Capture Pilot vs Dragonframe Tether
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Capture Pilot
This app allows photographers to remotely view, zoom, rate, and tag high-resolution images during a shoot. It can also transform your device into a virtual camera display for remote camera control and capture parameter adjustments.
- Remote image viewing, zooming, and panning
- Image rating and tagging
- Live view with compatible digital backs
- Geotagging of images
- Remote camera firing and parameter control
- Virtual camera display
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Use your iOS device to remotely view, zoom, rate, and tag high-resolution images during a photography shoot. Plus, combine Capture Pilot with the additional “Camera Control” in-app purchase to transform your iOS device into a virtual camera display, so you can remotely fire your camera and control essential capture parameters from your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch. For use with photo editing software Capture One Pro, Capture Pilot is the perfect tool for teams and multi-user shoots, while clients can use it to review shots in real-time and better communicate with photographers. “Whether it is clients, make-up artists, wardrobe stylists or photographers, or anyone who needs to keep an eye on the shoot, Capture Pilot allows them to see every detail of what is being shot. Most importantly, it successfully engages the entire team in the photographic process." - Daryn Labier, Blast Digital Studio “In all, I’m extremely impressed with Phase One’s iOS application Capture Pilot. It enhances the creative process in ways that you won’t be able to predict.” - Mike Hagen, Nikonians --------------- KEY FEATURES --------------- VIEW AND BROWSE - Wirelessly view, zoom and pan high-resolution DSLR and medium format RAW, JPEG and TIFF images during a shoot. - Unique and easy-to-use rating and tagging feature enables clients or staff in the studio or on remote locations to participate in the shoot and to provide instant feedback. LIVE VIEW WITH PHASE ONE IQ250 and IQ3 (CMOS) DIGITAL BACKS - Work wirelessly with remote live viewing functionality with a Phase One IQ250 and IQ3 50MP camera system, turning your mobile device into an electronic viewfinder. GEOTAGGING OF IMAGES WITH PHASE ONE IQ CAMERA SYSTEMS - Record location data and geotag your images 'CAMERA CONTROL' IN-APP PURCHASE - Connect directly to a Phase One IQ2 or IQ3 series digital back to remotely fire and control your camera and check capture previews directly on your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch. Free for Phase One Digital Back users. - Connect your camera to a Mac or Windows computer running Capture One Pro and use your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch to remotely fire and control your Canon, Nikon, Sony, Phase One, Leaf or Mamiya camera. - Control your camera’s most important capture parameters on a virtual camera display: ISO sensitivity, exposure mode, shutter speed, aperture, and exposure compensation. ------- NOTES ------- To check for supported cameras and tethering support visit: https://www.captureone.com/features/supported-cameras Capture One Pro (11.1 or later) with supported camera tethered connection is required when pairing the camera control app with a Sony camera. Capture Pilot can connect directly over Wi-Fi to a Phase One IQ2 or IQ3 Digital back. Focus controls is currently only supported when used directly with a Wi-Fi capable IQ Digital Back running Feature Update 4. Capture Pilot can also connect over Wi-Fi to Capture One Pro (versions 20, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7 and 6) for browsing Capture One collections, or for control of supported cameras tethered to Capture One. Capture Pilot can use the GPS unit in your device to access and record location data. Synchronization of the recorded location data with images can happen either simultaneously when Capture Pilot is connected to a Phase One IQ2 or IQ3 digital back, or when the Capture Pilot connection is re-established later. Continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life, therefore a “Turn Geo tagging Off” timer option is available in the Capture Pilot preferences. You can download a trial version of Capture One Pro from www.captureone.com/en/download-trial
Dragonframe Tether
Transform your iOS device into a professional camera for stop motion animation software. Stream a live video preview to your computer, control camera settings, and capture high-quality images directly. Requires Dragonframe 4 or newer on a desktop.
- Use iPhone/iPad as capture source
- Live video preview on desktop
- Control shutter speed, ISO, focus, white balance
- Capture JPG or DNG images
- Direct image transfer to computer
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Use your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad as a capture source in Dragonframe 4 stop motion animation software. Instructions: 1. Connect your iOS device to your computer via a USB cable. 2. Launch Dragonframe software on the computer. 3. Launch DF Tether on your device. Dragonframe will automatically detect it and connect to it. Once connected: * Dragonframe will show a video preview using the iOS camera. * You can control shutter speed, ISO, focus and white balance. * Capture JPG or DNG images directly to the computer. (The specific functionality varies by camera.) NOTE: Requires Dragonframe 4 or newer on a macOS, Windows, or Linux desktop system. Dragonframe 4 is a separate purchase, and not included with this app. See http://www.dragonframe.com for more details. NOTE: Windows users must install iTunes.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Dragonframe Tether at 4.2 against Capture Pilot's 2.5. Dragonframe Tether also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and review sentiment (43% vs 31%). Capture Pilot's advantage is ratings volume (96 vs 15) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 14). On price, update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Capture Pilot sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Dragonframe Tether asks for nothing beyond the download.
Dragonframe Tether holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 2.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Capture Pilot has 96 ratings behind it against 15, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 31% of Capture Pilot's written reviews are positive against 43% of Dragonframe Tether's.
Capture Pilot ships an update every 4 months, Dragonframe Tether every 3 months. Both last shipped on September 14, 2026.
| Parameter | Capture Pilot | Dragonframe Tether |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.5 (96 ratings) | 4.2 (15 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 31.1% of reviews | 42.9% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 96 — better | 15 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 3 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 14 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 6 MB | 15 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Capture One A/S | DZED Systems LLC |
Customer experience
Capture Pilot
Dragonframe Tether
Bugs and requests
Capture Pilot
Reported bugs
15 issues- App crashes every 10-15 minutes
- Server connection failures
- Camera controls not functioning
- Focus button greyed out despite camera capability
- Photos fail to load from large libraries
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- Adjustment application causes crashes
- Force quit on M1 iPad Pro with larger files
- Freezing when swiping through images during import
- In-app purchase not syncing across devices
- Restore purchase button non-functional
- App crashes after a few minutes on older iOS
- Pixelated image rendering
- Connection drops during fast shooting
- Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions
- Camera not recognized despite being connected
Requested features
13 requests- Live view compatibility for remote shooting
- Full Capture One editing tools on mobile
- Camera control without additional purchase
- AppleTV wireless display support
- Bluetooth connectivity without WiFi
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- Image tagging and commenting features
- Print functionality
- Download to device option
- Cross-device purchase sharing
- Histogram display
- Shutter mode and timer controls
- Improved UI with dropdown menus instead of dial controls
- Retina display optimization
Dragonframe Tether
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Capture Pilot
- Camera Control$14.99
Dragonframe Tether
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Capture Pilot free?
Is Dragonframe Tether free?
Which has better reviews, Capture Pilot or Dragonframe Tether?
Do Capture Pilot or Dragonframe Tether have ads?
Which is updated more often, Capture Pilot or Dragonframe Tether?
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