Transferring Pictures from a Camera

Written by Barry Dysert (last updated March 30, 2020)

If you have a digital camera, chances are that you'll want to transfer pictures from it to your computer. Depending upon the particular camera, this is usually a fairly straightforward task. Many cameras come with a transfer cable that has a USB plug on one end and a plug on the other end that fits into the camera.

With the camera turned off, plug the cable into your camera and into a USB slot in your computer. Then, turn the camera on. Windows will recognize the newly attached device and, depending on your AutoPlay settings, it may prompt you to see what action you want to take. If prompted, click the option that says, "Open Folder to View Files". If you aren't prompted, Windows will have automatically mapped a new drive letter to your camera.

Using Windows Explorer (Windows 7) or File Explorer (later versions of Windows), navigate to the newly mapped drive that represents your camera. Navigate to the folder of the camera that contains your pictures. Select the pictures that you want to copy to your computer and copy them as you would copy any other files from a computer-based folder.

When you're finished, turn off the camera and unplug the cable. Your pictures are now on your computer.

If you are using an older or non-standard camera that does not include a USB transfer cable, then transferring pictures from the camera typically requires special software of some manner. If you find yourself in this group of camera owners, you'll want to check the user's manual that came with the camera for transfer instructions.

 This tip (11723) applies to Windows 7, 8, and 10.

Author Bio

Barry Dysert

Barry has been a computer professional for over 35 years, working in different positions such as technical team leader, project manager, and software developer. He is currently a software engineer with an emphasis on developing custom applications under Microsoft Windows. When not working with Windows or writing Tips, Barry is an amateur writer. His first non-fiction book is titled "A Chronological Commentary of Revelation." ...

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