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Dowloading photos from Sony digtal camera

This is my first Mac after many years of using Windows computer. I can't find a way to download photos from my Sony digital camera into this computers. I tried the same way I am used to with Windows, i.e, inserting my 3 and 1/2 inch floppy disc on which the photos are recorded into my floppy disc adapter for the Mac and nothing happens. What am I doing wrong?

iMac A1173 Mac OS X (10.4.6)

iMac A1173, Mac OS X (10.4.6)

Posted on Jun 4, 2006 4:22 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jun 5, 2006 7:23 AM

[ Edited by Apple Discussions Moderator; _ ]
6 replies

Jun 5, 2006 12:34 AM in response to Duma

Hi, Duma. Welcome to the Discussions.

1. First, ignore Water Drop's comments. He is some psychotic child who was banned from the Discussions earlier today after posting rude and profane anti-Mac rants.

2. I suspect you have a Sony Mavica, yes? Is it one of the models listed on the Mac OS X Digital Camera Support page? If not, which exact model and model number Sony camera do you have?

3. In Finder > Preferences > General, have you selected "Hard Disks" and "CDs, DVDs, and iPods" under "Show these items on desktop"? Does the floppy disk appear in the Finder Sidebar when inserted?

4. Have you tried connecting the camera directly to your Mac (presuming the camera can be connected via USB)? If not, try that. Also, if the camera does not show up on the desktop when directly connected, try launching Image Capture (in the Macintosh HD > Applications folder) and seeing if it recognizes the camera.

5. You wrote:
"...into my floppy disc adapter for the Mac..."
I presume you mean a USB external floppy drive? If so, have you been able to mount any other floppy disks — i.e. floppy disks other than those from the the camera — using that device? What make/model USB floppy drive are you using?

6. You should provide more specific infomation about your iMac than the Product Family Number A1173. For example, is it an iMac G5 17-inch?

Good luck!

😉 Dr. Smoke
Author: Troubleshooting Mac® OS X

Jun 5, 2006 8:14 AM in response to Dr. Smoke

Dr. Smoke: Thanks for your comprehensive and helpful response. As to your comments, I will work on them to see what I can accomplish but here are my answers to your specific questions:
1. Will disregard other comment
2. Yes, mine is a Sony Mavica but being a novice at the Mac OS X op system I haven't been able to find the Mac digital Camera Support page. However, the model I have is the MVC-FD100.
3. No, the floppy does not appear in the sidebar, although floppie from other programs have done so, such as downloading some (not all would download)backup files off my old Windows PC computer.
4. No, I haven't tried connecting the camera directly as I don't have the proper cable for that. Never had to do that on Windows. I will see if I can get a cable.
5. Yes, I bought a USB external floppy drive at the Apple store when I bought this computer a week ago. As noted above, I've been able to use other floppies but not this one from the Mavica. The external drive is a SmartDisk
FDUSB-TM2.
6. My computer is an iMac 17"/1.83GHz/512MB/160GB/SD/AP/BT

Jun 5, 2006 11:16 AM in response to Duma

1. OK.

2. The Mavica MVC-FD100 is supported. Click Here for the Web page listing supported cameras.

I had posted the same link in my earlier post but perhaps you did not recognize that Mac OS X Digital Camera Support was a hyperlink to that page.

3. The floppy may be in a special format that Mac OS X does not recognize. Had you installed some software on your Windows computer for use with the floppy disks from the camera?

4. OK. I suspect that will work given how that the camera is listed in the page cited in item 2 above as supported.

5. OK. Just wanted to make sure the floppy drive was working.

6. OK. I think you have this specific iMac and, if I am correct, should change the "My Computer" info about your computer to read:

iMac (Early 2006) Intel Core Duo 17-inch, 1.83 GHz, 512 MB RAM, 160 GB HDD, SuperDrive, AirPort, Bluetooth.

That's easy to understand, very specific, and there's enough room with the two lines for "My Computer" info to list all.

Good luck!

😉 Dr. Smoke
Author: Troubleshooting Mac® OS X

Jun 5, 2006 2:23 PM in response to Dr. Smoke

Dr. Smoke:
Thank you again for your help. Sorry I overlooked your link to the MAC OXS camera support page at the time of my previous reply but meanwhile discovered it, went there and found, as you said, that the camera is supported. However, there were plenty of caveats which I discovered when I went to the Sony tech support site and they advised me that I would have to run a set up CD on the Mac (which came with the camera but which I never had to use on the Windows system) but it might not work on Mac OS X as the camera is 4 years olf and the CD is marked for earlier Mac versions. Haven't tried it yet as I will first have to transfer photos from the Sony floppy to a Sony memory stick (which I don't have) then connect the camera to the Mac with a USB cable. Sony tells me that the Mac will only copy from photos on the Memory Stick. The very convenient floppy can not be used on the Mac. As a new Mac user I'm certainly finding out how I miss the Windows system. Thanks to you, I believe I have now found out all I need to know about this problem.

Jun 5, 2006 4:11 PM in response to Duma

Hi, Duma.

You're welcome.

I strongly suspect that if you have the correct cable to connect the camera to a computer via USB (which, according to info I found on Sony's site, should have come with the camera), that the camera and the floppy disk it contains will be recognized in either iPhoto or Image Capture, both of which can be found in the Macintosh HD > Applications folder.

You might want to try this page at Sony's web site and search for "os x" including the quotes.

In particular, Sony Knowledge Article C208207 provides instructions for downloading pictures from the camera via USB and image capture. That article does not mention any restrictions concerning Memory Stick vs. floppy.

My experience in helping others with Sony devices is (a) the devices are designed with Windows in mind and are often not Mac-friendly; (b) the Sony support personnel don't understand Macs and tend to push customers away.

As you can see from the last link I found, the Sony Knowledge Base does have instructions on using the camera with a Mac.

You wrote:
"Thanks to you, I believe I have now found out all I need to know about this problem."
Again, you're welcome.

Since you feel that way, I suggest you either mark this post, or my earlier post, as Solved.

Good luck!

😉 Dr. Smoke
Author: Troubleshooting Mac® OS X

Dowloading photos from Sony digtal camera

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