I just got my first dslr, a Canon Rebel XT (350D). It uses CF cards. In my quest for a low priced entry dslr I saw several cameras on eBay with bent pins for the CF card. Is this a real risk to worry about with removing the card to use a card reader every time?
As I said earlier I spent a good amount of time looking into this today trying to find a reason other than speed to use a card reader since I am used to the cable method, I'm comfortable and don't feel like switching.
What I found is many who have made their decision based on the fear of a potential problem which would/should only occur if you are doing something wrong. With care and some choices you should be fine either way.
Many who chose camera cable did so because they were worried about:
damaging the card through handling
static discharge damaging the card while handling
bending contact pins in the camera or reader or loosing a pin into the card
wearing out the card slot on the camera
cheap readers corrupting their cards
wearing out the card door on the camera
Many who chose card reader did so because they were worried about:
damaging the camera while hooked to the computer either through falling off of their desk or from power spikes/surges through the USB cord
damaging the USB port on the camera, or wearing it out through repeated use
using up the batteries
mysterious corruption of the card by this method
wearing out the flap/door to the USB port on the camera
Now of all the fears seem to have some basis in fact, however most of the fears can be alleviated by simply doing things the right way.
Don't force the card in a slot. It should slide smooth and snug, if it takes effort you are potentially damaging something.
Eject the card properly from the computer after copying files, no matter the method. Never unhook the USB cable from a reader or camera while the files are being copied or any folders or pictures on the card are open. Copy the files however you do by whatever means, but don't read/edit/look at the photos while they are on the card, from a reader or camera, big potential for corruption ESPECIALLY while they are still being copied to the computer.
Jury seems to be out on cheap card readers, lots of anecdotal stuff about them going bad and destroying a card.
LOTS of anecdotal stuff about USB hubs going bad and destroying whatever they were hooked to, be it camera or card reader and the card.
Don't use questionable memory cards.
This last point could have a lot to do with the question of bent pins and EBAY. I read lots of stories about cheap cards that didn't fit right and bent pins in the camera or on the reader. Also the cheap cards seemed to be responsible for a lot of corruption of individual files. Some that were say 8 gig when purchased and initially formated became 6 gig cards after being used one time. Memory is cheap, buying cards from a reputable source seems like the best bet to prevent issues, then just take care to copy the files correctly and all should be good.
As an aside to the point about wearing out USB or Card slot on the camera, I don't recall which site I saw it on, and i'm paraphrasing the numbers but the USB port on most DSLR or newer P&S cameras should be good to ~10,000 cycles plugging and unplugging, and the card slot to 50,000. If you are doing it right you should not have an issue, the card is meant and designed to be removed and installed a lot... likely the shutter will die long before either the usb port or card slot on the camera.
sorry for the ramble, but it has been my pet project for today.
) approach since I like the way Canon Software organizes the images in date named folders. It saves me a lot of time and effort.
