Tethered Shooting 40D in the studio

I want to have a go at tethered shooting in the studio. I tried at home and it's working fine in EOS Utility. Problem is, the USB cable is quite short...

Any problems with using extensions, or are there proper alternatives out there...longer, curly, or whatever? What do you use?

Cheers

A search engine check on the phrase "usb a mini b cable" may turn up interesting results.

I have a 10' cable that I got from Amazon, and it works fine. You just have to be careful not to trip over it.

DC Fan wrote in post #14190148
A search engine check on the phrase "usb a mini b cable" may turn up interesting results.

SYS wrote in post #14190221
I have a 10' cable that I got from Amazon, and it works fine. You just have to be careful not to trip over it.

Thanks folks. I realised it was the same USB -> Mini USB, but wasn't sure if there was something special to get the length. I found one on FleaBay which is 5m long...cheap, but for an experiment, worth the price.

There is a max distance for USB, according to the spec.

USB 2.0 provides for a maximum cable length of 5 meters for devices running at Hi Speed (480 Mb/s). The primary reason for this limit is the maximum allowed round-trip delay of about 1.5 μs. If USB host commands are unanswered by the USB device within the allowed time, the host considers the command lost.
The USB 3.0 standard does not directly specify a maximum cable length, requiring only that all cables meet an electrical specification: for copper cabling with AWG 26 wires the maximum practical length is 3 meters (9.8 ft).

Wilt wrote in post #14190825
There is a max distance for USB, according to the spec.

USB 2.0 provides for a maximum cable length of 5 meters for devices running at Hi Speed (480 Mb/s). The primary reason for this limit is the maximum allowed round-trip delay of about 1.5 μs. If USB host commands are unanswered by the USB device within the allowed time, the host considers the command lost.
The USB 3.0 standard does not directly specify a maximum cable length, requiring only that all cables meet an electrical specification: for copper cabling with AWG 26 wires the maximum practical length is 3 meters (9.8 ft).

Yes...I saw this...active cable...gets around this problem?

http://www.maplin.co.u​k …ive-repeater-cable-444544

Bend The Light wrote in post #14190851
Yes...I saw this...active cable...gets around this problem?

http://www.maplin.co.u​k …ive-repeater-cable-444544

It seems to be dependent upon the type of device which is connected...in the case of printers, one person's report was that they could not be connected...probably a case of excessive roundtrip signal delay, when command is sent to printer and the PC fails to get the response within the allowed time frame.

I have this Canon [Mfr# IFC-500U] 15.4ft (4.7 meters) Interface Cable which turns out to be just a glorified USB cable in a red box!
http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …_USB_Interface_​Cable.html
It is a usable length, but it would be nice if a bit longer.
[In studio have a calibrated DELL U2410 monitor, same monitor as at my desk].

As SYS indicates - watch out, you/guests don’t trip over the cable!

Approximately a couple of years ago I keenly, but unsuccessfully, put quite a bit of time into researching the wireless method, but transfer rate in RAW was a pathetic approx 12-15 seconds; (only JPEG thumb nail was a couple of seconds). I have accepted wireless defeat until Canon/Nikon wireless transfer rate technology is improved/greater.
At that time Canon’s 1DmkIII and 5dmkII wireless transmitters were approx $700USD each(ouch) and delivered older transfer standards which were pathetically slow for the money.
(I found it was kind of like researching the interconnections and putting together of some Manfrotto items/components - it almost gives you a headache in ones search for a solution!)
You guys are generally better at tinkering with stuff than us gals – I am results/action oriented, and not so much on the workings of the how (I leave that to someone else more proficient to blaze the trail) – I just want to take photographs! Wireless at least, doesn’t seem to be plug and play.

Good luck and I am all ears to any solutions you discover.

Mary

happy2010 wrote in post #14191255
I have this Canon [Mfr# IFC-500U] 15.4ft (4.7 meters) Interface Cable which turns out to be just a glorified USB cable in a red box!
http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …_USB_Interface_​Cable.html
It is a usable length, but it would be nice if a bit longer.
[In studio have a calibrated DELL U2410 monitor, same monitor as at my desk].

As SYS indicates - watch out, you/guests don’t trip over the cable!

