Canon 7D2 - using a 5 metre/long tether cable

gibtheo

gibtheo

Suspended / Banned
Messages
459
Name
Steven
Edit My Images
Yes
Hi everyone, a search came up with no results, so....

Can anyone point me to some information on using a long tether cable with the 7D2 (I'm shooting to a macbook pro FYI)? Without thinking I bought a 5m tether cable that is USB3 one end and USB2 other end for my macbook pro. The site said that the cable was 7D2 compatible, but it isn't (well, I guess it is, but it doesn't work). I believe it's to do with the signal not being strong enough to get right through the full length of the cable? I have seen you can buy a signal booster, but there must be a cable that you can use without having to also buy a booster? Or maybe a Powered hub would work? Maybe using the Thunderbolt port on the macbook?

Ideally I want to be able to tether longer than with the supplied cable, but also without having to use a powered hub or anything plugged into mains so I can shoot tethered 'in the field' and be able to move around without dragging my laptop behind me.

If anyone can help, that'd be great...

Cheers
 
I've very successfully used a cheap-as-chips 5m USB2 active extension cable plugged into the Canon supplied USB cable.

This was 3 years ago using a 1Dmk3 on a product shoot and 5Dmk3 on a fashion shoot - snapping raw files into a Macbook Pro using Lightroom, it all worked flawlessly. Obviously I don't have much call for shooting tethered and consequently have never felt the need to buy anything more 'professional'.

I can't find a link to the exact one I have; but it was nothing special, £5ish from 7dayshop (IIRC), here's a similar sort of thing from Amazon. You can get USB3 versions and 10m lengths - no idea if they'd work as well, but it's not a lot of cash to experiment.

People recommend the more industry standard TetherTools version, but apart from being a nifty orange colour (a very good idea) it's hard to see what the extra £30 actually gets you.

Hopefully others will chip in with their recommendations.
 
Thanks guys. I have used one with a 40D, a 7D and a 5D3, but I'm having no luck with the 7D2. I think it is a signal issue, as I can tether with the very short cable supplied with the camera when bought new. I'm going to buy the mentioned 'active' USB cable, so,I'll let you know if it works, buying online so it'll be a couple of weeks probably! Post is awful in Aus.
 
Just tested with a 10 metre active cable and it works fine.
 
Interesting to read the thread / know for future reference re the active cable requiremets :clap:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top