USB A connectors

[#1]

@penneck 

An AI search suggests the two ports are

• Micro-USB (USB 2.0): This is the primary port for data transfer to a computer. Crucially, this model supports USB charging, meaning you can charge the battery while it is inside the camera using a power bank or wall adapter.

• Micro-HDMI (Type D): Used for connecting the camera to a TV or external monitor to view your photos and 4K videos. Note that it does not support clean HDMI out for advanced live streaming setups.

This agrees with the Panasonic camera I own, it's slow but the USB cable which might have been included with the camera can be used. 

or

Buy a SD card reader and use that to copy data across

[#2]

@penneck A very brief AI search produces:

The Panasonic Lumix DC-FZ82 (or FZ80/81/83) features a Micro USB 2.0 port for data transfer/charging and a Micro HDMI (Type D) port for video output. It supports wireless photo transfer via Wi-Fi and connects to PCs as a plug-and-play USB mass storage device.

So, RTFM would be my first advice, to confirm the above. And ignore HDMI as others have also inferred.

Secondly, if correct why not just RTFM and transfer via Wi-Fi?

The camera may well have been supplied with a suitable USB cable, Micro USB to USB2, which will work fine in a laptop USB3 port (usually with a blue strip). If not, buy one, job done.

[#3]

I've just managed to download the user manual for the camera. It put up a fight and took 3 or 4 attempts but its here now.

I have also managed to get my wife's camera and charger. The camera charger socket also has the USB symbol next to it, so my wife telling me to use the HDMI appears to have been an unintentiional wild goose chase. However, at least I know which way to go at the caera end. The charger has a detachable cable which at the mains end is a black USB A connector (not white or blue). It turns out it doesn't have the capability to do data transfers so I guess that is why it is black. It also means I cannot use it for connecting the camera to a pc so I need to buy another cable.

However, I am still at the point where I dont know if a USB 3 plug will connect to a USB 2 socket, and work, without causing a problem. My understanding of the difference between USB 2 and USB 3 is that USB 3 has two extra data contacts. Am I wrong about those extra contacts?

Thankyou all for your help

[#4]

Stop the circles about USB 2 vs 3 sockets.
Does the USB plug fit is the only question that matters.

I am very surprised the supplied USB cable does not perform file transfers.
Have you even tried it ?

Does your laptop have a slot for reading an SD card ?
if it does just pop out the memory card from the camera.

[#5]

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@penneck wrote:

However, I am still at the point where I dont know if a USB 3 plug will connect to a USB 2 socket, and work, without causing a problem. My understanding of the difference between USB 2 and USB 3 is that USB 3 has two extra data contacts. Am I wrong about those extra contacts?

Thankyou all for your help

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YES - A USB3 'plug' will fit a USB2 socket - but will perform at USB2, not USB3, speeds - which you can safely ignore for your purposes.

[#6]

Thats it. Thankyou jab1. I've been wading through a long wikipedia description of USB connectors, and couldn't find that answer there. Now I can go looking for a cable that has USB A plug at one end and a Micro-B connector at the other, and don't need to worry about whether it is Type 2 or Type 3

Thankyou to all. Sorry to have been a pain

[#7]

@penneck 

Now I can go looking for a cable that has USB A plug at one end and a Micro-B connector at the other, and don't need to worry about whether it is Type 2 or Type 3

Double check, because whilst AI says its a Micro-B , the Panasonic manual page 233 https://tda.panasonic-europe-service.com/docs/1524943927-6011-194753A7E9D71F8197A2EE7666F7164CDADB2E... 

says its a USB-C !! It also says that if a USB cable is supplied with the camera , then you can use that.

[#8]

@MisterW  I tried that cable that was part of the charger between my pc and my phone, and my phone stated that it was charging only not data. When my phone is connected to its own charger I dont get that message

[#9]

@penneck I suspect that means your phone USB port is set to 'Charging only' . So when connected to a charger its fine, but when connected to a data source it warns that the connection will be 'charging only'.

Have you actually tried that cable from the camera to the PC ?

[#10]

@MisterW  I cannot find anything in your suggested document that tells me what kind of connector the USB/Charge connector is, and certainly it is not on page 233. Am I doing something wrong? That is not unusual for me

[#11]

Maybe read page 234

edit: for me I recall the camera would appear as a USB drive when connected to a PC using File Explorer

[#12]

@penneck are you looking at a printed manual that came with the camera OR the one I linked to above ?

The one I linked to is from the Panasonic europe site and is for the DC-FZ82D which I assume is the correct manual , maybe it isnt ? but that manual certainly shows the USB socket on page 233 and describes it as USB-C

edit : Maybe read page 234

Ah! Thanks @Dan_the_Van , i was looking at the page number shown at the bottom of the page rather than the pdf page number😀

[#13]

@MisterW  I'm trying it now. The LED on top of the camera is now lit, but my computer doesn't see the camera in Windows Explorer. Iwould expect it to show up in the list of drives.Is that wrong?

[#14]

@Dan_the_Van  I've read pages 231 to 236 - nothing about the connector type

@MisterW  I have used the document you sent the link for.

[#15]

@penneck 

From page 233 ( or pdf document page 234 )

---

Use the supplied USB connection cable or a commercially available Type-C USB connection
cable that complies with USB standards.

and the picture shows a USB-C type socket!

and like @Dan_the_Van says , i also would have expected it to appear as a drive in windows.

Does windows produce a notification when you plug in the camera ?

Does windows Device manager shows anything either in the drives or usb sections ?