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Cory Bauer · Oct 31, 2009, 04:25 PM

Hi All,

I've got a Nikon D5000, and like a handful of other Nikon cameras the SD card does not mount on the desktop when the camera is connected via USB. That's fine for transferring files from the camera, because iPhoto or Image Capture can do that. Problem is, I want to put some images on the SD card. Is there some program that'll allow me to do that? Neither Image Capture, iPhoto or Aperture seems to have an option to write images, only read them. I don't have an SD Card reader and my Mac predates the inclusion of an SD card slot. Thanks in advance.

ghporter · Oct 31, 2009, 06:32 PM

A USB-connected SD card reader will do that. Then you just put the card back into the camera.

Cory Bauer · Oct 31, 2009, 07:08 PM

Originally Posted by ghporter

A USB-connected SD card reader will do that. Then you just put the card back into the camera.

Right, but like I said I don't have an SD card reader; I'm hoping there's a way to write images to the SD card inside the camera via USB (the only way I can currently access the card).

AKcrab · Oct 31, 2009, 07:20 PM

No way, unless your camera card shows up on the desktop like a thumb drive, which it obviously does not.

Cory Bauer · Oct 31, 2009, 07:34 PM

Originally Posted by AKcrab

No way, unless your camera card shows up on the desktop like a thumb drive, which it obviously does not.

Well, that's pretty lame. I guess my next question then is whether or not there's a way to force these NIkon cameras (D90, D5000) to mount the SD card on the desktop like most cameras do?

ghporter · Oct 31, 2009, 09:45 PM

Originally Posted by Cory Bauer

Right, but like I said I don't have an SD card reader; I'm hoping there's a way to write images to the SD card inside the camera via USB (the only way I can currently access the card).

If the software that came with the camera doesn't support it, then you're stuck with my option. To help with that, look at this deal. < $2 with free shipping = "good deal."

FWIW, I've done things this way for a long time. I have something like 5 cameras lying around that all take SD cards, and it's much simpler to put pictures from all of 'em onto one card and take it to the Kodak kiosk at the grocery store to print on photo paper...

steve626 · Nov 1, 2009, 01:17 AM

Originally Posted by Cory Bauer

Right, but like I said I don't have an SD card reader; I'm hoping there's a way to write images to the SD card inside the camera via USB (the only way I can currently access the card).

It seems silly to let yourself be stymied by not having an SD card reader. We got one free when we got a 8-GB SD card. They are easily found for as little as several dollars. I also purchased for less than $10 (on special at Office Depot) an "all in one" reader that reads SD plus a few dozen other formats.

You're using a DSLR camera, which can produce huge files if you are using RAW formats. It can take a while to transfer some Gigabytes of photos, and if you do it through the camera, you can run down its battery. It's much easier, I think, to just use the SD card reader for multiple cameras.

You can get an inexpensive SD card reader for a fraction of the cost of virtually any peripheral that you get for a DSLR camera. We're talking about something that costs less that half of one percent of the cost of your DSLR (and you said you have several of them). Seems silly to even discuss it, but that's just my point of view. With the SD card reader, the SD card mounts on your desktop and you can copy whatever you want directly to it.

tooki · Nov 2, 2009, 04:33 PM

Check the camera’s settings to see if it has the option to set its USB to “Mass Storage” mode. If so, then it’ll show up as a disk in Finder.

mduell · Nov 3, 2009, 09:05 PM

My D90 mounts as a drive in Finder... may want to take a look.