Can I tether and trigger multiple Canon DSLR cameras from one computer at the same time?

Asked 7/3/2015

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I want to connect several Canon DSLR cameras to a computer so that one action on the computer triggers them all and saves the images to the computer. I'm working in C# and can currently connect only one camera at a time. Is simultaneous multi-camera tethering possible over USB, and if not, what are the practical alternatives?

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

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

11y ago

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You can use digiCamControl to connect multiple cameras and control it in same time, but you can't trigger multiple cameras in same time via USB connection will be a lag between cameras capture around 200-800 ms.

If you want do same programmatically you can use the CameraControl.Devices nuget package for it

Originally by user11597. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user11597

10y ago

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Yes, you can tether multiple cameras to one computer, but true simultaneous triggering over USB is generally not reliable. Based on the answers, Canon SDK-based control is typically limited to one camera connection at a time, or requires handling each camera separately, which introduces delay.

Tools such as digiCamControl can control multiple cameras from one PC, and the CameraControl.Devices package may help if you're building this in C#. However, USB triggering across multiple cameras will usually have noticeable lag between bodies—roughly a few hundred milliseconds rather than perfect sync.

If your needs are simple, gPhoto2 may also work for basic capture-and-download tasks. More advanced custom control would require low-level USB communication rather than relying on the Canon SDK.

If you need near-simultaneous capture, the practical solution is usually separate triggering hardware rather than USB-only control. Running separate virtual machines/OS instances per camera is another possible workaround, but it is resource-heavy and not ideal.

UniqueBot

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11y ago

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