Can't import from SD card

[Roy Mathers]

I wonder if one of you experts can help me please? I have bought an SD to lightning lead but am having a problem. the iPad (Air) opens the images as thumbnails but will not import them. After I press the 'Import' button, the import 'circle' starts, but nothing else happens. I have waited for over half and hour - and nothing happened. Moreover, although the thumbnails show, when I try to view them larger, they are out of focus. (They are jpegs).

 

[cjmnews]

On the SD Card, there are probably 2 sets of pictures, and you may need to look at it on a laptop or computer. The first is a thumbnail, probably a short name like Thm_4589,jpg and there is the corresponding photo 20181127_4589.jpg.

There are limitations to using the SD card interface, such as the pictures need to be in a compatible format (jpg, gif, png...) and have an 8 character name and a 3 character extension. You are seeing the thumbnails because the name is short enough to be compatible. The picture may have a longer name like I have above. These will not be seen since the names are too long.

If the picture is a RAW file, or some unsupported format, they also will not be seen as the iPad can't open them.

You may need to rename the picture files to have shorter names, and I would delete the thumbnails to get rid of the grainy pictures.

See if that helps. If not, reply back with some specifics like file name, format, where the file came from and brand of SD to Lightning reader you have.

 

[Roy Mathers]

Many thanks for your reply. To clarify - they are all jpegs taken direct from the camera's SD card, and they all have the requisite naming (ie PB180258.JPG). There are no thumbnails.

When the iPad opens them, I get all the images, but can't import them, and they look out of focus if I enlarge them. If I load them on to my computer, they look perfect.

 

[Roy Mathers]

Can anyone help with this?

 

[cjmnews]

What brand of reader are you using?

 

[Roy Mathers]

It's unbranded. It's a generic one, the box of which just says 'Lightning to SD card camera connector'.

 

[cjmnews]

I am seeing lots of issues with the non-Apple reader. Without a logo or name, it will be hard to get a real fix.

You may need a supporting app that the reader depends on for good use. If you have a friend with the real Apple reader, try it on your device to see if the issues are resolved with a higher quality reader. You may need to update your iOS to be above 9.2.

 

[Roy Mathers]

My iOs is 10.2, and I don't know anywhere that I can borrow a genuine Apple reader - so it looks like I'm stuck

 

[cjmnews]

Was there any paper on usage of the device? Maybe there is a name we can track?

 

[Roy Mathers]

If there was, I can't find it!

However, this is the item I bought and am trying to use
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lightning-to-SD-Card-Camera-Reader-Adapter-for-Apple-iPhone-6s-7-8-X-iPad-Air/382622185979?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

 

[cjmnews]

Since you are seeing pictures, and you already stated that they are JPG with 8 character name and 3 character extension

I am assuming the following:
- The card is formatted Fat32
- The card has a DCIM folder
- The card has an 8 character folder under the DCIM folder.
- The card has the pictures inside the 8 character folder
- Example: \DCIM\100ABCDE\ABCD0001.JPG

You stated that these are JPG files, and yet they look fuzzy on the iPad.
Are you positive there are no .THM files to go with each picture?
A .THM file is a thumbnail, usually generated for videos or GIFs. If opened it would definitely be fuzzy.

The eBay entry stated: If you use the iCloud Photo Gallery, your full-resolution photos and videos are safely stored on iCloud and automatically added to the photo app for each device
This makes me wonder if the reader is generating a small view of the file, and assuming some iCloud service is actually transferring the full resolution pictures for you.

In the Photo app while accessing the SD card, there should be a select button in the upper right hand corner. Have you tried tapping that and selecting 1 or more files then tap the box with the up arrow in the lower left hand corner to save these to your camera roll?

 

[Roy Mathers]

Thank you very much for your very detailed reply. Unfortunately, I'm going on holiday for a couple of weeks, starting on Friday, and won't really have a chance to try all these things before then. Is it all right if I try them when I get back and resurrect this thread then? Thanks.

 

[cjmnews]

Sure. I have been doing this 12 years, no reason to stop now.

 

[Roy Mathers]

I don't really use iTunes.