Copsy›Copsy vs Carbon Copy Cloner

Copsy vs Carbon Copy Cloner for camera footage

Written by a working DIT · Copsy · Last verified June 2026

Short answer

Carbon Copy Cloner (Bombich Software, around $49.99) is one of the best Mac tools for disk backups and bootable clones, and yes, it has real checksum verification. But it's built to clone disks and volumes rather than offload camera cards. It doesn't detect a card by content, doesn't write ASC-MHL media manifests, and doesn't organize footage by shoot date and source.

Copsy is the camera-aware, free option. Plug in an SD, CFexpress or camera card and it auto-detects it, copies to your drive and to Google Drive or Dropbox in parallel, verifies every file with ASC-MHL checksums, organizes by date and source, and pings you on Telegram when it's done. Free, no card limit, no signup.

Honest verdict: CCC is the better tool for system/disk backups and bootable clones. Copsy is the better tool for offloading footage off cards.

Download Copsy for Mac → · macOS 13+ · no account needed

What Carbon Copy Cloner is actually for

Carbon Copy Cloner is a long-standing, well-respected Mac backup app. It clones whole disks and volumes, makes bootable backups, and runs scheduled and incremental backups. It also has built-in checksum verification, so it can confirm copied data matches the source. If you want a reliable backup of your Mac's system drive, a safety clone of a working volume, or a scheduled nightly backup, CCC is genuinely excellent at that job.

None of that is the same job as offloading a camera card on set. CCC sees a card as just another volume of files. It has no idea it's looking at Sony XAVC, ARRI MXF, RED R3D, Blackmagic BRAW, Canon, drone, or audio-recorder media, and it doesn't try to. That isn't a flaw. It was never meant to be a camera tool.

Why offloading a camera card is a different job

A proper offload is more than copying files. On set it means: recognize what the card is, copy it safely to one or more destinations, verify it with a manifest the post house can trust, and lay it out so it makes sense weeks later. Specifically:

Detect the card by content. Copsy reads the card's structure and recognizes the source (Sony / ARRI / RED / Blackmagic / Canon / drone / audio). CCC just sees files.
ASC-MHL media manifests. Copsy writes ASC-MHL, the media-industry checksum manifest that travels with the footage and that post and delivery pipelines expect. CCC verifies for disk backup, but doesn't produce a media manifest.
Organize by shoot date and source. Copsy lays footage out by date and camera so it's navigable later. CCC mirrors whatever folder structure was on the card.
Drive + cloud in parallel. Copsy can copy to an external drive and to Google Drive or Dropbox in the same offload (one cloud destination at a time). CCC backs up to disks/volumes, not cloud media destinations.

Copsy vs Carbon Copy Cloner — honest comparison

Feature	Copsy	Carbon Copy Cloner
Price	FREE	~$49.99 PAID
Camera-card auto-detect by content (Sony/ARRI/RED/BMD/Canon/drone/audio)	✓	—
ASC-MHL media verification	✓ built-in	— (disk checksum verify only)
Organize footage by date / source	✓	—
Copy to a drive AND cloud (Drive/Dropbox) in parallel	✓	—
Disk / volume clone & scheduled backup	—	✓
Bootable clone	—	✓
Platform	macOS 13+	macOS

Pricing and features change. The figures above were last verified in June 2026. Check each vendor's site for current details.

Who should use which

Use Copsy if you…

Offload SD / CFexpress / camera / drone / audio cards on a Mac and want it verified with ASC-MHL, not only copied across.
Want the card auto-detected by content and footage organized by date and source.
Want a drive copy and a Google Drive or Dropbox copy from the same offload.
Don't want to pay for the core "copy a card safely" workflow.

Use Carbon Copy Cloner if you…

Need to back up or clone a whole disk or volume, including bootable clones of your Mac.
Want scheduled, incremental backups of your system or working drives.
Need disk-level checksum verification for general backups, not camera media manifests.

These two do different jobs. A lot of DITs and editors run CCC for their machine and drive backups and use Copsy for the on-set card offload. Pick the one that matches the job in front of you (or use both).

A quick note on what Copsy doesn't do

To keep this honest: Copsy is macOS-only (no Windows), it doesn't do LTO / LTFS archiving, it has no NLE panel integrations (Premiere/Resolve), and it copies to one cloud destination at a time (Google Drive or Dropbox). It also doesn't make disk clones or bootable backups. That's exactly the territory where Carbon Copy Cloner is the right tool.

How Copsy offloads a card

Plug in the card. Copsy detects it by content and recognizes the camera/source.
Pick destinations. An external drive, plus optionally Google Drive or Dropbox, copied in parallel.
Walk away. Copsy copies, organizes by date and source, and verifies every file with ASC-MHL checksums.
Get pinged. A Telegram message tells you it finished and verified, nothing lost.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use Carbon Copy Cloner to offload camera footage?

You can use it to copy a card's files to a drive, and Carbon Copy Cloner does verify what it copies. But it's built to clone disks and volumes, not to offload camera cards. It doesn't detect a card by content, doesn't recognize the camera or source, doesn't write ASC-MHL media manifests, and doesn't organize footage by shoot date and source. For an on-set offload workflow, a camera-aware tool like Copsy fits better.

What does Copsy do that Carbon Copy Cloner does not?

Copsy auto-detects camera cards by their content (Sony, ARRI, RED, Blackmagic, Canon, drones, audio recorders), copies to an external drive and optionally to Google Drive or Dropbox in parallel, writes ASC-MHL media manifests, organizes footage by date and source, and pings you on Telegram when it's done. Carbon Copy Cloner is a general disk-clone and scheduled-backup tool and does none of those camera-specific steps.

Does Carbon Copy Cloner verify copies?

Yes. Carbon Copy Cloner has built-in checksum verification and can re-read copied data to confirm it matches the source, which is one reason it's a respected backup tool. The difference is that Copsy verifies with ASC-MHL, the media-industry manifest standard that travels with the footage, whereas Carbon Copy Cloner's verification is for general disk backups, not camera media manifests.

Which should I use — Copsy or Carbon Copy Cloner?

Use Carbon Copy Cloner for system and disk backups, bootable clones, and scheduled volume backups. That's what it's best at. Use Copsy for offloading footage off camera cards: detecting the card, verifying with ASC-MHL, organizing by shoot date and source, and copying to a drive plus the cloud in parallel. Many people happily use both for different jobs.

Is Copsy free?

Yes, Copsy is free to download and use today, with no card limit and no account required. It runs on macOS 13 or later. Carbon Copy Cloner is a paid app at around $49.99.

Offload your next card for free

Copsy — a free Mac camera-offload app. Verified copies to a drive and the cloud, nothing lost.

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