Armadillo Loc: Ventura, CA

Natalie,

Yes, you can transfer any type of digital file from one computer device into another with a flash drive, thumb drive, key Chain Drive, or with direct wired connections.
When you transfer a file the first option is to copy the files as a duplicate file (an exact mirror image), the second option is to "Move" the file and that occurs as a copy first and a delete from the original device.
Because it is a copy the transfer is bit by bit, better than carbon paper. There will be no degradation of the file contents, or quality.

Take your computer back to your IT guy and verify that Windows 10 has the latest CODEC from Microsoft, then make sure you have the latest CODEC from Canon and Ricoh for Windows 10.

For "Tethered Shooting" you may need Canon's software to connect the camera from your computer through a USB cable.
Check at Canon USA for the following: Digital Photo Professional 3.15.0 Updater for Windows.

My personal choice for thumb-drives are the SanDisk Glide 64Gb drives.

Michael G

Reinaldokool Loc: San Rafael, CA

Several questions:
Yes. If you have an image on your computer, it is just a bunch of 1s and 0s as far as the computer is concerned. It doesn't matter what it looks like in your software. Therefore, copying the file to a flashdrive is absolutely fine. And the reverse is also true when you copy the result to another computer.

I buy only Sandisk and Lexar, but there other good flashdrives brands. Sandisk and Lexar are the manufacturers with the longest good history (Sandisk invented the flashdrive and solid state storage like CF and sdcards). I stay away from the cheap Chinese knockoffs.

If your computer person reinstalled Windows XP, he made a very bad mistake. Windows XP is no longer supported by any of the main software companies. Moreover, it is very vulnerable to viruses, worms, trojan horses and other malware. No one should be using Windows XP anymore.

If Windows 10 does not recognize your cameras, that is a problem with the drivers and/or old firmware in the cameras. The better answer is to update the drivers Contact your camera company for the best answers including drivers and firmware.

Find a new computer person. I cannot imagine a competent computer person who would do what you say. Windows 10 is the most stable and capable operating system on the market. (With the possible exception of Linux.)

Natalie Knott Loc: Fort Bragg, CA

[quote=Reinaldokool]Several questions:
Yes. If you have an image on your computer, it is just a bunch of 1s and 0s as far as the computer is concerned. It doesn't matter what it looks like in your software. Therefore, copying the file to a flashdrive is absolutely fine. And the reverse is also true when you copy the result to another computer.


If your computer person reinstalled Windows XP, he made a very bad mistake. Windows XP is no longer supported by any of the main software companies. Moreover, it is very vulnerable to viruses, worms, trojan horses and other malware. No one should be using Windows XP anymore.

Many thanks for your response and information. My computer guy did not reinstall Windows XP on the new computer. It is in another box nearby and not connected to the internet. I tether to that. I have made numerous calls to Canon and Ricoh. Canon says I need to buy a new camera. No help.

Natalie Knott Loc: Fort Bragg, CA

Thank you, Michael for your reply and suggestions. : )

goldbug80

A file is a file is a file. If the flash drive is not defective, it will make exact copies of your RAW files. The internal arrangement of a file does not matter. There will be no loss. That is the sole beauty of the digital realm, perfect copies, never possible in the analog world. Digital files are just lists of the numbers one and zero which the computer interprets from various data, including the extension of the filename, that are simply copied from one place to another.

Natalie Knott Loc: Fort Bragg, CA

Thanks, goldbug : )

JamesCurran Loc: Trenton ,NJ

Well, if the camera uses a memory card (I can't imagine one that doesn't), just pop it out, and copy the files off it directly. Every program I've used that imports files from a camera, ALSO reads read from memory cards the same way.

markj51 Loc: Fairfax, VA

Unless your USB port is labeled 3.0, it is USB 2.0 and a USB 3.0 flash drive will cost more but will operate in 2.0 mode (and speed).

blackest Loc: Ireland

Yes but in this situation Natalie is shooting tethered I've done a little of that with a Pentax camera, shooting tethered the images were not stored to the camera's memory card but transferred directly to the computer. It may well be the case in Natalies situation too.

Which would mean no image to transfer from the card.

Personally I do not like tethered shooting the computer gets in the way. I did find a driver so I could use a tablet but i found it would do one shot and lock up the camera , the tablet or both, forcing a reset.

kb6kgx Loc: Simi Valley, CA

A wise guy, huh??? 😜

plaza Loc: london uk

ive done exactly the same recently and they transferred as they were on original mac so it appears you are doing something wrong just re read to move as they are you must use copy and paste not move

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

You can use ANY drive to move images in ANY format. Copying images from one place to another does not harm them.

You can move them or copy them to, and store them:

On a cloud server
On a local area network server
On a flash drive
On a camera card (SD, CF, whatever) (although that's an expensive idea)
On a portable hard drive (least expensive solution)
On an internal hard drive
On CD/DVD/Blu-Ray media (cheap, but slow to burn)

Any name brand of USB 3.0 flash drive works best. If your computer has the ability to connect USB 3 devices, file transfers are VERY fast. (USB 3 is backwards compatible to USB 2, and USB 2 flash drives will work on USB 3 computers, but without the speed advantage.

Whatever you do, store all your images in three places, one of which is off-site!

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

You probably involved the PHOTOS app, and it converted them.

I have NEVER liked iPhoto or Photos because of the silly way those apps hide image files layers and layers deep in folders. I tell my Macs to use the Image Capture app to pull images from my SD cards, cameras, and iPhone. I can put them anywhere I want them, that way, and THEN copy or import them into a catalog application such as Lightroom, SilkyPix, or Bridge.

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

I curious what lead you to question whether a flash drive would be compatible. Did some "expert" suggest it to you? I do wonder though whether there will be a compatibility issue with a large USB3 flash drive and Windows XP which predated USB3. I believe it might work, but you will get much much slower USB2 transfer speeds.

wmcy Loc: Charlotte

I am moving from MAC to Windows. I have about 1 Tb of raw photos to move from a MAC-formatted external drive to a Windows external drive. Any best practices are appreciated.