How to Get Photos From a Camera Using a USB Port

Connect your camera to your computer with a USB cable.

Since you can only view small previews of the photos stored on your digital camera's internal memory, transfer the photos to your computer using a USB -- universal serial bus -- cable. Once the camera connects to the computer and the photos download, you're on your way to sharing, editing and storing your pictures. Because most camera manufacturers include a USB cable as a standard accessory with a new camera purchase, this becomes your most economical option to transfer photos directly from your camera's internal memory or from a media card inside the camera.

Things You'll Need

• Digital camera
• Computer
• USB cable
• Photo editing software

Instructions

1. Plug the slender rectangular end of the USB cable into one of the USB ports on your computer.

2. Insert the opposite, smaller end of the cable into the designated USB port on the side of your camera. Look for a small USB logo. Turn the camera's power button to "On."

3. Watch your computer monitor for a pop-up box that indicates new hardware -- the camera -- has been detected. Choose a photo editing program from the list provided and click "OK." If no pop-up box shows, open the photo editing software program you want to use.

4. Retrieve the photos by importing them into the editing software. Select "File," then "Open" from the software's drop down menus at the top of the screen.

5. Choose the drive supporting your camera by clicking on the name of your camera or a camera icon. View thumbnail previews of all images stored on the camera.

6. Select all the images by pressing "Ctrl" and "A" or select individual images to remove from the card by holding down the "Ctrl" key and mouse clicking each desired photo.

7. Go to the drop-down menus and choose "Copy." Then, choose "Open" from the menus to pick the desired folder where you want to store the photos. Click on the folder to open it. Choose "Paste" from the menus to transfer the photos to the folder.

Tips & Warnings

• Some digital cameras come with photo editing software that automatically initiates photo downloading from your camera when connected to a computer with a USB cable. If you receive this prompt, follow the instructions to transfer the photos without manually opening any extra programs.

• Never unplug the USB cable from the computer or camera while images download to the computer. This can cause damage to the image files.

References

• WindowsXP: Downloading Pictures From Your Digital Camera; Tony Northrup; Sept. 15, 2005
• Microsoft Windows: Download Pictures from Your Digital Camera