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hodgjy

macrumors 6502
Original poster
I have an incredibly dumb question, mainly because I've never done it before on either OS X or Windows:

I want to get a memory card reader for my mac. It's a usb interface. I have sd memory cards. What happens when I insert my cards? Does finder open? Does image capture open? Does it mount it on the desktop as a drive? Basically, what I'm asking is how do my files move from the card to my hard drive?

Thanks,
Jay
 
It will just mount on the desktop or in the finder, as a regular removable hard drive. If the drive has picture's on it, you can also set it for image capture or iPhoto to open automatically.
 
toneloco2881 said:
It will just mount on the desktop or in the finder, as a regular removable hard drive. If the drive has picture's on it, you can also set it for image capture or iPhoto to open automatically.

I want to download pictures from my camera. So you're saying that I can setup image capture to automatically download the pics once my computer recognizes the card?
 
hodgjy said:
I want to download pictures from my camera. So you're saying that I can setup image capture to automatically download the pics once my computer recognizes the card?

Yes, or iPhoto.
 
macapple said:
try the belkin ipod thing
Ø_ø isn't that thing *incredibly* slow, and for ipods only? he can pick up a reasonably fast usb2 card reader for ~$10, perhaps $15-20 if he also wants a writer, as opposed to $40 for the ipod media reader.
 
hodgjy said:
I want to download pictures from my camera. So you're saying that I can setup image capture to automatically download the pics once my computer recognizes the card?

Your camera probably came with a cable that lets you connect it to the computer. If so, there's a free way for you to copy your photos 🙂
 
I can get an 8-1 reader for $12 or a SD reader for $8 from www.crucial.com. I thought I'd get one for two reasons:

1) To save on camera battery juice when I'm out and about taking pictures

2) The camera I'm going to order, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ5 isn't "supported" by OS X (no Panasonic cameras are on the Apple list of supported cameras) and only has limited connection features (from what I've heard). I'm not sure if iPhoto or Image Capture would recognize the camera. The camera doesn't come with any drivers for OS X.

What are your thoughts on #2? Is it complete number two?
 
hodgjy said:
I can get an 8-1 reader for $12 or a SD reader for $8 from www.crucial.com. I thought I'd get one for two reasons:

1) To save on camera battery juice when I'm out and about taking pictures

2) The camera I'm going to order, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ5 isn't "supported" by OS X (no Panasonic cameras are on the Apple list of supported cameras) and only has limited connection features (from what I've heard). I'm not sure if iPhoto or Image Capture would recognize the camera. The camera doesn't come with any drivers for OS X.

What are your thoughts on #2? Is it complete number two?
I would imagine the non-support issue is referring to the bundled software included with the camera not being written for OS X. I did a quick google search and it seems you would have to run the software in classic, meaning they haven't probably updated it since the OS 9 days. As for getting your pictures directly off the camera itself, I've yet to come across a camera that doesn't work with iPhoto or image capture.
 
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