Canon to Google Drive: auto-upload as you shoot
Tether your Canon to your phone over USB or Wi-Fi and deliver every shot straight to Google Drive the instant you press the shutter — no laptop, no SD-card import. Shared Drives for teams already on Google Workspace.
By the CloudTether team · Updated
How it works for Canon → Google Drive
Your phone sits between the camera and Google Drive: no laptop, no card reader.
- Step 1Canon
Connect it to your phone with a USB-C data cable or over Wi-Fi, then shoot as normal.
- Step 2Your phone
CloudTether copies each full-resolution photo off the camera seconds after the shutter and uploads it once.
- Step 3Google Drive
Every shot lands in Google Drive while you keep shooting — and in any other destination on the shoot.
How to live-upload Canon photos to Google Drive
Connect your Canon to your phone and every shot lands in Google Drive live as you shoot. Here's the full setup, start to finish:
- 1
Connect your Canon
Connect over USB with the camera set to PC/tether mode for the most reliable, fastest link. Or go wireless with the camera's “Remote control (EOS Utility)” Wi-Fi function — not “Connect to smartphone” — on the camera's own network, your phone's hotspot or a shared router. On a first wireless connection, approve the link on the camera body when prompted.
- 2
Connect Google Drive
Connects via Google OAuth — scoped to a folder you choose. Pick where photos should land — route per-session folders into a Shared Drive so the whole team has instant access.
- 3
Shoot as normal
Every frame your Canon captures is detected and downloaded at full resolution while you keep shooting — JPEG, or RAW.
- 4
Photos deliver to Google Drive
Each photo uploads from your phone once and lands in Google Drive live, seconds after the shutter — and fans out to any other destinations on the session too.
Google Drive in the CloudTether app
Connect Google Drive once, then every shoot from your Canon can deliver to it.
Connecting a Canon camera
CloudTether covers Canon's EOS R mirrorless range — R1, R3, R5 and R5 Mark II, R6, R6 Mark II and Mark III, R7, R8, R10, R50, the original EOS R and RP — plus EOS M bodies such as the M50 Mark II and DSLRs like the 5D Mark IV, 6D Mark II and 90D. USB is verified on an EOS R7 and an EOS R5 Mark II, and every EOS body runs the same code.
There's no USB mode to set on an EOS body. Turn the camera's Wi-Fi off (several Canon bodies disable USB while wireless is on), make sure it isn't in a webcam or streaming mode, and plug in.
EOS R bodies such as the R5, R6 Mark II, R7, R8 and R3 have USB-C, so one USB-C to USB-C data cable reaches a USB-C iPhone, iPad or Android phone. The 5D Mark IV uses a Micro-B USB 3 port, which needs a Micro-B to USB-C cable. A Lightning iPhone needs Apple's Lightning to USB 3 Camera Adapter.
Raise Auto power off so the camera doesn't sleep between sets, and close Canon's own apps on the phone so only CloudTether talks to the camera.
Canon Wi-Fi tethering works through the camera's “Remote control (EOS Utility)” function, not “Connect to smartphone” — the smartphone mode pairs only with Canon's own app and never shows CloudTether's pairing prompt. Join the camera to your phone's hotspot or the same router, then approve the pairing on the camera body.
Canon supports rated send: switch on “Only shots I rate in camera”, pick a minimum star rating, and only frames you rate in playback leave the camera. C-RAW makes CR3 files smaller if you do send RAW.
Getting the most out of Google Drive
Google Drive stores every file untouched — CR3, NEF, ARW, RAF and JPEG — in a folder you choose, with a folder per shoot inside it, and CloudTether's Google access is scoped to that folder. Teams on Google Workspace can route shoots into a Shared Drive, so editors, producers and the client's comms team all see each frame without being invited file by file.
Drive previews JPEGs instantly in a browser or the Drive app; RAW files are there to download into Lightroom or Capture One later. If people will look at photos on their phones during the event, send JPEGs or 2048 px copies to that folder and keep the RAW in a separate backup.
For a press office or agency, a Drive folder is often the hand-off the client already uses: editors open it in a browser, search by name or date and download what they need. Because each shoot gets its own folder inside the one you picked, a multi-day conference stays organised by day without sorting afterwards. If the organisation restricts third-party apps, a Workspace admin may need to allow CloudTether before you can pick a Shared Drive.
- Share the parent folder once — shoot folders created inside it inherit its sharing.
- Uploads count against the Google account's or Shared Drive's storage.
- Drive works over mobile data, so no venue Wi-Fi is needed.
Route per-session folders into a Shared Drive so the whole team has instant access.
Connects via Google OAuth — scoped to a folder you choose.
Canon to Google Drive — FAQ
Can I upload Canon photos to Google Drive automatically?
Yes. Tether your Canon to your phone with CloudTether over USB or Wi-Fi, and every shot uploads to Google Drive live as you shoot — no card offload and no card import.
Can I send Canon photos to Google Drive live while I'm shooting?
Yes — each frame lands in Google Drive seconds after the shutter, live, while you keep shooting. There's no SD-card step in the middle.
How does CloudTether connect my Canon to Google Drive?
Your Canon tethers to your phone over USB or its own Wi-Fi; connects via Google OAuth — scoped to a folder you choose.
Do I need a laptop to send Canon photos to Google Drive?
No. CloudTether runs on your phone — your Canon connects to the phone and uploads straight to Google Drive over mobile data or Wi-Fi, anywhere you have signal.
Can I send RAW files from my Canon to Google Drive?
Yes. Google Drive receives the files exactly as your Canon wrote them — RAW, JPEG or both. To save mobile data, turn on JPEG only and leave RAW files on the camera.
Which Canon cameras can send photos to Google Drive?
Any Canon body CloudTether supports, including the EOS R5, EOS R6 Mark II, EOS R7, EOS R3, EOS R5 Mark II, EOS R1, EOS R6 Mark III, EOS R6. USB is verified on an EOS R7 and an EOS R5 Mark II, and every EOS body runs the same code.
Can I send only my best Canon shots to Google Drive?
Yes. Canon supports rated send: switch on “Only shots I rate in camera”, pick a minimum star rating, and only the frames you rate on the camera are delivered into the Google Drive folder.
Canon EOS R5 to Google Drive