Tether Tools Case Air - Review - UPDATED 3 Times

First Real-World Use

My Nikon D610 + Tether Tools Case Air

I finally got out yesterday to take some photographs. I was excited to try the Tether Tools Case Air Wireless Tethering System for the purpose that I bought it - some wide angle shots taken from the ground.

I left Phoenix, Arizona at about 5:00 AM and headed to the Saguaro National Park (west - there are 2 territories for this park) near Tucson, Arizona. It's roughly an hour and a half drive from my home with no stops.

I had only been to the visitor center at the park before, never out on any of the dirt roads. I arrived at the park around 7:30 AM when the sun was just starting to rise and headed northeast up the Hohokam Road shortly after turning on to N. Kinney Road.

It had rained a bit on the drive to the park and I wasn't sure how the skies were going to be. I was hoping for broken cloud cover since the rain had come and gone during the dark drive from Phoenix and it looked like I was going to get what I hoped for. Happy New Year!

I drove to the Hugh Norris Trail head, parked, got out and looked around but didn't see any good saguaro cactus near the parking area and I didn't want to walk far in the desert because, well, you're supposed to stay on the trails.

The Sus Picnic Area

My Manfrotto 055XPROB
(legs not splayed out)

I headed back to the Sus Picnic Area and parked there. There are some nice saguaro cactus there, but not where I wanted them - they were not not lined up well for the rising sun. I walked maybe 100 feet into the desert south of the road to try to get a shot looking south-east where the sun should come up and hopefully light up the clouds.

I fiddled with my Manfrotto 055XPROB tripod to get it into the configuration that allows you to get it close to the ground. You have to switch the center column so that it's sticking out, as shown at right. I've been somewhat looking for a different tripod that doesn't have this fiddly aspect. Manfrotto used to offer a short center column so that you didn't have to fuss with it but they don't any longer and I haven't found one used.

I thought this would be a cool feature when I first got the tripod but after having it since January, 2014, and not extending the center column but maybe 3 or 4 times, I find it's a pain.More often than not I want to shoot close to the ground and I really dislike fiddling with the center column on this tripod. I'm really considering getting a PlatyPod Pro Max.

Trying the Case Air

I attached the Case Air remote to the camera and fired it up as directed (camera power on, Case Air power on, Case Remote app on). Note that I was using my iPhone 5 with the latest iOS update. Everything started up okay and the Case Remote app indicated that it was connected to the Nikon D610. Cool!

But that was about as far as I got. (Here's a link to the documentation if you're interested: https://www.tethertools.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/CAWTS03_ios.pdf)

Case Remote App

On the app you have to click an icon to see the remote
Live View (#8 - the "eye" icon near the lower right of the app). This is supposed to let you see what the camera is seeing by displaying a Live View in the large upper area in the app (#4, where the "CASE Remote" text is).

When the Live View is displayed you can either manually adjust focus by tapping on the left and right arrows (#9 and #11 on either side of the big white shutter release icon), or you can tap on the image and auto focus (if you have auto focus enabled).

In my case, the Live View would only fill up about the upper half of the display area and the bottom half was flashing gray. Within a second or two the app would close.

I tried it probably a half of a dozen times or so with the same results. Since the sunrise was happening, I turned off the Case Air and iPhone, switched to the old school method and bent over as well as I could to use the camera's Live View, hit my back focus to focus where I wanted, and got off a few shots.

I've contacted Tether Tools about this to see what their response is but haven't heard back yet (it is the New Years weekend after all). I'll either update this blog or post another blog with the feedback. I did find others posting similar issues online.
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Update, 1/4/2017

I heard back from Catherine at Tether Tools within one day (1/3/2017). She has forwarded my issue on to their development team. I'm not sure if the dev team is in Phoenix (the Tether Tools headquarters is), but if they are, I offered to stop by to show them my problem.

Update, 1/19/2017

TetherTools posted an update to their software and firmware about 1/13/2017. I successfully installed the update on 3 devices - my PC, iPhone, and my Samsung Tab 4 (that's 3 out of the 4 different operating systems they support). Unfortunately the Case Air itself wouldn't update. I contacted Catherine about it...

I heard back from Catherine at Tether Tools today (1/19/2017). She emailed me an RMA so that I can return the unit which I'll do tomorrow at their Phoenix headquarters. I'm taking my camera with me to verify that it works. I appreciate their strong desire to make sure the unit works!

