# Card readers



## 036 (Feb 27, 2003)

Hi all

What are card readers for? I looked at one today, it appeared to emphasise that data tranfer is faster via USB. But as far as I know my camera connects to a USB port anyway.

The only advantage I can see is that it might save wear and tear on the very small and not very robust plug/socket on the camera. Not a good arrangement as I plug it in and out several times a day...







the camera lead that is.

Si


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## Stan (Aug 7, 2003)

Si,

they use the USB ports power, not the cameras. Saves batteries.


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## MIKE (Feb 23, 2003)

Hi Si,

A card reader is just as you say, connect it to your computer and put your memory card in and get your images direct off the card or put imformation back into your card. Don't know if they are any faster, but you can leave it connected and take your card out of the camera and just slot it in which might be more convenient.

MIKE..


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## 036 (Feb 27, 2003)

Thanks again Stan and Mike. There seems to be a big spread in price: any recommendations?

Next question: how reliable are memory cards? Is it wiser to use several small one rather than large ones if away on hols?

Simon


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## Roger (May 17, 2003)

As far as wear and tare are concerned, its reall swings & roundabouts...you either wear out the usb socket or the card socket & connector. IMHO, use the USB socket and leave the card in situ, after all, you can use the camera with a worn USB socket, but more problematic with a worn card socket.

My Sony uses USB2, but it doesnt seem much faster that either the card reader or USB1

Roger


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## Stan (Aug 7, 2003)

Si,

Jessops card readers have a two year guarantee and Belkin are lifetime.

Cards are reliable. Compact flash has an mtbf of a million hours, for example.

Pick the size of card you need simply by capacity of pictures.


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## MIKE (Feb 23, 2003)

Si,

Get your card's off e-bay they seem to be about 1/2 price. I pay about Â£20 for 128mb flash cards on buy it now. Have had no problems with them, though they are not actual camera brands like you might see in Argos etc.

mike..


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## Andy Mac (Jun 11, 2003)

Si,

The card readers are not really needed, just connect your camera via USB.

If you had lots of different cameras with different cards then yes maybe needed.

CF cards, as I read a whileback are pretty hardy, they should withstand being dropped from 20ft onto concrete, or something similar.

Someone said that it would save the connection socket life on the camera, but I had to send back a new Nikon Coolpix 5700, because the CF card pins were shorted by putting in a CF card that bent the pins in the camera.

For the past year I have kept the CF card in and downloaded from the camera, no problem.


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## Mrcrowley (Apr 23, 2003)

I use a lead mostly. I have a laptop & can transfer whether in my office or kitchen. I've got a printer where you just stick your card in the side. However, I wondered if it was more damaging taking the card out of the camera?


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## Stan (Aug 7, 2003)

Paul,

It's most likely that the camera will be out of date(or worthless) before you wear it out!

Just enjoy it  IMVHO

Stan.


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## Mrcrowley (Apr 23, 2003)

Thanks for that Stan - bloody good point.

Looks like i'll have to go to bed. Nowt going on here....


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## USMike (Mar 16, 2003)

Some of the cheaper Compact Flash cards operate at slower speeds. This means it takes longer for the image to be written to the card. Some cards are 4X, 8X, etc. Nikon FAQ's say



> In general the "Write Speed" ratings (i.e. 12x, 8x, 16x, etc.) used by some manufacturers is based on the CD rom standard where 1x=150,000 bytes per second (KBps) but there are many ways to measure this and rating speeds can be deceiving.


I use a 512Kb 16X card in my Nikon Coolpix 2500 which I find operates much faster than the original Nikon card. I like the speed for outdoor pictures. It doesn't matter how fast the card is when you're taking pictures of watches; the lighting is much more important

I always load my pics to the PC and erase them from the card. I back-up the hard drive daily so hopefully I won't loose any. Not a big deal anyway because my pics stink.

GOOD LUCK


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## Andy Mac (Jun 11, 2003)

Faster CF cards are great IF you have a FAST digital SLR.

In the usual non PRO cameras that we use, the camera itself is not able to read and write to a fast CF card to its maximum posible speed.

Have a look at this:

CF Cards explained, tests and trials.


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## Roger (May 17, 2003)

> The card readers are not really needed, just connect your camera via USB


I use the card in mine to transport scans and other photos not taken on the camera...can be a useful portable drive. I cant do this via the USB cable.

BTW I had a Fuji fitted with a 1gHz microdrive, but read on a few sites that the microdrives have a reliability problem

Roger


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## traveller (Feb 27, 2003)

I was going to ask about the feasability of using a cardreader as a portable drive as an alternative to the dedicated storage devices. Have you used this method for other types of files and data Roger? Does it work o.k? The fact that varying capacity storage media cards can be changed appeals.


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## Roger (May 17, 2003)

Traveller,

Yes, we have used cardreaders on many occasions to transfer files around the family and also to work.

We tend to use multi-slot readers (my own has 4 slots and will read 6 types of card) this covers nearly all current types.

We usually transfer .jpgs. mp3, , scans and even small movie files (mp2 I think).

The rest of the family mostly wave XP base pc.s so its just "plug and pray/play" with the readers.

its always worked well. and, just for fun, I copied Windows XP onto the 1gHz microdrive that I had recently in a Fuji 603.

The cost of readers on the 'bay and elsewhere is so low that it make a viable alternative

Roger


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## traveller (Feb 27, 2003)

Thanks Roger - "plug and pray" sometimes is the correct description.







Yes I've seen readers on oboy that's why I was considering a one as an alternative. As you suggest a multi slot reader would be the best. I already have Smartmedia and Multimedia/SD memory cards. I have seen a portable memory device with the facility to change cards (SD) I think but it's about Â£50.


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## Roger (May 17, 2003)

Traveller,

The one I have was about Â£15 and, as it shows in "my computer" as 4 seperate removeable drives (one for each slot), you can swap data between cards with "windows explorer" whic is useful

Roger


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## traveller (Feb 27, 2003)

Thanks again Roger, a trawl through oboy methinks


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## 036 (Feb 27, 2003)

Hi all

Thanks for all the replies / advice.



> use the USB socket and leave the card in situ, after all, you can use the camera with a worn USB socket, but more problematic with a worn card socket


Seems logical Roger.

It sounds as if I might find a reader useful for Word documents etc, even if not for photos.

Simon


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## image_doctor (Sep 29, 2010)

HI speed flash card is probably the way to go.


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## blackandgolduk (Apr 25, 2005)

Awesome thread recovery! Just over seven years between posts...


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