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Help needed to tether Canon EOS T1i to IMac with Aperture

Hello out there,

Will someone kindly help me IN BABY STEPS AND EASY-To-READ instructions how to (if it is even possible) how to:

Tether my Canon EOS Rebel T1i to my Imac that is using Aperture.

I tried to use the instructions in Aperture but nothing worked.

Thanks and have a nice day,

Stacey Bindman (Mr.)

Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Imac 24" dual 3.06, Mac OS X (10.6.3)

Posted on Apr 27, 2010 8:48 AM

Reply
6 replies

Apr 27, 2010 9:33 PM in response to majortrout

Here is the list of Cameras for which Aperture supports tethered shooting:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1085

You'll notice the T1i is not on that list. None of the most recent Canon cameras are on that list -- Canon made some "tweaks" to their tethering protocol which Aperture does not currently support. So for now, the only real solution is to use a "hot folder" and have DPP save to a folder, and use a script to auto-import from that folder into Aperture.

Apr 27, 2010 11:07 PM in response to majortrout

Tethering is only supported on specific camera models. Tethering in Aperture doesn't work with the T1i. Apple implements it based on a standard which Canon only implemented on some cameras (and it seems like none of the new models support it).

You can get around this by using an Automator workflow downloadable here:

http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/automator/aperturehotfolder.html

You use the tethered shooting mode in the Canon EOS Utility to capture the photos to a folder and this workflow grabs any image that shows up in the folder and imports it into an Aperture project.

This gives you the functionality of tethering although the extra steps and workflow have a short delay before the image shows up.

Download the utility. Since it's really an Applescript / Automator workflow you might want to drop it into the "Applications" -> "AppleScript" folder on your Mac.

Since you wont want Aperture to auto-start and attempt an import when your camera is connected, you should probably start Aperture, select "Aperture" -> "Preferences..." -> "Import" then set the value of "When a camera is connected, open:" to "No Application" (meaning it wont attempt to do anything.) Close the Preferences window (no need to restart anything... the change takes effect immediately.)

Now you can connect your camera via the USB cord without fear that Aperture will try to grab control of it. Run the Canon "EOS Utility" (it's probably in the "Applications" -> "Canon Utilities" folder).

At the top, make sure "Control Camera" is selected, then below click on "Camera settings/Remote shooting".

You'll see a panel showing some camera settings, but up near the top, just below the battery icon is a field that shows the folder that it intends to put your images in as you shoot. To the right of this is a tiny folder icon. Click this and you can select the folder of your choice. I created a folder named "Tethered" inside my user account's "Pictures" folder (e.g. in my case it's /Users/tim/Pictures/Tethered )

NOW start the "Aperture Hot Folder" script (if you saved it where I suggested then it's in "Applications" -> "AppleScript" -> "Aperture Hot Folder")

The script will walk you through a few steps. First it will ask you to select the folder where your EOS Utility is saving the tethered shooting images. e.g. in my case this is the /Users/tim/Pictures/Tethered folder I mentioned earlier.

Next, it'll ask if you'd like to create a "New" project in Aperture or use an "Existing" project. The choice is yours. I happened to create a project named "Tethered" just for testing.

Lastly, it'll ask if you'd like the images to be imported as managed images (stored inside the Aperture Library) or referenced images (only meta-data is stored in the Aperture Library). "Managed" is easier because Aperture does the work, but "Referenced" offers you more control -- assuming you are willing to set up a scheme to organize your photos and manage them yourself.

It'll also explain how to end the "Hot Folder" session when you're finished (bring it to the foreground -- usually by just clicking it's icon down in the dock, then use the menu to select "Aperture Hot Folder" -> "Quit Aperture Hot Folder". You can then quit the EOS Utility to end your remote shooting session.)

With the EOS Utility, Aperture, and the Aperture Hot Folder script running, you can now start shooting and the images will (after a few seconds delay) show up in the Aperture project you selected earlier.

Regards,
Tim

Message was edited by: Tim Campbell1

Apr 30, 2010 1:25 AM in response to majortrout

Hi Stacey,

The list you linked to shows cameras whose RAW format is supported (i.e. Aperture supports importing the RAW files produced by the cameras that are listed).

The problem with tethering is that Canon use a communication protocol for the T1i that is different to what Apple have implemented in Aperture. So, while you can import the files shot on the T1i, you can't remotely capture or control the camera from directly within Aperture.

It's a pain, cause tethering of the T1i (500D in my neck of the woods) would be a welcome feature.

Peter

Jun 2, 2010 10:47 AM in response to Pete A

Hi Peter,

I just came back to this site, and found your answer. I think my problem might have been that I had set my camera for JPEG's only. I didn't realize that I had to set it to RAW. I'll try that the next time that I use my camera.

Alos, I didn't know that one could use other features that you mentioned (remote capture and control a camera from within Aperture).

Thanks for the help.

Stacey

Help needed to tether Canon EOS T1i to IMac with Aperture

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