If you’re reading TetherTalk.com it’s safe to assume that you either shoot tethered or are interested in shooting tethered on future photo shoots. In addition to the USB port on your camera, you may have noticed that most DSLR or medium-format digital back cameras also have an HDMI port which can allow you to ‘shoot tethered’ to an HDTV.
If you have an HDTV in-studio or nearby and want to be able to see your images in large detail this could be an interesting option to try out. There are some drawbacks which we’ll list out below, most notably that you’re not transferring data – the images stay on your camera’s card. What that means is you’re not seeing the actual RAW or JPEG image, but a mirror of your camera display. If you’re shooting tethered using a TetherPro USB cable into a photo software such as Lightroom, Capture One, or Smart Shooter you can have peace of mind that what you’re seeing on your laptop screen is what you actually shot.
Take a look at the step-by-step instructions on how to shoot tethered to a HDTV below, and weigh the Pros and Cons. If you decide you want to give a try, pick up a TetherPro HDMI cable at TetherTools.com.
Setting it Up
- Turn the camera off
- Connect the HDMI cable to both your camera and HDTV
- Tune the HDTV to the appropriate HDMI channel
- Turn the camera on and press the Playback button
- Your images will now appear on the HDTV (nothing will appear on the screen of the camera)
Pros
- Instant image transfer
- HDTV screen likely larger than laptop or computer screen
Cons
- Images are not transferred to your computer
- Unable to use presets in Lightroom or Capture One
- Color may be off depending on HDTV quality
- The back of some camera’s screen will become inactive when tethered via HDMI
