Tethering your DSLR camera to a computer opens a whole new world of possibilities: you can instantly view your shots on a large screen, trigger your camera remotely, practice the art of time-lapse photography, and perform other clever tricks. While commercial tethering software for Windows and Mac OS X often costs serious money, you can enjoy all the advantages of tethered shooting on Linux free of charge courtesy of Entangle. This tethering software lets you control practically all camera settings, trigger the shutter from the computer, view a live preview of a scene, and automatically download captured images to the computer.

#Install Entangle

For Ubuntu users, the easiest way to install Entangle is from the GetDeb repository. On other distros, you need to compile the application from source (check the FAQ page for a list of dependencies). Once Entangle has been installed, connect your DSLR camera to the computer and launch the application. Entangle then automatically detects the camera and its capabilities.

Using It

The Settings sidebar provides essential info about your camera, including battery level, camera orientation, flash status, maximum and minimum focal length and aperture, etc. Here, you can also adjust the camera settings and practically any capture parameter.

Once you've done that, press the Capture button. This triggers the shutter: Entangle automatically downloads the taken image and displays its preview.

That's pretty much all there is to it. While Entangle doesn't offer any fancy trimmings, it is a genuinely useful tool that can take your photography to a new level.