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davidp31950982
Participant
September 6, 2026
Answered

Tethering 5D4 to Macbook Pro stops manual camera controls

  • September 6, 2026
  • 3 replies
  • 29 views

Recently both of my Canon 5D4s (latest firmware; 14.0) began presenting with new bugs when tethering to my Macbook M5 Max (lates OS; OSX Tahoe 26.6.2) using Lightroom (lastest version; 15.5.1).

Until 3 or 4 weeks ago there were no problems and tethering to Lightroom was usually very smooth.

Now as soon as a camera is connected to Lightroom control on the camera of White Balance, ISO and, most critically, Autofocus is lost. Control returns to the camera as soon as the connection is ended. 

I have tried with multiple cables and checked and rechecked all the obvious focus settings that might cause issues, as well as permission settings and USB access settings on cameras and Macbook etc. The problem is identical in all circumstances.

This renders my ability to shoot professionally unviable.

Is this a known new problem?

Any suggested workarounds?

Apart moving over to Capture One?

 

    Correct answer Sameer K

    Hey, @davidp31950982. Welcome to the Lightroom Community. I'll help you figure this out.


    Check if the behavior changes when you disable AutoFocus in the Camera before you start the tether session. If that helps, then you've run into a known limitation with the Canon SDK, it affects all Canon cameras and it isn't necessarily a bug in Lightroom Classic.


    Let me know how it goes.
    Thanks!
    Sameer K
    (Type '@' and type my name to mention me when you reply)

    3 replies

    realistic_Diamondd60a
    Participant
    September 8, 2026

    Glad to see that you have a resolution.

    Sameer K
    Community Manager
    Sameer KCommunity ManagerCorrect answer
    Community Manager
    September 7, 2026

    Hey, @davidp31950982. Welcome to the Lightroom Community. I'll help you figure this out.


    Check if the behavior changes when you disable AutoFocus in the Camera before you start the tether session. If that helps, then you've run into a known limitation with the Canon SDK, it affects all Canon cameras and it isn't necessarily a bug in Lightroom Classic.


    Let me know how it goes.
    Thanks!
    Sameer K
    (Type '@' and type my name to mention me when you reply)

      davidp31950982Author
      Participant
      September 8, 2026

      ​@Sameer K Many thanks for following up with that suggestion. I had not previously thought to turn AF off at the camera.

      Good news. It now seems to work.

      Although it took me a few tries before I discovered that the camera needs to be turned on before initiating tethering. Years using 5D4s tethered to LR it’s always been; first start tether then second turn camera on. 

      I will repeat the process several more times with different bodies, cables etc to ensure it consistently works. 

      Many thanks again Sameer for your help addressing this very frustrating issue.

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