Update, 1/21/2017

I went to the Tether Tools offices yesterday and met Catherine. She pleasantly exchanged my unit for a new one. She later sent me an email letting me know that she tested my original unit but didn't have any issues with it - she couldn't replicate my failure to update the firmware. I don't have any idea why I couldn't do it. She said the problem is typically due to a weak WiFi signal and wondered if my iPhone or other devices had issues connecting. I told her I hadn't noticed issues with connecting before.

After I got the new Case Air charged up today I tried it out. As soon as I fired up my iPhone 5 and connected to the Case Air I got the notice that I needed to update its firmware so I tried it. It worked fine, first time, no issues. One problem solved.

Next I tried to take a picture. This time it worked better. When you take a picture I have it set to send me the JPEG. That auto upload was spotty on the original unit but this time the thumbnails came up just fine. But after 2 or 3 shots the live view preview on the app started flashing gray and the app closed. It did this everytime I tried it.

I decided to try my Samsung Galaxy Tab 4. After getting it up and running and connected, it worked fine. I could take shots and receive the thumbnails. It looks like this will be my solution which is okay except that now I have to carry the tablet with me. The iPhone fits in my pants pocket but the tablet, even though it's fairly small, will be harder to pack somewhere.

The bottom line, though, is that I should be able to use the Case Air now. Tether Tools really stands behind their product. I can't remember ever dealing with a company so willing and desirous to make sure their customer was satisfied. I can tell that Catherine and the others I've talked to there take a lot of personal pride in their products.

I also want to say that I searched online for other reports of problems with the device and didn't find anything. I did find other reports of other users contacting Tether Tools and having nothing but the best to say about them. And, again, I'm not affiliated with them in any way, I am just impressed and pleased with them.

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I had seen some issues at home but I had chalked them up as being due to having my home WiFi interfering with the Case Air WiFi. At the park, however, there were no other WiFi networks detected by my phone. In fact, there wasn't even any phone service detected. I tried moving the remote around and my phone around to see if that made a difference but it didn't so I suspect that the WiFi connection was okay.

If the WiFi connection is okay then that leaves either my phone can't handle the data or the data isn't being sent properly. I don't know which is more likely. What I do know is that the device didn't do what I paid for it to do. At this point I'm not impressed and I'm waiting for help from Tether Tools.

Oh, here's one of my old school, non-Case Air shots:

Sunrise at Saguaro National Park

Tether Tools Case Air

A New Toy

Er, a new essential piece of photography equipment, that is. I posted a recent blog about not needing anything for my photography addiction, but I guess I was wrong. I was watching Scott Kelby's "The Grid" Holiday Gear Guide (Episode 260) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sh_39bWAack&t=198s, about 27:50) while having dinner and he mentioned 1 or 2 things I think I must have. So, I got one of them...

Tether Tools Case Air - What it Is

Tether Tools Case Air

The Tether Tools Case Air is a wireless tethering device that attaches to your camera via the USB connection (not the "accessory connection" that my GPS connects to) and can mount on the hot shoe or external flash mount, as shown in their advertising photograph at right. They also provide a lanyard that allows you to hang it from the camera strap connection.

The Case Air transmits and receives data via its own WiFi, connecting to your devices that you likely already own such as a smart phone or tablet or desktop computer. They have free software called "Case Remote" for both iOS and Android smart phones, as well as for PC and Apple computers.

Tethering allows you to use software on your device of choice to view the live view image that the camera sees, adjust many of the camera settings including and especially the aperture, shutter speed, and ISO, focus, and you can press the shutter release and the image is uploaded to your device! That is too cool! It does not provide control over zooming, panning or tilting.

I know there are other solutions out there, but this device is only $159.99. There is the CamFi for about $100 and the CamRanger for about $300 and I haven't used either one. Scott Kelby got me interested in this unit and when I found out they're here in Phoenix, that made up my mind to try their unit.

Why I had to have it

Tethering is a very nice thing to have in a studio for a few reasons. You can control your device while it's on a somewhat fixed tripod. Because of the file upload, you can rapidly show your client the images or you can quickly import them into Lightroom. With wireless tethering you avoid having cables on the floor to trip over or that may come loose from the camera or remote device.

