mount camera as external drive?

[jeffdlb]

I can plug my digital camera into my PC via USB and see the photos as a new removable storage unit. Is there any way to connect the camera to the phone in the same way? I'd need a mini-to-micro USB cable, but more importantly some appropriate software on the phone.

My goal is to be able to take a photo with the camera and then use the phone to email the photo or upload it to the web. I know there are a couple of cameras now that can do uploads, but the procedure is cumbersome.

P.s. Phone is HTC Evo.

 

[Copleo]

I expect the iPad 2 (or 3) to be able to do that, but I'm not aware of any current smartphones that can.
So why don't you shoot with your phone and upload that photo? It's a piece of cake.

 

[jeffdlb]

So why don't you shoot with your phone and upload that photo? It's a piece of cake.

I do that all the time, but I'd also like to be able to take pictures with a better-quality camera. This will be especially true if I downgrade the phone camera from 8MP (HTC Evo) to 5MP (HTC Shift).

 

[Copleo]

If your camera takes SDHC cards it could wirelessly transfer your photos straight from the camera over WiFi to any website of your choice, and to your PC. No need for your phone in the middle.
You can then access those from your phone via a browser or free Teamviewer and do whatever you want with them.

 

[wildland]

I do that all the time, but I'd also like to be able to take pictures with a better-quality camera. This will be especially true if I downgrade the phone camera from 8MP (HTC Evo) to 5MP (HTC Shift).

Yeah, the smartphone's ability to take a picture and share it right away is really amazing - I use it all the time for sending in paperwork from the field and for sharing little things with friends and family... however when I want a good picture, I reach for a real camera - my little Panasonic LX-3 blows doors on the Incredible's camera (though the Inc. makes better phone calls ) and my Canon 5D Mark II and selection of Canon L glass makes the LX-3 look like a webcam (albeit my pack weighs around 30 lbs. with all my lenses and my tripod)... It would be cool once in a while though to hook the cameras to my phone and be able to upload/share with the phone.

 

[Copleo]

Yeah, the smartphone's ability to take a picture and share it right away is really amazing - I use it all the time for sending in paperwork from the field and for sharing little things with friends and family... however when I want a good picture, I reach for a real camera - my little Panasonic LX-3 blows doors on the Incredible's camera (though the Inc. makes better phone calls ) and my Canon 5D Mark II and selection of Canon L glass makes the LX-3 look like a webcam (albeit my pack weighs around 30 lbs. with all my lenses and my tripod)... It would be cool once in a while though to hook the cameras to my phone and be able to upload/share with the phone.

Pulling 5D image files through your Incredible will heavily tax that little fella's toy processor. And 5D HD videos will choke it.

Want good pictures? Use gear that's up to the task.

 

[wildland]

Processing a 25mb RAW file on my phone would probably not treat the phone well at all (and I doubt anyone's made an app for RAW conversion anyway), but pulling an in-camera jpeg (say 10MB) to the pone and uploading it would be no different than uploading any comparably sized file (say a minute of video), and I do that all the time.

 

[Copleo]

pulling an in-camera jpeg (say 10MB) to the pone and uploading it would be no different than uploading any comparably sized file (say a minute of video), and I do that all the time.

If you're doing it tethered you'll be doing it over the USB 1 protocol, and are consequently limited to USB 1's max throughput of 400 Kb/s (Kilobits, not KiloBytes!). Now imagine you're uploading 100 photo files of 10MB. You do the math how long that will take...