# Camera Connect: location of image files on tablet/phone?



## Frodo (May 31, 2016)

I've just bought a Lenovo Android 5.0 tablet and loaded Canon Camera Connect onto it. No problem setting it up an connecting with my M3. Great that it copies RAW files across as jpgs - this will enable me to have a back-up on a very long hike I have planned in Switzerland in August.
However, the image files are stored in the tablet memory and I can't find anyway to get the files saved on the micro-SD card in the tablet. I presume that Camera Connect determines where the files are located, not the tablet OS, but Camera Connect provides very few options.
Any suggestions?


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## kaihp (May 31, 2016)

Frodo said:


> I've just bought a Lenovo Android 5.0 tablet and loaded Canon Camera Connect onto it. No problem setting it up an connecting with my M3. Great that it copies RAW files across as jpgs - this will enable me to have a back-up on a very long hike I have planned in Switzerland in August.
> However, the image files are stored in the tablet memory and I can't find anyway to get the files saved on the micro-SD card in the tablet. I presume that Camera Connect determines where the files are located, not the tablet OS, but Camera Connect provides very few options.
> Any suggestions?



By default, Android Apps store their data in a 'secure' area which only that app can access. If you want data to be copied elsewhere, you need to 'export' it or use a File Manager such as ES File Manager to find where the files are (note: the FM might need root access) and copy them over to the SD card.

I have no experience with Canon Camera Connect, but it _could_ store all the images inside a database, although I doubt it.


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## Frodo (May 31, 2016)

Thanks Kaihp for your quick response
The files are in a folder called "internalstorage/Canon EOS M3". Its easy to find and I could manually copy the files onto the micro-SD card. I've installed a file manager called Amaze and it should be okay. I'd prefer to avoid the double handling.
If I shoot Raw plus jpg, it seems to copy the files quicker, so it might just be copying the jpg, rather than converting the RAW file. I'll do a test run in the weekend. 
If it is too slow, I might simply get an OTG cable and SD card reader and copy files over onto the micro-SD card in the tablet.


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## Khufu (Jun 1, 2016)

Yo, Frodo!

It might not be ideal but here's a workaround to consider;

Use a Micro SD inside an adapter in your M3; it can then be popped out and directly into your tablet 

The obvious annoyances are going to be the logistics of removing your "expanded storage" from your tablet and having this method not really creating backups so much as physically shifting around the original files but... swings and roundabouts, eh? 

I occasionally bang Micro SD cards into my cameras and, to be honest, I think the file transfers end up faster than if I grabbed an older SD... Hope your File Explorer works out! I've had a bugger of a time with good ones working then disabling themselves unexpectedly and asking for pennies, others just not working so well - I don't know why Google haven't just made a Good'n for Android!


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## candc (Jun 1, 2016)

I had been using eos remote which has been replaced by connect but it works the same. It transfers images into my pictures folder in a subfolder with the camera name "6d" or "70d". They are visible in quickpic.


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## tolusina (Jun 1, 2016)

Ghost Commander file manager;
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ghostsq.commander

If Kit Kat or above and not rooted, you'll not have write access an onboard microSD card card with anything but default apps.

GC and probably all file managers have no issues with USB Host connected card readers, thumb drives, etc..

Rooted, I like Root Explorer, seems a bit more intuitive than GC
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.speedsoftware.rootexplorer


.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Jun 1, 2016)

That's the beauty of a Microsoft Surface Tablet. It runs windows, and is much more flexible. If I were going to purchase a new tablet, I'd really consider a surface first. You can run full versions of most software and can likely save to the card or folder you want.

Personally, I find myself preferring a eye-fi card if I don't need remote tethering. I save directly to my NAS, and have my desktops monitoring the NAS folder and copying images in just seconds which means they are stored in 4 places. Obviously, if you are away from Wi-Fi, and just have a phone or tablet, you need to save to it. A eye-fi card will save to any folder or drive on a windows computer like the Surface. And ... just pop the eye-fi card into a different camera, and it needs no setup, it starts saving to the same location. The reason is that the save folder info is stored in the eye-fi card and it does not care which camera its installed in.

