Comparison

Capture Pilot vs Buff Flash Control

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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

About

Buff Flash Control

Control your lighting setups remotely from your phone. Adjust flash and modeling lamp power, save custom setups, and update firmware for compatible units. Designed for photographers using specific hardware.

Highlights
  • Smart remote control for flash units
  • Adjust power output
  • Control modeling lamps
  • Save and recall lighting setups
  • Firmware updates for LINK800WS
Read full description

The Buff Flash Control app was created to help photographers take control of their lighting setups directly from their phone. - KEY FEATURES - SMART REMOTE CONTROL Use the HUB remote to find Paul C. Buff, Inc. flash units in your setup. Once added to your setup, you can control the power outputs of both the flash and modeling lamp, turn them on/off directly from your phone, and save your setups for future use. LINK800WS FIRMWARE UPDATES Update the firmware of the LINK800WS Flash Unit directly from the app using the HUB remote. *Note: The Buff Flash Control app is only compatible with the Paul C. Buff, Inc. HUB remote and Paul C. Buff, Inc. flash units (AlienBees and newer). At this time this app is only capable of controlling the flash and model light outputs and saving lighting setups. Additional features are in development and will be released periodically.

Screenshots

Capture Pilot4 screens
Buff Flash Control4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Buff Flash Control at none against Capture Pilot's 1. Buff Flash Control also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 4 months). Capture Pilot's advantage is review sentiment (31% vs 0%) and ratings volume (96 vs 7). On price, rating, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Capture Pilot sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Buff Flash Control asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 2.5 for Capture Pilot against 2.4 for Buff Flash Control. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Capture Pilot has 96 ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 31% of Capture Pilot's written reviews are positive against 0% of Buff Flash Control's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Capture Pilot ships an update every 4 months, Buff Flash Control every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 14, 2026 and August 27, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Capture Pilot versus Buff Flash Control: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCapture PilotBuff Flash Control
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.5 (96 ratings) — better2.4 (7 ratings)
Positive reviews31.1% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings96 — better7
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS11.0 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size6 MB16 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCapture One A/SPaul C. Buff, Inc.

Customer experience

Capture Pilot

All ratings96 ratings
Positive29.2%
Neutral13.5%
Negative57.3%
Written reviews180 reviews
Positive31.1%
Neutral14.4%
Negative54.4%

Buff Flash Control

All ratings7 ratings
Positive28.6%
Neutral0.0%
Negative71.4%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

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
Show 10 more
  • 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
Show 8 more
  • 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

Buff Flash Control

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Capture Pilot

One-time1
  • Camera Control$14.99
None

Buff Flash Control

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Capture Pilot free?
Capture Pilot is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Buff Flash Control free?
Buff Flash Control is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Capture Pilot or Buff Flash Control?
Capture Pilot is rated higher. Capture Pilot averages 2.5 out of 5 from 96 ratings, while Buff Flash Control averages 2.4 from 7 ratings.
Do Capture Pilot or Buff Flash Control have ads?
Neither Capture Pilot nor Buff Flash Control shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Capture Pilot or Buff Flash Control?
Capture Pilot ships an update every 4 months, and Buff Flash Control every 2 months. Most recently, Capture Pilot was updated on September 14, 2026 and Buff Flash Control on August 27, 2026.

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