How to upload media from a camera to Backblaze B2 via SFTP and FTP

Written by Jayden Bartram | Jun 18, 2022 12:38:00 AM

So you have a bunch of media on a device that you want to get direct to Backblaze for storage, editing or accessing — without having to take the SD card out or without having to plug the device directly into your laptop (that’s after you’ve found the right dongle. Chances are you have a camera or device that supports Wi-Fi or mobile connectivity and has SFTP or FTP as a method of uploading data. So how can you easily upload media from a camera to Backblaze B2?

Using Couchdrop to transfer files from a camera

This is where Couchdrop can help. It bridges the gap between SFTP/FTP and modern cloud solutions such as Backblaze B2, S3, Google Drive or another storage solution. It’s simple to set up and only takes a couple of minutes to get going.

The steps to get started (in summary) are:

Step 1 — Create a Couchdrop account
Step 2 — Connect Backblaze B2
Step 3 — Create an SFTP/FTP user for your camera/device(s)
Step 4 — Configure cameras/device(s)

Step 1 - Create a Couchdrop account

Navigate to Couchdrop and create an account. Don’t worry you don’t need a credit card straight away and you can get access to a free trial for 14 days to test and make sure it does what you need it to.

Step 2 — Connect Backblaze

Once you’ve signed up you will immediately get a screen (see below) where you can now connect your storage backend, in this case select Backblaze B2 by selecting Add Connection.

You will then be taken to a new screen to configure your Backblaze, this is as simple as providing:

Backblaze Master Key
Backblaze Application Key
Backblaze Bucket Name
Select Save Storage when ready

Step 3 — Create an SFTP/FTP user for your camera/device(s)

Now you need to create a SFTP/FTP user for your cameras to connect to Backblaze with.

Head to Administration -> Users and Create New User
Provide the account the following: Username, Password, Directory, Make the user active and then Save User Settings
Repeat as required for each camera, or if all cameras are sending files to the same location then reuse the user.

Note: You can specify a sub-directory here under the Home/Root Directory section so that each device accesses its own home folder.

Step 4 — Configure camera/device(s)

Now you’ve configure your backend storage and connection user for the devices it is as simple now as configuring your camera's to connection to Backblaze B2 via SFTP or FTP.

Provide the following information to your device:

SFTP/FTP Hostname (SFTP/FTP domain found here)
Username and Password (for the user created before)

How to configure different camera’s for SFTP / FTP

Your camera (or other device) should now be connected directly to Backblaze B2 and can now upload files directly to your desired Backblaze bucket without stumbling around with cables and adapters.

Try Couchdrop to upload media from a camera to Backblaze B2

Couchdrop aims to keep SFTP simple and straightforward. Everything is managed in the simple web interface and setup only takes a minute. And the integrations make it easy to upload media from a camera to Backblaze B2 via SFTP and FTP as well as any other cloud storage you have like Dropbox or Google Drive.

Want to see how easy it is for yourself? You can try Couchdrop free for 14 days with no credit card or other hoops to jump through, simply sign up and go. Start your free trial now.

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