Shooting tethered to C1

[willowsr]

Phase One/C1 tech support advise that the 10m firewire 400 cable is the max length we can rely on for good data transmission.  Has anyone successfully used a firewire repeater (Phase used to make one) to go out further, perhaps another 10m?
Jed

[Doug Peterson]

We have a FW400 hub and FW800 hub that we've tested extensively with Phase tethering. [Computer > 10m > Hub > 10m > Camera] is possible but:
- test your specific setup once you have the components
- run the back off battery power [Menu > Configuration > Power Source > Battery] with a good fresh battery
- use the rear port of a Mac Pro if possible (MacBookPro would be my 2nd choice, iMac my last choice)
- don't plug in any other firewire devices
- have a backup plan
- use the absolute best FW cable you can get

We (Capture Integration) brought in many firewire cables from many vendors and tested them with a variety of Phase One backs. We then inventoried and stand behind a specific cable of each length/kind. Note that many of those cables tested did NOT meet muster. We have a specific 10m cable we are very very happy with. These are the cables we use in our own rental inventory, research/testing, and for our own personal shoots. I'm sure you can find cheaper ones that work great, but these are the ones that I can personally vouch for from extended and varied testing; if you buy others I'd suggest strongly you test them with your back in a variety of situations with a variety of computers before putting them in your shooting bag. For shorter cables (e.g. 10m) it's not quite as important to have a great quality cable (though I'd still advise it as a best practice), but for long cables it's utterly essential.

Here are the components I'm talking about.
http://www.captureintegration.com/store/phase-one-accessories/

Doug Peterson (e-mail Me)
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Head of Technical Services, Capture Integration
Phase One Partner of the Year
Leaf, Leica, Cambo, Arca Swiss, Canon, Apple, Profoto, Broncolor, Eizo & More

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[willowsr]

Many thanks Doug for you thoughtful and rapid reply.  The good battery in the back issue is a lesson I've learned the hard way. We carry back-ups- if C1 blinks we restart and change out the battery.  The pricing on the cables on your site does not seem excessive to me at all.  How about hubs/repeaters?  At a glance, I didn't see any on your site.  Was the Phase FW400 repeater a good unit?   
I'm thinking I'll try/test MBPro-which lives in a full sized van with assistant- to 15' FW400 to hub/repeater hanging on tripod- to 33' FW400 when I go handheld and need to move.
Jed

[willowsr]

Oops- just scrolled down and found the hub/repeaters,
Sorry,
Jed

[Kerry L]

I certainly second Doug's comments about using the best cables available. I went cheap on my first cable which was only 6ft. I had intermittent issues that I attributed to interference from power cables or from the flash power packs.

In the long run, it's money well spent.