Transferring pics onto computer.

[Homer]

Hey

I was wondering what software people are using to transfer their pics onto their computer...

I have a Mac, and I always transfer my images by inserting the memory card into the Macbook and ripping them off that way, rather than a usb lead from the camera. The software I am planning on learning and using to touch up my pics is Photoshop Elements 10. In the past I always used iPhoto. A couple weeks ago I installed the software that came with the camera, EOS Utility, Digital Photo Professional etc (Canon software).

I have a NAS which I have a heap of stuff backed up on. I need to be able to easily back up my photos onto it.

Can anyone suggest the best way to do this?

And a little off-topic, but I was reading the instruction book that came with my camera the other day, and it talks about storing data about where there is dust on the sensor. I am guessing that this will only work if I use the Canon software to extract the pics off the memory card... Is this a feature that others use themselves?

Thanks

[Warbler]

I'll answer the last question first. Yes the "Dust Delete" data only works in the Canon Digital Photo Professional software.

Going back to the download question, I'd be wary of using a some programs to download your images. I just saw a mate of mine who is a complete novice with computers. He downloaded his images from his cards using some in-built windows program and it renumbered/renamed his files as it was doing so. End result? He overwrote his images from his walk across Hadrian's Wall. It's a long way back to get some more. Any program you use, you want it to only copy the images, NOT change them in any way.

Someone with Mac experience might help you here.

Cheers,
Tim

[ricktas]

There are many ways to backup to a NAS. Often it would have arrived with some software that lets you setup an automatic backup system to your NAS. Do you know how many HDD are inside your NAS, and thus what RAID option it is using? I have my NAS setup to watch my photo import drive and as soon as it 'sees' new photos being imported from my camera, it starts grabbing them and backing them up. I run a 5 drive NAS box, effectively, if 2 HDD fail in the NAS, I can hot swap them and it should automatically rebuild itself (my data).

As for copying your files from camera, each to their own. There is no correct way, and no bad way, do whatever works for you. Plug camera into computer, put card into card reader etc. really just personal choice. I have a USB3 card reader and use that for all my imports (via Lightroom).

As said above, the dust off reference image generally works with the manufacturs software only.

[Homer]

Thanks for the help

Do people here use the Dust Delete function?

[ricktas]

Thanks for the help

Do people here use the Dust Delete function?

I have never used it. I tend to clone the occasional spot out in photoshop, or if my sensor starts to get grubby, clean it.

[Mark L]

Do people here use the Dust Delete function?

I reckon if you need to use this, you need to get the sensor cleaned.

Anyway, I used EOS Utility to set up a one click option. Insert card to laptop (it's all I have ), one click, photos download and open in Canons ZoomBrowser. Do a quick delete of any obvious non-keepers. The files can be edited with whatever later.

[Homer]

Thanks for the comments guys. I bought the camera a couple years ago and have never cleaned the sensor(manually that is). Obviously I have never used the dust delete function. My pics always seem to be clear, and I have always been very careful when changing lens, and they haven't been changed often so I suppose there hasn't been a great chance of the sensor getting dirty.

I did notice something that might have nothing to do with the sensor.... My daughters have the same camera, the D600. One of them has the nifty fifty, as I do. The other day I took a photo of the same thing with each camera set to auto, but only my camera popped up the flash. My thought was that the 600D is just a better camera and therefore didn't need any extra light, but now I've been thinking.... if I have never cleaned my sensor, should I?

Anyway, I used EOS Utility to set up a one click option. Insert card to laptop (it's all I have ), one click, photos download and open in Canons ZoomBrowser. Do a quick delete of any obvious non-keepers. The files can be edited with whatever later.

I think this is my problem. I have never deleted a pic; I have every photo that I have taken for the last few years. Maybe I should do as above; it does sound like a good way to do things

[rafikicat]

I would never claim to be a technical person, but I have seen/heard of so many instances where the card is taken out of the camera to transer images, and due to an oversight not put back before the camera is taken off somewhere. So, I'd suggest either use a cable, or remember to put the card back immediately.

[MissionMan]

If you're currently using iPhoto, I suggest you upgrade to Aperture which allows you to manage files on external drives.

There is a function called relocate master which allows you to relocate the files to any drive.

The way I currently have my mac configured, I have two externals connected via firewire. One is a drive I use for photos and other files. The second is used for time machine which backs up both the external and my current machine.

On the issue of dust removal, as someone else mentioned, just use the clone function. Its available in both iPhoto and Aperture so you won't need an external package for this.

On the issue of cards, I take mine out and replace it immediately with an empty card. Obviously it helps if you have multiple cards.

[Homer]

Thanks for the comments guys

I don't want to forget the memory card after import, so using a cable is a good idea!

