Memory Card Readers

[rescue902]

I am looking for a memory card reader that connects to a USB via a cable.

Anyone have any experience with one for a SD card? My computer is a little

dated so there are no USB ports in the front of the tower. With a card reader I

will be able to delete images using the computer right?

 

Thanks,

Jason

[yves_jalbert]

Jason, I use the Sandisk 12 in 1 card reader with both Compact Flash and SD memory. USB to the computer (either with the short supplied cable or a longer one). Always worked great, can't complain. General guideline for memory cards is that you format them from the camera only and not the pc. However deleting images shouldn't be a problem I think. I've done it on my cards numerous times.

[emre]

You will need a USB port to connect the reader. Check the back. Yes, you can delete the files using the operating system.

[bobatkins]

If you're not running Windows XP (or maybe 2000) you will probably have to load some sort of driver to recognize and use the card reader.

 

These days not all card readers come with drivers. Make sure whatever you buy supports your operating system. Things can get a bit flakey on Windows 98. Forget it if you're using Windows 95 (which had, in theory, some USB support, but I never got it to do anything on my Win 95 laptop with a USB port)

[custom film holders for fl]

If you make the purchase, you might want to consider paying a little more and buying a unit that both reads and writes to disk. The ability to write to disks is very nice to have. I bought a unit online for around $10 from pcmicrostore.com that does both and came with a nice long cord which had the universal common connector so it also allowed me to use it to connect to my camera. Make sure to buy one that is USB 2.0 compatible for the time you upgrade your PC. 2.0 is so much faster! Double check that it is USB 1.1 backward compatible (most are).

<p> Doug<p>

<a href="http://www.betterscanning.com">BetterScanning.com</a>

[marc_rochkind]

I second the recommendation for the SanDisk 12-in-1.

 

If you have Windows XP, it connects without any drivers or installation. Try that first before

you install any software that may come with it.

 

I don't know what the comment about reading and writing meant. The 12-in-1 and, to my

knowledge, all others, can both read and write.

 

However, don't erase files or reformat with the PC. Use the camera. You'll probably get

away with using the PC, but there are some theoretical reasons why the camera would be

more reliable. (That is, leave the card in a more stable state.)

 

Another reason for not erasing with the PC, which has nothing to do with the hardware, is

that you'll want to verify that the images are OK before erasing, and doing it in the PC

might encourage you to erase too soon.

 

I have a free image ingestion program available at basepath.com/ImageIngester that can

ingest, make a backup (perhaps on another devive), and verify the images, all with a single

click. Or, if you set it for automatic operation, it can do it with zero clicks.

 

--Marc

[frank_skomial]

"Make sure to buy one that is USB 2.0 compatible"

 

Makes sure that it is "High Speed USB 2.0" compatible. The Full Speed USB 2.0 is much slower.

 

There was separate post on this subject last week, that explained a lot more...