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Author Topic: Tethered Issues With Nikon D800E  (Read 15626 times)

OldHickory30

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Tethered Issues With Nikon D800E
« on: May 06, 2014, 11:32:00 am »

I have been having issues with both of my Nikon D800E's  when it comes to tethering with cables longer then the wonderful 3' cable that comes with the camera. To be fair it doesn't only happen when tethered to C1 Pro 7 but also Nikon Camera Control Pro 7. These are top of the line of cables purchased from Tethered Tools. This is quite frustrating especially when I'm shooting commercially with clients present.
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Some Guy

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Re: Tethered Issues With Nikon D800E
« Reply #1 on: May 06, 2014, 12:16:31 pm »

Wonder if it is the file size you are trying to send through the cable?  If it is a huge NEF file, it might be getting choked against sending a smaller JPG.

Just wondering as I was trying to do a continuous feed of some 400 shots for some star trails into a laptop for later stacking and I couldn't send large files.  I had to settle for smaller JPGs else it would skip and miss some images.  Didn't do it for the first couple, but after that it got messed up.  Might be the camera's buffer overloading too.

Also, I read somewhere where Capture 1 wasn't doing well in image processing (An orange look.) with the D800/E.  The software guys said the public preferred the orangish look, but speculation was they didn't like the D800/E competing with their Phase One backs so they threw the color off a bit.  Some of it was in this thread: http://www.luminous-landscape.com/forum/index.php?topic=86865.20  and another one in their own forum here: http://forum.phaseone.com/En/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=15451

Maybe time to use Nikon's own tethering software (i.e. Nikon Camera Control Pro 2 ) since it most likely reads the camera's menu settings as well as the Nikon RGB color space.

SG
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OldHickory30

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Re: Tethered Issues With Nikon D800E
« Reply #2 on: May 06, 2014, 01:22:30 pm »

Actually we identified it as a speed issue, USB3 needs 900ms and for whatever reason it drops down to 500ms USB 2 protocol on 10ft+ plus cables at which point it either freezes or drops the connection. But why? The file size shouldn't have anything to do with it since many of the MF's use USB3.
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Some Guy

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Re: Tethered Issues With Nikon D800E
« Reply #3 on: May 06, 2014, 01:41:27 pm »

Suggestion:  http://derekgalonphotographytips.wordpress.com/2013/01/13/fine-tethering-software-for-nikon-controlmynikon/

Seems in the above review the guy also ran into the USB 3.0 issues with the Nikon D800.  Software maker admitted to it dropping down to USB 2.0 and was working on a fix.  Could be Nikon's software development kit for third parties has something about USB 2 as the default selection.

Might try the link's demo and see if it is any faster and less prone to stalling over Capture 1.

SG
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David Grover / Capture One

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Re: Tethered Issues With Nikon D800E
« Reply #4 on: May 07, 2014, 06:12:48 am »

Actually we identified it as a speed issue, USB3 needs 900ms and for whatever reason it drops down to 500ms USB 2 protocol on 10ft+ plus cables at which point it either freezes or drops the connection. But why? The file size shouldn't have anything to do with it since many of the MF's use USB3.

Hi Hickory,

USB3 standard is 3 metres max. Also your USB port may not be upto standard for power.

Have you used a powered USB hub?

David

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David Grover
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OldHickory30

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Re: Tethered Issues With Nikon D800E
« Reply #5 on: May 07, 2014, 06:41:17 am »

A powered hub was one of the first things we attempted...along with other cables.
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David Grover / Capture One

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Re: Tethered Issues With Nikon D800E
« Reply #6 on: May 07, 2014, 10:01:10 am »

A powered hub was one of the first things we attempted...along with other cables.

Firmware current on Nikon?
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David Grover
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OldHickory30

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Re: Tethered Issues With Nikon D800E
« Reply #7 on: May 07, 2014, 10:02:00 am »

Yep, and all programs are up to date.
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David Grover / Capture One

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Re: Tethered Issues With Nikon D800E
« Reply #8 on: May 07, 2014, 10:23:56 am »

Yep, and all programs are up to date.

Hmm very strange.  Normally the D800 is bullet proof on tethering.

Perhaps the USB hub was no good?  Was it a decent / reputable brand?

David

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David Grover
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nik

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Re: Tethered Issues With Nikon D800E
« Reply #9 on: May 15, 2014, 06:02:34 pm »

You are not alone, far from it. USB3 seems to be very unforgiving regarding power requirements, much more so than USB2. It's a bi-directional interface now (usb2 was one-way communication) so it has tighter tolerances regarding timing and signaling (handshaking). I too have tried many cables / repeaters etc but nothing is better than the included 3' cable for trouble free shooting.