Missionman: I am going to look into your comments. I can't decide what I should do.... Unfortunately I can't use my NAS as a time machine backup for some reason, which really does throw a bit of a spanner in the works. I do have a Windows 7 machine sitting right beside the NAS, which might be easier to manage as a web server and for the machine to do all my importing, and then I just access the actual files which would be on the NAS, using Aperture. mmmm lots of stuff to think about. Another thing Missionman, do you then use Aperture for editing, or something else?

[MissionMan]

There are a couple of small hacks to enable non-supported NAS's for time machine although it should now be possible in Mountain Lion (where it wasn't possible with Lion without a hack). How do you have it configured? Is it available via wifi or just via the normal network? You also will need to create a volume on the NAS specifically for the Time Machine as it reformats the drive. Let me know the config and I'll try get a solution for you (I write freelance for a Mac magazine). As a last resort, you could use something like carbon copy cloner to make a copy of your machine and then save incremental changes but I'd rather go the Time Machine route if you can because you can restore your machine a little easier if you have hard drive failure.

I use Aperture for editing but I use a mix of products with it depending on the requirements. Its actually pretty capable as far as editing goes (similar to Lightroom). There are a number of good plugins for Aperture from Nik software (HDR, Noise Reduction etc). Aperture and iPhoto also allow editing externally so you can right click and say you want to edit with an external editor like Photoshop CS5. Functions like clone are available directly from Aperture without having to edit in Elements.

[Homer]

Thanks heaps for your help! You sure know your stuff!!

I seem to be still running Lion, so looks like an OS upgrade is due

This is what I have, and how it is set up...
* The NAS is a Netgear Readynas Duo V1
* It has two drives in it, and I'm not sure what the RAID is called, but all data goes on one drive, and the other is a mirror.
* It is hard wired to one of my routers. As it is connected to my home network, all devices can connect and stream, whether they are hardwired or wirelessly connected. I'm pretty sure that bit is usually pretty universal, but thought I should mention it anyways... And for this to happen, it has its own media server as part of its system, so it can feed stuff to TV's, etc.
Because it is version one, it doesn't have the processing power to stream over the Internet. I can access files using my mobile phone etc from anywhere, but I can only download, not stream. This bit probably isn't important.
I do have a Windows laptop that sits right beside the NAS. It is almost always turned on(thanks to the kids!) and it is a pretty recent lappy, probably 2years old maybe with a bluray burner, it's a Toshiba Quosmio. I was thinking about setting it up as a proper media server so I could do the streaming thing over the internet that the NAS can't so, where the Laptop would first get the data from the NAS and then send it out.
* I currently import all picture files from my camera using my Macbook Pro, I never delete any photos, and I have never stuck with one import program, but I would like to. After importing, I then grab the actual folder from the memory card and copy it to my NAS.

So that is pretty much how things are done now.

I was thinking, that if I start putting the laptop to more use, I could use it as the device I use to import photos which would be saved on the , and then when I do editing, I have the Macbook access those files.... thoughts?

Aperture is now on my list of software I need to purchase!

[MissionMan]

Here is a video I put together for someone else a little while back about using Aperture and Time Machine. It may help you although it probably has more than you need to know. Excuse my lack of professional editing skills. The system was very slow because it was reindexing masters (I had just restored my backups to a new drive - initially I thought it was the time machine backing up but it turns out it was reindexing the library) so ignore that, its not representative of the actual speed.

The way I have it structured, I import into Aperture and store in the library on the machine until I have finished editing the pictures completely. Once I have finished and no longer need immediate access to the original files (you still have access to lower res versions for viewing), I relocate them to an external. I do the relocations once every couple of weeks and it doesn't take that long.

Let me know whether the time machine works better after the upgrade.



Let me know if it see's the drive after the upgrade. You may have to create a separate partition you can use for the time machine backup as it needs to reformat the drive to its own OS format.

[Homer]

Thanks Missionman for your posts :-)

I have been really busy with stuff, so I haven't put a lot of effort into sorting this out recently.... Things are calming down now so I will hopefully have a little more time to focus on taking photos!

So this is where I am at........
I went crazy(better to ask for forgiveness than for permission, right? My wife doesn't understand lol and finally having kids in highschool is paying off lol) and now have the following software on my mac:
*Photoshop Elements
*Lightroom 4
*Iphoto
*Aperture
*CS6

So far I have liked how Lightroom catalogs stuff, but because I used Elements first, it's probably why I like it the most :-) It helps to have the walkthrough editing..

I have tried a couple ways of doing things, but none have worked reliably. I have come to the conclusion though that it is not due to any of the programs, but rather the fact that my original files are stored on the NAS, which while great as a back up, doesn't seem to work so well when I am using heaps of files to feed a catalog. I did get it to work as part of time machine but in the end that isn't going to work as time machine just creates a copy which would mean that the file has to be originally stored on my laptop, and that was what I was trying to avoid due to space...

So what I think I might try, is to purchase a one or 2 TB portable drive which would only contain picture files, and when ever I wish to play around with the photos, I just plug it in...... I am assuming that this will work better than the NAS, but if I am wrong, please tell :-)

Now to the workflow....

