Capture One hot folder from a phone tether
Short answer: Capture One's Hot Folder imports images that appear in a session's capture folder, and CloudTether can put them there without a cable to the computer. CloudTether doesn't connect to Capture One itself; it tethers the camera to your phone over USB or Wi-Fi and delivers each frame, as you shoot, to a Dropbox, Google Drive or OneDrive folder that syncs to the Capture One machine, or to a studio server over SFTP or WebDAV. Set that folder as the capture folder, enable Hot Folder, and shots appear in the session.
How Capture One's Hot Folder works
In a Capture One session you right-click a folder in the Library tool and choose Set as Capture Folder, then enable Hot Folder from the Camera menu; Capture One then monitors that folder for image files and brings them into the session. It's designed for exactly this case — another app writing the files — and Capture One's own support article describes it for cameras tethered through the maker's software. Users report a few limits worth knowing: it watches the capture folder itself rather than any folder you like, it doesn't move or rename files on the way in, and some find new images only appear after switching folders. Test it with your version before a client day.
Why tether to a phone and not to Capture One?
Capture One's own tethering is the right tool on a studio desk with a supported camera, live view and a cable. A phone tether helps when the camera needs to move — location, events, a set where a cable to the workstation is a trip hazard — or when the camera isn't supported for tethering in your Capture One version. CloudTether copies each full-resolution frame to the phone over USB or Wi-Fi and uploads it once; the computer only has to watch a folder. Note that only one app can control a camera at a time, so don't tether the same body to Capture One and CloudTether together. See our guide to Capture One tethering for the direct route.
Setting up the folder
Cloud route: deliver to Dropbox, Google Drive or OneDrive, picking a fixed existing folder instead of a new folder per shoot. Keep it available offline on the Capture One machine, add it to the session and set it as the capture folder. Studio route: deliver over SFTP or FTP or WebDAV to the studio's NAS and turn off “New subfolder for each shoot” in app 1.1 — Hot Folder watches the folder itself, so files must land in it rather than a subfolder.
Over USB, a frame typically reaches the phone in well under a second; the upload then depends on the connection, and the sync to the workstation adds a little more. For a client watching on the studio monitor that's usually a few seconds per frame — not the instant of a direct cable tether, but without the cable.
Settings that help
Send full size for grading, and keep the camera's own names (original file names), because Hot Folder won't rename on import. If the session only needs JPEGs for a client to approve, JPEG only keeps RAW on the card and speeds everything up. On Canon and Nikon, send only rated shots means only the frames you star reach the session. With two cameras into one folder, give each body its own file-name prefix so names can't collide.
How to fill a Capture One hot folder from a phone tether
Connect the camera to your phone
Open CloudTether and tap “Connect a camera”. Plug in a USB-C cable (Sony: USB mode PC Remote; Fujifilm: USB tether shooting) or choose Wi-Fi for guided wireless set-up. Take a test shot and wait for “Test shot delivered”.
Deliver to one fixed folder
Send the shoot to an existing Dropbox, Google Drive or OneDrive folder, or to SFTP/FTP or WebDAV with “New subfolder for each shoot” turned off.
Make it the session's capture folder
On the Capture One machine, keep the folder available offline (or mount the share), add it to the session, right-click it in the Library tool and choose Set as Capture Folder.
Enable Hot Folder and test
Choose Camera › Hot Folder Enabled, take a test shot and check it appears in the session before the client arrives.
FAQ
Does CloudTether connect to Capture One?
Not directly. CloudTether delivers each shot to a folder — a synced cloud folder or a studio server — and Capture One's Hot Folder imports from it.
How do I enable a hot folder in Capture One?
In a session, right-click the folder in the Library tool, choose Set as Capture Folder, then choose Camera › Hot Folder Enabled.
Why don't new shots appear in Capture One?
Check the files land in the capture folder itself, not a subfolder (turn off “New subfolder for each shoot” for FTP), that a cloud folder is kept offline on the computer, and try switching folders, which some users report refreshes the view.
Can I tether the same camera to Capture One and CloudTether?
No — only one app can control a camera at a time. Use CloudTether for the camera and let Capture One watch the folder.
Is it as fast as a direct Capture One tether?
No. Expect a few seconds per frame for the upload and sync, in exchange for no cable to the computer.
Get every shot off the camera as you shoot
CloudTether tethers Canon, Nikon, Sony and Fujifilm cameras to your iPhone, iPad or Android phone and delivers every photo to Dropbox, Google Drive, client galleries, your own server or the phone itself — live, no laptop.
Sources
Facts about Capture One hot folders come from these pages (checked November 2026). Products change — check them for the latest.