Photoshoot- laptop Q

Solarina

Sorry if this is a really dumb question,

Ive been lucky enough to get to do a photoshoot, which for me being the absolute amature that I am, is amazing! Its not paid, but its with a stylist, makeup artist, model etc (all of us doing it for portfolios).

Anyway, heres the dumb Q- is it possible to shoot with a dslr and have the images load directly on to a laptop, so they could be viewed there? I have a 400D, is this just my imagination, is it possible, could I get a cable that could do this? Am I just making this up or is my camera not shmancy enough?

If anyone has any idea- thank you it would be very helpful!


Lucy

helios

You can use the software that came with your camera and take the photos on the laptop and all thte photos taken will automatically be sent to the laptop instead of the memory card...

edit: I'll clarify that one. The software will let you control the camera from the PC instead and you still have 99% control over the camera.

Roen

Yep easy money.
1. Load up the EOS Utility software that came free with the camera.
2. Set Lightroom's (if you have it) watched folder to the same folder that the Canon software is downloading the pics to.
3. Set LR's thumbnail size to max.

Hey presto every image imported to LR with whatever develop settings/metadata/naming structure etc that you fancy. All done automatically. It takes a bit of setting up but once it's done it's like falling off a log.

Solarina

Okay, thanks loads for the quick replies! So if I go and hunt out the box I got the cam in, it should have a cable and software? I never loaded any software cause I just use a card reader,

I dont quite understand the steps you described, but Im comforted that it is actually possible! Also, I dont have lightroom, is that important? Can I get the images to just load and view in preview mode? :S

*goes hunting*

Roen

I'm not sure if LR is a prerequisite, but it does help no end. I've never tried it with Just the Eos Utility.

You can also get other dedicated software that will do it too. But I've never had the need to buy it.

helios

I've done it with the EOS software. You have a little on-screen remote. It's nothing fantastic, but it gets the job done.

Once you've got the photos, you can do your usually Photoshop over-processing...

RoryW

download 30 day trial version of LR to use for the photoshoot ?

Hugh_C

what laptop are you using Solarina?

stcstc

I do this all the time

use a macbook pro with the eos utility and lightroom, its a little slow but works very well, the really cool thing is i use a 24 inch monitor and with the new beta of lightroom i can have full screen images on the 24 inch

Solarina

okay Im using a Dell latitude laptop, as far as I know its pretty basic (was given it by college) and I think I may dl the 30day Lightroom trial,

my current Q though is this- which wire do I use? I ordered the cam online and was given instructions in french, dutch and italian, no english, so I cant seem to find anything that tells me, one wire has a yellow end :S I cant really describe the other ones... does anyone else have this cam or a similiar one and know which one?

And I assume I should install the EOS digital solution disk? (I havent before)

.... thanks so much for the help by the way! I really really appreciate it

OctoberFall

Solarina wrote: »

my current Q though is this- which wire do I use?

The USB one. The one with the yellow is for connecting it to a TV.
It'll look like this:

Solarina

Thanks for replying! Thats what I was looking for, a usb i mean, but none of the cables/wires in the box have usb ends....

Solarina

Thanks a lot bedlam!

I guess I wont be able to get this sorted by Sunday, but Im really excited that it is actually possible to do! Would you say if I strolled into any of the cam shops in town theyd have one of those cables? Or is it generic enough to just get the model and maybe find on ebay?

stcstc

if you need one, just go into a computer shop

you need a mini usb to normal usb, the picture above is incorrect

I would suggest you get a usb extension lead too, most of the above leads are quite short

I have one around 1m long then have a 4 m extention, means i dont have issues when connected to laptop

s

PixelTrawler

Use a mini usb cable and the Canon DPP software that came with the camera and you'll also see the pictures without the need for lightroom. You can pick them up in pc world. They are common with mp3 players so you may already have that cable from another device as its a standard cable?

You can control all the electronic settings of the camera with the pc but not the manual switches such as mode dial - thats the limitation.

If its a 400D you'll get the images loading as you shoot, if its a 40D with liveview u can also see a live image on the pc before you shoot.

Solarina

Thanks a lot!! Really appreciate it!

Fajitas!

For what my opinions worth - I wouldn't do it.

I think tethering to anything, laptops, screens, etc for a shoot is very limiting, especially if on location. Then again, I like to move about a lot, and don't have much of a passion for tripods.

The other thing to take note about, which will probably sound a bit petty, but you're constantly worried about what the others are seeing on screen - If you make a feic up of a shot - They see it. They also see the dirty, dull, unprocessed RAW files. I know you can explain all that to them, but it certainally would make me more... 'something', while shooting...

But hey, that's probably just me.

Solarina

Yeah, I definately agree with those points,

With the cable- I think I wouldnt use it for a lot of the shoot, where moving is very very important! But I have several shots that will need a tripod, so I thought for those it might help,

And yeah, I am put off by everyone seeing the unprocessed files! And it was the stylist who suggested I use a cable, so I thought Id do it for her, (and shes actually really lovely, I wouldnt mind her seeing all the crap shots really!) But I was more thinking, when I go out with my own friends as models and stuff, it might be fun and useful, that little screen is so annoying! (damn the 450d and its delicious bigness)

Anyway, I better get off to it now, but I was at radiohead last night and am not feeling the mot creative!

Hugh_C

Solarina wrote: »

Anyway, I better get off to it now, but I was at radiohead last night and am not feeling the mot creative!

Thom can do that to you