Nikon cameras

This page is the Nikon half of tethered shooting — what a Nikon body needs, and what it will and won’t hand over. Everything about the panel itself is on that page.

Windows, macOS and Linux

Nikon tethering works on Windows, macOS and Linux — all three desktop platforms.

Just plug it in

Turn the camera on and connect it by USB. Check the camera’s USB setting is MTP/PTP, not Mass Storage — in Mass Storage the body appears to the computer as a card reader and PxlMonk won’t offer it. On most Nikon bodies MTP/PTP is the default; look under the setup menu’s USB entry if the camera isn’t listed. It appears under the Tether tab; if it isn’t there, press Refresh.

Nothing to install

PxlMonk talks to Nikon cameras through what the operating system already provides — Image Capture on macOS, Windows’ built-in camera support on Windows, and libusb on Linux (already present on any desktop install). There is no Nikon software (Camera Control Pro) to install and no driver to add.

If something else grabbed the camera

A camera can only be driven by one program at a time.

On macOS, plugging a camera in can make Photos or Image Capture open and take it, and while one of them holds the camera nothing else can reach it. If the Nikon won’t connect, close Photos and Image Capture and try again. To stop macOS opening an app every time you connect a camera, open Image Capture, select the camera, and set the small connecting-this-camera-opens control at the bottom left to No application.

On Windows, the Photos app or an auto-import prompt can open and hold the camera the moment you plug it in. If the Nikon won’t connect, close those, then press Refresh.

On Linux, your desktop may mount the camera as a storage device the moment you plug it in, which holds it. If the Nikon won’t connect, eject it in your file manager, then press Refresh. No udev rule or running as root is needed — connecting the camera already grants your login access to it.

Where the photos go

Captures come straight to the computer and into your current library — both the RAW (NEF) and the JPEG when the camera is set to record both. The originals also stay on the camera’s card; PxlMonk copies from it rather than moving, so nothing is removed from the card.

Live view

Live view runs while the camera is connected, on DSLRs and Z bodies alike (tested down to a 2008 D90). Taking a photo briefly interrupts it — the mirror has to come down for the shot — and it returns on its own once the frame has transferred. If your body has no live view at all, the preview area simply stays empty and the rest of the panel works as usual.

Which cameras

Nikon bodies speak standard PTP, so the modern DSLR and Z line-up is covered. PxlMonk doesn’t check your camera against a list; it drives whatever Nikon body is attached and in MTP/PTP mode.

Not sure yours is covered?

Plug it in anyway. We’ve tested against a D90; other Nikon bodies use the same standard protocol. If yours misbehaves, we’d like to hear about it.

Cable only

Nikon cameras are tethered over USB. Networked bodies aren’t offered — none of that has been built or tested here.