aubreybogle Loc: Albuquerque, NM

I have 2 Canons with CF cards and an HP desktop computer with a CF Card slot. Using San Disk and LEXAR cards, I have never had a problem with bent pins.

aubreybogle Loc: Albuquerque, NM

Have also used card readers with laptops, no problem. Get a

mgoldfield

Using a cable is ill-advised; transferring this way uses a great deal of battery power.
Using a card reader (3.0 is best) for a large number of images; popping the card directly into
your laptop's slot works fine for a small number of files.

Transcend makes a great multi-device USB 3.0 card reader. The images simply fly from media to computer at lightening speed.

[Transcend USB 3.0 Super Speed Multi-Card Reader for SD/SDHC/SDXC/MS/CF Cards (TS-RDF8K) ]

M. Goldfield

chrisg-optical Loc: New York, NY

I hear you but I am not concerned about battery power since I am usually in "recharge mode" after I download the images to my laptop - sometimes 600-1000 images- I am also not in a hurry - I don't have an editor in chief breathing down my back for the images yesterday. If you're out in the field without access to AC power yes this could be a concern, or if you are in a hurry, but I do this at home in my leisure so it's not an issue for me. With my D7200 I shoot all day and still only drain down to 50% maybe....which is plenty more than enough for the 10 minute transfer time while I do something else. I am not a big fan of popping out the cards every time I transfer files but yes if I was transferring much more than this I would probably go the card reader route. Every time the card is popped out an reinserted somewhere else there is risk of damage due to static discharge and surges, and this also can contribute to premature card failure so much discussed in the other forum topics "dual slot vs single slot" issues with the new FF mirrorless cameras.

I know some photographers like to have different card sets for multiple locales or subjects so this necessitates frequent card changes.

Bobspez Loc: Southern NJ, USA

aubreybogle Loc: Albuquerque, NM

I guess since I have never experienced the bent pin or static electricty ((?) more information would be helpful here for me)) problem, I go for the convenience and speed of removing the card from the camera and inserting directly into the computer, or into a USB3 card reader. Once downloaded and backed up, reformat. Maybe its blind luck, but I have never lost a single photo using this methodology.

Manglesphoto Loc: 70 miles south of St.Louis

I did have one CF card with a bent pin caused by an inferior reader. ?
The pins are in the cameras and readers, the cards have holes.