Camera Software

[ekuadam]

I am just wondering what kind of camera software everyone uses. We use camera control pro at our lab, but I am trying to see what other options are out there. In the past I have used a software that lets you preview the image on the screen (it would take the image but not save it on the computer) so you could see if you liked how it looked. When you got it to how you liked it you could then hit "capture" and it would take the picture and save it on the computer. This helps with not having to save numerous images that aren't of any value.

Just curious to see what kind of camera software you all use and the pro's and cons of it.

[Mike French]

I did not realize how many tethering products are available. I'm curious to hear first hand reviews too.

https://tethertools.com/blog/software/

[ekuadam]

We use camera control pro

[Boyd Baumgartner]

We just got new Nikon 850s and are looking into this currently. Does anyone use a software version that does not require cable tethering? I think that's the route we want to try and accomplish. Nikon has wifi built in, but most of the software programs seem to need a third party solution or a hardware solution (at least for the Nikon)

I borrowed a friend's d850 and installed qDslrDashboard at home to test it out. It seemed to work just fine.

How do you use your tethering program? Is it merely a means to avoid an SD card (saving to a folder on a hard drive) or is there a more detailed workflow that you've developed (LIMS integration, etc).

[ekuadam]

We use tethering as its easier to use Camera Control pro on the computer screen to change f stop, shutter speed, etc and to capture the image so we don't run the risk of camera movement if we use the camera. We don't have it integrated with anything, the files just get saved on to our computer and we upload those to MIDEO, which we use for image storage.

Obviously we don't have to use camera control pro, we can use the actual camera it self, the software just makes it easier.

Boyd if you don't mind me asking, how much were those Nikon 850s?

[Boyd Baumgartner]

Boyd if you don't mind me asking, how much were those Nikon 850s?

I have no idea. I'm not involved in the purchasing process. They're like $2500 for the body retail and since we're in government, we probably paid $7000

Do you use Mideo Caseworks AND LatentWorks? If so, do you like them and what does your final report look like?

[ekuadam]

Boyd if you don't mind me asking, how much were those Nikon 850s?

I have no idea. I'm not involved in the purchasing process. They're like $2500 for the body retail and since we're in government, we probably paid $7000

Do you use Mideo Caseworks AND LatentWorks? If so, do you like them and what does your final report look like?

We just use MIDEO for image storage. Myself and the other processors upload all of our latent images there to the case folder and our examiners scan and upload the lift cards. All of their ACE-V documentation and such is done on photoshop. We use Justice Trax for our LIMS so our reports are based off of that.

[Mike French]

I came across this article on camera tethering (with a short tutorial video). Worth looking at even if you choose a different software product:

https://www.slrlounge.com/lightroom-tethering/

[Boyd Baumgartner]

I think the only real prohibitive aspect of using LR is that, for us anyway, you need per user licenses which, since Adobe is on a subscription basis can add up to be a hefty fee over time. The other software programs you listed before were on a per machine basis and fixed. I use Adobe products outside of work, so I'm familiar with them, but they can also be daunting to the novice as well. In my mind, the ideal workflow would involve Lr capture, Br administration (naming and metadata photolog) and Ps editing.

Edit: 4 corner automatic win in Steve Bingo if he brings up InDesign

[Steve Everist]

Another one I'd mentioned to Boyd is Control My Nikon. I've got a D750 at home, but CMN only works on Windows machines which I don't have. It seems competitive with LR, but offers three licenses for $39.99 and ten for $63.99. Nikon has Camera Control Pro for their cameras, however the features are low and the cost per license is pretty high. CMN has a comparison here.

[Mike French]

Thanks Boyd and Steve. I don't have a subscription to Ps, so I can't speak to actual costs, but it looks like you can get the Lr + Ps bundle for $20 per month. From my discussions with examiners, it seems like using Ps in ACE-V is common practice, and if so, it also seems like a $20 per month subscription fee is reasonable, considering the importance of the work and volume of tasks requiring feature-rich software. Or is the $20 per month just a tease? I wouldn’t know since I’ve been using free products myself for a long time.

Compare Adobe Ps Pricing

[ekuadam]

Thanks Boyd and Steve. I don't have a subscription to Ps, so I can't speak to actual costs, but it looks like you can get the Lr + Ps bundle for $20 per month. From my discussions with examiners, it seems like using Ps in ACE-V is common practice, and if so, it also seems like a $20 per month subscription fee is reasonable, considering the importance of the work and volume of tasks requiring feature-rich software. Or is the $20 per month just a tease? I wouldn’t know since I’ve been using free products myself for a long time.

Compare Adobe Ps Pricing

We use Adobe Creative Cloud at our lab. It comes with photoshop and lightroom (though we just use photoshop and bridge). It is around $130/year if you pay for the full year up front.