Digital Camera Interface
Once you've got the images stored in your camera on the memory card you need a way to get them into your computer! There are several ways to connect digital cameras to a PC as well as external card readers.
- Serial - The earliest digital cameras had a serial interface, but no current cameras use this since it is so slow
- USB 1.1 - USB was the first widespread high speed method of data transfer from cameras. It is theoretically capable of transfer speeds up to 11 megabits/second (note megabits not megabytes)
- USB 2.0 - A development of USB but much faster - up to 480 megabits/second. USB devices are compatible with USB1.1 ports on a PC, but will only work with them at the lower data rate.
- IEEE 1394 (Firewire) - Though this is an older interface than USB, it was originally only really used much on Apple computers. It's capable of high speed transfer (400 megabits/second) and it's now found on some PCs or it can be added to them via a plug-in card. More common on digital video cameras than still digital cameras.
Just about all cameras can connect to a PC, but it's sometimes easier to remove the memory card from the camera and insert it into a dedicated card reader. Even if your camera only has USB 1.1. if your computer has a USB 2.0 you can use a USB 2.0 card reader for faster transfer. Card readers are cheap, anywhere from $15 to $40.