As I’m sure many of you know by now, Apple has announced a new Mac Pro tower that is devoid of any FireWire port. This appears to be a growing trend as more and more Apple machines are being released without Fire Wire ports, including newer MacBook Pros and MacBook Airs.
While many photographers use FireWire to tether to a computer, there is no cause for alarm. Apple manufactures a FireWire to thunderbolt adapter, which allows tethered capture for both Phase One and Hasselblad systems.
There has been little testing on the Hasselblad front when it comes to Thunderbolt to FireWire adapters, so our goal is to shed some light on the subject.
The short answer is yes: it works, but there’s more to it.
On newer machines (Mid- 2012-current) we have found it possible to tether your Hasselblad integrated system (H3D/H4D) via Thunderbolt adapter without error. It is also possible to use the Thunderbolt adapter on pre-2012 machines, but an AC adapter is required for consistent results. This is a non-issue, as most relevant older machines have a FireWire 800 port anyway.
We’ve found that the system will maintain all functionality without sacrificing performance on MacBook Pros and even the MacBook Air. We also found no difference in buffer performance between straight FireWire 800 tethering and using the Thunderbolt Adapter.
Further, it is also possible to use an integrated back on a 4×5 or tech camera and have the back powered efficiently while using the FireWire-Thunderbolt adapter. In our tests with the 50 megapixel H4D 50 back on a Cambo WRS, the system didn’t miss a beat.
The new Mac Pro tower will have a Thunderbolt 2 connection. Check back periodically to see our testing with this new connection, as well as performance with the new H5D.