Canon EOS Rebel T3i / 600D For Dummies

Author:Julie Adair King
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Published: 2011-05-04T16:00:00+00:00

Figure 6-3: Adobe Photoshop is geared toward pros and serious photo-editing enthusiasts.

Not sure which tool you need, if any? Good news: You can download 30-day free trials of all these programs from the manufacturers’ websites.

Sending Pictures to the Computer

Whatever photo software you choose, you can take the following approaches to downloading images to your computer:

Connect the camera to the computer via a USB cable. The USB cable you need is supplied in the camera box.

Use a memory card reader. With a card reader, you simply pop the memory card out of your camera and into the card reader instead of hooking the camera to the computer. Many computers and printers now have card readers, and you also can buy standalone readers for under $30. Note: If you use the new SDHC (Secure Digital High-Capacity) or SDXC (Secure Digital Extended-Capacity) cards, the reader must specifically support that type.

Invest in Eye-Fi memory cards and transfer images via a wireless network. You can find out more about these special memory cards, and how to set up the card to connect with your computer, at the manufacturer’s website, www.eye.fi. Your computer must be connected to a wireless network for the transfer technology to work.

For most people, I recommend a card reader. Sending pictures directly from the camera, whether via cable or wirelessly, requires that the camera be turned on during the entire download process, wasting battery power. Additionally, not all devices can use Eye-Fi memory cards, meaning that you’re spending money on cards that may have limited use beyond serving as storage on your camera. Card readers, on the other hand, can accept cards from any device that uses SD cards, which are fast becoming the standard storage medium for portable devices.

That said, I include information about cable transfer in the next section in case you don’t have a card reader. To use a card reader, skip ahead to “Starting the transfer process,” in this chapter.

Connecting your camera and computer

You need to follow a specific set of steps when connecting the camera to your computer. Otherwise, you can damage the camera or the memory card. Also note that for the process to work smoothly, Canon suggests that your computer run one of the following operating systems:

Windows 7, Vista, or XP with Service Pack 3

Mac OS X 10.5 and higher

If you use another OS (operating system), check the support pages on the Canon website (www.canon.com) for the latest news about updates to system compatibility. You can always simply transfer images with a card reader, too.

With that preamble out of the way, these steps show you how to get your camera to talk to your computer:

1. Assess the level of the camera battery and recharge it if it’s low.

Running out of battery power during the transfer process can cause problems, including lost picture data.

Alternatively, if you have an AC adapter, use it to power the camera during picture transfers.

2. If your computer isn’t already on, turn it on and give it time to finish its normal startup routine.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.