Anyone know how to mount a digital camera as a drive?

[ZildjianKX]

I know in XP digital cameras mount as removable drives, anyone know how to get them to in OS X? Are they suppose to normally, but iPhoto doesn't let them, sort of like iTunes does for the iPod?

I'm trying to run restore software on the camera's compact flash, and I can't do it unless the OS sees it as a drive (and I don't have an external USB card reader).

 

[mkrishnan]

The place where OS X sets the setting that diverts a camera to iPhoto is in Image Capture's preferences (Image Capture is in your utilities folder). You might need to set the "on attach camera" event to "none." Also, it might be that it doesn't show up on your desktop, but it is in the sidebar of a finder window, so open one and try that too.

 

[James Philp]

There are usually settings in the camera. A bit more info would be useful (camera model etc) You can set up what app starts when you plug in the camera as descibed above, but cameras often have P2P (peer-to-peer) or Mass Storage (P2P used for remote capture).
If all else fails, or you hae a cheap camera, you can buy a really cheap memory card reader (USB) and all the cards will be mounted as drives.
Please try to give a little more info, it makes helping you that much easier!

 

[ZildjianKX]

Sorry for the lack of info, I'm a little out of it from work.

I have a Canon Powershot A75. I didn't have much luck with Image Capture letting me mount it, I think I'll try Virtual PC to see if it will see it.

 

[mkrishnan]

Are you trying to do a firmware update? This thread reminded me that I never did the firmware update for my Powershot. At least on my Canon, you *do not* need to mount the flash card to accomplish this. You just plug the camera in with a formatted / empty CF card, run the application in the firmware .sit to put the firmware on the camera, unplug it and turn it on again, and then there will be a firmware update option in the menus. I confirmed with ImageBrowser that it worked correctly. And from the camera, it's obviously not the same OS version as it was....

 

[ZildjianKX]

Are you trying to do a firmware update? This thread reminded me that I never did the firmware update for my Powershot. At least on my Canon, you *do not* need to mount the flash card to accomplish this. You just plug the camera in with a formatted / empty CF card, run the application in the firmware .sit to put the firmware on the camera, unplug it and turn it on again, and then there will be a firmware update option in the menus. I confirmed with ImageBrowser that it worked correctly. And from the camera, it's obviously not the same OS version as it was....

I was just trying to get it to mount so I could run some data recovery software on it to grab some deleted pics. I think we have a compact flash reader at work, I'll use tomorrow with XP and the problem should be solved.

Thanks for your help everyone.

 

[Westside guy]

Most any camera that will mount as a drive on XP *without having to install drivers* should mount as a drive on OS X without any setup. Generally they just look like FAT32 removable storage devices.

 

[mduser63]

It might be worth noting that when I plug my mother's Canon Powershot S40 (or is it A40?) into my Powerbook, iPhoto sees it, but it doesn't mount on the desktop as a removable drive. When I plug my camera (Sony DSC-T1) in, it DOES show up on the desktop as a Memory Stick icon. I haven't changed the settings from the default setup. It could be an issue with Canon cameras in particular. If I were you, I'd just buy a cheap USB card reader.

 

[604macguy]

You can't mount the Memory card for Canon cameras directly as a drive in Mac OSX.

I say you should get a USB CF Card reader and use that instead. First, you will probably notice that using a Card reader that file transfers are much faster. 2nd. The CF card will mount as a drive.

Now, if you are just updating your firmware because you have the older version and need to update to Version 1.0.1.0, the the following link might be helpful:

http://web.canon.jp/Imaging/psa75/firmware-e.htmlhttp://web.canon.jp/Imaging/psa75/firmware-e.html

It comes with a app to upload the firmware onto the CF card without a card reader.

Hope this helps.