We often receive the question: How do I get my images off my camera’s internal memory?
When the camera does not have a memory card in it, the images are saved by default to the camera’s internal memory, which holds different amounts of images based on how many megapixels are built into the internal memory and what image quality and compression are selected in the camera’s menu. Once a memory\picture card is inserted in the camera, the camera then saves the photos to the memory\picture card and ignores the internal memory.
There are two ways to transfer the images from the internal memory.
To transfer photos to a computer from the internal memory using the USB cable, first remove the memory card from the camera. Then, when the camera is connected, the computer and software will only see what is in the internal memory and transfer those photos or videos. During the transfer process, the computer makes copies of the photos and videos—the original images remain in the internal memory. After the transfer is complete and the camera is safely disconnected from the computer, the contents of the internal memory can be deleted by using the MEMORY FORMAT function in the SETUP menu in the camera’s menus.
The other way to transfer photos from the internal memory is to transfer them to the memory\picture card using the BACKUP function in the SETUP menu. If there is no memory\picture card in the camera, the BACKUP function is grayed-out. During BACKUP, copies of the images are transferred to the memory\picture card—the original images remain in the internal memory. After the BACKUP is complete, the internal memory can be cleared by removing the memory\picture card and formatting the internal memory using the MEMORY FORMAT function in the SETUP menu in the camera’s menus.
When the camera is connected to a computer using the USB cable with a memory\picture card in the memory\picture card slot, the computer will only see the contents of the memory\picture card.