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My problem is that when I look at the photograph at the camera, it will look perfect, but when I look at the computer after I remove the SD card, it is all blurred and needs to be retaken. This is very inefficient and time consuming. Is there a software I can use (preferably for free) where I can connect my camera and laptop by USB so the shots appear in the laptop in real time?

Camera: Sony, ILCE-6000, a6000

Computer OS: Windows 10

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  • \$\begingroup\$ I would say it doesn't matter what software you use it is still very inefficient to have to check the shots on a laptop screen each time. A simple check of the shutter speed used should be good enough to give a good indication of whether the shot needs to be retaken as a result of motion blur. (I'm assuming your statement "it is all blurred" refers to motion blur due to camera shake as opposed to missed focus or subject movement). \$\endgroup\$ Commented Jul 19, 2019 at 9:45
  • \$\begingroup\$ @JohnHawthorne Perhaps that is the case my shutter speed is at 1/100 while using a 3 second timer not sure how fast it should be given I am doing product photography on a white background. \$\endgroup\$
    – Pherdindy
    Commented Jul 19, 2019 at 9:47
  • \$\begingroup\$ But do you have any software in mind just so the image quality can be inspected better than through the camera display in any case? \$\endgroup\$
    – Pherdindy
    Commented Jul 19, 2019 at 9:55
  • \$\begingroup\$ I don't have any software in mind because I don't work that way. I have Fuji and Canon cameras both of which include software for tethered shooting which I've never used but Sony might have included something similar with the camera. \$\endgroup\$ Commented Jul 19, 2019 at 10:09
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    \$\begingroup\$ i don't own a sony, but i'm sure you can zoom into the picture in the camera? \$\endgroup\$
    – ths
    Commented Jul 19, 2019 at 10:25

2 Answers 2

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It seems to me you have an X-Y problem here. The actual issue you're trying to solve is "how can I tell if my product photography is sharp", but you've jumped straight to the solution of "view it on a laptop".

It seems to me the best solution here is "get better at telling on your camera if the photo is sharp enough or not". How sharp it needs to be is obviously a matter of your use case, but for web use you should pretty much be able to tell from the full image on the camera's LCD whether it's sharp or not. If you're going to be blowing things up for print, ever digital camera I've used in the past 10+ years has the ability to zoom in to 100% on the reviewed image which again should be enough.

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What you are asking about is called tethering or tethered shooting. It's a fairly common use case in studio environments, like what you are doing with product photography.

Tethertools is a good starting resource to find out what tools, accessories, and software might be compatible with a particular camera; in your case, the Sony a6000 can be tethered, but tethered live view is not possible. That means that you can use a computer to capture an image, and possibly even control some exposure settings from the computer, but you will not be able to see the image on the computer while composing, before taking the shot. You will only be able to see images captured by the camera on the computer.

As far as tethering software is concerned, the following explicitly state that the Sony a6000 is supported (again, without live view capability):

  • Capture One Pro — their support page states that Capture One Pro / Pro Sony is required for tethered shooting. Capture One Express does not support tethering. > $100.
  • Sony Imaging Edge — apparently free for supported Sony cameras.
  • Darktable — open source Lightroom "replacement" (in rough terms). It supports tethered shooting, and states compatibility with the a6000 (but again, don't expect live view shooting). Free.
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