Transferring Photo Albums from iPhone 3 to PC

Here's my problem: My niece found her old iPhone 3G lying around and I'm looking to update my first generation iPhone, so she gave it to me. Before I swap SIM cards and deal with AT&T, she asked that I save her photos and video from the phone. So I hooked up the USB and went to the DCIM file, copied 33 photos there, but the camera has about 4 more albums, one of which contains ultrasounds of her first child, and none of those are visible via USB, nor can I find a way to simply transfer the material to my desktop and/or thumb drive. There are videos and songs on the phone as well, but I have no clue how to do this, since she doesn't use iTunes anymore (no iPhone).

I've reviewed the posts here and it seems you cannot transfer albums from the iPhone to the computer. This is about the dumbest thing I've ever heard and I find it hard to believe. Is it true? How do I tell my niece her ultrasounds are lost, as well as pictures of her boy as a newborn and toddler? I can't believe Apple would design such a mess, so maybe someone can help me get this done.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.