file copying from CF card

[Volatile]

How do you guys copy your photos from the CF card to your HD? I use windows explorer, and click-n-drag into the appropriate folder. I have an internal card reader on my comp, so it's really easy to pull the card and plug it in.

TIA

[PacAce]

How do you guys copy your photos from the CF card to your HD? I use windows explorer, and click-n-drag into the appropriate folder. I have an internal card reader on my comp, so it's really easy to pull the card and plug it in.

TIA

I guess that's about how most of us here do it, too.

[dtrayers]

I use DownloaderPro from www.breezesys.com.

It'll rename your files, create new folders on the fly, auto-rotate the images, erase the flashcard, and if you have Breezebrowser, it'll open the folder in the viewer. It'll even give the download speed.

Well worth the expense.

[gsmx2]

I will copy the files to my hard drive, then use PaintShop Pro 8.0 do some deleting, renaming, resizing for the Web to a different folder. Then and only then will I use the camera to reformat the card.

And every time I vary from that sequence, I wind up messing up something or another.

gsm x2

[BCdives]

Posted: 24 Feb 2004 19:55 Post subject:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I use DownloaderPro from www.breezesys.com.

It'll rename your files, create new folders on the fly, auto-rotate the images, erase the flashcard, and if you have Breezebrowser, it'll open the folder in the viewer. It'll even give the download speed.



Hey Dave, I'm totally down with DLPro for sure, however I noticed you use it to delete the card also. My question is, does deleting at the software level leave the CF Card exposed to fragments, lost clusters and such, like you would have doing the same with a hardrive for instance. :?: I don't know, so I always do an in camera format.

....did any of that question make any sense ? :roll:

[dtrayers]

I think DLPro is doing a format. I dunno, but both the camera and Windows show an empty card and the camera reports the same available space when the computer erases the card vs. an in-camera format.

I've never had a problem with it.

BTW, you can turn on and off the erase option. I used to erase them myself in-camera, but on several occasions I forgot and wasn't paying close attention. I started using what I thougt was a blank card but discovered it was partially used when I ran out of card space. GRRR. Then I had to go into playback mode and delete the old pics one-by-one.

I never had any picture corrupted in the download process, so now I just erase at the time of download.

[BCdives]

Right on Dave, thanks for that, like you It would be smarter to download and clean all at once or at least once you were sure all you pic's were safe in their target directory. I start giving that a try.

Thanks again,

BC

[chris.bailey]

I will copy the files to my hard drive, then use PaintShop Pro 8.0 do some deleting, renaming, resizing for the Web to a different folder. Then and only then will I use the camera to reformat the card.

And every time I vary from that sequence, I wind up messing up something or another.

gsm x2

I am with you on the copy rather than move. Having lost one CF card full of vaulable pics I burn them to CD straight away too. Thats one reason for using 512Mb cards as that amount fits direct onto an 80min CD.

[Volatile]

Thanks for your inputs. I wanted to make sure I wasn't losing any data doing it that way...

[dn7elson]

Thanks for your inputs. I wanted to make sure I wasn't losing any data doing it that way...

I always drag 'n drop from my CF reader and cannot think of a single reason to do otherwise. With a USB2 CF reader, downloading doesn't get much faster, and if you drag the folder to your HD vs individual files, it also creates the folder in the process.

I always use the Copy drag 'n drop vs. the Move (which actually just copies the files and when completed erases them) because Move is much slower, and it is quicker to erase all or reformat the CF in the camera once I am sure that all has transferred successfully.

[theoldmoose]

I would use just about anything except just a drag 'n drop in Explorer, mainly because Windows' facilities for renaming files and folders enmasse is so dreadful.

The DSC camera format means that cameras can give really cryptic file names (or even the same ones over and over again, as long as they are in different folders) oft times without any indications as to date shot, etc. Some cameras are simply dreadful in that respect.

As a for instance, one camera I have will start numbering folders with 101yymmdd, 102yymmdd, 103yymmdd, etc. by opening a new folder in the 101, 102, 103 sequence for each different day you happen to snap pictures on, and appending the year/month/date. If you reformat the card, it starts over again at 101, ... At least it means that you don't get any duplicate folders that way (as long as you don't shoot more than one cardful on a given day, that is, and as long as you don't mix photos from two different cameras that use the same scheme -- unfortunately, my family has two such cameras, so it can happen). Now, in each folder, this same dumb camera *always* names the files starting with DSC_0001.jpg, DSC_0002.jpg, etc. This can be pretty deadly if you end up copying files from two different folders (or cameras) that have the same filename, and end up overwriting one of the files.

Also, the directories them selves arrange themselves in the Explorer pane in an odd sequence, because the date is encoded in the tail of the name instead of the head:

101031018
102020305
102030201

etc.

So, the folders are out of date sequence, and contain all duplicate file names, as well. Not very easy to work with, and just begging for a disastrous mistake.

So, tell me, what's so great about just 'drag 'n dropping' a mess like this?

Not only do you need a decent downloader program that can rename/resequence portions of filenames and folders on the fly, but you also need to be able apply it 'after the fact' if you already have a mess on your hard drive, like I did. Some downloader programs are so myopic that they will only handle renames during the CF to computer transfer (Canon's comes to mind). Skip those, and find one that will really help you organize your photos.

[dn7elson]

So, the folders are out of date sequence, and contain all duplicate file names, as well. Not very easy to work with, and just begging for a disastrous mistake.

So, tell me, what's so great about just 'drag 'n dropping' a mess like this?

Not only do you need a decent downloader program that can rename/resequence portions of filenames and folders on the fly, but you also need to be able apply it 'after the fact' if you already have a mess on your hard drive, like I did. Some downloader programs are so myopic that they will only handle renames during the CF to computer transfer (Canon's comes to mind). Skip those, and find one that will really help you organize your photos.

Sounds like your system was a mess :(

I actually use PowerDeskPro to drag 'n drop to my system from my CF. It is a much more intelligent version of MS Explorer. It has the ability to copy, sync, etc. folders as well as many enhanced file functions.

I have never had problems with any of the digital cameras that I have owned, from a Kodak 220, to Canon G2 to Canon DRebel. The Canon cameras are quite well behaved when it comes to file naming and keeping consecutive numbering going, UNLESS I intervene and mess it up. I did this once with my G2 just to see what "changing this one setting" would do...it reset the numbering sequence (just like it said) and I had duplicate numbers. I renumbered the files in a snap with ThumbsPlus and that was done. I just deleted (after transferring) all the images, copied the last legitimate file number (from the renumbered set) to the CF and the camera picked up from there without a hickup.

Drag 'n drop works virtually flawlessly from CF via CF reader using a competent file browser or application. There is no loss of date, overwriting of files (unless you tell it to at a prompt) or any other reason not to do this that I have found.

How other than Canon cameras number their files is likely a topic for another forum, but I assumed that since this is a Canon forum, albiet independent, that it was assumed we were discussing same.

[theflyingkiwi]

I too use window explorer, manly because it is simple. my camera is setup to use continuous file naming meaning I just get one file with the name. But even if I reset the numbers again it will not matter for I store the images by date.

If I shoot some photos today I create a dir called 2004_02_28 and then store all images in there. If the day happened to be a trip to the zoo, I would then rename the folder to 2004_02_28 Zoo

Since I only have one camera, and the naming of the file names are continuous I have never had a problem.

I only rename the file if I am going to modify it.