Adobe Photoshop CS5 for Photographers - Martin Evening [74]
Deleting camera card files
It isn't actually necessary to delete the files from the camera card first, because formatting a card in the camera deletes everything that is on the card anyway. Formatting the card is good housekeeping practice as this helps guard against future file corruptions occurring with the card. However, I find that if I am in the midst of a busy shoot it is preferable to get into a routine of deleting the files before you put the card back in the camera. Otherwise I am always left with the nagging doubt: ‘have I downloaded all the files on this card yet? Is it really safe to delete everything on this card?’
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Also, because the ‘Delete Original Files’ option was selected, the above warning dialog appeared once the downloads to the primary destination folder (and backup folder) were complete. This step conveniently cleared the camera card of all the images that were stored on it and prepared it for reuse in the camera. Be warned that this step bypasses any opportunity to confirm if you really want to delete these files. Once you click ‘Yes’, the files are permanently deleted from the card. When I put a card back in the camera I usually reformat it anyway before shooting a fresh batch of photos to that card (see sidebar).
Tethered shoot imports
There is no direct support for tethered shooting in Bridge CS5, but if Bridge were able to do so, it would have to offer tethered support for many if not all the cameras that Camera Raw already supports. Enabling full tethered shoot functionality is difficult enough to do for one camera let alone several hundred. This is why those software programs that do offer tethered shooting, such as Capture One and Bibble, only do so for a narrow range of popular digital SLR cameras. However, it is possible to shoot in tethered mode with Bridge, but it all depends on the capabilities of your camera and whether it has a suitable connection socket and if the supplied camera software allows you to download files directly to the computer. Many cameras (especially digital SLR cameras) will most likely come with some kind of software that allows you to hook your camera up to the computer via a FireWire or USB 2 cable ( Figure 3.7 ). If you are able to download files directly to the computer, then Bridge can monitor that folder and this gives you a next best solution to a dedicated software program that is designed to operate in tethered mode.
Figure 3.7 Here is a photograph taken of me at work in the studio, shooting in tethered mode.
The only drawback to shooting tethered is that the camera must be wired up to the computer and you don't have complete freedom to wander around with the camera. If you have a wireless communication device then it may be possible to shoot in a direct import mode to the computer, without the hassle of a cable, but at the time of writing, wireless shooting isn't particularly speedy when shooting raw files with a typical digital SLR.
Which utility?
One of the problems with the Canon system is the way the utility programs have been named and updated with succeeding generations of cameras. First of all there was EOS Viewer Utility and now EOS Utility, which have both interacted with a program called EOS Capture. On top of this you also have to make sure that you are using the correct version of ‘utility’ software for your camera. It would help if there were just one program that was updated to work with all Canon cameras.
Over the next few pages I have described a method for shooting in tethered mode with a Canon EOS camera, using the Canon EOS Utility program that ships with most of the Canon EOS digital cameras. This program lets you download camera files as they are captured, to a designated watched folder. Nikon owners will find that Nikon Capture includes a Camera Control component that allows you to do the same thing as the Canon software, and