Digital camera rant -- Amended 6/21

Can I just rant for a minute, and photographers, feel free to tell me what I am doing wrong. I received a Canon 530 digital camera from my whole family for Christmas. It wouldn't power up, so we sent it back to Canon, they fixed it and sent it back. I have taken some pictures with it that I'd like to send by E-mail. I installed the program on the computer that came with the camera, which was on CD, but now the darn thing is telling me it is unable to locate the camera. GRRRRRR... I wonder what I'm doing wrong?! I'd like to go back to a film camera but my family really wanted me to have this one. I'm so discouraged with myself - it has been 6 months and I still can't figure it out... am I that thick-headed?!

Silly question, but is the camera plugged in - is the USB cord in the camera AND computer port??
Is it on?

I remember my snapshot Canon required the camera being on and on AUTO to upload photos.


If you're using Windows...
After checking and making sure the camera is on & USB cord in both ports, open up "My Computer." There should be an icon that says "Canon PowerShot 530." Right click and click on Get Photos/Pictures/whatever it says.


If that doesn't work, I'm not sure what's going on? Wish we were closer so I could help better!

The beige cord has one end in the camera and the other end in the USB port on the front of the CPU. The camera is on and so are the CPU and the monitor. The camera display screen has so many little symbols. In the box there is a basic instruction booklet, a detailed instruction booklet, and also one in Spanish. I will have to read them both more carefully. I'm a techno-flop! (the high school in the district where I live has a "basics of digital photography" class every semester. I couldn't take it in the spring because we couldn't get the camera to power up. I'll take it this fall.) I'm bummed because I wanted you all to see a picture of my cat already.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by cassiesmom

I'm so discouraged with myself -
it has been 6 months and I still can't figure it out...

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Take a deep breath and then call the Canon Help Desk >>>

1-800-828-4040

Be sitting AT your computer, with the Camera (fresh batteries installed),
and have all the Cables that came with the camera, and the camera program CD.

Follow the Tech's directions (take some notes) and you'll be an expert before you hang up!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by cassiesmom

I wonder what I'm doing wrong?!

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Hey CassiesMom ~~~

(Edited to remove *snide* comment.) http://petoftheday.com/i/our_smilies/redface.gif

Don't get *stressed* - just CALL Canon and talk it over with a Tech.
They're GOOD at explaining things!
http://petoftheday.com/i/our_smilies/wink.gif

/s/ Phred

calling their service center would help. i poked around and found an actual cannon digital camera forum. http://www.dpreview.com/forums/forum.asp?forum=1010

i know for my camera it has to be turned off while plugged into the computer so I can get the pics. good luck :)

Thank you, every one for the suggestions! Sorry, Phred. I wasn't home last evening and won't be tonight either. Let me try again tomorrow after work, when I can give it a stretch of time. If not then, will try again Saturday.

Do you have the camera switched to viewing mode when it's plugged in?

I didn't get a chance to try it last night. The camera is at my mom and dad's today so my brother can try it tomorrow. He is much smarter about technology than I am. I hope he 'll figure it out.

Success! (sort of) - we got the pictures to move from the camera to the computer - now to figure out how to get it into a post... Thank you, everyone for helping me!

You can upload your pictures to the net through a site like sony image station, photo bucket, or flickr.

Have fun, and I can't wait to see some pics. :)

This may not help as it may confuse you even more, but I've found that I never needed the software that comes with my camera. I also have a Canon (three to be exact). I have Windows XP and it has a feature when you plug your camera in, and if it is powered on, that a window pops up and asks what you want to do... including transferring the images to the computer. The windows wizard is what I've always used and it is much easier than the program and you can organize them however you'd like.

Success, sort of --- If you look in the cats A-Z thread, kittycatsdelight resized the photo and turned it 90 degrees, so it shows correctly...

http://petoftheday.com/talk/showthre...18#post1835218

Digital camera users, how many pictures fit on a memory card?

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Originally Posted by cassiesmom

Digital camera users, how many pictures fit on a memory card?

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That's actually a complicated question, there are ALOT of variables depending on your cameras megapixel count, compression setting, and image size.

As an approximate guide, the number of images you can store on various types of camera are below.