Its been over a year since I paired my eye-fi with my ipad, so I don't recall the save options, but I doubt if it was flexible. If I were traveling internationally for a long period, I'd setup a internet address for the image folders on my NAS so that I could save to it as well as have a local backup with me. There is lots of cloud storage too, so uploading nightly or weekly to the Amazon S3 sever would be a option. Google Drive or Microsoft one, or a number of others would work as well.


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## Frodo (Jun 1, 2016)

Hey Khufu
I might be a klutz, but I feel nervous handling those tiny micro-SD cards. Give me a CF card (and no bent pins!).
I'm thinking it will be easier to take the SD card out of the camera, install in a card reader attached by an OTG cable to the tablet. Then use a file manager to copy the files onto the micro-SD card in the tablet.

Hey Tolusina
I've just moved to Android, so I haven't figured out whether the tablet is rooted (colloquial expression for something "rooted" in New Zealand is not nice!). So I will have to do some more research as to which file manager I need. Thanks for your and Kaihp's suggestions.

Hey Mt Spokane
I'm actually a Windows guy. I have a Windows desktop, work laptop, and Surface tablet, plus a Windows phone! And feel very comfortable in that environment. So I hear what you are saying.
My challenge is weight. My Surface tablet is 850g and the Android is under 300g. I'll be walking up to 25km and climbing up to 2300m on some days for a hike lasting almost four weeks, so I am counting the grams. And half a kilo is significant. Besides the tablet has GPS and I've uploaded hiking maps with trails that are only available on Android.
I would welcome the idea of uploading to the Cloud, but wifi will be limited and the cost of data to upload gigabytes per day would be high.

So as is often the case, a simple solution (using the OTG cable) may be the easiest.

Thanks


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## TheJock (Jun 1, 2016)

My 70D has WiFi, but my 5DIII doesn't, I also have an iPhone 6+ (larger screen) so my own solution is the Lightning to SD card reader from Apple. I can stick the cards into the reader/phone and transfer straight to my photos, giving me immediate access to social media 8)

http://www.apple.com/ae/shop/product/MJYT2ZM/A/lightning-to-sd-card-camera-reader 

Apologies, I only just noticed this was in the EOS-M area, I followed the link from the Rumors page!


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## tolusina (Jun 1, 2016)

Frodo said:


> ...I've just moved to Android, so I haven't figured out whether the tablet is rooted......


Rooting in Android is akin to Jail breaking an iPhone or using an account on a Windows machine with full administrator privileges.

Rooting processes vary between devices, there's no universal method.
It's not for the faint of heart, some level of tech savvy is needed.
Most rooting procedures require specific software to be installed on a PC, the device then connected to the PC and manipulated from there.
One MUST be able to follow instructions precisely.

I refuse to recommend rooting to anyone due to the risks involved. All rooting procedures begin with explicit warnings that the warranty will be voided and there's a possibility of soft or hard bricking the device.

Rooting WILL wipe everything on the device, all apps, data, accounts, everything. Once rooted you'll start all over from scratch with the device.

In Windows, there's a provision that allows creation of a complete system image to be stored on a secondary drive.
If one decides to upgrade a primary, boot drive, the system image you've saved can be flashed to that new drive, afterwards, everything is exactly as you set it up on the old drive. 
A Windows system image is also handy should the system become damaged from an untoward software installation, un-repairable virus attack and the like.
A system image is far more comprehensive than Windows' simple recovery or repair tools, those essentially roll back the registry to a previous state.
I image my system about once a month, too lazy to do it weekly, I generally keep the two most recent images. 

I'm prattling about Windows' images because identical functionality becomes available on rooted Androids through custom recovery, installation of which is part of the rooting process.

There are apps that can only function on rooted devices that allow very fine, granular control of app permissions. So many apps these days want to phone home about your every activity with the device, permission controls can put stops on that. 

