Camera

If I buy a camera in Japan, when I take it to the U.S., will I be able to upload the pictures onto a computer in the U.S. using the equipment that the camera came with? Thanks for any response!

Yes, but the difficulty of getting set up depends on how you transfer your pictures. If you normally hook the camera directly up to the computer by USB cable and need to use software that came with your camera to transfer pics then you will need to install that software on your us computer as well. You also might need to find an English version of that software online.

However If you usually take the memory card out of the camera and plug it into your computer through a card reader (either built in to the computer or an external one) then you can just do the same with a us computer.

Unless you are after a particular camera that is unavailable in the USA, I would advise you to get your camera in the USA before you leave as prices are generally cheaper than in Japan.

Also, the Japanese warranty will not be valid in the USA.

I do not know about the price difference between Japan and the US but there might be some other reason to buy the camera in the US (ahead of time).
-No custom issues/problems.
-For sure an English manual.
-If you buy the camera ahead of time you have time to learn the camera so you can use better all options of the camera and do not need to spent premium time in Japan to get familiar with the camera and reduce the risk to miss photo opportunities because you have to find out what the best setting is for a particular scene. (The letter is of course not that important if you use the full automatic mode).

BTW If you want to buy a specific model you can investigate what the prices are in Akihabara or at the major Japanese camera stores.

Have a nice trip.
Butch

A friend of us bought a camera in Japan at Yodobashi cameras a few years ago. I am not sure that it was a real bargain but she wanted it...

She got the CD with English instructions, the camera had an English menu, and she had no problems unloading photos once at home...and she was over 50 then, and not a computer wiz.

The OP is a resident of Japan, so the reasons people listed to buy in the US, should instead be read as reasons to buy in Japan.

Momotaro,

Do you have a particular camera in mind? If so we can tell you better what your options are. Also, be sure to price check on http://www.kakaku.com once you decide on a model, as you can save quite a bit of money shopping over the internet.

Short answer.

YES

Even newer computers will load up generic drivers enough to transfer images/files.

Except on cameras that don't support USB mass transfer (which seems to be the general trend of recent digital cameras)

My old (2002) digi-cam from Japan I took home to the US and my pc (windows) can download the images using the download wizard process.

If this doesn't happen with your Japan-bought camera, it could be that the computer isn't recognizing your camera as a USB device with downloadable content - your computer might be old, damaged USB drivers, or it has been disabled from doing that particular task (for security).

If you use windows and your camera has a USB cable, you can try this:
In "My Computer", you should see your camera or a new but unfamiliar drive that appears/disappears when you (dis)connect your camera to USB. Open that drive and search the folders within - search for the folder that has the most data in it (right-click, properties)- and you should come across the one with the pics saved but labeled as a bunch of characters. You should be able to copy/cut and paste to a folder on your computer and rename them manually.

Bypass it with a by taking out the memory chip and putting it on the computer via an adapter. Problem solved. Otherwise bring your software cds or download them via the web which shouldn't be too hard to do.