better to transfer over usb or CF reader? (wrt longevity)

so i've been shooting stuff outside of the house and then transfering the image to my laptop back and forth so i can view it on a larger screen. i ended up doing this several times but that got me thinking, is it better for body longevity to transfer via the USB cable attached to the body or take the CF in/out constantly?

it seems like over time, either CF slot DOOR latch could "wear out" and become loose. on the other hand, if i keep using USB cable, the connector could come less 'snug' over time ahaha.

for those of u who have owned the same dslr for a few years now, what do you guys do usually? am i just paranoid and should shut up and just keep shooting?

if you're just shooting jpeg, then it's ok hook the cam up USB. If you've got RAW on the card, then it's better to take the CF out of the camera and use a reader.

If the USB connector on the camera wears out, you can continue to use the camera.

I wouldn't worry about the door latch, but if the CF connector wears out, you must repair the camera.

However, the connectors don't wear out too quickly. If you fill full cards, it's a lot faster to pick out the card and use a CF reader. For single images now and then, I would recommend the USB cable. Professionals who shoot full days don't have much option. They just have to switch cards, since they can't take the time to copy out all images, clear the card and then continue shooting.

pwm2 wrote in post #3579124
If the USB connector on the camera wears out, you can continue to use the camera.

I wouldn't worry about the door latch, but if the CF connector wears out, you must repair the camera.

However, the connectors don't wear out too quickly. If you fill full cards, it's a lot faster to pick out the card and use a CF reader. For single images now and then, I would recommend the USB cable. Professionals who shoot full days don't have much option. They just have to switch cards, since they can't take the time to copy out all images, clear the card and then continue shooting.

100% spot on, I agree!

pwm2 - hey good point about "If the USB connector on the camera wears out, you can continue to use the camera."

i think for quick shoot & verify moments, i'll use usb . and for big 4gb cf dumps, i'll use card reader since its also faster.

Another question then... This little rubber thing that covers all the connectors... To me it seems a bit risky to open and close it too often, feels like the rubber will wear out and it will fall off. Has that happened to anyone?

/Per

Not on a Canon yet, but quite soon on other cameras.

scot079 wrote in post #3579084
if you're just shooting jpeg, then it's ok hook the cam up USB. If you've got RAW on the card, then it's better to take the CF out of the camera and use a reader.

Why would the picture format matter?

kpt4321 wrote in post #3601649
Why would the picture format matter?

A card reader is usually faster for downloading RAW images

Card reader is soooo much more convenient.

I prefer to use the USB cable, if only because I'm paranoid about bending one of those delicate little CF connector pins as I change cards . . .

Looking over a few sites, the SD cards have about a 1,000,000 hours MTBF and a 10,000 insert/removal life cycle. So, if you took the card in and out 5 times a day, you have about 5.5 years before the card wears out.

stevieboy378 wrote in post #3602188
I prefer to use the USB cable, if only because I'm paranoid about bending one of those delicate little CF connector pins as I change cards . . .

Arn't the pins on the micro USB plug pretty small as well?

gjl711 wrote in post #3602222
Arn't the pins on the micro USB plug pretty small as well?

Yea, but bending one of those won't render the camera unuseable . . .

gjl711 wrote in post #3602222
Arn't the pins on the micro USB plug pretty small as well?

No, USB connectors don't use pins -- they have sliding spring contacts.

CF cards and SD cards don't have an MTBF -- the correct terminology is MTTF since it is a non-repairable assembly. The life cycle times that quoted above for read/write operations and insertion/removal cycles are applicable to SD cards only. SD cards utilize sliding contacts which can't be correlated to the large number of fragile pins on a mating connector for a CF card.