The gotcha that got me 🙂

I’m fortunate to have been able to get in to the new EOS 5D Mark III and Speedlite 600EX-RT with ST-E3-RT, but they have caught me out with a little trick of their own.

I’m often asked to demonstrate how the workflow with Canon EOS Utility and Digital Photo Professional delivers loads of great features, functionality and quality for free. I find it always amazing to see how few people even try the software that comes in the box with their new cameras 🙁

So the story goes…

Live View mode can often catch photographers out when using flash, even non-dedicated flashes or pocket wizard type transmitters. You should keep Live View silent shooting set to Disabled just to be on the safe side.

I was demonstrating EOS Utility and using Live View mode to show the audience exactly what was on the camera as I took the pictures.

It also meant that using the software’s remote control of the flash settings I could easily show the audience the changes I was making to the flash setup for my shots. This was not only a software seminar, but also included the new wireless Speedlite flashes.

One of the cool new capabilities of the Speedlite 600EX-RT and ST-E3 is that you can release the shutter of the camera from the remote flash – Canon calls it linked shooting mode. Using linked shooting mode it’s possible to press a button on the flash and it will release the shutter of the EOS 5D Mark III that has the master ST-E3-RT or Speedlite 600EX-RT. There’s a note in the 600EX-RT manual that the linked shooting doesn’t operate if Silent LV shoot. is set to Mode 1 or Mode 2, in fact the manual says it needs to be set to disabled for linked shooting to work. In my case with the EOS 5D Mark III the linked shooting releases the shutter regardless of the Silent LV shoot. setting. However it’s probably for exposure metering that the camera needs to have the Silent Live View shooting disabled.

Remote tethered live view disables linked shooting

Remote Live View mode showing the level display from the EOS 5D Mark III

Back to my demonstration, I put the camera in Live View mode from EOS Utility and someone from the audience aimed it at my subject. Then I walked over to one of the Speedlite 600EX-RT flashes and tried to trigger the shutter using linked shooting – oops that’s not working.

Back at the office I have now tried it all again and if the camera is in Live View mode and connected to EOS Utility you cannot use Linked shooting.

2 Responses to Tethered shooting in Live View mode with Speedlite flash

Ilkka 18 May, 2012
I think there is a same kind of problem with 5D mark II. Flash triggers won’t work When I use EOS Utility and tethered shooting in live view. But live view and flash tiggers works fine with 1D mark III.
Remote shutter release using linked shooting on Speedlite 600EX-RT | p4pictures 30 May, 2012
[…] The ST-E3-RT will communicate directly to the EOS 5D Mark III and EOS-1D X through the hotshoe, no cables needed. For other cameras there’s a small connection port on the side of the ST-E3-RT and the Speedlite 600EX-RT that you connect with an optional cable Release Cable SR-N3 to the camera’s remote release port. There’s one important point to remember, tethered shooting with Live View mode deactivates the Linked Shot function […]