A bit of potential good news, as of this week (May 12) Nikon released firmware upgrades for many of their cameras, including the D800/e. I've installed it and have been using it tethered with longer cables, seems ok but will test more. The micro USB connector that plugs into the camera needs to be a snug fit and not wobble at all, I had to slightly file away one of the sides of the cable's plastic connector so that it would fit flush. This cable is a 90 degree angle USB3 'pigtail' cable (RR-ASMR-10GR) from www.usbfirewire.com which plugs into a 15ft 'active' extension cable (purchased from Amazon - search for B00DMFB5OK ). This combination is the only way I found to tether and co-exist with my RRS L bracket and secure the cable into the camera's usb port. Securing is done by sliding the bracket right until it forces the cable against the camera's body. Otherwise, you can use this expensive option;

http://www.lockcircle.com/lockport_d800dual/buy/index.php

They are not cheap but could work for you.

I'll do a follow-up regarding my results.

Bon Chance.



I have been having issues with both of my Nikon D800E's  when it comes to tethering with cables longer then the wonderful 3' cable that comes with the camera. To be fair it doesn't only happen when tethered to C1 Pro 7 but also Nikon Camera Control Pro 7. These are top of the line of cables purchased from Tethered Tools. This is quite frustrating especially when I'm shooting commercially with clients present.
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free1000

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Re: Tethered Issues With Nikon D800E
« Reply #10 on: May 15, 2014, 06:22:11 pm »

I've not had issues with Capture One and the D800e with USB3.

However I did have problems with the FoCal lens tuning utility that were overcome by simply plugging the cable from the camera into a non powered USB2 hub which is then plugged into the MacBook Pros USB3 port. I suspect that adding the hub in the middle forces the Camera to use the USB 2 protocol, which can cope.
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swisscheese

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Re: Tethered Issues With Nikon D800E
« Reply #11 on: May 26, 2014, 10:38:44 pm »

After about C1 7.2, I stopped having problems with C1 disconnects with my D800 (not e). Currently I use 7.2.2 on a 2013 Macbook Pro retina, os 10.9.3, this tether tools USB3 cable
http://tinyurl.com/oohu3ms together with this Nine Volt 16' USB3 repeater cable http://tinyurl.com/pk9ouw8 for a little over 30' length. Befor C1 7.2 I always had disconnects with any one of these same cables.

Markus
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figure1a

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Re: Tethered Issues With Nikon D800E
« Reply #12 on: May 30, 2014, 12:47:00 am »

You may want to try cables from here instead: http://www.nine-volt.com/product-category/all-products/tether-cables/

Here's what I've found with the D800 and tethering. For the first two years I had the D800, absolutely flawless tethered shooting with 15ft and 30ft cables (15ft + repeater extension). Then one day repeated disconnects, errors, etc. We figured it was a cable gone bad. But after troubleshooting different cables, computers, D800 bodies, still same issues. The only things that had changed since the problems were OSX updates and Capture One updates. We quickly blamed Capture One as usually it is very buggy. But closer inspection to the system showed not only was Capture One losing the connection but also the computer so most likely it was not Capture One's problem.

By adding a powered hub to the equation, the problems went away. The same computer + cables + D800 that did not require a powered hub before now required a powered hub. We don't know much about the OSX architecture or USB3 specs but we suspect in one of Apple's updates to OSX there was a change to the USB3 specifications. Possibly before, OSX would be OK with X amount of power/resistance on the USB connection. But during an update we suspect they changed what is an acceptable amount of power/resistence on the USB3 connection. The new software now says, "Hey, if the current falls below X amount of milliamps, then disconnect as this is not a reliable connection"—even though it worked fine for many of us before—actually every pro photographer and digitech out there that I know.
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Simon_Adelaide

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Re: Tethered Issues With Nikon D800E
« Reply #13 on: January 18, 2015, 10:57:49 pm »

Having just encountered this issue with tethering my D880E I can certainly state the use of a powered USB hub has fixed the issue. Thanks figure1a for the tip!
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infraredca

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Re: Tethered Issues With Nikon D800E
« Reply #14 on: February 25, 2015, 07:28:00 pm »

I also have been using a D800 tethered without any problems for a couple of years with Nikon Capture Pro 2 on a pc. In the past few months all types of dropouts. I just tried a powered USB 3 hub as others have suggested but that didn't work either. I noticed TetherTools has come out with something aimed at this problem. For those that are working with the usb hub what brand  did you purchase?
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figure1a

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Re: Tethered Issues With Nikon D800E
« Reply #15 on: March 24, 2015, 12:59:06 am »

This one from DigiPlate has worked the best. It never loses connection. And with a MacBook Pro, we rarely have to use the power adapter as the internal power repeater does just fine:
http://www.digi-plate.com/product/usb-3-0-6-port-repeaterhub/
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