p.3 #2 · how do canon users transfer their images to the computer?
stits wrote:
Card reader. Canon, for some unknown reason doesn't set the cards to be viewed as mountable drives.
Hmm, maybe that's an OS thing. My Canon formated CF cards always mount as drives on Mac Desktops. You can drag 'n drop, use the Canon download/import app or reformat in the card in Disk Utility.
I use a Firewire card reader. I don't have a USB reader but I'm pretty sure they mount on the desktop as well.
p.3 #5 · how do canon users transfer their images to the computer?
I am surprised people even bring speed up in card readers. I have 2 one usb and the other usb 2 and I never felt that I had to wait too long for photos to download. Usually i plug the card and i start downloading and then check some posts here. After that its done and i can do my post processing.
p.3 #10 · how do canon users transfer their images to the computer?
I see the usefulness of card readers for many of you, for transfer rates and multiple cards, but I've never had to use my backup card, so my main memory card stays in the camera at all times.
I only take pictures casually and I'm never on anyone's clock but my own. I click up the upload button and go get a drink from downstairs. I come back up and I start sifting through. The way I see it, I have no need for faster transfer rates and the cord takes up such a small space in my camera bag anyway.
p.3 #11 · how do canon users transfer their images to the computer?
keithreeder wrote:
High speed USB 2 can be faster than Firewire, and "normal" USB 2 is only a hair slower - and then the only real Firewire advantage is with sustained data transfer (which downloading images isn't),
It's a bit silly - and inaccurate - to say that "USB sucks".
USB 2 card reader for me, using Windows Explorer and Drag 'N' Drop.
I'd like to know where you got your numbers
In real world experience, FW800>FW400=USB2.0.
Perhaps they do not suck, but I'd liken USB2.0 to a cessna and FW800 to a jet.
p.3 #12 · how do canon users transfer their images to the computer?
The fundamental reason why USB2 is faster on paper than FW400 but isn't in real life is that FW is full duplex, while USB is not. So because the devices are constantly chatting, it kills the thruput in USB but not in FW.
p.3 #13 · how do canon users transfer their images to the computer?
Esquire08 wrote:
+1.
If I dont have to remove something that could, even in the most rarest circumstances, damage my gear, I wont.
In my experience, changing a lot of CF cards in the field, even under time pressure, I have never bent a single pin in any of my cameras. However, I have managed to bend a pin several times in a card reader or a memory bank. That's because the guide rail inside the camera is very long, the size of the card, whereas in card readers most of the card remains visible and thus the guide rails are quite short. This makes it possible to insert the card in a slight angle, not matching the pins.
Even bending a pin is not a catastrophe - with a small screwdriver it is easy enough to straighten it in seconds.
I would consider the USB cable actually a bigger risk to the camera - if it gets caught somewhere when moving the camera, the small USB plug in the camera can be damaged. I've managed to break the USB plug in my Nikon Coolpix 990 and the remote control plug in my 400D, exactly under such circumstances (though in dark, doing astrophotography).
p.3 #18 · how do canon users transfer their images to the computer?
Tomagado wrote:
I'd like to know where you got your numbers
Aside from ample information about this being available courtesy of Google (example), I've done my own testing on the very (Firewire 800-capable) PC I'm typing this on, using a borrowed-from-the-office Sandisk Firewire reader.
Firewire 800 was slightly faster than high-speed USB 2.0, but not to the extent that would make buying a Firewire card worthwhile.
And Firewire 400 is significantly slower than USB 2.0.
p.3 #20 · how do canon users transfer their images to the computer?
Pre-Face: This is not a pissing match, just providing accurate data.
keithreeder wrote:
Firewire 800 was slightly faster than high-speed USB 2.0, but not to the extent that would make buying a Firewire card worthwhile.
Interesting.... FW800 on my MBP & iMac is more than twice as fast, than USB 2.0 is, when downloading the same card, with the exact same information.
keithreeder wrote:
And Firewire 400 is significantly slower than USB 2.0.
I believe you are mistaken with regard to this statement.
Again, I have simultaneously downloaded twin cards on USB 2.0 & FW400 at the same time, and each time the FW400 completed the task' faster, than USB. USB is rated at 480 Megabits, FW is rated at 400 Megabits. However, FW is constantly streaming the data, whereas, USB is sending the data in blocks of information. I have never actually heard of USB hitting 480/MB...
I used to be a USB 2.0 Faithful user, until, I added a FW400 PCI card to my WinXP desktop. Then I bought the Sandisk FW Reader. Then I started dumping 4 & 8GB cards full of Raw Images, and noticeably saw the difference between USB & FW. Then I bought a Macbook Pro, and truly saw the difference between FW400/1394a & USB 2.0....
Here is a quote from Wikipedia, which is quoted from PC Magazine, TechTV, & other sources: LINK
"Although similar in theoretical maximum transfer rate, FireWire 400 tends to have the performance edge over USB 2.0 Hi-Speed in real-world uses, especially in high-bandwidth use such as external hard-drives.[19][20][21][22] The newer FireWire 800 standard is twice as fast as FireWire 400 and outperforms USB 2.0 Hi-Speed both theoretically and practically."
Stepping down from the Podium.....
To the OP:
I use Card Readers. I have never bent an interface pin in 5+ years of using Digital SLR's & Card Readers. And as has been stated, if you actually bend a pin, just take a small flat head screw driver and bend it back into place.
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