Inspiring

Answered

Tethered shooting file name

Forum|Forum|11 months ago
May 14, 2025
3 replies
982 views

When shooting tethered in Lightroom Classic with my Z8 or Z9 I am getting some odd file naming.

The file naming template is set to Filename and the camera colour space is set to Adobe so I would expect a filename similar to _DSC1234 but, what I get is DSC_0000 followed by DSC_0000-2, DSC_0000-3 etc...there are no duplicate files anywhere.

When shooting non-tethered file naming is as I expect so this file naming oddity is only when tethered.

Any ideas on why are certainly appreciated.

macOS

Correct answer drtonyb

@donc1000

If you haven't tried it, the Nikon NX Tether software is worth giving a go. It provides far more control over your camera than LrC's rudimentary controls. It can be configured to work with Lightroom Classic by saving to a 'watched folder' from which LrC can be set to automatically move to a desired folder and then import. It is a bit slower than LrC's Tethered Capture to get the photo imported, but it works well enough. At least it has for me with my Z8, especially when LrC's Tethered Capture was broken a while back.

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drtonyb

Legend

@donc1000

In the Tethered Capture Settings, click the Template drop down in the Naming section and choose Edit...

In the Filename Tempalet Editor, remove the {Filename} then click the Preset drop down and choose Custom Name.

Now in the Numbering section, select Sequence # (0001).

Click the Insert button next to the Sequence # (0001) drop down.

Click the Done button. Edit the Custom Text box in the Tethered Capture Settings to _DSC_ and set the Start Number to 1 or whatever you want the number to start at.

Click the OK button and you are good to go.

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donc1000Author

Inspiring

Thank you for your response...it gives me a better option for file naming but I'm still curious about the original file name and why I was getting what I was getting.

Noel Orridge

Community Manager

Hi @donc1000 Thank you for reaching out! We're sorry for the issue you're facing. While there could be multiple reasons for this occurrence but to name a few here are some potential ones:

If Lightroom detects a potential filename conflict (even if there are no actual duplicate files), it may append a suffix like "-2" or "-3" to ensure uniqueness. Lightroom's tethering logic might think it's encountering duplicates if it's not correctly syncing with the camera's naming convention
This can sometimes happen if Lightroom perceives each shot as part of a new sequence or if it fails to correctly read the camera's internal filename counter in real-time. The "Filename" token in Lightroom isn't pulling the exact camera-generated filename as seamlessly as it does during a regular card import. Instead, it might be using a placeholder or a session-based counter.

I'd suggest trying the fix provided by @drtonyb and updating your camera's Firmware (if there's a new update available) as well as resetting the Lightroom preferences : How to reset Lightroom Classic preferences

Cheers!

Noel

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drtonyb

Legend

@donc1000

Posting a screen shot of your Tethered Capture Settings dialog and the Filename Template Editor dialog will help work this one out.

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donc1000Author

Inspiring

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donc1000Author

Inspiring

The only variable that I can think of that has changed sinced my last tethered shoot is the upgrade to MacOS 15.5...this file naming issue did not occur before that.

Rikk Flohr_Photography

14.3 fixed a bug that addressed this. Can you confirm the Lightroom Classic version you are using?

Please go to Help>System Info… and provide us with your software's installed version number.

Rikk Flohr: Adobe Photography Org

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donc1000Author

Inspiring

I'm using Lightroom Classic version: 14.3.1

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