OS X Tip #72
Sharing your connected digital camera can enable others to browse the pictures on it or even use it to take their own pictures. Importing pictures from a camera attached to a different Mac can be very useful. Especially in a graphics or photography studio, for example. Why import those new great pics to only one Mac? Why not easily share them without any great effort.

Here’s how:
Connect your digital camera to your Mac (host) via USB. Make sure the digital camera is powered on.

Image Capture is located in the Applications folder.

Launch Image Capture.

Go to Image Capture’s preferences. Under “Sharing” select “Share my devices”. Check the devices you want to share. You can password protect this sharing or even enable web-sharing. See below.

You can share over your own local network or if you have an IP address that is accessible over the Internet by enabling web-sharing. You can check “Look for shared devices” if the scanner is attached and shared on another Mac.

On the remote OS X Mac (client machine) launch Image Capture.

Under the Devices menu in Image Capture. Go to “Browse Devices…” Or use the keyboard shortcut Command (Apple key) + B.

Click on connect button. You will be able to import pictures or even take pictures with the digital camera remotely.

Want to “selectively” import pictures from your digital camera?
Import only the pictures you want from my digital camera using Image Capture. iPhoto only imports them all?” Image Capture allows you to selectively import pictures from your digital camera.

Image Capture can crop, resize or save images to specific folders, create a simple website, a slideshow or prep them for email. Also it can import the movie files that your digital camera can take. Combine this with Tiger’s new Automator app and your workflow will take off.

Image Capture cannot manage your pictures for you, like iPhoto does. But many pros use it anyway. Because Image Capture allows them to quickly import images, assign color profiles to them, and open them in PhotoShop or an image editor of their choice.

Tip:
If you want Image Capture to open when you attach your digital camera instead of iPhoto which is the usual default. In Tiger, just open Image Capture preferences and change iPhoto to Image Capture under camera. See below.

Image Capture under Tiger now allows you to import pictures using bluetooth or WiFi from camera-phones or wireless digital cameras.

Step-by-Step for Selectively Importing Images

To use Image Capture to import an image from a digital camera to your Mac:
1) Connect the digital camera to your Mac USB port.
2) Open Image Capture in the Applications folder (or follow set preferences for it to open by default, see above).
3) Click the “Download Some” button, select the items you want to import. You can use the shift and command key (Apple key) to make multiple selections.

4) Click the “Download” button to import selected pictures (or movies).

You can select the folder you want the pics to download to. You could always import them to iPhoto if you want to later. Note that you can import from memory cards directly connected to your Mac also.

Need a Spy-cam?
The “Remote Monitor” function allows for controlling supported digital cameras remotely for taking pictures viewable on the Internet or on your local network. Clicking on Take Picture button is all that is needed to snap an image of whatever the camera sees. The preview image is updated every second. Your Mac must be set up with a public addressed IP address and be web-enabled to do this over the Internet. But it is a “snap” to do that.

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