If all else fails, read the instructions
I looked at the instructions for transferring images to my computer, and found an interesting note about something called PTP, or Picture Transfer Protocol. It turns out if you leave the camera in the default "Normal" mode, iPhoto won't notice it, but if you switch the camera to PTP (which seems to have no drawbacks other than certain size limitations), iPhoto will automatically launch and recognize it.
Of course, if Apple weren't such a strong believer in the Minimalist Documentation philosophy, the iPhoto docs might mention that fact somewhere. Sigh.
Last time I interviewed for jobs, three years and some months ago, I interviewed at Apple, and at an animation company called PDI (they're the ones who made Antz and at least a fair bit of Shrek), and at a Xerox PARC spinoff called Inxight. All of them were very interesting companies doing cool work, but in retrospect (I was just thinking about this this morning, as I drove past PDI for the first time in ages on the way to the camera store) it's a very good thing I didn't take those jobs (and in the case of Apple, wasn't offered the job); none of them was really a good fit for my attitudes and temperament. Apple believes in Minimalist Documentation (I told them I pretty much believe in Maximilist Documentation) (and I would've been documenting AppleWorks, a product I don't have much interest in); PDI told me that 50-hour work weeks at 40-hour pay rates are standard in the Valley, and that they had extremely flexible hours, allowing me to come in to work as late as 9:30 on rare occasions (and it would've been doing developer docs instead of end-user); and Inxight was making Windows-only software and wanted me to do developer docs, and required a drug test for all potential employees. (I don't take any drug stronger than chocolate; I just object to the tests on principle.)
And having drifted that far from the ostensible subject of this intended-to-be-brief entry, I think I'd better go do a little packing and then sleep. But I'm pleased that the camera now works the way I expected it to.