Camera tethering

How it works

Every tether has three parts: the camera, a link and a host. The link is either a USB data cable or a network connection over the camera's Wi-Fi, and both carry the same Picture Transfer Protocol. When the camera writes a new frame to its card, it tells the host — or the host notices the new file — and the host downloads the full-resolution original. The card keeps its own copy, so tethering adds a second copy rather than replacing the first.

An example: a wedding reception

A wedding photographer clips a phone to the camera strap and runs a short USB-C cable to the camera. During the speeches every frame comes off the camera within moments of the shutter. By the first dance a backup of the whole day so far is already on the phone, and the couple's gallery is filling with JPEGs while the RAW files wait on the card for the edit.

Where CloudTether fits

CloudTether is mobile tethering software for iPhone, iPad and Android. It connects Canon, Nikon, Sony and Fujifilm bodies over USB, and many of them over Wi-Fi, copies every frame to the phone, then uploads each photo once and delivers it to the shoot's destinations — Dropbox, Google Drive, a client gallery or an FTP server. Up to three cameras can run on one phone. It doesn't replace Capture One or Lightroom Classic for live view on a studio monitor; it's built for getting shots off the camera and delivered while you move. See which cameras work and how to tether without a laptop.

Tips and common mistakes

• Use a data cable, not a charge-only one. A cable that charges but carries no data is the most common reason a camera isn't detected — see camera not detected over USB.
• Close anything else that grabs the camera: the maker's own app, EOS Utility or a photo importer. Only one app can control the camera at a time.
• Keep a card in the camera. Tethering makes a copy, and the card is your first backup.
• Take a test shot before the job, and lengthen the camera's auto power-off so it doesn't sleep mid-transfer.