The Versatility of the Tether Table Aero System

The Tether Table Aero System was originally designed as a workstation for tethered photography, but since hitting the market eight years ago it’s been used for so much more. A portable table or surface to secure a mirror for make-up artists, a launch pad for drones, and a storage table on video productions.

Tether Table Aero

Its versatility is perfect for any creative individual looking for a secure, stable workstation as it easily mounts to any tripod, lightstand, c-stand, or arm. Professional photographer Dave Montizambert of Vancouver, Canada gave us this interesting use for the Tether Table, using a SecureStrap to mount a Sekonic test swatch.

“I finally got around to testing out my new Sony A7r2 mirrorless camera. For some time, I’ve suspected that it exposed on the dark side by around 2/3rds of a stop. My Sekonic L-758DR light meter is spot on, I’ve tested it already, so decided it was time to figure out exactly how far out the camera is, then create a correction on the meter to compensate. The Sekonic allows me to do this by shooting a test swatch which I secured to the Tether Tools Table with the SecureStrap then tilted the table vertically. This rig was then placed in an area outdoors with even lighting. After capturing some images of the swatch test, I ran it through the Sekonic calibration software on my MacBook. Lo and behold it was 6/10ths of a stop out! With the meter hooked via USB to my MacBook, the Sekonic software programmed the meter compensate for the Sony. On this meter I can store up to 3 different camera profiles. Now I can meter and shoot with confidence again! The work I do is really involved in terms of lighting, so I love the accuracy of handheld meters over in-camera metering. I also usually shoot with studio strobes, and in-camera meters cannot read a burst of light from a strobe. Generally, I start out by metering the heck out of my set (both incident and 1˚ spot reflective), then shoot a tethered test shot to my computer via a Tether Tools TetherPro USB cable. Being able to see the image on a large profiled screen really helps, but the metering gets me to that point faster and it gives me confidence that I’ve got the exposure and the ratios I want. When shooting on location the ambient light influences how you see the images on screen and so you can think you’ve got it nailed when really it is under or over-exposed. Histograms can help but they are really primitive and tell you nothing about the lighting ratios between lights. Having my camera and meter sorted is one less worry, one less distraction, one less thing to remember so I can allocate more brain cells to the fun part, the creative side of the shoot!”

  Dave recently published a ‘How I Got the Shot’ article on TetherTalk.com, featuring one indoors shot and one on location shot. If you haven’t read that piece, check out the article below. http://tethertalk.com/2016/06/06/how-i-got-the-shot-with-dave-montizambert/