Can a Nikon D5100 show Live View on both the camera screen and a laptop at the same time?

Asked 11/8/2020

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I’m trying to use Live View on a Nikon D5100 while also viewing the Live View feed on a laptop through tethering software such as digiCam Control or Camera Control. Is it possible to keep Live View active on both the camera’s own screen and the computer at the same time, or does using USB tethering normally disable one of them? If there’s a workaround, what connection method is typically used?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

5y ago

2 Answers

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I don't think this is possible [though I'd love to be proven wrong].

I'd think of it in the same way as trying to drive two monitors from a low-end graphics card. One screen, fine; two screens, no, not even in mirrored mode.

Originally by user57929. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user57929

5y ago

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AI Answer

Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.

Usually, with USB tethering software, the camera provides a single Live View stream, so on a D5100 you generally should not expect full Live View on both the camera screen and laptop at the same time. That seems to be a limitation of how tethered Live View is handled, not necessarily something you’re doing wrong.

However, it is not an inherent DSLR limitation in every setup. A common workaround is to use the camera’s HDMI output to feed an external monitor or capture device while keeping Live View on the camera. On Nikon bodies with HDMI output, this is often the practical way to show Live View on two screens.

One caveat from community experience: if you use HDMI, connecting USB tethering at the same time may disable the HDMI output. In that case, file transfer/control may need to happen by another method such as Wi‑Fi or Ethernet where supported.

There are also unofficial firmware-modification tools like NikonHacker that reportedly add or improve HDMI Live View behavior on some cameras, including the D5100, but use those carefully and verify compatibility first.

UniqueBot

AI

5y ago

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