Transfer Pictures from Camera to Computer Without Software

Digital cameras have really freed the inner photographer in us all, enabling us to reach for levels of creativity like never before—and so we take pictures by the hundreds!

Of course, reviewing them with your friends is nearly impossible on that little screen in on the back of the camera, so the only way to really enjoy them (and to get them up on Facebook where they belong!) is to upload them to your computer. We'll show you a few ways to do that.

Steps

Direct Connect

  1. Use a USB cable. Since most digital cameras today feature USB connectivity, this is a very way to go. It's not always effective, though, and depends on the unique combination of your camera, your computer, and the operating system.
  2. Power off your camera. Whenever you connect and disconnect electronic devices, especially sensitive ones such as digital cameras, it's best to turn them off first.
    • Connect one end (usually the mini-plug end) into your camera.
    • Connect the other end (usually the flat-plug end) into your computer's USB port.
  3. Power on your camera. Your camera should appear as a disk on your desktop.

USB Card Reader

  1. Get an SD card reader. These are simply small interface boxes that plug into your USB port.
  2. Plug the card reader into your computer's USB port. It will either connect directly, or have a USB cable on the end.
  3. Insert the SD card from your camera. The card will appear on your desktop as a disk.
    • Drag the image files from the card to the computer, and you're done.

Email

  1. Take your pictures with your smart phone's camera. It may not be a Canon EOS 7D, but it's good enough for rock-n-roll.
  2. Snap a picture. All great photography begins with pressing the shutter!
  3. Create a new email document. Add the photo as an attachment, and as Steely Dan said, "send it off in a letter to yourself."

Use The Cloud

  1. Use your smart phone's camera. Some apps, such as Instagram, automatically upload pictures to a shared space, and are available for you—or anybody else—to download to your computer.
  2. Snap your pic using Instagram. Apply any filters desired.
  3. Share it with the Instagram community, and email it to yourself while you're at it.

iCloud

  1. Sign up for iCloud. This may well be the simplest and fastest way to move your images from camera to computer. With iCloud, your iOS camera's photos are automatically uploaded to the cloud, and distributed to all your iCloud-enabled devices, be they Mac or PC.
  2. Take your picture. When you get home, access your Photo Stream with iPhoto or Aperture, or any other device that recognizes Photo Stream.

Windows XP

  1. Connect your camera or memory card to your computer. This is a simple step. You can usually connect your camera directly to your computer or just take out your memory card and stick it into a card reader that is connected to your computer. The usual connection is via USB.
    • Your camera or memory card to your computer the Windows XP Camera Wizard window should come up when you connect. If it doesn’t then you can bring it up separately by clicking on: Start -> Accessories -> Scanner and Camera Wizard.
  2. Choose pictures. This next step allows you to choose which pictures you want to transfer. Also, the wizard allows you to rotate the pictures and also view picture details like the date when the picture was taken. This way you can determine how you will name your destination folder. Most of the times however, you would just move all the pictures into one folder on your computer without doing anything else…but if you want more information, the wizard gives your this ability.
  3. Choose destination. Now you have two fields you have to fill in.
    • The first one is entitled: Type a name for this group of pictures. The value that you enter here will be the final file name of each picture on your computer. For example: if you know that the pictures you're transferring were taken on June 21, 2012, and they were taken at Idora Park, set the group name to 070612-Idora-Park, and then each file will feature this name plus an index counter: 01,02, etc. This way you can also identify each picture by its name.
    • The second one is entitled: Choose a place to save this group of pictures. This is the place to specify your destination folder for these pictures. So you can click the browse button (the yellow folder) and choose the destination folder on your hard disk.
  4. Wait for the transfer to end. Check your destination folder—all the pics should be there.
  5. Note: this only works with Windows XP.

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