Tether Tools Air Direct Wireless Tethering System is Now Available for Shipping

Tether Tools Air Direct Wireless Tethering System is Now Available for Shipping

Tether Tools introduced a new wireless tethering system for DSLR and mirrorless cameras late October in 2019. This new system supports all major camera models and tethering software, and it is finally available to ship worldwide.

Tether Tools is a company known by its durable tethering cables and accessories used by many photographers. Reliable tethered shooting is the vital part of a photo shoot and a good cable is the key for starters. However, shooting tethered wirelessly is even better, but it costs more compared to using cables.

The new Air Direct Wireless Tethering System is similar to the CamRanger system; it transfers the raw and JPEG images directly to your software (Capture One, Lightroom, etc) like a tethering cable does. In addition to just transferring the images, the device allows two-way connection between the camera and the software, allowing to use live view, bracketing, focus-stacking, and many other features that can be done natively via software.

Unlike the Tether Tools’ previous Case Air Wireless Tethering System, the new Air Direct Wireless Tethering System is more advanced and can be used with tether-supporting Nikon, Canon, Sony, Panasonic, Fujifilm, Olympus, Leica, and medium format cameras like Hasselblad and Phase One. It can also be used to transfer the images to mobile phones and tablets via the Air Remote App which is both available for iOS and Android devices. However, the Air Remote Mobile App is currently compatible with only Nikon and Canon cameras.

The price is $329.99 and it is now available for shipping directly via company’s website and soon it will be available in local stores.

Burak Erzincanli's picture

Burak is a photographer and creative retoucher specialising in fashion and advertising, working with international clients from Canada, Europe and Australia.

Currently lives and works in Manchester, UK.

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23 Comments

Are there a lot of people who use no off camera flash and still tether cause that seems like a lot of money for a device that takes your hot shoe

Just put it off to the side using an L Bracket, solved.

The L bracket is an extra accessory, not included with the product. You can see the box in the video, where it says "L bracket, purchased separately".

Hi Chris, you can also purchase the Arca clamp with attaches to the side of your camera and frees up your hot shoe.

It doesnt require a hot shoe, it doesnt require mounting at all.

Perhaps v2 will be a little smaller, it looks huge. Shooting tethered is not an issue for me but the connection is always the problem whether you use a TetherTools Jerk or not.

I use a TetherBlock and haven't had any issues with maintaining the connection. It's like a rock. Little pricey, though.

Hi Tony, Have you tried the Tether Block, it is a much more secure way to hold your cable in place. The Air Direct isn't crazy big but I can understand your concerns.

So it appears as a usb connection on the computer. Why don’t everybody do like that:)
Sound like a well done product but it should support Sony on a iPad also. As I understand now only Nikon and Canon on smart devices.
Sony have started to build fast WiFi into there cameras, but I suppose not strait into Capture One. If it actually works all the time, it a great option.

A7RiV and A9II

Bjarne, where did you hear it doesn't work with Sony on IPad?

So disappointing... Even CamFi which was released in 2017 has this functionality.

This looks interesting, but I would imagine file transfer to be real slow using a camera that's north of 20MP

This would really depend on your wifi access point/router and how congested the airwaves are.. a 802.11AC system could give you 600mbit so around 60~70 megabytes a second or 3 or 4 20MP raw files a second... however you might go to another location and this plummets due to congestion

Likely this is a direct wifi connection to your PC, creating its own network, not using a router at all. So it will depend on the capabilities of the wifi card in your computer. (The same way eye-fi does it btw)

the system uses an ad-hoc wifi connection, so you don't need to be connected to anyone's wifi, just connect directly to the camera, the Z 6 has this feature built-in though the app sucks, I need to give it a go again and see if it works on my new iPad (non pro)

in the video, he has a trigger in the hot-shoe and the Air direct off to the side of the camera

Has anyone actually used this unit and if so, have you used it to where it works fine with Canon cameras with both the Windows 10 connectivity with Lightroom as well as the IOS? I am testing with the Canon 5 Mark IV, 7D Mark II, and the T6. The T6 that tethers fine wired does not seem to work on the mobile or desktop with this unit. The 5D and 7D works fine with the Tether Tools Smart Shooter 4 App. Both works fine with the mobile App if you put it in Airplane Mode and then connect to it wirelessly. For the ADU connector App on your PC, you will need to turn off your firewall, Google drive, and Dropbox, and then it still will not work properly with Lightroom. Tether Tools says it is a Lightroom issue. However, I have seen posts with the same issues with Capture One. Tether Tools need to go back to the drawing table on this. You can make it work, but you got to go through hoops and use their Smart Shooter 4o app ($69-$195) and then use Lightroom to look at a hot folder for this to really work. That is taking away from the ease of using a replacement for wired tethering.

The point off this upgraded device is that it act as a fake usb device on computer, and any software that will connect to a usb camera wired should work. It is common to se some external devices do this, it should work. If not then besides speed the point is lost. They should have a list of cameras it works with. Can you make it work as advertised?

is there anyone outside who tested the adhoc speed of this setup vs. the usual usb connection? we´re all day bugged by dying usb ports in cameras or connection problems - even with tethertools cables.