Tethering to a Nikon Z9 with Macbook Pro M1 MAX
I have tried several photoshoots using C1, and my MBP M1 Max tethered to my Nikon Z9. It just doesn't work reliably. About 50% of the images just do not appear in C1. Thankfully, they are on the remote hard drive to which I am saving the tethered images, but what good is C1 tethering if I cannot view them "live" on my laptop during my shoot?
I am using the genuine (overpriced) Tether Tools cables and the booster cable. All software/firmware is up to date. I recently purchased C1 just for tethered shoots because Lightroom does not support tethering on the Z9 yet. I am starting to regret my purchase...
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Hey Michael,
I just received my Z9 and I encountered the same issue you were experiencing and I finally found the fix.
First and foremost, make sure there are no XQD cards inserted into the camera while you are tethered. That is usually the first culprit with dropped/no connection when tethering.
If that is not the issue, It may well be the same solution for my tethering issues:
In the "Setup Menu" (The wrench), scroll down to "USB Connection Priority" and ensure that you have it set to "Shooting". By default, it is set to "Upload" which disables the Live View and requires you to half-press the shutter to re-engage the live view, causing constant tethering disruptions.
Once I switched the setting to "Shooting" I did come across a glitch where the camera would no longer connect/get recognized by Capture One, So if you encounter the same glitch, try these steps:
Turn your camera off and disconnect the tether cord from the Z9 and your laptop. Next, quit Capture One and Restart your machine. Once your machine restarts, open Capture One and connect your tether cable to the machine first, ensure your Z9 is off, and connect the other end of your tether to the Z9. Power on the camera and If everything goes well you should have a relatively quick and stable connection!
Good Luck!
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Thanks for the reply Sergio.
I have not removed the CFExpress Type B cards during my C1 tethered shoots. You mentioned "XQD" cards, but I assume this would also apply to CFExpress cards. I will try removing the cards for a shoot I have today. BTW, the images that C1 did not "Capture" (play on words..) were on my cards as well as the remote drive I was shooting to.
If removing the cards does not do the trick, I will go to the next solution.
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Hey Michael,
Pardon my mistake, yes, I meant to say the CFExpress Cards.
When shooting tethered, it’s good practice to remove the cards from the camera, unless the camera/C1 combo supports dual saving (to the card and to C1), which unfortunately no Nikon Camera does with C1, but is able to on the Native Nikon tethering software.
I hope this solves your issue! If not, the “USB Connection Priority” setting should do the trick :).
Cheers1 -
I followed your solution suggestions, and I fired off 120 test shots successfully.
Thanks!
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That’s awesome! Glad it helped!
Good Luck on your shoot.
Cheers!
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I am not sure if this has been mentioned yet-
These are all important settings. For me it was setting the USB power delivery to off that gave me a much more stable connection.
Good Luck
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Hi Sloan,
I have to check the Network Settings.... but it runs so smooth since I am using the Tethertools Boost Cable and a short USBC Cable to connect to the camera...
Thanks,
Patrick
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Yes I also use the Tethertools Boost Pro cable and another 15" tether tools cable attached. For me, works great with these settings.
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