Ferry

Your photos, carried safely home

Get the photos off your camera. No cable.

Ferry brings the photos on your camera safely home to your computer over Wi-Fi: into Apple Photos, a folder or Lightroom. It remembers what it already imported, so next time you only get the new ones.

Free and open source · Mac, Windows, Linux

Ferry on a Mac: photos on the camera grouped by day, with a button to import the new ones.

Your camera has Wi-Fi. Use it.

Most cameras from the last ten years have Wi-Fi, but it was made for a phone app. To get photos onto a computer you're back to cables and card readers, and they are never where you need them.

Ferry does one thing: it gets your photos from the camera onto your computer, safely and without fuss. It doesn't edit, organize or rate. Your photo app already does that.

How it works

  1. Turn on the camera's Wi-Fi

    The same way you would for its phone app. On a Fujifilm camera: Playback, then Wireless Communication.

  2. Join the camera's network

    On your computer, pick the network the camera starts. Ferry finds the camera by itself. The first time, confirm on the camera.

  3. Click Import New

    Only photos you haven't imported yet are copied, checked, and put where you want them. Or select the ones you want.

Even easier on Fujifilm cameras: with PC AutoSave, the camera sends its new photos to Ferry over your home Wi-Fi. No network switching.

Everything you need, nothing you don't

  • Only new photos

    Ferry remembers what it imported, even after you delete photos from your computer. No duplicates.

  • Where you want them

    Apple Photos (with an album), any folder, your Pictures folder for Windows Photos, a folder Lightroom watches, or your own Immich server.

  • Over your home Wi-Fi

    On Fujifilm cameras: register the camera once, then choose PC AutoSave on it and it sends its new photos over your home Wi-Fi.

  • Pick on the camera

    Select photos on the camera and send them, or protect your favorites and import only those.

  • Safe copies

    Every file is checked against what the camera reported and retried if it doesn't match. It warns you before your disk fills up.

  • Organized your way

    Folders by year and date, your own file names, an album per month, and a backup copy to a second drive.

  • Stays out of the way

    Lives in the menu bar or tray, imports automatically when the camera connects, and tells you when it's done.

  • Private by design

    No account, no cloud, no tracking. Your photos go from the camera to your computer and nowhere else.

Ferry on a Mac: photos on the camera grouped by day, with a button to import the new ones.
On a Mac, photos go straight into Apple Photos.
Ferry on Windows: photos grouped by day, some already imported, and an Import 9 New button.
On Windows and Linux, into your Pictures folder or the folder your photo app watches.

What Ferry is not

  • Not a photo editor or a Lightroom replacement. It hands your photos to the app you already use.
  • Not a remote control. It doesn't fire the shutter or change camera settings.
  • Not a cloud service. There is no account and nothing is uploaded, unless you set up your own Immich server.
  • It never deletes photos from your camera.

Works with your camera

Works best today with Fujifilm X and GFX cameras from about 2014 to 2021, the ones that worked with Fujifilm's Camera Remote app. Tested on the X-T20, and on nine more Fujifilm models in an emulator. Canon, Olympus, Ricoh, Sony and Panasonic are experimental.

See all supported cameras

Download Ferry

Free, open source (MIT) and signed for each platform. Version 0.2.0.

Command line

For servers, scripts and a Raspberry Pi: ferryctl for macOS, Linux and Windows.

Questions

Does Ferry work with my camera?

Fujifilm cameras that worked with the Camera Remote app over Wi-Fi are supported best; Ferry replaces that app's photo transfer. Newer Fujifilm models that pair over Bluetooth, like the X-T5 and X-S20, aren't supported yet. Canon, Olympus, Ricoh, Sony and Panasonic are experimental. See the camera list.

Can it import RAW files?

Ferry imports whatever the camera offers, RAW included. Fujifilm cameras only offer JPEGs over Wi-Fi, so for RAF files you still need a card reader or a cable. Some other brands may offer RAW files too; that isn't tested yet.

Is it for professionals?

Mostly not. For a full card of RAW files, a card reader is much faster than Wi-Fi. Ferry is for the days you don't have one with you, and for sending a few selected photos from the camera to a laptop at an event.

Is it really free?

Yes. Ferry is open source under the MIT license. There are no ads, subscriptions or in-app purchases.

Will my computer be offline while importing?

Yes, while your computer is on the camera's Wi-Fi it can't reach the internet. With PC AutoSave the camera joins your home network instead, so you stay online.

Does it upload my photos anywhere?

No. Ferry talks to your camera and to the folders or apps you choose. It has no account, no analytics and no servers of its own.

Does it work with Lightroom, Capture One or Windows Photos?

Yes. Import into a folder that your photo app watches, or into your Pictures folder for Windows Photos. On a Mac, Ferry can also import straight into Apple Photos.

Does it delete photos from the camera?

Never. Your card stays exactly as it was. Delete photos on the camera when you're ready.

What about other camera brands?

Canon, Olympus and OM System, Ricoh GR, and older Sony and Panasonic cameras are supported experimentally. If you try one, please tell us whether it worked.