Card reader

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How important is the quality of the card reader to the final image and what would you recommend?

[Eoin]

The card reader has absolutely no affect on the image. It simply transfers the data from the card to the device.

However that being said, the type of card reader you choose should be compatible with the card from which you want to read and also compatible with the speed of the port (USB/USB2/USB3/USB-C you attach it to. 

All card readers are not equal in this respect, they perform the same functionality but the speed at which they transfer data will differ.

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[Keith_W]

Eoin got it in one. I have two card readers - one attached to my PC at home, and a really compact model I take with me when travelling. 

[pico]

Don't the experts here believe that any card reader is faster than needed - in other words

their personal computer is the bottleneck?

[tobey bilek]

Best luck with Lexar ones, SD and CF cards

[nikau]

Agree with Tobey; I've been impressed by my Lexar Professional Workflow SR2 – reliable and seemingly well built.

[TX400]

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I posted on this recently:             #10             I'm quite happy with the Transcend TS-RDF5K. It's cheap, fast, and works well with the apple usb3 camera adapter because of the card goes in to the left side.

Edited October 15, 2017 by TX400

[marcg]

By and large, – fast – is always better.

 

This seems to be a lot of movement on USB standards at the moment.

 

USB ports on computers are always at least USB 2.0 and the most recent computers will have USB 3.0. You can tell a 3.0 because the little plastic bit inside the port is blue – as opposed to white on a 2.0. You will find that this colour coding applies equally to the USB cable which you use.

 

More recently there is USB C which is meant to be hugely fast and has a rather different kind of plug/port which is not compatible with the others. However, you can get a little adapter/converter for a very small amount of money which will convert a USB C plug into a USB 3.0/2.0 plug and you can then use it.  Mobile phones are starting to use USB C.

 

There is also something called USB 3.1 – which I understand is insanely fast – the same as USB C and as far as I know, that plug is the same as the previous 2.0 and 3.0 plugs.

Have you got all that?

 

I believe – but somebody can correct me – that the bit of plastic inside the USB 3.1 port is red. I have noticed some very modern computer motherboards being sold with these 3.1 ports on the back. I suppose that they will be installed on laptops as well soon.

 

I can't imagine that there is a huge problem with SD card compatibility so it really is just a question of speed – and with ever increasing file sizes, speed becomes a factor that you might want to consider.

 

If you want to make sure that all of your kit is future-proof – then probably you need to think in terms of USB C/USB 3.1 and get the little adapter – even if you don't need it because at least you will retain compatibility with other computers which aren't so up-to-date.

Edited October 15, 2017 by marcg

[marcg]

By the way, I forgot to point out that USB 3.1 comes in two versions – Generation One and Generation Two.

 

It is Gen 2 which is the USB C equivalent – but in a different form.

 

This is what I understand, anyway. It would be very helpful if somebody else would come along and confirm what I'm saying – or else tell me in what way I've got it wrong.

[TX400]

A little birdie told me that Leica recommends against 128gb cards, and your best bet is 32gb. It has to do with checking the whole card on startup.

 

As far as I can see, there's no point using the faster UHS-II SD cards (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secure_Digital#Ultra_High_Speed_.28UHS.29_bus) with the additional contacts. The M10 doesn't use them—or doesn't even have the contacts—and only a certain card reader will support it. USB 3.0, or USB 3.1 gen 1 are pseudonyms. They work at 5gb/sec, well beyond the UHS-II spec. speed.

 

You could get the fancy cards and fancy card reader to go with your usb-3 laptop, but you'll save perhaps a few seconds downloading and little else. There really isn't a point in anything more than the UHS-I 95MB/s 32gb cards for $25 and a $10 reader.

 

Also, from a practical perspective, an M10 battery doesn't even contain enough energy to fill a 32GB card with DNG+jpeg, so you have to open the bottom plate at some point for a new battery. I don't really think 64gb or 128gb cards hurt, they're just superfluous if you're spreading your risk across cards when your change batteries and downloading daily.

Edited October 17, 2017 by TX400

[albertknappmd]

UBS C is the future.... But make sure your Mac takes it.

Otherwise Lexar is fine.

[Slowhands]

USB 3.1 is a spec, USB Type-C is the actual form factor of the port — confusing, I know. Type-C can technically carry any version of the USB interface, but as of now, it is nearly synonymous with 3.1. C-ports carrying 3.1 will be the most future-proofed solution (for now), and it comes with the additional advantage of getting rid of those dumb proprietary power plugs.