iPhoto 8 won't import jpg's - unrecognized format

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Level 1

2 points

iPhoto 8 won't import jpg's - unrecognized format

I am not able to import some jpg's into my MacBook. These are on a Xd card from my camera. I've been able to import photos from there as recently as yesterday without any problem at all. They are vacation photos so they are very important.

I'm using iPhoto 8.1.2 on OS 10.6.3. When I try to download my 180 photos or so, THREE of them import successfully, but the others are rejected. A pop-up window tells me that they can not be imported because they are a unrecognized format.

When I try to open those files in Preview, I also fail to open the jpg's. My Finder window detects them as a jpg, but I haven't found anything yet that will open them.

Any help would be appreciated!
🙂

MacBook, Mac OS X (10.6.3), iPhoto

Posted on Jun 18, 2010 4:41 PM

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Answer 1

LarryHN

Level 10

106,124 points

Jun 18, 2010 5:00 PM in response to grace1st

A good starting place would be to use image capture (in your applications folder) to move them to a desktop folder and back them up

Then see if you can do something with them there - try importing to iPhoto or opening in preview again from your disk instead of from the card

try removing the color profile from one and see if you can open it or import it then

LN

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Answer 2

MadisonP

Level 5

4,844 points

Jun 18, 2010 5:01 PM in response to grace1st

If some images import fine but not all and they will not open with Preview, these images are most likely damaged.

See Old Toad's post at the bottom here http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2465859&tstart=0.
He references a script he made called "Convert to JPG and Embed sRGB profile".

Try that script to see if it makes the files readable.

Consider using these best practice tips to avoid or minimize the impact of issues in the future:
_Ensure your camera has a full charge on the battery before you import (Or run off of AC if possible).
_Ensure the date and time on the camera are correct before importing.
_If you are using a media card reader and are getting regular failures, try using a different reader or the camera itself (The same is true about importing directly from the camera. Try a reader instead.)
_Plug the camera directly into the computer with a solid connection, no loose cables. Don't use a hub.
_Reformat the camera's media card using the camera itself between uses.
_Alternate between multiple media cards during photo shoots (trips, etc) so that if one card goes bad (they are just little bits of plastic after all) you don't lose the entire shoot.

Hope that helps.

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Answer 3

grace1st Author

Level 1

2 points

Jun 18, 2010 7:24 PM in response to LarryHN

Good suggestion. I had copied all of the jpg's to the desktop already and tried using Preview to open them from there. It didn't work. Also tried to import from there and same results.

I'm not sure how to change the color profile...

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Answer 4

grace1st Author

Level 1

2 points

Jun 18, 2010 8:04 PM in response to MadisonP

I tried both of the Automator apps that OldToad recommended. The first one failed to convert the jpg. The second one encountered an error when booting up. I could never drag the jpg to the icon.

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Answer 5

grace1st Author

Level 1

2 points

Jun 18, 2010 8:12 PM in response to MadisonP

Here are my comments about your other worthwhile comments:
"Consider using these best practice tips to avoid or minimize the impact of issues in the future:
_Ensure your camera has a full charge on the battery before you import (Or run off of AC if possible). {YES. I keep a full charge on the batteries at the start of every photo day and I did on this one too.}
_Ensure the date and time on the camera are correct before importing. {YES. It has been correct and remains so.}
_If you are using a media card reader and are getting regular failures, try using a different reader or the camera itself (The same is true about importing directly from the camera. Try a reader instead.) {I do use a card reader. It has always worked like a charm. Using a Digital Concepts model.}
_Plug the camera directly into the computer with a solid connection, no loose cables. Don't use a hub. {I will do that next.}
_Reformat the camera's media card using the camera itself between uses. {I normally do that but didn't this time. The manufacturer also recommends reformatting after EVERY use.}
_Alternate between multiple media cards during photo shoots (trips, etc) so that if one card goes bad (they are just little bits of plastic after all) you don't lose the entire shoot." {I'm likely to do that more often now. I keep three cards just in case.}

One more thought. My camera (an Olympus SP-560UZ) actually has problems every now and then using Alkaline batteries (even the best ones). It encounters a "zoom error" when turning on. The fix is to use PREMIUM rechargeable batteries. I had a hard time believing that one. But I tried the better batteries and it does make a difference for the better. They usually last me for six hours or more of keeping the camera powered; an important aspect when I'm hiking in the mountains and need to be prepared for anything.

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Answer 6

Old Toad

Level 10

211,051 points

Jun 21, 2010 1:08 PM in response to grace1st

If you're still running Tiger then the second script, requiring Automator, would now work as it requires Leopard.

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Answer 7

grace1st Author

Level 1

2 points

Jun 21, 2010 8:05 PM in response to Old Toad

Thanks. But I'm currently running 10.6.4.

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Answer 8

Scritti

Level 1

0 points

Jul 31, 2010 4:08 AM in response to grace1st

Hi all,

I have just upgraded to the new iMac and used the migration assistant to copy all of the accounts over to it and have encountered this problem too.

The images on my camera are all jpeg's and previously imported without issue for years. The extension on the images is JPG. I also encountered the exact same problem when attempting to import an image from my iPad yesterday on the new iMac.

I resolved this issue by assuming it was a permissions conflict and did the following which resolved the issue immediately.

Go to the 'iPhoto Library' file located in your home account in the 'pictures' folder. Select 'Get Info' and then under the sharing and permissions tab make sure there is 'admin' under the name field and that the privilege are set to 'Read & Write'. If this is already the case, select 'make me the owner' from the options listed in the pop down menu next to your name account.

Once this simple change was done, my camera now imports to iPhoto as before without the 'Unrecognized File Format' error.

Hope this helps and I was really surprised to see that this wasn't suggested elsewhere here and on other forums where this problem is occurring for many users. A quick search on google for this error message brings back many answers suggesting importing images using other apps and then re-saving before attempting to import to iPhoto again. This really doesn't fix the issue and hopefully my fix will for you.

Good luck!

Ken

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