Tips on Shooting Tethered with Aperture

Posted by: on May 29, 2010

Tips on Shooting Tethered with Aperture
Aperture 2 or later offers the option to shoot tethered, meaning that images are captured directly to your computer. Not all cameras support tethered shooting, and those that do may need to be set up in different ways in order to enable this functionality. Consult with your camera’s documentation for specifics on settings. Different cameras from the same manufacturer may vary in regards to each of the following points:     
  • Cameras not supported by Aperture for tethered shooting may be supported by their own software.
  • Some cameras may need to be set to a specific communication protocol to allow tethered shooting. Set your camera to use PTP mode unless otherwise specified in the table below.
  • Some cameras support both remote computer control and camera control of the shutter when shooting tethered, others may only support one or the other.
  • For best results, use Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard. Some cameras require Leopard to support tethered shooting.
The following cameras have been qualified for tethered shooting in Aperture 2:
Camera Supported connection Mac OS X 10.4.11 Tiger Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard
Canon EOS 10D USB √2
Canon EOS D30 USB √
Canon EOS D60 USB √
Canon EOS Digital Rebel USB √2
Canon EOS Kiss Digital USB √
Canon EOS 300D USB √
Canon EOS 1D MK II FireWire √
Canon EOS 1D MK II N FireWire √
Canon EOS 1Ds MK II FireWire √
Canon EOS 1D FireWire √
Canon EOS 1Ds FireWire √
Canon EOS Rebel USB √
Canon EOS 20D USB1 √
Canon EOS 5D USB1 √
Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT USB1 √
Canon EOS 350D USB1 √
Nikon D1 FireWire √ √
Nikon D1H FireWire √ √
Nikon D1X FireWire √ √
Nikon D2Hs USB √ √
Nikon D2X USB √ √
Nikon D2Xs USB √ √
Nikon D3 USB √ √
Nikon D200 USB √ √
Nikon D300 USB √ √
Nikon D700 USB √ √
Nikon D40x USB √ √
Nikon D90 USB √ √
Nikon D80 USB √ √
Nikon D70 USB √ √
Nikon D60 USB √ √
Kodak DCS Pro SLRn USB √ √
  1. The “Communication” setting on the camera must be set to either “PC Connection” or “Normal.”
  2. Requires Mac OS X 10.5.2 or later

Additional Information

  • Cameras from vendors other than Canon or Nikon may work if they are set to use PTP.
  • Some cameras require a media card to be inserted to allow for tethering.
  • Cameras that use the Mass Storage mode are not supported.
  • Current generation cameras (Canon EOS 30D or newer and Canon Digital Rebel XTi or newer) are not supported.
Source:  Apple Aperture