New Mac mini base model. For some reason, I cannot get the Mac to recognize my Fuji camera. I have a MacBook Air that will recognize it under the image capture app, Lightroom, capture one. But the M4 mini just will not recognize anything being connected. Anyone else with a Fuji that can check?
Mac mini, macOS 15.2
snicclefritz wrote:
New Mac mini base model. For some reason, I cannot get the Mac to recognize my Fuji camera. I have a MacBook Air that will recognize it under the image capture app, Lightroom, capture one.
First check out > Import from a camera or phone in Photos on Mac - Apple Support
But the M4 mini just will not recognize anything being connected.
Does the Mac mini recognize other USB devices..?
Anyone else with a Fuji that can check?
What model is the Fuji camera..?
If the Fuji camera has a removable SD, XD or other camera card, test the card in a USB-C card reader plugged into the Mac mini.
The dock and/or the front ports may not be suppling enough power for the camera.
Try plugging the camera directly into one of the Mac mini's rear ports.
Is the dock you are using for the mouse/kb powered by the buss or does it have its own power supply? If it is buss powered, chances are it is not getting enough power for the SD card so you need to power it (if possible) or use another solution such as a dedicated reader. I'm positive there is nothing wrong with the MM, you are just learning more about it, what it likes and doesn't like. You can research the amount of power passed through the USB port(s) (research each port) and then check what you have plugged in so you can measure the amount of draw. My experience is, when users buy inexpensive peripherals and they don't work well they first suspect the computer as the problem when it can be the peripheral.
Does not recognize the camera in Photos app either.
Works great with all other usb devices I’ve tried. And currently I do have to use my external card reader to pull the files, it’s the only way it recognizes them.
I have a MacBook Air M1 and can connect the camera with the same USB-C cable and access the contents of the camera in photos/lightroom/capture1/ImageCapture etc… This issue seems to be unique to the M4 Mini.
I have also tried resetting, creating another user (admin). Nothing has helped. I will remove the dock that I’m currently using tonight just in case it’s somehow interfering with the camera even though I’m plugging into front of the Mac Mini, and not the dock.
It is always more reliable to plug a card reader into the Mac. You may want to investigate a dock (for example from macsales.com) that has a card reader or you can simply buy a USB card reader from Amazon. Something like Amazon.com USB-C SD 4.0 Card Reader
Ironically the dock I’m using for my mouse/kb has a SD card reader in it, which does not recognize the SD card when I plug it in. If I use my Anker 3.0 USB 3.0 A/C reader the same SD card reads fine. So this feels like an issue with the Mac Mini M4 not being able to read partitions through usb hubs/controllers.
I can’t see investing in another standalone card reader just yet, as I’m hoping they can fix this issue with an update.
This issue is not present on my M1 Mac Air, no matter what configuration of cables/cameras/etc I use.
Definitely will continue to do it that way. It’s just a hassle when it comes to offloading video since I don’t have cfexpress. I have to use the Mac Air to copy the video from the camera’s CFExpress to an external drive, then plug the external drive into the Mac Mini and copy the files over.
If I figure out what the cause is (dock interference/front ports) I’ll definitely post a response for anyone else who encounters this.
Can confirm it’s an issue with the front ports only. Strangely I cannot connect my mouse, via USB-C directly , or with the dongle attached to a USB-C to A-Female adapter. The mouse does work while the dongle is plugged into the Asus dock when plugged into the same port. I don’t care as much about that as the camera now connecting with the rear USB-C’s.
Thanks for the help, glad to find a solution.
I’ll try the rear port later. But alas, I don’t have this issue with the same camera/cable on my m1 air, which is running on battery.
In that case, I would just stick with the current card reader that works.
Mac Mini M4 not recognizing camera body
