Canon Powershot S5 IS - USB Video Transfer Problem

[geothrills]

Greetings everyone! I've arrived here because I have a recurring problem with my Canon PowerShot S5 IS. Overall, the camera works well and does what it is supposed to do - except for this one problem with transferring data that really has me miffed.

As this camera has some nice video capability, I use it to take footage of various concerts, as well as videos of myself jamming on the guitar as a quick way to record what I have on my mind at any given moment. All videos are shot on the highest quality, and my memory card is a PNY 8GB SD HC. The primary computer to which I am transferring data utilizes a USB 2.0 port, on a AMD chip, MSI motherboard, 2 GB of RAM, and 1 TB of storage space, running Windows XP Professional.

The problem here is that large continuous clips don't want to transfer over the USB cable to my computer. I haven't pinpointed the exact size where this problem starts to occur, but it has happened on three ocassions now. If my memory serves, all files which fail to transfer are over 10 minutes in length, or roughly 1.25 GB+ in size.

Oddly, I can view the videos fine on the camera's own LCD display, but I cannot view them remotely on my desktop, nor transfer them to my desktop through My Computer. The transfer window pops up, but the progress bar doesn't move and after a minute or so it gives up and the file shows up on my computer 0 bytes in size and of course will not render when played.

When using the integrated Microsoft Camera wizard to transfer the files, a window pops up stating that the file cannot be copied and I can "Try Again" (to no avail) or "Skip", and the detailed error information at the end states "Not enough storage is available to complete this operation."

To note, I have over 300 GB free hard drive space, and I even deleted all the other data off the camera's flash memory card (except for the two large videos I want to transfer), thinking that maybe there needed to be some temp space to aid the transfer. At the moment, the two files I want to transfer take up 3.5 GB of the available 8GB on the PNY memory card... so there's certainly enough temp space on the camera as well as my desktop drive.

That leaves me to speculate that there may be a problem with my RAM or the USB interface itself? I've tried this on three different computers now and it just won't go. If I am unable to get the pictures off of the camera via the USB connection, do you have any other suggestions or recommendations for retrieving these files?

Thanks!

[griptape]

It might save you a lot of headache to just pick up a $6 external card reader. I had the same problem sometimes with my S3 if I tried to transfer directly from the camera. I've never had the problem with my card reader.

[tim11]

This sounds complicate and it can be your computer as well. I'd use a card reader as Griptape already suggested but do make sure the one you are buying can handle your memory card capacity of 8GB.

Personally, I'd limit the footage to shorter sequences.

[geothrills]

Limit the footage?
You've got to be kidding me!

One of the primary reasons I bought this camera is to sneek into concert venues (not to mention the bedroom ) to take extended footage with reasonable sound and video quality, disguised in a package that looks like any ol' digital camera. If it wasn't for the ability to shoot continuous 1 hour sequences, I probably wouldn't have bought this baby!

So as you can see, limiting the footage just isn't in the cards for me.

It is also unlikely the problem is with my computer, as I tried it on two other computers with the same negative result.

On the upside, I took the other suggestions to heart and bought a Dynex 5-in-1 Memory Card Reader/Writer model # DX-CR501 ($20), and it worked flawlessly with my high capacity 8GB Secure Digital card.

I sure wish the camera itself would be better equipped to handle the transfers its supposed to handle, but c'est la vie - this is a solution and I now have access to my video for editing and proper viewing.

Thank you griptape an' tim!

[SublimeJason]

You should be fine with the Card reader now....

But you Should Also be able to Click on My Computer & see your Camera as a Removable Disk (e) or whatever then Click it and Hit Copy or Move File.....

[Graystar]

I've found that some front USB ports have quality problem. The first thing I would do is to try connecting the cable to the rear USB ports.

I have a good quality case here where one of the front USB ports doesn't work part of the time (even with a card reader.) The other front USB port works just fine. I know of others on the Internet that have experienced the same problem.

I've also seen printers interfere with USB transfers. If you have a USB printer then try turning it off when performing the transfer.

One other point...if you're having trouble with the camera cable then you will likely have trouble with a card reader as well. That's the last thing I would try.

good luck!
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VAPORIZER REVIEW

[talkingdog]

maybe the problem is with the wizard. have you tried to pull the files as if the camera was an external hdd?

[geothrills]

My apologies if I come off as rude - that is not my intent - but I do believe a couple of you should actually read the thread before posting!

Someone else offered the same suggestion earlier, and I noted twice that I tried pulling the files both through "My Computer" as well as the Microsoft Scanner & Camera wizard.

At this point, the files are no longer on my card, as I sucessfully removed them with an independent Dynex card reader. So far as I'm concerned, the case is closed. If the files wouldn't come off the camera with two different USB cables, on three different computers (with two different operating systems), and using two different methods, I'm confident that this is an oversight on Canon's part and not likely to be user error. Particularly considering that griptape reported the same problem with his PowerShot S3 IS.

[unata]

exact same problem here with PowerShot SD600 Digital Elph on Windows XP. Large video files do not transfer properly and show up as 0 bytes. Lost a few videos this way.

[Spiral Photo]

Here's the deal with that particular camera, the S5 IS (perhaps the same with the SD600, sounds like it). You have to load the software that comes with it, and connect the camera to the computer and simply switch the camera on. At that point, the software will automatically detect the camera and boot up. Within the program, you will be able to access your files and transfer them to the computer. It has to actually convert the video from the camera into something your computer will properly read. Once they're in there, you may have to download a video codec that will read .avi files that are MJPEG to get them to open in an editor such as Sony Vegas. Once you do, the videos are just as clear as any of the MiniDV camcorders I've played with.

Hope this helps.


I was actually hoping to find someone who has found a way to transfer via card reader without the need for the camera. Unfortunately, I believe the camera's software is necessary, and you can't open it unless the camera is connected to the computer.