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Bypass USB hubs to prevent image capture problems System
I guess this is not really a hint directly related to OS X, but it could be useful if ImageCapture suddenly quits while downloading images from your digital camera. I also got messages saying no camera was connected when, in fact, there was. The problem was that, when hooking my camera up to download images, I always plugged it into a USB hub which I use for peripheral devices.

I decided to bypass the hub and plugged the digicam directly into one of my computer's USB ports. Since doing this, I've had no further problems. I can now download JPG images and AVIs smoothly without worrying about whether ImageCapture is going to quit all the time.

[Editor's note: This is generally good troubleshooting advice as well. When you're having a problem with something, try to make sure it's as directly connected to your system as possible to eliminate intermediate causes. I had a similar issue with a USB switchbox that went flakey a couple years ago...]
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Another reason
Authored by: deleted_user17 on Oct 22, '02 10:35:19AM

Another reason might be, that the camera automatically switches off after 5 min. while downloading pictures.

At least this happend in 10.1.x, I had to set all my Canon cameras to automatic shutoff=off.



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powered vs. unpowered hubs
Authored by: spam on Oct 22, '02 09:37:55PM

There's no Image Capture issue with hubs. Possibly your camera went to sleep, in which case you can set it to not go to sleep or install the latest software update, there was a problem with Canon cameras going to sleep which got fixed in 10.1.something. Or possibly you had a lot of devices connected to an unpowered hub. It's best to use powered hubs, and make sure the power supply is plugged in. Powered hubs avoid problems with USB devices.



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powered vs. unpowered hubs
Authored by: spam on Oct 22, '02 09:40:07PM

There's no Image Capture issue with hubs. Possibly your camera went to sleep, in which case you can set it to not go to sleep or install the latest software update, there was a problem with Canon cameras going to sleep which got fixed in 10.1.something. Or possibly you had a lot of devices connected to an unpowered hub. It's best to use powered hubs, and make sure the power supply is plugged in. Powered hubs avoid problems with USB devices.



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Another reason
Authored by: yata on Oct 23, '02 03:12:48AM

I don't think that's the case. I am using a Canon (S40) camera with OS 10.2. I always have my hub powered up but more often than not Image Capture displays the 'No image capture device connected' message as soon as I open it. I've just tried it again and got similar results. Sometimes I could get as far as the download window but it would quit as soon as I clicked the download button or soon after. I tried Canon's Image Browser and got similar results. It only works properly if I plug the camera directly into the computer. I should note that this problem is mainly with downloading AVIs. I can 'usually' get all my JPGs once downloading has started.
I've got the camera's 'auto power down' in the 'off' position.



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Canon says
Authored by: EatingPie on Oct 26, '02 09:11:19PM

My Canon Powershot G2 Manual specifically warns to connect the camera directly and NOT through a USB hub. I'd have to dig up the manual to see the specific reasons, but I'd bet a dollar that they're exactly the symptoms you've described.

Oh, and the warning goes for PCs too, so it's not a Mac issue. W00t!!

-Pie



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