MacPro Late 2013 cannot detect a camera connected via USB and never could

My MacPro Late 2013 (trash can) running Sierra 10.12.6 never could detect a camera connected via USB. I have had to use a card reader instead, which worked fine. Now I got a camera using an XQD 2.0 card and I don't have a card reader. I have heard that a new version of Sierra fixed the USB connection problem. Is that true? Thanks.

Apparently there is no such update to Sierra and everybody is having similar problems. Somebody suggested Disk Arbitrator. Anybody has experience with Disk Arbitrator?

Hi Jesse, and welcome.

Try this:

Connect your camera directly to a USB port on your Mac.

Then Go to Applications > Image Capture and open it (double click).

With Image Capture open, you should see your camera, shown as a small icon with its name beside it under Devices. Click on that and all your photos should appear as thumbnails.

You can "Select All" of them or just those you want to import.

You are given a choice of destination for the photos (the Photos app is the usual place, but you can choose Pictures or anywhere else you fancy on your Mac).

Then Import.

Please post back success or otherwise.

Ian

Success! Thanks for the help.

You are most welcome.

Image Capture is an underrated or less well recognised app.

Glad it worked for you.

Ian

Image Capture, should also give you the option to “Open “____” application when this camera is plugged in.”

I usually import pictures using Image Capture, then add them to Photos, I just don’t add them to my Photos library.

Thanks, IWT and ferrarr. Sierra has made photo transfer from camera to computer somewhat clunkier. In earlier systems, which I still use in other Macs, the downloader takes over as soon as I USB-plug in the camera or the card, and i can import the photos into a new folder in Pictures with a couple of clicks. Image Capture saves the day here, as I am not ready to spring up for an XQD reader.
Can I bring in one of the older OSX to my MacPro Late 2013?

Jesse, Apple are not very supportive of downgrading OSX versions but yes I believe it can be done. IF you have downloaded that OSX in the past it will be in past Purchases in the app store. The best way to go about this is to first make a full backup just in case. I would suggest a bootable clone using Carbon Copy Cloner. The trial version is free and fully functional.
Download the installer for the OS you want then make a portable bootable installer on a thumb drive using DiskmakerX for your chosen OS. There are different ones for different OS's.
Now you can boot from the USB thumb drive and install to your Macintosh HD. You could also opt to perform a clean install here.
Using the USB drive erase and install your HD. All of your data could then be copied from the clone as required. I did this with my current MBP, got rid of a heap of stuff I didn't need and it's not as difficult as it sounds.
There are some cautions though. Some of the Apps you have on Sierra may not function on earlier OSX. Older versions may be hard to find.
Personally I would stick with the Image Capture option. It really gives you a lot more control over uploads

Thank you for the detailed description of the process.
I see that downgrading the operating system may not be the best option. I do have two other MacPros with pre-Sierra operating systems. I have often uploaded photos into one of them, processed them with Photoshop CS6, then moved them to an external hard drive, where they can be accessed by the newer MacPro and Photoshop CC or CS6. However, when I acquired a Nikon D850 the process became less appealing, as the D850 files cannot be read by CS6; hence, no processing.