At this stage I plan to do this:
*Copy all my photo files on to the portable drive
*Use Aperture to create my one and only catalog, and also use Aperture for photo importing from camera
*Edit individual photos by selecting CS6 or Elements as a plugin through Aperture.

Now, how does all that sound? Will this work? Any better suggestions?

And another thing, how does batch processing work for RAW files? Can Aperture do this? I am finding that I am processing a RAW file individually, and one photo will end up a little different to the next... And how will doing all this affect the original files on the portable drive?

I am planning on doing a heap of reading, and in future I might be able to sort some of these questions out myself, but I am a little short of time right now... In the meantime I really appreciate the ability to ask questions here. So thanks heaps :-)

[Cocoajam]

Just a note to those downloading straight to their computers via cabling..... Always we aware that you are plugging your computer directly into your camera - it is the same as plugging in a USB device - there is always a risk of corrupting the software (small, I know, but there all the same). I would always, by preference, use a card-reader and copy from there and then put the card straight back in the camera, or always check your camera before you leave the house (I know, I have been caught out before)!

[MissionMan]

Thanks Missionman for your posts :-)

I have been really busy with stuff, so I haven't put a lot of effort into sorting this out recently.... Things are calming down now so I will hopefully have a little more time to focus on taking photos!

So this is where I am at........
I went crazy(better to ask for forgiveness than for permission, right? My wife doesn't understand lol and finally having kids in highschool is paying off lol) and now have the following software on my mac:
*Photoshop Elements
*Lightroom 4
*Iphoto
*Aperture
*CS6

So far I have liked how Lightroom catalogs stuff, but because I used Elements first, it's probably why I like it the most :-) It helps to have the walkthrough editing..

I have tried a couple ways of doing things, but none have worked reliably. I have come to the conclusion though that it is not due to any of the programs, but rather the fact that my original files are stored on the NAS, which while great as a back up, doesn't seem to work so well when I am using heaps of files to feed a catalog. I did get it to work as part of time machine but in the end that isn't going to work as time machine just creates a copy which would mean that the file has to be originally stored on my laptop, and that was what I was trying to avoid due to space...

So what I think I might try, is to purchase a one or 2 TB portable drive which would only contain picture files, and when ever I wish to play around with the photos, I just plug it in...... I am assuming that this will work better than the NAS, but if I am wrong, please tell :-)

Now to the workflow....

At this stage I plan to do this:
*Copy all my photo files on to the portable drive
*Use Aperture to create my one and only catalog, and also use Aperture for photo importing from camera
*Edit individual photos by selecting CS6 or Elements as a plugin through Aperture.

Now, how does all that sound? Will this work? Any better suggestions?

And another thing, how does batch processing work for RAW files? Can Aperture do this? I am finding that I am processing a RAW file individually, and one photo will end up a little different to the next... And how will doing all this affect the original files on the portable drive?

I am planning on doing a heap of reading, and in future I might be able to sort some of these questions out myself, but I am a little short of time right now... In the meantime I really appreciate the ability to ask questions here. So thanks heaps :-)

Only thing I'd say is you don't have to copy your files to the external on day 1. Sometimes its quicker and easier doing the editing locally and then relocating the files afterwards.

Aperture can do batch processing with raw. You just do the editing on one file and then CMD SHIFT C to copy. It then comes up with a window asking you what you want to stamp onto the other photos so if you add some contrast, sharpening, etc and you want to apply to all, you can selectively apply the things you want to all the pictures and avoid applying things you don't want like cropping or lightening of shadows. You can delete values as well. I.e. it groups the values by raw tuning, adjustments and ratings but the sub items can be deleting so you don't stamp them on to all the images.

[aalex]

Here is a video I put together for someone else a little while back about using Aperture and Time Machine. It may help you although it probably has more than you need to know. Excuse my lack of professional editing skills. The system was very slow because it was reindexing masters (I had just restored my backups to a new drive - initially I thought it was the time machine backing up but it turns out it was reindexing the library) so ignore that, its not representative of the actual speed.

The way I have it structured, I import into Aperture and store in the library on the machine until I have finished editing the pictures completely. Once I have finished and no longer need immediate access to the original files (you still have access to lower res versions for viewing), I relocate them to an external. I do the relocations once every couple of weeks and it doesn't take that long.

Let me know whether the time machine works better after the upgrade.



Let me know if it see's the drive after the upgrade. You may have to create a separate partition you can use for the time machine backup as it needs to reformat the drive to its own OS format.

hi missionman just out of curiosity are you a sonographer? i saw some photos of NT scan in the video above. cheers

[MissionMan]

hi missionman just out of curiosity are you a sonographer? i saw some photos of NT scan in the video above. cheers

Nah, those are of my daughter who is due in 30 Jan 2013.

[ricktas]

Nah, those are of my daughter who is due in 30 Jan 2013.

Not long now, congratulations on the impending addition to the family.