I don't do studio shooting though, I do mainly outdoor shooting.

One of my problems is when I want to have the camera down low, perhaps only a few inches off of the ground. I often have a hard time laying down and looking through the view finder or even the live view monitor. Part of it is because of age and the shape I'm in but another part is because of the rocks and prickly things there are on the ground in the desert areas that I tend to shoot photographs.

I've seen other options, such as the Nikon DR-5 Screw-In Right Angle Viewfinder for $200, or external monitors. But for a lower price, the Case Air also allows me to adjust focus and take the picture remotely. I can't wait to get out and try it!

Purchasing My Unit

My Case Air Wireless after unpacking

I went to the Tether Tools company headquarters at 2202 E. McDowell Rd, Ste 5, Phoenix, AZ 85006 to shop for my copy. Josh brought one out that was hooked up and ready to go. Everyone there was very nice and helpful. This is not a paid ad for them, I just thought it was cool to meet their staff and get the unit from its birthplace.

When I got home, I first plugged the unit in to charge the battery, only to find out there was already sufficient charge to start using the device.

I plugged it in to my Nikon D610 and fired everything up per the instructions (I'd actually installed the software on my iPhone 5 the day before). When you start the system up it checks to see if a firmware update is required for the Case Air and it checks to see if an update is required for the remote device. In my case it let me know a firmware update was required so I installed it per the instructions.

Afterwards I needed to shut everything down and restart and then I was controlling my camera from my iPhone! Everything seems to work as advertised and I'm pretty happy so far. I'll wait until I get it out in the "wild" before saying much more about the performance.

It's nice to get a piece of gear that actually does what it advertises (most of my photo gear has been great that way). This actually surprised me a bit...

Surprise!

I had read a lot of the downloadable manual but had glossed over the details about the bracketing, HDR, and focus stacking shooting.

Case Remote Software
HDR Control Panel
from Tether Tools Manual

I don't get the difference between the bracketing and HDR modes, except that with the HDR mode it will cause your camera to shoot up to 9 images where it changes aperture, shutter speed, or ISO between exposures. You get to choose which exposure aspect you want to change and by how much. The bracketing mode is similar but with only 3 shots. It seems redundant to me - I think the HDR feature should be called bracketing and the existing bracketing function is unnecessary.

But, my Nikon D610 only offers 3 shots and I've often wished I had more shots like the 5 on the D810. Now, with my Case Air, I've got up to 9! And, since I can control it remotely, I don't have to touch the camera in order to change things, for example if I wanted to shoot a burst of "HDR" shots by changing the shutter speed and then wanted to try another burst where the ISO changes. Surprise!

I don't have any functionality built in to my D610 to do focus stacking and I'm not aware of any camera that does. This is really cool and is another surprise! Again, you can select to shoot up to 9 images where the Case Remote software changes the focus between each shot. I've recently been discussing focus stacking with a fellow photographer (actually he's mainly a videographer) and this just seems really amazing.

Additional Notes

Another couple of things I noticed about the system are:

1. The software doesn't work well when the D610 is in a "user" mode (U1 or U2). I couldn't control the camera until I switched to the "manual" mode (M), which is basically the same as a user mode.
2. That's okay because you can store a lot of camera settings in the Case Remote software including auto focus settings, and you can name and load settings in Case Remote. That means you could save some settings for wildlife vs. landscape.
3. The software does not upload RAW files to iOS devices (Josh informed me of that). That means you can't zoom in on an actual image UNLESS you shoot it as JPEG (or in my case RAW + JPEG at a minimum). That sounded like a drawback until I noticed you can flip between shooting RAW and JPEG format quickly on the Case Remote software - you can change to JPEG, shoot an image, upload and inspect, adjust and repeat as necessary, then switch to RAW to take your "real" file. And, if desired, you can delete all of those JPEG files from the Case Remote software! That is convenient!

One final note - I also installed the Android software on my Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 tablet that I use with my DJI Phantom 3 Advanced. The software installed and worked fine on it too but there are differences. The iOS version has more controls available and the layout is a bit different. However, the Tab 4 has a much bigger screen than the iPhone 5 and it allows you to upload RAW files (not that you can do anything with them once they're on the Tab 4). I just wanted to mention that the software works well on those 2 devices. I haven't tried it on my PC yet.