PAR4DCR Loc: A Sunny Place

Card out of camera and into computer card slot. After double checking that all images are in Lightroom card goes back into camera for reformatting.

Don

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

I always go the save route, using the card, that way, if there happen to be a glitch on the computer, the camera can not be damaged!

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

There are any number of previous discussions of this topic here on UHH.

In general, it's better to pull the card from the camera and use a card reader. For one, it's usually faster... but that depends upon connectivity of the camera versus that of the card reader.

It's also less risky on a couple levels:

1. If for any reason the download using cable from the camera is interrupted, it's possible images could be corrupted.

2. If the USB socket of the camera gets worn or damaged, chances are it will be a pretty expensive repair. In many cameras those sockets are part of the main circuit board, which is a pricey part that would probably need to be entirely replaced. It also requires fairly complete tear down of the camera to replace that main board in most cases. In contrast, the memory card socket is a sub-assembly that would be less expensive to replace and is a lot more easily accessed in most cameras, so would involve less labor too.

3. Memory card sockets are DESIGNED for frequent card swaps... especially SD card sockets. It's pretty hard to damage them! USB sockets are designed for occasional use.... less frequent plugging and unplugging.

Personally I sometimes use a dozen or more different cards in my cameras during a day's shoot. It would be a major pain in the arse to reinstall them all in the cameras to download several thousand images. Besides, the card reader built into my desktop is far, far faster than the USB 2.0 connection of the camera cable (newer cameras might have faster connectivity.... but so do card readers).

After many hundreds of card changes over 15 years shooting digital almost exclusively... and another 5+ years shooting it less frequently before that... I've NEVER had a memory card or card socket (or door covering the card socket) get damaged or wear out. And I'm often swapping memory cards "under pressure", with one hand and "by feel", not looking at what I'm doing.... while continuing to shoot with another camera. Even doing that... never had a problem.

I have had exactly two cards fail (out of more than 100).... but one failed after the very first use and the other was bad right out of the package. Neither was due to "damage".

I've had images get corrupted once... but that was when I was still using an accessory card reader and had changed how it was connected to my computer, via a USB hub. As soon as I swapped some things around and connected the reader more directly, the problem was solved (and nothing was lost, because I only "copy" images from my memory cards... I never "move" them.... and I don't use automated downloading software of any type).

RWR Loc: La Mesa, CA

I use the USB cable for the purpose it's designed for. Once a new card is inserted in the camera I never touch it. My cameras are precision instruments, I handle them accordingly.

GENorkus Loc: Washington Twp, Michigan

I must have missed it. Can someone tell me what camera has such a fragile memory card "door" that wears out so quickly?

I've been owned several Pentax dslrs for a dozen years and with alot of use. Never had any problems with memory doors.

*(Of course I use common sence and don't wiggle the camera suspended from the doors either.) LoL

rook2c4 Loc: Philadelphia, PA USA

I really don't understand this obsession with minimizing wear on the camera. When I buy a camera, my intention is to use it extensively, not keep it hidden away to avoid wear. If the memory card door falls off, I tape it back on and keep on shooting.

fotoman150

If it’s an SD or XD card I would leave it in the camera.

I use CF exclusively and always use a card reader.

My cameras have dual slots one CF and one SD. One came with an SD card and I threw it in the trash can. The SD card not the camera LOL

I won’t use them because I have had them separate in my hand and the contacts are exposed and they are too hard to handle because they are too small.

Back in the day the prevailing judgement was to never remove the little cards because they are delicate.

I know most people use the SD cards but I don’t know any true professionals that use them. They are for hobbyists and prosumer cameras. Nothing wrong with those types of shooters but I need something that won’t come apart in my hand and is a little bigger than my thumbnail. Just my preference.

I dread the day they might stop making CF. Hopefully it will be a long time from now.

Yes I know that I can bend a pin but I've been shooting with CF since 2001 and have never bent a pin in the camera. I have millions of actuations on my cameras and never one bent pin.

hassighedgehog Loc: Corona, CA

I've never had a SD card break just from handling it. All of my camera's from 2008 on have used SD cards. The first one (5MP Nikon E995 in 2002) did not. It came with a 16 MB (not GB) CF card. Which was immediately replaced with a 32 MB card.

GENorkus Loc: Washington Twp, Michigan

I still don't comprehend having a memory door fall off? Are CaNikon dslrs that cheaply built?

RWR Loc: La Mesa, CA

It's out of ignorance as much as anything else. Anyone with any sense knows that battery doors can be opened and closed thousands of times, and memory cards and USB cables can be inserted and removed thousands of times with minimal wear. Due care is all that is required.

raymondh Loc: Walker, MI

Ditto for me.

rmorrison1116 Loc: Near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania

Same here. When I buy a camera, I intend to use it to take photographs, as often as possible. I don't buy a camera to put it on display so my family and friends may see I've got high standards when it comes to cameras. My cameras are tools.
I guess the people who are worried they will wear out some part by removing and replacing memory cards, buy cameras not as a tool for making art but as art its self. Do they realize there are parts that see far, far, far more wear that a memory card door?! I guess we should be concerned about the shutter release button wearing out. After all, it's presses each time we take a photograph. Maybe we should use an electronic release to curtail wear on the button. And what about things like the mirror on a DSLR or the focal plain shutter mechanism. All parts that rub against other parts during the normal operation of a camera. What about the blades in the aperture?! They rub up against each other. Maybe we should set the aperture when we buy the camera and leave it for fear it will wear out prematurely from excess use. Or, maybe the whole premise was a conversation. One never does know, does one!?

rmorrison1116 Loc: Near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania

There is no camera brand by that name.

rmorrison1116 Loc: Near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania

That has to be one of the weirdest on topic replies I've read in a long time. So, true pro's don't use SD cards, because they fall apart to easily and are only meant for hobbyests! What a total crock of horse manure.
My 5D mk IV and 5DSr have two card slots, a CF and an SD. How many people out there with the same cameras only use the CF card and leave the SD slot empty? I guess these two cameras are not pro grade because they have an SD card slot.
My D500, an XQD and a SD slot, what were those Nikon engineers thinking. The D500, possibly the best crop sensor DSLR on the market and it's sub par because they put an SD card slot in it. I guess it's ok if you only use the XQD card, but what if you're out shooting and the XQD card goes full?! My D7200 must be a real heap o crap, it has Two, count ,'em, two SD card slots. This was Nikons's flagship DX camera prior to the D500 and it has 2 SD card slots. I guess no pro would ever use such an inferior camera, let alone own one.

I personally own 16 DSLR cameras and many of them have a single SD card slot. I've been putting cards into and removing cards from those cameras for a very long time. The older the camera the longer. In all those years and all those hundreds upon hundreds of times I've removed and replaced an SD card, not once has a pin (news flash, they're not really pins) been damaged nor has a single card crumbled or fallen apart in any way. I've had SD cards go through the laundry and still work fine. I've gone hiking and had cards in my sweat dampened pocket and the cards work fine. In all the years I've been using SD cards, only one has faild and that was a cheap one. I only buy good SD cards, and good CF and XQD cards. Use good cards, get good results.

Oh, by the way, what do you think the PRO in prosumer stands for? Plus, if SD cards are too small for you, you must have seriously weird fingers. How do you operate a camera with those seriously weird fingers?!