XSi - tethered - more reach?

The cable that came with my XSi is only 6'. I don't have a laptop, so I can only shoot tethered on my desktop. not too much of a problem since I shoot most where the computer is. I'd like more reach, so I bought a usb cable with regular on one end and female on the other end. When I connect the Canon cable to the extension cable, the camera is not able to attach in tethered mode. the only option I get i nthe EOS utility is manage folder. Anyone know what's going on, and if or how I can get more reach? I'd like to have 10-12' total reach.

USB 2.0 is only spec'd to work for 5 meters without an active repeater or a powered hub. It's been my experience that extension cables as you have described add signal loss equivalent to about 3-4ft of cable so if you had a 6ft cable & a 6ft extension then the effective length was 15-16ft, leaving you outside the spec.

You should either go and get a 10-15ft cable from NewEgg or use your 6ft cable with a powered USB hub (which really only works if you've got a power outlet available). I've never been a fan of active repeaters.

I believe this is the appropriate cable for your camera, but can't confirm as I don't have an XSi anymore.
http://www.newegg.com …aspx?Item=N82E1​6812189163

Here's an active repeater you could give a try. I've not had real reliable experiences with them though. They either work, or don't, and I've never been able to put any rhyme or reason behind why they'll work with one device and not another.

http://www.newegg.com …aspx?Item=N82E1​6812232008

I suspected that there was signal loss over the length of the cables. Thanks for the links. I'll probably go for the cable option.

How awesome would it be if Canon added WiFi to their cameras and added some simple "server" so you could control it from a web browser. Heck, if you setup port forwarding on your router, you could control it over the internet!

Or just a simple ethernet interface, than you wouldn't have the problems with long cable runs

Read up on this.. "wireless usb tethering"
http://www.jamiecarl.c​om.au …the-coolest-oxymoron-ever

Basically there are devices which let you use a usb device wirelessly. The small catch is that the remote end (ie your camera) needs the device to be plugged into a wall socket. You will have to supply the same voltage from a battery pack, which you need to find separately.