Approximately a couple of years ago I keenly, but unsuccessfully, put quite a bit of time into researching the wireless method, but transfer rate in RAW was a pathetic approx 12-15 seconds; (only JPEG thumb nail was a couple of seconds). I have accepted wireless defeat until Canon/Nikon wireless transfer rate technology is improved/greater.
At that time Canon’s 1DmkIII and 5dmkII wireless transmitters were approx $700USD each(ouch) and delivered older transfer standards which were pathetically slow for the money.
(I found it was kind of like researching the interconnections and putting together of some Manfrotto items/components - it almost gives you a headache in ones search for a solution!)
You guys are generally better at tinkering with stuff than us gals – I am results/action oriented, and not so much on the workings of the how (I leave that to someone else more proficient to blaze the trail) – I just want to take photographs! Wireless at least, doesn’t seem to be plug and play.

Good luck and I am all ears to any solutions you discover.

Mary

Thanks for the info. I have ordered a cheap and cheerful cable and will see how we get on...if it's ok, I will work on better quality methods.

Cheers

It seems that this might be a USB solution to consider...

http://www.jeffsreview​s.com …ted%20wireless%​20usb.html

In an review of the the Cables Unlimited Wireless USB adapter set product http://www.everythingu​sb.com …-adapter-kit-15823-2.html , the reviewer stated, "Next up was a digital SLR. Downloading 2GB of photos was commendably fast, both at short range and at 10 ft - better than half the speed of the wired USB 2.0 link. Downloading was rock solid and even worked at 25 ft through a wall. This test passed with flying colours. "

Wilt wrote in post #14191524
It seems that this might be a USB solution to consider...

http://www.jeffsreview​s.com …ted%20wireless%​20usb.html

In an review of the the Cables Unlimited Wireless USB adapter set product http://www.everythingu​sb.com …-adapter-kit-15823-2.html , the reviewer stated, "Next up was a digital SLR. Downloading 2GB of photos was commendably fast, both at short range and at 10 ft - better than half the speed of the wired USB 2.0 link. Downloading was rock solid and even worked at 25 ft through a wall. This test passed with flying colours. "

Thanks...more to consider.

Interesting, thanks WILT.

I don’t want to hijack BEND THE LIGHT’s thread about tethered (rather than wireless) file transfer, but the following maybe somewhat useful…

So much of the Wireless File Transmitter(WFT) stuff in the market over the last few years seems to be the older/slow wireless protocol standard: Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11a.

Just wondering if perhaps a higher file transfer rate standard may be about to evolve in the market amongst manufacturers, with photography applications…
For example, I read somewhere the new Canon EOS-1DX camera has a soon to be launched WFT with newer Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11.n protocol (claims 3x faster; how much faster in reality who knows tba/tbd?, but which would make RAW file transfer a respectable/tolerable file transfer speed)
http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …Wireless_Transm​itter.html


Mary

Wilt wrote in post #14191524
It seems that this might be a USB solution to consider...

http://www.jeffsreview​s.com …ted%20wireless%​20usb.html

In an review of the the Cables Unlimited Wireless USB adapter set product http://www.everythingu​sb.com …-adapter-kit-15823-2.html , the reviewer stated, "Next up was a digital SLR. Downloading 2GB of photos was commendably fast, both at short range and at 10 ft - better than half the speed of the wired USB 2.0 link. Downloading was rock solid and even worked at 25 ft through a wall. This test passed with flying colours. "

there is an old thread using this kit, the cables unlimited kit is no longer for sale though. i have one and it does work but two biggest strikes are it's kind of bulky with all the pieces and the need to power it somehow. and it does not work with macs.

Plug your standard Canon supplied cable into this repeater and you are set. I have used it for shooting video on the 40D with EOS Record.

http://www.amazon.com/​gp/product/B0002D6QJO/

minhi wrote in post #14191976
there is an old thread using this kit, the cables unlimited kit is no longer for sale though. i have one and it does work but two biggest strikes are it's kind of bulky with all the pieces and the need to power it somehow. and it does not work with macs.

It is currently offered on Amazon.com, and apparently a supply chain component was in short supply for a while, which explains the period where it could not be purchase.