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Digital Camera
Resources
Web Site Design for
Photographers |
| Digital Photography Tips |
Never connect your camera to the
computer
Read this recent forum post in the box below
The biggest and most time wasteful problem facing the digital camera
user is the connection between the camera and the computer. If you've been
following my forum posts, you've read that I recommend NOT connecting
the camera to the computer and NOT installing software with the camera
manufacturers name on it. People have sometimes wasted days trying to
figure out how to transfer their images. My recommendation is to get a USB
card reader (cost about $30) and transfer the images through
Windows Explorer. Another advantage not usually mentioned, is that the
camera is powered by it's rechargeable battery and the transferring of
images can run down that battery turning the camera off during transfer
and cause you to loose images. Are your images worth the cost of a $30
card reader? |
K.M.
Hewlett Packard digital camera software is installed and was operating
correctly using USB cable to camera connection to download. I added
the Olympus software plus the SanDisk drive (connects using USB port)
software for the second camera. Images were able to be transferred
from the Olympus camera. Now comes the problem. The computer is no
longer able to download pictures from the HP camera. I am not using
the HP compact flash in the SanDisk. I am trying to directly download
from the camera. Here are the problems: 1. When I open up the camera
to activate download of the pictures the HP software partially opens
up and the computer freezes with the hour glass on the curser. 2. When
I hit CTL+ALT+DEL it says the Msgsrv32 is not responding. 3. I then
hit end task. 4. The program then fully opens up but when I try to
download the camera I get the error message "the camera does not
contain any files". This is what I've done to try to correct this
problem without success. I have verified the flash card contains
images. Reformated the card and took new pictures, still won't work.
Uninstalled the HP software, Olympus and SanDisk software, then
reinstalled only the HP software. The same errors still exist. Does
anyone have experience with this type of mess up? Or know where I can
go for help?
Larry
First of all, I recommend never installing software with the camera
manufacturers name on it. Second, I recommend not connecting your
camera directly to the computer to transfer the images but you can
(read the end of this paragraph). This can cause a few problems, least
of which is that you'll waste days trying to get it working and your
time is much too valuable. Pick up a USB card reader for about $30 and
use that to transfer the images using Windows Explorer. If your
batteries should run down during transfer, you stand a chance of
loosing all your images. Then use a thumbnail viewing program like
ACDSee to sort through the images. It lets you see thumbnails and then
enlarged images when clicking on them. If you're using different
cameras with different types of media cards, get one of the card
readers that support multiple kinds of cards. After confirming that
your images have transferred properly, delete or reformat the existing
images on the card IN THE CAMERA, never through the computer.
Computers use a different FAT system than the cameras do and you could
cause the card not to work until reformatting again in the camera. If
you do want to connect directly to the computer, DO NOT install the
software. The newer operating systems will recognize the camera as a
hard drive and let you transfer the images (through Windows Explorer)
without extra unnecessary software. I’ve used eight different digital
cameras in the past year and never had a problem transferring the
images through a card reader, and have never installed camera
manufacturers software.
K.M.
Larry, I hope your explanation helps others with this problem. You are
right on the money! Your way took a trip to Circuit City for the USB
dual card reader and about 2 minutes to install the driver and follow
your instructions. This is one very, very happy occasion. To not
install manufacturers software would have never been a consideration.
Thank you for your detailed explanation. I am using the ACDSee
thumbnails to sort through the images and reformatting existing images
on the card in the cameras. Off with an operational system and
thrilled! |
|
Recover lost images
If you've lost your images on your memory card, try
PhotoRescue to recover them. It's worked for
us. Free to test, and if it sees thumbnails, paying the $29 registration
fee will enable you to capture and save them. There's now a Mac OSX
version. |
When asked, my top three tips are:
1 - Always archive the original out of camera files.
2 - Never work on a Jpeg. Always convert it into an uncompressed format
before starting so you don’t make the mistake of overwriting the original
or lessen the quality by the continual saving in a compressed form.
3 - Don’t be afraid to experiment. Digital can offer you more creative
freedom at less cost than film ever did. |
Things to
think about
Think about what the camera is doing when you
point it at a subject. Think about how the light is hitting the subject. What's
attracting you to that subject? Photography, whether with film, or
digital, is not a brainless process. There are always decisions that can
be made to create your personal vision or style. In creating an efficient
workflow, concentrate on taking the variables out of the equation. That's
really the key to successful photography. Luck favors the person who is
prepared. Always shoot with the camera supported. I just shot over
1800 pictures with two digital cameras on a three week trip and only 3
were not sharp. The LCD screen on
digital cameras is both a blessing and a curse. If used, and you should be
using it all the time for accurate composition and exposure verification,
it forces you to hold the camera away from your body in an unsupported
position to see it clearly and forces you to create pictures that aren't
sharp. Holding your camera with two hands and resting it against your eye
is putting three directional forces into play to steady the camera. What I
recommend is using an LCD magnifying hood like the
Xtend-a-View, for three reasons. It
enables you to make accurate composition and exposure judgments. It allows
you to shoot in bright sunlight. And it lets you hold your digital camera
like a 35mm camera and rest it against your eye to steady it while
composing and shooting. |
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Digital Camera
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