The #1 Hardware Secret to Tethered Shooting: The Cables
The Infamous No Name Silver Firewire Repeater Cable
So how do you shoot more than 15′ away from your computer? Well, it’s a bit of a problem with firewire. Firewire doesn’t normally allow you to have single cable lengths over 15′. Meaning you have to improvise a bit when you want to put distance between you and your computer. Some companies like Granite Digital offer premium hand made firewire cables that go out to 30′ or more, and have worked flawlessly for us in the past. However, they are quite expensive, quite heavy, and sometimes are actually too long.
So we tried another method using shorter cables connected by repeaters. Repeaters amplify the signal allowing you to connect two 15′ cables together with a repeater in the middle to give you 30′ of cable. This time it was cheaper, but the separate repeater meant dragging a small box across the ground whenever you walked around. This allowed us much longer cable runs, but was still annoying. As such we ended up with these silver firewire cables.
New Hotness vs Old and Busted
They are 15′ long, well shielded, coil easily, and above all, have small repeaters built into the female end. We carry 4 of these on set with us, allowing us to have the photographer over 60′ away. The only negative thing I found found with these cables is that the housing on the repeater end tends to snap in half. But one wrap of gaffers tape around each end has kept them together admirably. These cables have made tethering the camera and computer a pleasure and not a hassle. Even if you don’t shoot tethered much, I would suggest that every photographer grab a couple of these, “Just In Case.” Buy them Here (the only place I’ve found them)
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2 Responses to “The #1 Hardware Secret to Tethered Shooting: The Cables”
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November 12th, 2006 at 9:55 am
[...] Here is a link to the article about the silver firewire cables with a built in repeater. [...]
August 7th, 2007 at 1:13 pm
Advice on cables when using a tethered D200? The cable included (Nikon USB UC-E4)with the camera is short- maybe 6′, and looks like it would fail with the slightest laptop movement. Is there a better cable you’d recommend? Thanks-