Of the many millions (billions?) of Android devices, only a very small percentage ever get rooted. 
It's a geeky, hobbyist, tinkerer kind of thing.
I'm unaware of any Android that are rooted out of the box. Some few do ship with unlockable or unlocked boot loaders, unlocking the boot loader is the 1st of many steps in rooting.

Of my five Android devices, I've rooted three.
I simply don't care enough to bother rooting my ASUS tablet
I never found instructions for my Samsung that were clear enough for my geek level that I was confident enough to proceed. Samsung makes rooting obscure, at least for me.
My newest Moto I selected expressly because it's readily rooted. Even then I soft bricked it for a few days right at the beginning, I recovered it with additional study, it's great now.
My two HTCs rooted easily though I must admit trepidation the first time through.

Generally I'd say, if you aren't comfortable installing Windows from scratch, configuring a PC's hardware and troubleshooting PC issues, you probably shouldn't root regardless the advantages of a successful job.
---
Back on topic, does your Lenovo have a built in file manager? Samsung's is klunky but functional, Moto's is a single folder joke, ASUS' is decent, my old HTC's shipped without.
For 3rd parties, I'll stick with the Ghost Commander file manager recommendation.
You're free to try as many file managers as you like, no reason at all to not have several installed at once assuming your device had adequate storage space. Most tend towards the small installed size, nothing at all like the massive google apps like maps.
---
MAPS!
Sections of google maps can be downloaded in advance for offline use.

OsmAnd (Open Street Maps Android) is free with several available add ons;
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.osmand
The free version has a limit of 8 or 10 downloadable maps, the inexpensive OsmAnd+ has no such limitations.
These are LARGE apps, offline map files are LARGE. Be sure you have storage space.

HERE Maps;
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.here.app.maps
is another, I think it was a Nokia product, not sure if it still is or not.
Again, LARGE files for both the app and downloaded maps.

I see TomTom and Waze on Google Play, haven't tried either, can't say.

TPE is a wandering photographer's must have
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.crookneckconsulting.tpeandroid
Try it on your PC's browser
http://photoephemeris.com/
The browser version will not play on Android, you'll need the app.


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## Frodo (Jun 6, 2016)

A bit of an update.
Over the weekend I shot about 120 images each RAW +S2. I connected Camera Connect and transferred the files in under 2 minutes. The S2 files were transferred (2300x1500 pixels), which is fine for a backup to the micro-SD card, but I might go the next file size up. So I'm happy with this part of the deal.
However, I am still unable to copy the files to the micro-SD card and fell uncomfortable about going down the rooting route unaided, so I will ask the shop where I bought the device for assistance.


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## tolusina (Jun 6, 2016)

Frodo said:


> ....However, I am still unable to copy the files to the micro-SD card and fell uncomfortable about going down the rooting route unaided, .....


Don't root, if you're not comfortable about it and willing to take risks, it's not for you as it's not for the vast majority of users. 

I'd leave the microSD card out of your workflow. Reserve the microSD for device specific files.

Install a file manager, file browser, whatever you prefer to call them, there are many, root is not required.
Get a USB Host (OTG, On The Go, same thing, different name) adapter and a mini card reader.
Leave away from Camera Connect for file management, stick with a proper file manager.
Shuttle your files between the camera's SD Card in the USB Host connected card reader and the device's internal memory.
It'll be clear and intuitive once you done it a few times.


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## Frodo (Jun 7, 2016)

Success!
Dave, the guy in the shop I bought the tablet from, named the micro-SD card in a PC, then reinserted it in the tablet. This allows files to be written to it (I wasn't watching so I don't know exactly what he did).
He then installed a better file manager (Astro).
I can now easily shift the files from the folder created by Camera Connect into another folder on the micro-SD card.
While I am not backing up the RAW files, I will have reasonable jpgs. This is done through wifi, so no cards to lose or break. And its quick. The whole exercise will take less than 5 minutes at the end of each day.
Thanks everyone!


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