Forgot Password
Pentax Camera Forums Home
 

Reply
Show Printable Version Search this Thread
09-24-2011, 09:28 PM   #1
Veteran Member
reivax's Avatar

Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: California
Posts: 826
How Do You Transfer Pictures To Your Computer?

I know there are plenty of ways to do this, but I was wondering what you guys would recommend. I've tried using Picasa, the Windows Utility, and lately, I've just been opening the folder on my camera (when you go to My Computer) and just dragging the pictures out.

Is there any difference in image quality that is affected by the method you use? Or is it just a matter of preference?

I'd mainly like a better way to be able to do batch transfers and being able to name the images.

Thanks in advance.

09-24-2011, 10:25 PM   #2
Site Supporter
Site Supporter
RobA_Oz's Avatar

Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Tasmania, Australia
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 8,182
I use Adobe CS3, which has Photo Downloader to load the photos from your camera or card, and which will organise and rename them as you like (and turn PEFs into DNGs, if you want). Mind you, it comes at a price, although I was lucky enough to get an academic version at the time I bought it, but it does have other benefits, like Camera RAW, Adobe Acrobat Professional etc, not to mention Photoshop.

However, friends of mine use a similar utility in Adobe Lightroom, which costs a lot less, and provides similar facilities, though not to the extent of Photoshop.
09-24-2011, 10:27 PM   #3
Veteran Member




Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Canberra
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 739
QuoteOriginally posted by reivax Quote
Is there any difference in image quality that is affected by the method you use? Or is it just a matter of preference?
No - data is data is data - as long as you aren't transforming it then its the same...
09-24-2011, 10:33 PM   #4
hcc
Pentaxian
hcc's Avatar

Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 3,999
QuoteOriginally posted by reivax Quote
Is there any difference in image quality that is affected by the method you use? Or is it just a matter of preference?.
There is absolutely no difference whether you transfer the files using cable or card reader, using Windows or a photo software like PDCU as long as you apply no PP.

Personally I copy my files wth Windows Explorer to the relevant directory and later PP the files.

To rename files, i use XnView (a freeware) after I PP the files.

Hope that the comment will help.

09-24-2011, 10:37 PM   #5
Veteran Member




Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Flyover America
Posts: 4,469
Just drag and drop using Windows Explorer
09-24-2011, 11:55 PM   #6
Veteran Member
altopiet's Avatar

Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: The Gem of the Karoo, South Africa
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 2,307
I also tried Picasa, but found this Free for Home Users FastStone Image Viewer, FastStone Image Viewer - Powerful and Intuitive Photo Viewer, Editor and Batch Converter. What I like is the option to compare images side by side, and also overall ease of use.
09-25-2011, 12:02 AM   #7
Veteran Member
maltfalc's Avatar

Join Date: May 2010
Location: Winnipeg
Photos: Albums
Posts: 396
lightroom auto-import

09-25-2011, 12:05 AM   #8
Veteran Member




Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Fife, Scotland
Posts: 835
I plug the camera in using it's USB cable and Adobe Bridge does the transfer, and also erases the images from the card.
09-25-2011, 02:20 AM   #9
Veteran Member
RioRico's Avatar

Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Limbo, California
Posts: 11,263
I use various digital cameras with different mem.card formats. At home, I have a multi-format reader plugged into my photo-processing system. On the road, I use a USB cable or a small card reader -- and fewer cameras! I wrote a script to MOVE pictures from each card to its appropriate target folder. The script renames files to indicate their source camera and to handle numeric roll-over.
09-25-2011, 02:54 AM   #10
Veteran Member
bluespearbone's Avatar

Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Derbyshire, United Kingdom
Posts: 325
QuoteOriginally posted by adr1an Quote
No - data is data is data - as long as you aren't transforming it then its the same...
QuoteOriginally posted by RioRico Quote
I use various digital cameras with different mem.card formats. At home, I have a multi-format reader plugged into my photo-processing system. On the road, I use a USB cable or a small card reader -- and fewer cameras! I wrote a script to MOVE pictures from each card to its appropriate target folder. The script renames files to indicate their source camera and to handle numeric roll-over.
Have nothing to add other than it sounds like you've got it covered already - other than having preview/selection options, which freeware may provide.
09-25-2011, 04:03 AM   #11
Veteran Member
RioRico's Avatar

Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Limbo, California
Posts: 11,263
QuoteOriginally posted by bluespearbone Quote
Have nothing to add other than it sounds like you've got it covered already - other than having preview/selection options, which freeware may provide.
Sorry, if I'm moving hundreds of picture files from various cameras, I'll not want to preview/select them during the move. Much easier to hit DEL in the image browser. YMMV.
09-25-2011, 05:20 AM   #12
Veteran Member




Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Missouri
Posts: 534
I have four cameras and don't like using a card reader, because it is easy to get confused about which card goes with which model, so I keep everything simple and direct. I attach the camera to the computer with the UBS cable (same cable works for all). With the Browser, I run through them and do an initial edit, deleting them directly from the card. I'm pretty picky about what I keep to process, so I just select the keepers (usually with the "select all" command) and copy them to My Documents or My Pictures. I never have to deal with "hundreds" of files, because I always shoot with a purpose and try to get it right (or as close as possible) at time of capture. If anything needs "fixing in Photoshop," my fix is the trash. Even technically correct images often get trashed for compositional or other reasons, and if I have two acceptable files of the same scene, I'll blow them both up to 100 or 200 percent to choose between them. Not sure, but I probably only keep 10- to 20 percent of what I shoot. The biggest part of being a good writer or photographer is being a good editor. I don't move them from the card, because I use the card as another form of backup, but simply copy them to my computer. I find PCU4 handy and quick for all this, and even though the majority of my processing and coversions are done with PCU4, I don't like to have the camera attached durng PP, so I unhook the camera (to save on battery use) right after the initial edit and then reopen the RAW keeper files on my computer for PP and conversions.
09-25-2011, 03:56 PM   #13
Site Supporter
Site Supporter
rayallen's Avatar

Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Forresters Beach, NSW, Australia.
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 3,013
I take the card out of my K10D and use a Sandisk MicroMate USB card reader and copy the folders to my HDD. I then view the RAW files with FastStone. I also rename the folder to identify its contents. Works well for me.
09-25-2011, 04:06 PM   #14
Ash
Loyal Site Supporter
Loyal Site Supporter
Ash's Avatar

Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Toowoomba, Queensland
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 23,920
Later model Macs have an SD cardslot. No need anymore for an SD card reader.
So I take the card out of my camera and slot it into the computer, which automatically opens Image Capture. It files all images into the Pictures folder and all the movies into the Movies folder. Very streamline.
09-25-2011, 04:30 PM   #15
Veteran Member
mtansley's Avatar

Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Ajax, Ontario, Canada
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 1,139
If I'm using my Pentax K20 then I remove the card and plug it into a little card reader to connect to my MacBook. I then import right into Lightroom.

My Nikon D80 I plug in directly since it uses the same USB cable as a number of my portable harddrives. Same process though.

I never delete the images from the card until I've copied the images in Lightroom to my RAID drive and to a small portable HD.

Even then, I generally put another memory card in the camera and put the used card back into the card storage pocket in the camera case.
Reply

Bookmarks
  • Submit Thread to Facebook Facebook
  • Submit Thread to Twitter Twitter
  • Submit Thread to Digg Digg
Tags - Make this thread easier to find by adding keywords to it!
photography, photoshop, pictures
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Issues viewing pictures from K-r on the computer abam48 Pentax K-r 14 09-21-2014 05:23 AM
Issues viewing pictures from K-r on the computer abam48 Troubleshooting and Beginner Help 2 04-05-2011 03:08 PM
what is the best way to transfer pictures to a computer? shang Pentax DSLR Discussion 16 08-07-2010 06:53 AM
How do you copy/transfer files to computer? RolloR Pentax DSLR Discussion 42 05-31-2010 09:55 AM
pictures to computer AmandaJL Pentax DSLR Discussion 12 01-02-2007 04:39 PM



All times are GMT -7. The time now is 01:15 AM. | See also: NikonForums.com, CanonForums.com part of our network of photo forums!
  • Red (Default)
  • Green
  • Gray
  • Dark
  • Dark Yellow
  • Dark Blue
  • Old Red
  • Old Green
  • Old Gray
  • Dial-Up Style
Hello! It's great to see you back on the forum! Have you considered joining the community?
register
Creating a FREE ACCOUNT takes under a minute, removes ads, and lets you post! [Dismiss]
Top