Transferring Images to the PC

With my D90, to transfer images to my PC's hard drive, I remove the SD Card, put it in the computer's card reader, and just copy the files using Windows file management. Sometimes I see people asking about transferring from the camera to the PC. I know most digital cameras come with software to allow you to interface the camera to the PC. But this has always seemed like overkill if one can just copy directly from the card.

Am I missing something? Do some cameras have built-in storage with no card (which would necesitate hooking the camera up.) Is there some advantage to going through the camera rather than a card reader?

Just some general wondering. Thanks!

Michael

I use software (Lightroom) that catalogs the files so I use it to make the transfer, put them in a folder named the 'current date', and catalog them all in one click. - TF

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Originally Posted by OldClicker

I use software (Lightroom) that catalogs the files so I use it to make the transfer, put them in a folder named the 'current date', and catalog them all in one click. - TF

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I don't use Lightroom (did try the month trial several months ago). Can you do that using the card in a reader as well or does the software do some kind of interfacing to the camera beyond it just being a storage device?

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Originally Posted by realart

I don't use Lightroom (did try the month trial several months ago). Can you do that using the card in a reader as well or does the software do some kind of interfacing to the camera beyond it just being a storage device?

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You can do it either from the camera or a reader. They both just look like another drive. - TF

Some P&S cameras do have some built in memory so you would need to connect the camera to the computer to transfer those images. The cameras I have seen like that have a very small storage space so shooting without a memory card is only going to get you a few photos. I would think the percentage of people who don't use a memory card would be almost zero.

If you don't have a card reader, either built into your computer or an external one, there isn't any other way to get your images to the computer other than connecting the camera.

Most people I know use a card reader for one simple reason. Speed. Even the slow card readers are faster than using the camera to copy your images.

I use the program that came with my camera to copy my images to my PC. Once I put the card in the reader, the computer detects it and prompts me with the option to download the image. I hit OK and it starts automatically. The reason I use the program is because it's fast, easy, and it puts all of the images in folders based on the date the images were taken.

Personally, I copy picture files to a folder on the PC, and then run a simple command line program I wrote which reads the date/time from each file, creates folders for each date, moves the pictures to the appropriate folder, and renames them to the time of day (hh-mm-ss) they were taken.

I use a card reader because in one of the forums I watch (can't remember which one), I read an entry from a guy who had his camera's electronics compromised when the computer failed during an attempt to download from the camera. Card reader forever.

Cheers,

WesternGuy

You also save on camera battery and wear and tear on the camera itself, Jeff

I use a card reader because frankly, most camera drivers are either crap or the OS updates break them. You can't really break a USB connection that easily.

Thanks for your feedback chaps, I'm going to do a test to see whether my connection speed is up to scratch and have another go. Let you know how I get on.:)

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Originally Posted by realart

With my D90, to transfer images to my PC's hard drive, I remove the SD Card, put it in the computer's card reader, and just copy the files using Windows file management. Sometimes I see people asking about transferring from the camera to the PC. I know most digital cameras come with software to allow you to interface the camera to the PC. But this has always seemed like overkill if one can just copy directly from the card.

Am I missing something? Do some cameras have built-in storage with no card (which would necesitate hooking the camera up.) Is there some advantage to going through the camera rather than a card reader?

Just some general wondering. Thanks!

Michael

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If you go into the menu you will see a menu item about USB, and is you select the memory option and plug in the USB cable the camera looks like a memory card to the computer. At least that is what my D-70 does. Now my old Olympus I needed to load a USB driver.