I would like to know how you transfer your pictures from your camera to your computer, USB 1.1 card reader, USB 2.0 card reader, Firewire card reader, PCMCIA card adaptor, plug camera to computer, or other method (Wi-fi?)
How long does it usually take to unload a full card of pictures?
Which do you think is the fastest method?

I used to plug my camera in but find the card reader more convenient now. It can take quite a while to unload a 256 meg card. I even installed a usb 2 card and things can still be slow. I wish I had a faster way.

I just use my USB cable that came with the camera.

My new HP Photosmart 7660 has a built in card reader though, so I might start using that. But then again, I might not. I've only got one card, so probably won't end up bothering to take the card out of the camera, etc.


I think a USB 2.0 reader (provided your port and bus on your computer supports 2.0) would be the fastest. Or if your camera has a USB 2.0 conneciton, that would work too.

Hey no fair, I wanted to tick two boxes! I use a USB2 card reader and a PCMCIA reader, the PCMCIA gets the most use though and at only $11 on E-Bay I am rather happy with it. A 512mb card takes around 6 minutes to copy off.

The main reason I have the other reader is in case one gets misplaced or damaged, I couldn't handle going back to using the cable. Thankfully Canon has made the wise choice to use USB2 on the 20D.

I used to use a plug-in USB 1.1 adapter, but now my printer has a USB 2 card reader in it (and is always hooked up) - so it is a non-brainer.

USB 2 is MUCH faster than 1.1 - but its still like watching paint dry to download my 1 GB CF card.

I wanted to allow ticking of two boxes, but - forgot my reasons why I didn't.
I think I want to see which you use most

I was going to get the PCMCIA CF card adaptor, but after looking at some information last night I saw that it is rather slow compared to firewire or USB2.0 (if you are getting the 16bit version). 32 bit one is a lot faster, but also a lot more expensive, I'll continue searching.

I want the fastest I can get (so that the speed is limited by the compactflash card and not the reader )

Didin't notice this thread here .Well I current use the Cable that came with my camera (USB). I would like to get a USB 2.0 Card reader but at the moment I am tihnking of getting a printer with memory cards in it (Similar to shuttertalk's).