Must use Card Reader?

[iKwak]

Are USB card reader a good choice or just continue using the camera to upload the pictures to the pc?

some say using the card reader saves the camera battery and also no chance of damaging the part (camera and pc connects) of the camera.

[Peter_AUS]

A cardreader is a very good idea, yes it does save on camera battery, I have been using a card reader for the past 3-4 years no problems.

[Liz]

"some say using the card reader saves the camera battery and also no chance of damaging the part (camera and pc connects) of the camera.[/QUOTE]"

This is true. It takes much less time, less complicated, easy to do, saves battery - and you can leave your camera free. It's worth the $20 or so!

Liz

[iKwak]

Picked one up for $8 on ebay.

[Erik Stiegler]

I bought one for about $10 (Best Buy, price after rebate) when I was on a trip and had grabbed the wrong cable for my camera when I left. That's the only time I've ever used it, though. Neither of my computers has USB 2 ports, so the card reader is no faster. I could not care less about the drain on the battery during transfers. It's insignificant.

If I had the USB 2 ports on either computer, or if I find a Firewire card reader for about ten dollars, I'd use it. Otherwise, going direct from the camera works fine for me.

[SmartWombat]

I bought a 6-in-1 when I was at a conference in Spain and found I'd forgotten the CF adapter to the laptop's PCMCIA slot. It was about 1/2 the speed of plugging the Microdrice straight into the PC but it has proved completely reliable and totally invaluable to read images from my wife's two digicams and the 300D at work.
I think it's well worth the €30 I paid for it - yes, over priced I know.