Need a Good Card Reader

[BumpyMunky]

An argument against using a card reader is that the pins in the camera connecting to the CF card have a finite life.  If they get bent, the camera's useless and you have an expensive repair job on your hands.  If you use the USB connection and it goes wrong, you can still use a card reader.

I've never had this problem with a body, but with cheap card readers all the time.  My first CF reader was an old Sandisk ImageMate. Worked very well for years until the USB interface went wonky, but the physical CF interface was solid.  A number of cheap readers don't have a deep enough (or tight enough) cavity, and if the card slops around on the way in, bent pins almost every time.  A couple of the pins are longer (ground pins I guess) and those typically are the ones that bend.  Not too much of a deal to straighten with a jewellers screwdriver, but a pain if it happens a lot.

My latest CF readers are the Lexar USB 3.0 dual readers.  Like the Sandisk (and any CF body I've used, for that matter), a deep and solid cavity, and the card slides in positively every time.

[Caps18]

I use a $12 one I got at Target.  It reads different cards, and works pretty good and is small.  Not the fastest though.  I used to have a ExpressPort one that went in the MacBook Pro 17", but it broke.

[EELinneman]

I'll second others recommendation of the Lexar USB 3.0 card reader.  Rock solid, closed small and the usb cord can be removed for easy packing and travel if you take it with you.  I've had zero problems with mine and it replaced the previous USB 2.0 model which sprouted legs and walked away about the same time my son left for school.....

[Chewy734]

http://www.amazon.com/Lexar-Professional-Dual-Slot-Reader-LRW300URBNA/dp/B0050C9ZMC/

[KyleSTL]

I have a cheap Vantec internal 53-in-1 reader that has sustained good speeds with my cheap cards (4GB Kingston CF, entry level).  I typically see 17-25 MB/sec.  I had an internal before this, though, that would not exceed 2 MB/s with any type of media (I forget the brand, but it was purchase back in 2007).  My brother had the same problems with a Silverstone internal model that would not go above 1.5 MB/s.  Seems it's pretty hit-and-miss with card readers.  And before anyone says anything, yes, it was operating at USB 2.0 speeds.

I've never had a problem with card readers dropping or causing resets or needing to be unplugged like others have mentioned.  I have needed to bend pins back, though.  A reader and a Digital Rebel were saved with a jewelers screwdriver as BumpyMunky mentioned.  I don't think bent pins in CF slots are as common and concerning as some would lead you to believe.

[pj1974]

I have a good internal card reader, that I ordered as part of my PC (2 years ago). It operates at very much the same speed as an external USB2.0 card reader I have.

Many many years ago (back in the 'bad old days') I had a few experiences with pins being bent in the connections between graphics card & monitor cord (where these were not inserted carefully enough). And a short time later I had to tell a person their card reader (USB1.1) was broken because they had bent the pins in that.

Since then I've been 'wary' of bending any pins, so I usually connect my DSLRs to my computer using the USB cable.  (Hence I'm probably a bit more 'wary' than I need to be, but I prefer using a few % of battery power than 'risk' bending pins by removing / changing cards all the time).

The speed from connecting my 7D directly to my PC USB2.0 is about the same speed as the internal card read and external card reader. (My 350D is somewhat slower).  The speed connecting my 7D to my computer is very appoximately a bit quicker than 1GB per minute.  As I don't take many videos, and shoot mainly JPEG, it works well for me about 90% of the time.

However, what is annoying (I'm not sure if this is an anomaly) - but using 'My computer', raw files on my 7D (and maybe my 350D also) are only viewed as a 'double JPEG' eg IMG_1234(1).jpg and when copied, is not the raw. So when I shoot raw files (eg tricky lighting, or to really get maximum sharpness & dynamic range) - then I take my Sandisk Extreme Card out of my camera and put into my internal card reader.

In summary, for me, the 'cable' is the most useful solution. I usually copy the files (nearly always just JPEGS) and while I'm waiting for it to do that, I am doing something else on my PC (eg sorting other photos, updating facebook, etc). I have set my camera to auto power down after 1 minute, so it shuts down a short time after the copy transfer is complete.

Hope my post is useful for some people.

Paul