If you’ve picked up a new Canon 5Ds or Canon 5Ds R and are looking to shoot tethered, things can be a bit tricky right now. As of today, our sources have told us that Canon has not yet released the proper SDK to third party software makers for them to add support. What this means is you cannot simply open Adobe Lightroom, Capture One or other software programs and start shooting. However, it is still possible to shoot tethered with these Canon cameras.
We did some testing here in the Tether Tools Studio, and here are the steps required.
- Install the Canon EOS Utility that came with the camera. This is on the disc inside the box, however, since many modern computers don’t have disc drives, you may have to download it directly from Canon’s site. Make sure that you get EOS Utility version 3.2.20 or later. If you get an earlier version, tethering will not work. You will need your camera’s serial number to download the software
Download Choice on Canon’s Site 
Canon Installation Dialog Box (Mac) - Once installation is complete, you will notice quite a few programs were installed. The one you are looking for is just the EOS Utility 3. It should be installed on your Dock (Mac) or in your Start -> Programs (Windows).
Canon Utilities Folder in Applications on the Mac. Click into EOS Utility and then Open EOS Utility 
After launch, you’ll be promoted to connect the Canon 5Ds - Connect your Canon 5Ds or 5Ds R and the screen will change to their main menu. Choose Remote shooting.
Canon Main Menu Screen - On the Capture Menu, choose Preferences. Then in the drop down towards the top, choose Destination Folder. Here you will set where you want photos to be stored as they come over.
Canon EOS Capture Screen - For the last step, you’ll want to setup either Adobe Lightroom or Capture One to watch this folder and auto import photos directly into either of these programs. For instructions on that process, see the following:
The supplied USB cable is 5′ (1.52 meters) which isn’t very long for tethering. We recommend picking up the 15′ (4.5m) TetherPro USB 3.0 SuperSpeed Micro-B Cable. This will give you a pretty good distance to move around and shoot comfortably. The Canon 5Ds and 5Ds R come with Canon’s new port protector to keep the cable plugged in and protect the camera. Pictured here:
