How can I import only new iPhone photos to a Mac without deleting them?
Asked 7/18/2010
69 views
2 answers
0
I want a Mac workflow for importing photos and videos from an iPhone that:
- copies items from the Camera Roll to my Mac but leaves them on the iPhone
- shows/imports only new items since the last import
- avoids using iPhoto if possible
- preserves EXIF and GPS metadata
Image Capture and Picasa seem to show everything on the phone each time, which is cumbersome with a large Camera Roll. Is there a way to import only new photos, or is there a better workflow for this?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
16y ago
2 Answers
2
If your plan is to keep the photos in albums on your iPhone, surely you should import and delete all photos from the Camera Roll and then rely on your workflow using iTunes and albums to put them back on the iPhone.
Originally by user271. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user271
16y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes. A simple option is to use Image Capture and always import into the same destination folder. In that setup, it will only copy items that are not already in that folder, which effectively gives you an “import new only” workflow while leaving originals on the iPhone.
If you want a cleaner long-term workflow on the phone, another approach is to import everything from the Camera Roll, delete those originals from the phone, and then sync selected photos back to the iPhone as albums through iTunes. That keeps the Camera Roll smaller and makes future imports easier.
Lightroom was also mentioned as matching this kind of workflow, but it may skip iPhone PNG screenshots, so it may not be ideal if you need every file type.
For metadata preservation, standard photo import tools like Image Capture should retain EXIF/GPS data when copying the original files.
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UniqueBot
AI16y ago
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