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Tethering connects your camera to a computer, uploading the photos automatically as you shoot. Capturing wide-angle real estate images means broader perspectives, and hence, several details to check. Let's go over the features, similarities, and differences of CamRanger and Case Air to see the right tethering product for your work.
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CamRanger and Case Air are both tether tools for cameras that allow you to upload and get a real-time viewing of your real estate images on a computer. Although these two have almost similar tethering abilities, you would find that they still differ in some aspects.
If tethering is something new in your workflow, I'm going to give a simple product review of their functions and features to know which one would suit your shooting style, and help you choose the right product to support your work for a very long time.
Being among the few high-quality tethering devices on the market, know that both devices share many tethering capacities necessary for real estate shoots.
One of the most valuable features would be checking the histogram on a tablet or iPad, then letting you modify aperture, shutter speed, and ISO for you to get even exposure. Consequently, you can hit the shutter button on the viewing device.
More than that, these tether tools come with lots of other features that can help you save time in taking photos.
Only the Case Air contains a client lock-out mode, which prevents your clients or assistants from accidentally adjusting the settings or firing the camera shutter even if they have the tablet or phone for live view.
While both tether tools are pocket-sized, CamRanger is a bit bigger and heavier than Case Air. However, the devices are lightweight enough that they won't restrict your movements since their size is just slightly bigger than strobe triggers.
It's better to place the tether device on a mounting bracket because its usual spot would be on the accessory or camera hot shoe, the same place where you would need to attach an external flash or mic.
Setting up the CamRanger is rather simple, as you only need to use its app to establish a link to the camera and join the device's network.
Case Air's setup is almost similar to CamRanger because it needs a remote connection to work with a camera. It also requires a mobile app for you to control different features and modes.
Case Air has a long and better battery life, lasting for up to 9 hours on a single charge. On the other hand, CamRanger eats a lot of power to operate, lasting for only up to 6 hours.
The mobile applications of both tether tools are pretty much fairly easy to use and beginner-friendly. The apps provide a live view of your real estate photos on pretty much any platform. Aside from that, you can see your images on Lightroom.
If cost is your first area of concern, you may want to opt for Case Air as it is less expensive than CamRanger.
However, you may notice a price difference if you need to purchase additional accessories such as spare batteries, as well as mounting brackets to save the hot shoe spot for your flash.
Corded tethering works by using a USB to connect to a computer. However, wireless tethering is much more convenient because it only needs WiFi or Bluetooth for connection to a camera. Like when using CamRanger and Case Air, wireless provides better mobility when shooting across vast properties.
Tethered shooting boosts creative confidence by studying your images on a larger display. In effect, you get the best and remote way of checking if you need to change perspectives, settings, or lenses. If you're working with a team, this also enables you to monitor collective progress easily.
Tether tools can improve your work by letting people see progress in real-time. Whether you prefer CamRanger or Case Air, these two tether tools provide a solid solution in streamlining your shoot and editing workflows, helping you produce the best images for your clients.
Actually, my experience has with Case Air hasn't been all that great. I liked the small form-factor and had high hopes for it to be a possible replacement for an old Cam Ranger. It was not, while I still own one, I've given up on the very glitchy connection, and and in my opinion not very user friendly interface.
While the 2 Cam Rangers I have not been completely fault-free either, they've been much more stable and user friendly. I still use the Cam Rangers daily, but gave up on the Case Air.
My 2 cents
Anyone used the CamFi system as an alternative to CamRanger?
@ashley - see this post for more info on CamFi:
http://prwebsiteoriginal.kinsta.cloud/2018/06/05/how-can-you-get-camranger-functionality-on-sony-mirrorless-cameras/
If you shoot Canon there is a build it yourself (buy the router, same one cam ranger uses and load the firmware) that cost -$50 and use the android app DSLR controller.
I appreciate the comments regarding the Case Air system. I've been looking into alternatives to the CamRanger, and so far it still seems to be the all-around more stable option. But with Wi-Fi capability on newer DLSR's, the apps for tethering remotely are only going to get better. Thanks
@Ashley Evans: I looked hard at CamfiPro as it uses the newer radio and has higher speeds - very important for higher megapixel cameras of today. Interesting, the normal retailers (Amazon, B&H, etc.) only offer the slower Camfi product - not CamfiPro. The only place I could find that sells it is the Camfi manufactuer's web site. I could not find a return policy on their site, so I wrote them an email asking their policy for returns. Their response - "why would you want to return it?"
I knew this was a big red flag. So, bottom line, until a good retailer offers it, or the manufacturer in China offers a solid return policy - their not getting my business.
FYI - I also wrote to Camranger and asked if/when they would upgrade to the newer radio for higher bandwidth. Their response wasn't very good: "we don't talk about future products or changes to products." So, I couldn't even get a hint as to if/when they are releasing an update to their dated product. I do like Camranger, but they got to step into the >25 megapixel world and offer higher speed WiFi transfer speeds. As it is, my D850 images only take about 10 seconds or so to transfer the jpg's to my iPad. Hope this helps.