Tethering problem - C1 Pro 7.02 and Nikon D3x

[Malcolm Payne]

I am having a problem on my Windows 8 laptop whereby C1 will randomly not release the camera when the camera is switched off with the software still running; when this occurs, C1 locks up completely, showing the camera as still attached even after it has been completely unplugged, and cannot be closed normally, requiring a force quit. The software can be restarted apparently normally, but the camera will then not reconnect until the computer has been rebooted.

This issue appears to be completely random; sometimes it is possible to switch the camera on and off 5 or 6 times in succession and it reconnects faultlessly every time, others it will fail after the first or second attempt.

There appears to be a workaround whereby closing C1 before switching off the camera allows it to reconnect successfully next time around.

Both Nikon's Camera Control Pro 2.13 and ControlMyNikon 4.0 exhibit identical behaviour in respect of the disconnect/reconnect problem and the workaround. C1's technical support department suggests the problem is caused by an issue with Nikon's SDK protocol or .dll.

C1 also exhibits almost exactly similar behaviour on my Windows 7 (Pro, SP1, 64-bit) desktop system; here, the disconnect/reconnect problem is identical, however on this system C1 does not lock up when the problem occurs and can be closed normally, but will then not reopen at all until after a reboot.

I do not recall any such problems occurring previously on the XP Pro SP3 system that mainly drives my LF printers, but am unfortunately not in a position to confirm that by further testing at this moment.

Has anyone experienced any similar problems or can offer any further advice?

Many thanks.

[Rodd@DHPP]

G'Day,

A similar problem exists with the canon SDK file system (work around on this forum). Although not completely fixed at this stage is stems from the camera manufacturers being a step ahead of the OS platforms (window/Mac) with the protocols and dll files, to recognise the individual cameras.

I shoot tethered P25+ (non of the described problems) but the Canon 1DsMK3 even with the work around still compares with your current problems.

It may be a backward step but staying two steps or more back from the current upgrades in software/cameras seem to yield less headaches in the long run than having the best and latest, My 2 cents worth,

Cheers...... Rodd

[Malcolm Payne]

Thanks for your thoughts, Rodd. Interesting to know that there are similar problems with the 1DsMkIII.

I accept there might be teething troubles with new versions of the (C1) software but, if even Nikon can't get it right with their CCP software, which has now been around for years, and the D3x (4 years?), what hope is there? And it's the random nature of the problem that makes it so difficult to diagnose; I tried again yesterday on my Win 7 desktop with both C1 v6 and C1 v7, and both disconnected and reconnected successfully ten times in succession, whereas it had failed previously in v7 in as few as two attempts. So it doesn't appear to be specifically a Win 8 problem either.

It's also not the cable, which was an obvious potential candidate; I'm using a single 1.5m cable and have tried four different ones, including an unused Nikon one supplied with the camera. I wondered too if it might perhaps be a loose camera socket, as a cable with an 'L' plug at the camera end and a possibly firmer seating appeared to work successfully and repeatedly at first on the Win 8 laptop, then that too failed as previously.

It's less of an issue now I know the workaround and how to re-establish connection if it fails, but the first occurrence was on site with a client watching - it lost connection when the laptop went to sleep, and it took me 10-15min of fiddling before I persuaded it to reconnect, which was somewhat embarrassing. And it really shouldn't happen.

[Pics2]

I had exactly the same problem with D800E, but with v 7.0.2 it's completely gone. There is a work around, so you can reopen C1 without rebooting the computer(but, it still won't recognize the camera) - start Task Manager and find Capture One under Processes and then click End Process. After that you should be able to reopen C1.

C1 also exhibits almost exactly similar behaviour on my Windows 7 (Pro, SP1, 64-bit) desktop system; here, the disconnect/reconnect problem is identical, however on this system C1 does not lock up when the problem occurs and can be closed normally, but will then not reopen at all until after a reboot.

[Malcolm Payne]

Pics2 - thanks, that's very interesting. Are you certain the problem is completely gone for you in v7.0.2 (I'm using the same version), and not just hiding? When I was trying the last cable with the 'L' connector on the laptop, it disconnected and reconnected 12 times in succession without issue and I really thought I'd found the cause - until it failed on the 13th attempt. After which (and a reboot) it failed on the second attempt in ControlMyNikon.

Curiously, after the reboot it will not connect on the first attempt but needs to be switched off and then on again and then (usually) connects the second time around.

As I said, somewhat less of a concern now I know what's going on and how to work around it, but it would be convenient simply to be able to switch the camera off in the middle of a long session without worrying about losing the connection completely.

Cheers.

[Pics2]

Yes, it's completely gone ( few days testing with numerous switching on and off). I turn off the camera between sessions because, for some reason, tethered camera drains battery down very fast, even when not shooting. So, I use this feature a lot. But, I have Windows 7, desktop PC, if that matters.