Using Mac Image Capture with Nikon D70 (Direct Cable connection)

Problem: Recently I dug out my old Nikon D70 to take some pics on holiday. When I connected it to my Mac (OS X v10.8.4) via the USB cable, Image Capture fired-up as expected, but when I tired to Import them I got an error stating that Image Capture was unable to import the RAW images.

Solution: It turns out that the USB mode needs to be ‘M’ now, (Mass Storage Device Mode). To set this:

  1. Press ‘Menu’ on the D70 (after disconnecting it from the Mac.
  2. On the far left of the menu, select the spanner icon to enter the ‘Settings’ sub-menu.
  3. In the Settings menu, scroll up/down to get to the ‘USB’ setting.
  4. Enter the USB setting, and set it to ‘M’ rather than ‘P’ (Picture Transfer Protocol).
  5. Reconnect the USB cable, and the images should now import ok.