Help needed to tether Canon EOS T1i to IMac with Aperture

Question

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

Answer 1

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