gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast

Why would anyone use a card reader when there are more direct ways to load photos onto a computer, like using a USB cable?

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

I don't have to dig out the cable and make sure the camera has a sufficient charge in the battery for the duration of the process.
Less than 10 seconds to remove the card and insert it into the reader.

I use a card reader all the time.

BebuLamar

I use the card reader all the time. It's easier than connect to the camera, plus I don't have to keep the camera power up during the transfer. With the phone I have no choice and I found it's more troublesome for me to transfer images from the phone to the PC than just a card reader.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

My previous Windows laptop had an SD card slot built in. My current Macbook Air needed a little dock for SD slot, which was well worth buying because of the other slots I also needed.

Remove card from camera, insert into the slot. The folder appears on desktop. Drag folder of pics to desktop where it copies automatically to a new folder. Eject the drive (SD card), and return card to camera.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

I simply plug my phone into the computer and the phone becomes another drive.
I go to the photo directory in the phone and copy the images to the computer. Easy.
The phone is always on during the day anyway.
I have a spare phone cable next to the computer.

BebuLamar

Yes but that's more difficult than using a card reader.

gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast

Thanks for the range of answers. They have more convenience than I gave them credit for.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

How so?
Directories on the card, directories on the phone.
Plug the card in or plug the phone in.
I can't see how it is more difficult.
The extra step to put the cable into the phone?

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

I not only don't download with a cable I have multiple cards for each camera. I remove the card with the new images and put in a blank card.
Then I can transfer the images to my computer at my leisure. If something happens like a power surge corrupting my files I have my backup, done daily at 11PM and the cards with that day's images to reload.

When I take any images with my cell phone, I do use a cable since the card in the cell phone is not just images but a lot of other stuff to wade through.

My desktop has a built-in card reader I added=6 slots, 2 of which will take two or more types/classes of cards. I also have an external reader that connects by usb for use with my laptop(s) when away from home.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

You don't have a DCIM directory on your phone where the images reside? I don't have to wade through anything.

These are the folders in my phone, easy to get to.

(Download)

Timmers Loc: San Antonio Texas.

Why? Because there is a card reader built into the front of the computer. So the computer is a "card reader" itself, and the computer recognizes the card being inserted. Then the compute has opened the card to be read. You are suppose to remove all the images and place them into the file you create to download to that file. You can then deleat the content of the card to clear it for the next use, AFTER confirming the file has the downloaded images. This of course becomes the master file for those images. Any action to ANY iage is then done on a copy folder of all the images. It is called the protocol for image management. Tat first folders is ALWAYS marked MASTER, the copy folder is called WORK. In this manner you don't end up with any failed images or files.

In addition to all this EVERY FOLDER receives two (2) designations, first the date day, month, year 022324 ( second month, the day and then the year 24), the second identifier that can be used to search is perhaps the person's name, location, ect. so a search of thousands of files can be located easily.

Final, and without fail, the MASTER folder is up loaded to your external memory and then secured. All this before you begin to play with your images in the WORK folder.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Interesting. When I use dates I use YYYYMMDD, that way they are listed by year, then month, then day.
Otherwise all the Februaries (months) are grouped together, then days, then years.

CamB Loc: Juneau, Alaska

So old fashioned. When I take a picture with my iPhone, which I hardly ever do, it magically appears in the Photo folder on my computer. I don’t have to do anything.

CamB Loc: Juneau, Alaska

By the time you pry open the rubber door on your 7200 and insert that annoying little plug into the slot, my card reader is downloading files into the Lightroom folder I download to. And even assigning a few keywords. It doesn’t get much easier than that.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

Yes I do, but in the case of the phone, that tiny macro card is more of a hassle for me to remove and replace than the cable. Fat stubby finger syndrome.
At my desk, I use tweezers for handling the tiny cards.
The tweezers etc. is the wading through I am referring to. I could have worded it better.