Canon's Phone App Is One of the Best. That Bar Is Low.
How does the connection actually work?
Easy smartphone connection is one of the most requested camera features, so DPReview's Richard Butler set out to test the current state of the brands' apps, starting with Canon's. Pairing a PowerShot V1 to an Android phone meant scanning a QR code from the camera, confirming Bluetooth pairing on both devices, and being good to go. Beyond a few frustrations, he found Camera Connect to be one of the better options, at least with recent cameras.
The frustrations arrive early. Before you can use the app at all, you need to create a Canon ID with an email address and password, and the benefit to you is not entirely clear. The app then regularly asks you to register your camera with that ID, and reminds you again even after you say no. There is no do-not-show-this-again option. On iOS you must approve the camera's Wi-Fi network connection every time you reconnect; Android is happy to trust it after the first permission.
What can you actually do once connected?
The homescreen offers two paths: import images from the camera's card, or remote live-view shooting. Importing reveals the platform split. The iOS app transfers JPEGs, HEIFs, or Raw files. The Android app is JPEG-only, and will have the camera generate a JPEG if you try to pull a Raw. Trying to move an HDR HEIF on Android means converting it to JPEG, dropping down to standard dynamic range, on the camera first.
Remote shooting gives you a live feed with control over exposure settings, drive mode, AF mode, and white balance. You cannot change the exposure mode on a camera where that lives on a physical dial, and some functions grey out for reasons that are not obvious. A double-tap zoom helps with manual focus, though it only punches in to 5x, not the finer 10x the camera's own screen offers. Photos taken in live view do not transfer to the phone; you have to leave live view and use the import function.
The Functions tab holds the quiet workhorses: auto transfer, which sends images to the phone as you shoot, downsized to 1MB 1620 by 1080 files if you like, with the option to strip location data. It cannot run at the same time as live view, and it cannot send Raw files. You can also share your phone's location and date-time with the camera, which is genuinely useful when traveling across time zones, and check for firmware updates, which the app does every time it opens.
Why should you just plug in a cable?
The feature that sets Camera Connect apart from most rival apps is the USB connection. Recent Canon cameras have a choose-USB-connection-app menu, and with it set correctly, plugging a cable between camera and phone jumps straight into import, live view, and auto upload with none of the pairing hurdles. It is simply faster, and on Android the phone even asks whether to open the app automatically when you connect.
There is one catch, and it is an Apple-shaped one. iPhone users must switch the camera's USB setting to Canon apps for iPhone; Android users can leave the default. Once set, you just plug in and go, which makes the cable the fastest path from shutter press to a phone you can actually edit and share from. The wireless route still works, but after watching both, the cable is the move.
Why it matters for you
Most learners' workflow dies in the gap between the camera and the phone. Photos that never leave the card never get edited, never get shared, and never teach you anything, because feedback is what makes practice work. So treat the transfer step as part of your kit, not an afterthought. Set up the app once at home, when there is no pressure. If you are on Android, know that your Raw files are staying on the card unless you import them another way. If you are on iPhone, budget thirty seconds for the Wi-Fi approval dance, or throw a short USB-C cable in your bag and skip the dance entirely. The best camera app is the one that gets out of the way, and right now, for Canon shooters, that is a cable.