Download & Transfer Images

[mickibob]

I'm planning to download pictures to a Macbook Pro (the newest version) and then transfer them to my iMac where photoshop resides. I'm not sure how to do all that. Several questions, please ...

1. I understand that the new Macbooks no longer use iPhoto so where do the pictures go on the Macbook?

2. Do I still need to put the camera download software on the Macbook?

3. Its old software ... will it work with Yosemite?

4. How do I get the pictures from Macbook to the iMac?

Thanks
Bob

 

[bobtomay]

1. They go, as they always have, wherever you put them.

2. What camera download software?

3. As we don't know what software you are talking about, we don't know.

4. Why are you not just copying them to the iMac to start with?


The term download typically "implies" that you are transferring data from the web / internet to your computer. If that is not the case, then you need to provide us the information as to what device you are copying the pictures from.

Based on your questions, it would seem that you are planning on copying them from a camera or the camera's SD card (or whatever type card it may use)?

First, both iPhoto and Aperture, at this time, still work just as they always have and likely will work for some time, even after Apple releases the new photo app expected sometime this year. If you are using one of those, then your pictures can still be imported into their libraries.

You can also use Image Capture or the Finder to copy pictures from your camera's card to your Mac to whatever location on the drive you want. No need for adding any additional software.

 

[mickibob]

Thanks for your reply.
I will be travelling and want to put pictures from the camera on the Macbook until I get home and can put them on the iMac where photoshop is. The software is Canon which has something called image browser.
The Macbook does still have iPhoto on it so the questions become,

do I need the Canon software to be on the Macbook in order to get the pictures from the camera to iPhoto (or some other place)

how do I get the image files from iPhoto on the Macbook to the iMac where they are going to be in a folder with other pictures - not in iPhoto

Thanks
Bob

 

[lclev]

Do a practice run. Take some pictures, move them to the macbook, note where you select to put them, and get a nice sized USB flash drive - they are not expensive - to copy your pictures to your iMac.

I think this will not be as hard as you are anticipating. I use a wide variety of cameras -still and video - and when I attach them, both my macs do a wonderful job of "seeing" them and letting me get my pictures or videos off of them without the use of third party software. If your camera will do that, skip the third party software.

Give it a try!

Lisa

 

[RadDave]

Thanks for your reply.
I will be travelling and want to put pictures from the camera on the Macbook until I get home and can put them on the iMac where photoshop is. The software is Canon which has something called image browser.
The Macbook does still have iPhoto on it so the questions become,

do I need the Canon software to be on the Macbook in order to get the pictures from the camera to iPhoto (or some other place)

how do I get the image files from iPhoto on the Macbook to the iMac where they are going to be in a folder with other pictures - not in iPhoto

Hi Bob - I've had over a half dozen digital cameras and all had standard size SD cards - all of my laptops had/have SD card slots - I have never used the software that came w/ these various brand cameras and have never attached a camera to my laptop via a cable.

My preference is to simply remove the camera's SD card, stick it into the laptop's card slot, and then transfer the images to my pictures folder in Finder - these can be easily put into other folders - see a screen capture below of a portion of my 'Pictures' folder. And I would strongly encourage you not to delete the images from your SD card(s) (bring along ones of high capacity or several - just a means of having a backup).

Since you are not planning to edit these images on your laptop, then the Pictures folder is a quick and useful location; of course, you could do the same w/ the SD card(s) once home on your iMac if you still have all of them on the camera's card(s). BUT, if you want to transfer them from your laptop to the iMac, then just a few suggestions: 1) Use your home network if 'file sharing' is setup; 2) Use AirDrop if it is working between your computers; 3) Use another cloud service, whether Apple or something like Dropbox; 4) Use a USB flash drive; or 5) Use an external HD. Dave
.

 

[chscag]

One thing I might add to Dave's great post... do not buy inexpensive or cheap SD cards. I have several of those "el cheapo" cards and they are total junk, completely unreliable. Buy good ones especially if like Dave you intend to use them as a backup for your photos.

 

[mickibob]

Thank you all for your input. It's a lot easier than I thought. I think I'll try the SD card to Macbook to flash drive to iMac method.
Thanks
Bob

 

[chas_m]

1. I understand that the new Macbooks no longer use iPhoto so where do the pictures go on the Macbook?

You understand entirely incorrectly. The iPhoto program will be phased out, but it is still the default, works just fine in Yosemite and will do the job as it has for the last decade. While Photos will be introduced probably in the Spring, the iPhoto Library works fine with it or you can keep using iPhoto for the foreseeable future.

Do I still need to put the camera download software on the Macbook?

Always a terrible idea.

3. Its old software ... will it work with Yosemite?

See answer to #2.

How do I get the pictures from Macbook to the iMac?

Set up a photo stream, put the pictures on a USB thumb drive, post them to a cloud storage service, set up a home network ... really there's like at least a half-dozen answers to this.

 

[Exodist]

I concur with Chas on this.

I also prefer to remove the SD card from the camera. Mostly because Canon just started using USB 3.0, so using the supplied cable is slow as can be since its still USB 2.0. But take the SD card out of the camera and use the SD card reader in your Mac. You files will be on that SD Card under DCIM --> 100CANON.

But I shoot RAW images and use Lightroom, so my photos I import to Lightroom and convert to Digital Negatives. But its likely you shoot Jpeg which isn't bad. Just use iPhoto to copy your files over. They will be in your iPhotos Library folder, however they will be encapsulated. But you can move them around and access them in iPhoto as you are already used to..

As far as Canons software, you can remove that mess..