How long does it take you to transfer photos?

[JR6ooo4]

I filled a 2 gig card at the theater last saturday. (and a 1 gig and a few on the other 2 gig card. I try to get shots of everyone on stage in each number and it is a cast of 70 or more). Anyway, the two gig card says 27 minutes to transfer! It is a compact flash plugged into a PCI card reader on my laptop.

Anyone else have some comparable times for memory card transfers?

MIkeeee

 

[MICKEY88]

the speed will vary based on the transfer speed of the card and onthe speed of your usb.

I had picked up a faster card and didn't see any difference in transfer speed then I realized my pc being older was a usb1, so I installed a usb2 card and my transfer times are better

27 minutes sounds slow to me

 

[bostran1]

How old is your computer? If it was purchased at least 5 years ago (maybe less, I'm not sure) it probably still has USB1 connections like MICKEY88 mentioned. That is probably the issue. USB2 is standard now and is much much faster. I did a gig yesterday in about 3-5 min.

 

[JR6ooo4]

The computer is about 2 years old, it is USB 2.0 compliant. I will have to try an external card reader. I thought since the PCI slot is right on the motherboard it would be quickest.

3-5 minutes per gig would be sweeeeeet.

Mikeeee

 

[extreme8]

The computer is about 2 years old, it is USB 2.0 compliant. I will have to try an external card reader. I thought since the PCI slot is right on the motherboard it would be quickest.

3-5 minutes per gig would be sweeeeeet.

Mikeeee

Make sure you get a high speed USB 2.0 reader.
I learned the hard way that not all devices (especially the less expensive models) take advantage of the throughput USB 2.0 offers. I have several USB 2.0 readers that transfer at 8-10 minutes per gig. Since I tried more than one device I figured this was the best to be expected.
After finding some info online while researching a different USB problem I decided to buy a reader that actually said "high speed" on the packaging (Sandisk 12 in 1). Now I'm downloading at 2-3 minutes per gig.

 

[MIDisFan]

I started to transfer from my 4GB 266X cards with the card reader built into my HP printer and it estimated the transfer time to take 62 minutes . I quickly cancelled that and hooked the camera up directly to my usb 2 port and each card took less than 6 minutes. I would suggest to try that method or get a card reader that is USB 2 compliant.

 

[Groucho]

I filled a 2 gig card at the theater last saturday. (and a 1 gig and a few on the other 2 gig card. I try to get shots of everyone on stage in each number and it is a cast of 70 or more). Anyway, the two gig card says 27 minutes to transfer! It is a compact flash plugged into a PCI card reader on my laptop.

Anyone else have some comparable times for memory card transfers?

MIkeeee

I think you're talking about a PCMCIA (or PC Card) reader, not a PCI one. PCI is a much larger connection that's used in desktop PCs, PCMCIA/PC Card/Cardbus (there are slight technical differences but basically the terms are usually used interchangably) are the rectangular cards that slide completely into slots on the side of a laptop.

I think the PCMCIA CompactFlash card readers that I've been have very old, I'd guess that what you have is a pretty old reader. A USB2 reader will probably offer much better performance. 2 gigs is a fair amount of data but USB2 should get it in much less than 27 - I'm thinking probably around 5 minutes or slightly less, but I've never timed it.

 

[tebookie]

I have found using a USB cable from camera to computer is the fastest way to transfer alot of pictures.

 

[JR6ooo4]

I think you're talking about a PCMCIA (or PC Card) reader, not a PCI one. PCI is a much larger connection that's used in desktop PCs, PCMCIA/PC Card/Cardbus (there are slight technical differences but basically the terms are usually used interchangably) are the rectangular cards that slide completely into slots on the side of a laptop.

I think the PCMCIA CompactFlash card readers that I've been have very old, I'd guess that what you have is a pretty old reader. A USB2 reader will probably offer much better performance. 2 gigs is a fair amount of data but USB2 should get it in much less than 27 - I'm thinking probably around 5 minutes or slightly less, but I've never timed it.

That sounds more familiar. The pci ymca thingeeee. I will try the camera to USB and post back the results.

But right now I am arguing with the uploader limit to smugmug. I used to be able to select a whole folder and run it overnight but something is not working now.

thanks for all the info,
Mikeeee

 

[bostran1]

I guess I should read posts more carefully. I didn't even notice you weren't using USB. Sorry my advice didn't help you at all! But, maybe if you switch to USB you'll get better results, even though it can be a little more cumbersome than the card.

 

[JR6ooo4]

Just back from Best Buy. I bought the sandisk imagemate CF reader. $21.99
It has a button on top for auto transfer, if wanted. a full 2gig card transfered 260 RAW canon files in way under two minutes!!!

Looks like the laptop travel bag will be a few ounces heavier from now on.

THanks again for all the tips.

Mikeeeee