Digital Camera Size, Memory card size, And Number of Pictures

2 megapixel
128Mb 149
256Mb 298
512Mb 595
1Gb 1190
2Gb 2379
4Gb 4758

3 megapixel
128Mb 113
256Mb 226
512Mb 452
1Gb 905
2Gb 1808
4Gb 3619

4 megapixel
128Mb 95
256Mb 180
512Mb 381
1Gb 762
2Gb 1524
4Gb 3046

5 megapixel
128Mb 74
256Mb 149
512Mb 298
1Gb 595
2Gb 1190
4Gb 2381

6 megapixel
128Mb 60
256Mb 119
512Mb 238
1Gb 476
2Gb 952
4Gb 1905

8 megapixel
128Mb 40
256Mb 79
512Mb 159
1Gb 317
2Gb 635
4Gb 1270

The card that comes with the camera never holds much so I bought an additional card for those just-in-case emergencies. I also bought a card reader. I take the card out of the camera and put it in the reader. The reader is attached to the computer. I used the software once and it was so difficult, I removed it and let windows do the work.

AS far as photo editors, MS Paint will rotate a photo for you. When I used my film camera, I had the photos put on disk. There is usually some photo editing software on each disk.

Anne

holy cow. that is the most thorough response possible! I feel smarter after reading it :)

Again -- THANK YOU! Our high school has adult education classes during the school year, fall semester and spring semester and there is a class on digital photography basics. I'll sign up. Adult education starts a couple weeks after the school year begins. I don't know if anybody remembers the Kodak Disc camera from the 80s but that is what I had. Then a 35mm camera that had no settings, just point and click. Now I have this one which has many different functions.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mrspunkysmom

AS far as photo editors, MS Paint will rotate a photo for you. When I used my film camera, I had the photos put on disk. There is usually some photo editing software on each disk.

Anne

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Or if you don't even want to mess with MSPaint, if you are viewing your images with the default windows image viewer, you can rotate them in there :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by cassiesmom

I don't know if anybody remembers the Kodak Disc camera from the 80s but that is what I had.

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I remember those disk cameras. I had one back then too!! No one I know has ever even heard of them, I thought maybe I was the only one that had one.



All the cameras I have ever owned:

Kodak Brownie camera (can't remember which model it was but it was the more common one and by the time I got old enough to inherit it, you couldn't buy film for it anymore)

Kodak 126mm film camera with those old disposable 'cube' flashes (don't know a specific model, best I can find on the web says it was a model 55x, but don't know for sure anymore) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/126_film

Polaroid instamatic (don't know which model, but from the late 70's anyways)

Kodak Disk Camera (mid 80's)

Kodak 110mm film camera (don't know specific model, it was late 80's)

Canon Rebel II SLR film camera ('92) *sold it a couple years ago*

*still own the following

Canon Rebel XS SLR film camera ('94)

Canon A40 digital ('02)

Canon IS S1 digital ('04)

Canon IS S3 digital ('07)

I am such a dork! I put the "starter" memory card into my camera to take Christmas pictures. I didn't take a back-up memory card or the cord that connects the camera to the computer -- needed to move pictures from camera to PC to Photobucket. If I'd had the cord, I could have put the pictures onto my mom's PC. I just had the "starter" memory card in the camera. I got about 4 pictures and then a "memory card full" message. What a dork! But I AM getting the hang of the digital camera, though. Looking at everyone else's pictures on Pet Talk has helped me so much!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by cassiesmom

I am such a dork! I put the "starter" memory card into my camera to take Christmas pictures. I didn't take a back-up memory card or the cord that connects the camera to the computer -- needed to move pictures from camera to PC to Photobucket. If I'd had the cord, I could have put the pictures onto my mom's PC. I just had the "starter" memory card in the camera. I got about 4 pictures and then a "memory card full" message. What a dork! But I AM getting the hang of the digital camera, though. Looking at everyone else's pictures on Pet Talk has helped me so much!

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That's not nearly as 'dorky' as what I did once.

This was about 7 years ago, I went to an indy car race (at least that's what I think it was) and had my film camera with new batteries, extra film, and everything. I was shooting pix like crazy had what I thought was some pretty good shots of a parachuter landing on the frontstretch. Then after a while I thought, gee this thing seems like it's taking an awful lot of pix for only a roll of 36 exposures. So I check and sure enough 'DOH'!! In my hurry to get out the door I had forgotten to load any film in the camera and had not brought the extra rolls I'd bought just for the occasion! :mad: Fortunately a friend did have film in the camera and gave me some extra prints.