[GregX999]

Hey, I just got a K-7 and I was wondering which is the best way to get my photos onto my computer.

1. Plug the USB cable directly into the camera.

or

2. Remove the SDHC card and use a card reader of some sort.

I've been using the USB cable method as it seems easier than removing the card. Plus the cards seem a bit fragile.

Does it matter much? Is one faster (I have Class 6 cards)? Is one safer?

Greg

[dgaies]

Hey, I just got a K-7 and I was wondering which is the best way to get my photos onto my computer.

1. Plug the USB cable directly into the camera.

or

2. Remove the SDHC card and use a card reader of some sort.

I've been using the USB cable method as it seems easier than removing the card. Plus the cards seem a bit fragile.

Does it matter much? Is one faster (I have Class 6 cards)? Is one safer?

Greg

I personally always use a card reader. Actually, come to think of it, I don't think I've ever directly connected my camera to the computer. I have no idea which is the preferred way to do it, but it's worked for me for the past 10 years without issue

[noblepa]

I always use a card reader to load pictures from my K10D to my PC. I do this for a couple of reasons:

Its faster. I've never actually timed it, but it sure seems faster.

Using the USB cable drains the batteries.

I don't know if this has changed on the K-7, but on the K10D and K20D, the USB socket is simply soldered onto the main circuit board in the camera. Someone on the web has some pictures of the socket. There is no physical strain relief. The only physical structure is the four pins that carry the USB signal, which are soldered to the board. If you're not really, really careful and wiggle the cable when its attached, you can dislodge the socket from the board. Usually, this just causes the USB connection to fail and doesn't affect other camera functions, but I'd rather not risk it.

If I'm in a hurry, I can be uploading pictures from one SD card while I'm off taking more pictures with a different memory card. Can't do that if you're using the cable.

With all that being said, there's really nothing wrong with using the cable. Its mostly personal preference and whether you have a compatible card reader or not.

[RioRico]

Card reader when you have one, cable when you don't.

My multi-card reader stays plugged into my main computer, a 17" 10-pound 'laptop' that doesn't travel much any more. When traveling with a little Sony Vaio sub-notebook, I use the tiny USB plug-in that came with my 16gb Transcend SDHC card, and use cables for my non-SD devices. WARNING: not all multi-card readers are equal. I had one cheapy (now discarded) that insisted on reformatting cards after transfers. As I keep my transfer scripts ON the mem.cards, that was not a winner. My current SanDisk ImageMate works just fine, and was cheap, as am I.

[Arpe]

Card readers are faster and easier, for me.

[JohnBee]

Hey, I just got a K-7 and I was wondering which is the best way to get my photos onto my computer.

1. Plug the USB cable directly into the camera.

or

2. Remove the SDHC card and use a card reader of some sort.

I've been using the USB cable method as it seems easier than removing the card. Plus the cards seem a bit fragile.

Does it matter much? Is one faster (I have Class 6 cards)? Is one safer?

Greg

I like 8GB cards for open events, it allows me to catalog progress and take breaks between sessions(take a look around, recompose etc)

I like 16GB cards for controlled settings. They let me shoot in the buffer and work out just around right in terms of breaks.

I use 32GB cards when I just want to shoot and not fuss with anything(unorganized fun).

Anything lower than class (6) seems to kludge-up in the buffer. And even at that, I only found a handful of cards that maintain their performance across the board. While others seem to slowdown as data increases on the card. One of my latest hot deals in the price performance arena are the Patriot 8GB SDHC Class 6 card(ave. 20USD) and the Duracell 8GB SDHC Class 6(33CAD). Which both hold up excellently until full.

As for cable no cable, I prefer to use the card reader with my smaller cards because they are both cheap and expendable. And I keep a close eye on wear-and-tear(labels and plastic edges getting worn) and dispose of them at the very first sight of it.

The cable on the other hand I reserve for my 32GB card, which stays in one of my K20's most of the time. Mainly because of the cost of the card and the convenience of plugging in and walking away.

With the Kx on the other hand, we never uses cables, mainly because we use Energizer lithium batteries exclusively, and I prefer to avoid using the batteries for that. So 16GB with the card reader with that camera.

Hope this helps

[GregX999]

Lots of good points made.

It would be nice to know if the USB plug is attached more strongly on the K-7.

[Stratman]

I have a card reader that is a "tabletop" model. It has a long cord that I have connected to one of the rear USB ports on my PC. I just leave it on my computer desk, and pop the card in. I have never used the cable from camera to PC to transfer photos. The card reader is always within easy reach, and is nice and fast for transferring files...

[daniel_1234]

I always use a card reader. I don't want the camera batteries to die while I'm transferring 300 raw files...

[tibbitts]

I use a card reader, because I don't carry the original cable with the odd connector with me. I don't want to carry a separate cable for different cameras; one card reader will suffice for all the types of cards I usually encounter.

It's also nice to not have to run down the camera batteries while transferring files.

Paul

[Brangdon]

I started by using USB, but switched to removing the card. That was partly because it seemed to me the card cover was better made on my K-x. It's rigid and has catches and hinges and seems designed for a lot of open and closes. The USB socket is covered in a bit of rubber and its hinges are just more rubber. Not as nice.

Also, I'm using a modernish laptop that has the card read built in. USB means finding the cable and plugging it in at both ends, which is slightly more hassle. There is also the issue of the camera needing to be switched on to use USB, although that's not a big deal with Eneloops.

One drawback I can see is that it's possible to leave the card in the laptop when I go out taking pictures. I've never actually done that but I'd feel pretty stupid if I did. (I may or may not have a spare card depending on what bags I take.)

[tentacles]

I just bought two of these super cheap guys:
DealExtreme: $4.31 SDHC 150X High-Speed USB 2.0 Card Reader (Supports SD/MS/Mini SD/TF/M2)

I'm getting a nice 18MB/sec transfer rate from my class 6 transcend 8 gig card. At $4.31 shipped you simply can't go wrong. It works, it's reasonably fast.

edit: I'd like to note that they did send me white ones instead of black - but I don't care.

[tfischer]

Card reader here - depending on the computer, it's either built-in, or one I got on eBay for ultra-cheap. Much more convenient than dragging the camera over to the computer and trying to hook it up with a special cable.

[reeftool]

I've done it both ways. I bought a card reader because I was misplacing my cable too often and with a few camera's in the house ( kid's, my wife's and mine), all with a different cable and some with different cards, I bought a 7-1 card reader which we all use all the time. The card reader also allows the SD cards to be used for other purposes. A card reader allows you to use your SD cards a flash drives for any data. My daughter recently did a Powerpoint presentation for work on the desktop and downloaded it to an SD card with the reader and she used it later on her laptop.

[ll_coffee_lP]

Card reader here. I've already got more cables/cords for crap then I can even count...so using a build in reader for my PC makes way more sense to me.

c[_]