the internal hard-drive, or at least read the image directly off the memory card?
