Importing only new photos

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Level 2

308 points

Importing only new photos

It seems iPhoto cannot selectively import photos from a camera. I have I overlooked something? I don't want it to delete photos on the camera. Therefore, when I take new photos, I only want iPhoto to import the photos it did not already import. Is there a way to do this? In Picasa for PC, which I used until now, it will check which photos it already imported, and only import new ones. Is there a way to do that in iPhoto?

Of course, there is the manual solution. Use the camera as a disk, sort files by date, and then copying the new ones to iPhoto. Not a very elegant solution, though.

MacBook, Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Posted on Oct 30, 2006 9:30 AM

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Answer 1

Dave E

Level 4

1,250 points

Oct 30, 2006 10:24 AM in response to ahostmadsen

There are two ways to achieve what you want:

- If you have photos on your camera that were previously imported, and you choose to Import again, iPhoto will identify duplicates and offer you a dialog where you can choose to not import duplicates (you can apply that choice to all photos in that import session).

- If you want to specifically choose what to import, you can use Image Capture and use the Download Some option to import the photos you choose. Then you can drag the photos into iPhoto to import them (just drag the entire folder and drop it into the application's window after launching it).

- If you're feeling adventurous, use Image Capture, and opt to download photos to a folder created within the iPhoto Library folder called "Import". Next time you launch iPhoto, it will ask you if you want to import those photos to the library.

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Answer 2

ahostmadsen Author

Level 2

308 points

Oct 30, 2006 10:55 AM in response to Dave E

- If you have photos on your camera that were
previously imported, and you choose to Import again,
iPhoto will identify duplicates and offer you a
dialog where you can choose to not import duplicates
(you can apply that choice to all photos in that
import session).

I didn't realize iPhoto would do this, since the choice does not come up until after you choose import. This is partial solution, but very slow since it seems iPhoto needs to first download all photos to decide if they are duplicates. With 1Gb of photos on the camera this takes time.

- If you want to specifically choose what to import,
you can use Image Capture and use the Download Some
option to import the photos you choose. Then you can
drag the photos into iPhoto to import them (just drag
the entire folder and drop it into the application's
window after launching it).

Thanks, this seems to be the solution. It is slightly less elegant that it is a two step process, but this is a slight disadvantage.

- If you're feeling adventurous, use Image Capture,
and opt to download photos to a folder created within
the iPhoto Library folder called "Import". Next time
you launch iPhoto, it will ask you if you want to
import those photos to the library.

I'll try next time.

Thanks for the quick reply. These forums work very well. I have been able to either find answers or get replys to all my question.

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Answer 3

Dave E

Level 4

1,250 points

Nov 1, 2006 2:56 PM in response to ahostmadsen

Thanks for the quick reply. These forums work very
well. I have been able to either find answers or get
replys to all my question.

You're welcome. We all learn as we go along - sometimes I've gone and looked for behaviors that explain someone else's problem, and learned something myself.

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Answer 4

Nov 1, 2006 5:10 PM in response to Dave E

If you have photos on your camera that were previously imported, and you choose to Import again, iPhoto will identify duplicates and offer you a dialog where you can choose to not import duplicates (you can apply that choice to all photos in that import session).

I always am given the option to skip duplicates when importing pics from my Canon PowerShot A95 into iPhoto. However, when I opt not to import duplicates, I have to wait an inordinate amount of time for the import session to conclude (sometimes as long as 10-20 minutes). Has anyone else experienced this problem? Is there a setting I need to change to speed up the import process when I choose not to import duplicates? Or should I instead just use Image Capture to import pics from my digital camera?

Any advice would be much appreciated.

iMac Mac OS X (10.4.8)

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Answer 5

ahostmadsen Author

Level 2

308 points

Nov 2, 2006 8:04 AM in response to Pistolpete

I always am given the option to skip duplicates when
importing pics from my Canon PowerShot A95 into
iPhoto. However, when I opt not to import
duplicates, I have to wait an inordinate amount of
time for the import session to conclude (sometimes as
long as 10-20 minutes). Has anyone else experienced
this problem? Is there a setting I need to change to
speed up the import process when I choose not to
import duplicates? Or should I instead just use
Image Capture to import pics from my digital camera?

Exactly the same thing I experience with my Casio Z850. It seems it has to download the image completely before deciding it's a duplicate. It's surprising, since Picasa for PCs can detect duplicates very quickly, without downloading the whole image. This is something Apple needs to improve. I don't think there is a solution with iPhoto, so I use image capture now. But that is not quite elegant: download with image capture, import to iPhoto, then delete the originals. I can do this, but to my wife it's a mystery that she cannot just connect the camera, and then get photos imported to iPhoto.

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Answer 6

Smtr

Level 5

5,450 points

Nov 2, 2006 11:41 AM in response to ahostmadsen

If you use a card reader you simply click on "Import to Library", then navigate to the camera card on your desktop and select the pictures you want to import. The navigation box looks just like a finder window and will show you the file info of each photo before you import. You have complete control of your imports, and it does not take any additional time. Plus, you don't run your camera's batteries during the import. Perhaps the wife would prefer this method.

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Answer 7

oscarvid

Level 1

8 points

Nov 17, 2006 1:37 AM in response to Pistolpete

"If you have photos on your camera that were previously imported, and you choose to Import again, iPhoto will identify duplicates and offer you a dialog where you can choose to not import duplicates (you can apply that choice to all photos in that import session)."

The above is what everybody says and this is what I have had until last week when suddenly - without any alterations made by me or anybody - this option disappeared and iPhoto just starts importing all pictures from the card regardless of wether there is already a copy in the library or not.

I have searched in preferences all over but cannot find anywhere where I can revive this option.

What shall I do?
OSCARVID

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