Camera-to-cloud workflow

Camera to cloud for photographers, straight from your phone

Stop offloading SD cards. CloudTether is camera to cloud built for stills photographers: connect your Canon, Sony, Nikon or Fujifilm over USB or Wi-Fi and upload every full-resolution shot to the cloud the instant you press the shutter — no laptop, no dedicated hardware, no cables to a computer. Just the camera, your phone and your destination of choice.

How camera to cloud works

1. Connect

Tether your camera to your phone over USB-C or Wi-Fi (PTP/IP). CloudTether opens a session and watches for captures.

2. Capture

Every time the shutter fires, the new full-resolution file — RAW or JPEG — is detected and downloaded automatically.

3. Deliver

Each shot is uploaded to your destination in real time, so images are in the cloud within seconds of capture.

Built for stills, not just video

Most “camera to cloud” tools are built for video crews — Frame.io, Atomos and dedicated C2C hardware for the broadcast and Adobe review pipeline. CloudTether is the stills version: it reads the full-resolution RAW or JPEG your camera records and delivers it to the destinations photographers actually use, with no hardware and no laptop. It also doesn't lock your originals into one platform's gallery — your photos go where you point them.

Learn the workflow

Guide

What is camera tethering? A photographer's guide

Tethering connects your camera to another device so photos transfer the instant you shoot — here's how it works and why it matters.

Guide

How to tether your camera to your phone wirelessly

Connect your camera to your phone over USB or Wi-Fi and have every shot transfer automatically — here's the full setup.

Guide

How to back up photos to the cloud while you shoot

Back up every frame to the cloud the moment you capture it, so a lost or corrupt card never costs you a shoot.

Guide

Wireless tethering vs the SD-card workflow

Shoot-then-import, or deliver live as you shoot? Here's how the classic SD-card workflow stacks up against wireless tethering.

Guide

How to give clients a live gallery while you shoot

Let clients watch selects appear in your branded gallery in real time — here's how to deliver live as you shoot.

Guide

How to tether your camera without a laptop

You don't need a laptop to tether — here's a complete phone-only workflow that delivers every shot to the cloud as you shoot.

Guide

How to transfer photos from your camera to your phone

Move full-resolution photos straight from your camera to your phone — no card reader — over USB or Wi-Fi.

Guide

What is camera to cloud? A photographer's guide

Camera to cloud means every shot uploads straight to the cloud as you take it — here's what the term means and how it works for photographers.

Guide

Camera to cloud vs camera tethering: what's the difference?

Tethering and camera to cloud overlap but aren't the same thing — here's how they differ and which you actually need.

Guide

Camera to cloud for photographers: what to look for

The camera-to-cloud tools you'll find first are built for video crews — here's what photographers actually need, and how the stills workflow differs.

Guide

Do you still need a tether cable? USB vs wireless tethering

Tether cables are the old default — here's when you actually need one, and how to skip it.

Guide

Lightroom tethering vs camera to cloud: which to use

Lightroom's tethered capture is great for studio review — here's how it works and when camera to cloud is the better tool.

Guide

Bluetooth vs Wi-Fi on a camera: which actually sends your photos?

Buying a camera with Bluetooth or Wi-Fi to get photos to your phone? Here's which one actually moves the pictures — and why it matters.

Camera-to-cloud FAQ

What does “camera to cloud” mean?

Camera to cloud is a workflow where every photo you take is uploaded straight from your camera to a cloud destination — Dropbox, Google Drive, a client gallery, an S3 bucket — as you shoot, instead of waiting to offload an SD card later. CloudTether does this from your phone: connect the camera over USB or Wi-Fi, and each full-resolution capture is detected, downloaded and delivered in real time.

Do I need a laptop for a camera-to-cloud workflow?

No. CloudTether runs on your phone, so the camera tethers directly to the device in your pocket and uploads over its mobile or Wi-Fi connection. There's no laptop, no Capture One session and no cables to a computer — just the camera, your phone and your cloud.

Does it upload RAW files or just JPEGs?

Both. CloudTether delivers the full-resolution file the camera writes — RAW (CR3, NEF, ARW, RAF), JPEG or HEIF — to your chosen destination. If your camera records RAW+JPEG, you can deliver either or both.

Which cameras work with camera to cloud?

Canon, Sony, Nikon and Fujifilm bodies that support USB tethering (PTP) or Wi-Fi (PTP/IP) work with CloudTether — from the Canon EOS R5 and Sony a7 IV to the Nikon Z8 and Fujifilm X-T5. See the cameras hub for your exact model.

Is the upload real-time?

Yes. CloudTether detects each shot the instant the shutter fires and begins the upload immediately, so images land in the cloud within seconds of capture — fast enough for live client galleries and same-day delivery.

Is camera to cloud the same as Frame.io's Camera to Cloud (C2C)?

It's the same idea, applied to stills. Frame.io's Camera to Cloud is built for professional video and the Adobe review pipeline, often with dedicated hardware. CloudTether brings the camera-to-cloud workflow to photographers: it tethers a Canon, Sony, Nikon or Fujifilm to your phone and delivers every full-resolution frame to your own destinations — no broadcast hardware, no laptop.

Is there a camera-to-cloud app made for photographers?

Yes — that's exactly what CloudTether is. Where most camera-to-cloud tools target video crews, CloudTether is built for stills: full-resolution RAW or JPEG, delivery to the cloud storage and client galleries photographers already use, across all four major camera brands, entirely from your phone.