Trabor wrote:
It IS possible to damage the pins in the camera, a 10 to 20 $ card reader is much cheaper than any camera repair, plus you get grouth in case your next camera uses a different card type , most readers will read all common card types
The card slot in the camera is much more robust than the pins in that little connector
I insert my cards into the camera carefully, then never touch them. There are no pins in the camera's socket for the USB cord. Once properly inserted, there is no possible chance of damaging any pins.