I echo the comment that it "should work perferctly" - a description of how it should work: You plug your camera in, turn it on, and iPhoto launches itself, and after a few seconds asks if you want to import "number" of items.
A few points to check -
If it's a point and shoot, make sure that the camera is switched to "display" images. On my little Elph SD450, the down load does not start if the camera is set to the "take pictures" or "movie" position - only when it is set to the view pictures position.
If you've installed other imaging software, the new software may have taken away the iPhoto default setting, and that correction is addressed above.
On the cardreader side of things -
A card reader might be nice, but it shouldn't be absolutely necessary to fix your issue. In fact, you should have the same issue with a card reader as your camera if your system isn't set up to import the images from the camera for whatever reason. I added a Sandisk card reader recently that sits in it's own little stand -
http://www.compusa.com/products/pro...17325&Pn=ImageMate_12_In_1_Memory_Card_Reader and plugged it into into a USB 2.0 add-on card on my dual 1.42 PM G4 and it was a whole new world of speed. I also like it because I can plug all sorts of different cards into it.
If your camera is set up to transfer using the faster usb, and given that you have a new mac, you won't see a speed increase with a card reader on the transfer.
Good luck. Let us know when the issue gets resolved and how.