camera USB or compact Flash card reader

card reader all the way. so much faster!

Card reader all the time... I don't like photo equipment sitting on my desk while I work on laptop. less clutter, and ease of my mind.

I read that Lexar makes one of the faster USB 2.0 card readers.
Has anyone used a Lexar card reader with a 32GB CF card?

Veemac wrote in post #9638148
I don't think either method is "better" or "worse" for your camera. As long as you use a bit of care when reinserting the CF card, the chances of bending a pin are very slim. Same goes for plugging and unplugging from the USB port - I'd think it would be highly unlikely to damage or wear it out during the normal life of the camera. Personally, I choose to use a card reader.

How can u bend a pin while taking out and putting back in the CF in your camera?

What a bizzare reason not to use a card reader. How do people manage when their CF is full and need to swap their CF with another during shooting time?

Your telling me hardly anyone finds the need to swap CF cards when its full especially shooting in raw?

btw, i dont have a card reader but i often swap CF's though. if it wasnt safe to do so then all our camera's should just have a 32gb internal hdd inside it.

I don't like the "tightness" of how my cards fit into the card reader. Makes me wonder how much wear and tear the card incurs being cycled in and out of the camera and the card reader. I'm still not decided about which I prefer, but connecting a USB cable seems a lot less traumatic, both for card and camera, than moving the card every time one wants to download pictures.

Tallking wrote in post #9676675
I don't like the "tightness" of how my cards fit into the card reader. Makes me wonder how much wear and tear the card incurs being cycled in and out of the camera and the card reader. I'm still not decided about which I prefer, but connecting a USB cable seems a lot less traumatic, both for card and camera, than moving the card every time one wants to download pictures.

What if your CF is full while on a shoot? Still afraid to take it out?

Tallking wrote in post #9676675
I don't like the "tightness" of how my cards fit into the card reader. Makes me wonder how much wear and tear the card incurs being cycled in and out of the camera and the card reader. I'm still not decided about which I prefer, but connecting a USB cable seems a lot less traumatic, both for card and camera, than moving the card every time one wants to download pictures.

That "tightness" is what helps keep you from bending a pin. You don't have to worry about wear and tear on smooth plastic surfaces. You won't own the card that long.