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<\/a><\/p>\nBridge the gap and get your footage safely across with a good memory card reader<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Indeed, many modern cameras have USB ports for transferring footage, but there are several reasons why you don’t want to do that. Aside from not being able to use your camera until the footage finishes copying over, data transfer speeds from the camera will usually be much slower, resulting in longer delays when offloading cards.<\/p>\n A dedicated memory card reader is fast, affordable, and allows you to keep on shooting<\/strong> with a new memory card while footage from another card is being offloaded.<\/p>\n This guide several different memory card reader options to help you find the best fit for your needs. We’re focusing on readers for SD cards as they are a common format for many shooters, but the concepts and options are the same if your camera uses a different type of media (CompactFlash, SSD, SxS, etc.).<\/p>\n Here are some of the core requirements for what you should be looking for in a card reader:<\/p>\n Most laptops have an SD card reader built-in, so you may already have what you need to start offloading footage right now.<\/p>\n The important thing is to make sure your laptop’s built-in card reader is cable of fast transfer speeds. A high-performance U3 SDXC card should transfer footage at speeds of at least 60MB\/s, so use a benchmarking tool such as Crystal DiskMark<\/strong> to ensure that your built-in card reader is not slowing you down.<\/p>\n Bottom line:<\/strong> As long as it’s fast enough and compatible with your memory cards, using the card reader built into your laptop is one of the simplest ways to start offload footage. What it lacks in versatility, a built-in reader makes up for in simplicity.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n If your laptop’s card reader is too slow or missing entirely, a dedicated card reader is your next option. While you can pick up single-slot card readers for the card format you currently use, multi-format memory card readers are highly recommended<\/strong> as they allow you to offload the cards you use today as well as those you may use in the future.<\/p>\n For example, Transcend’s USB 3.0 multi-format memory card reader<\/a> can read multiple memory card formats including SDXC and CF.<\/p>\n These dedicated card readers connect to your computer’s USB 3.0 ports to provide fast transfer speeds. Also, while these card readers only include one slot per card format, at only about $13 a pop, you can get multiple readers for offloading multiple SD cards at once.<\/p>\n Bottom line:<\/strong> A dedicated memory card reader is an affordable option for quickly offloading footage. Multi-format card readers give you greater flexibility in the types of memory cards you can work with.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The main problem with the above card reader options is that you can only read one card at a time<\/strong>. Sure, you can always buy multiple card readers, but you’ll need to take up a separate USB port for each reader.<\/p>\n If you need to offload multiple cards, a better solution may be a modular card reader like Lexar’s HR1 hub<\/a>, which allows you to offload up to 4 memory cards simultaneously via a single USB 3.0 port.<\/p>\n There are modules for a variety of card formats available for the HR1, allowing you to mix and match modules according to the media being used on each project.<\/p>\n For example, if you’re shooting with multiple Panasonic GH4<\/strong> or Sony a7S II<\/strong> cameras, you can configure the HR1 with 4 SD card modules. If you’ve got a Blackmagic URSA Mini<\/strong> in the mix, add a CFast module and you’re good to go.<\/p>\n You can even add SSD drive modules to the HR1, giving you card readers and storage in a single unit.<\/p>\n Bottom line:<\/strong> Lexar’s modular hub is a great concept, especially if a clean setup and preserving USB ports is a priority. Things can get pricy for a fully-decked out hub (e.g. $150 for the hub with 4 SD card modules), but you can always start out with just a single module ($25) and build up from there as your needs grow.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n A USB 3.0 hub with a built-in SD card reader? Sounds like the best combo ever!<\/p>\n Except it’s not<\/p>\n A combo device like this would seem to give you everything you need– ample USB 3.0 ports for connecting your hard drives and a card reader for offloading footage.<\/p>\n There just one problem: a combo unit doesn’t have enough power<\/strong>.<\/p>\n These combo units are bus-powered<\/em>, so they get all of their power from the computer’s USB port. As such, performance and stability can vary greatly depending on how many drives you have connected to the hub and each drive’s power requirements.<\/p>\n Everything may seem to be working just fine at first, but performance and connectivity issues can often occur once things start to get going. Practically, this means your hard drives could disconnect from the computer right in the middle of offloading footage<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Instead, if you’re using bus-powered portable hard drives, using a separate USB port for each drive is highly recommended. Alternatively, using a self-powered hub with its own power supply is also a good option for providing enough power for all connected devices.<\/p>\n Here are a couple USB 3.0 hub options:<\/p>\n You’ve invested the time and money on a good camera and high-quality memory cards, but don’t stop there. A good quality card reader does not need to break the bank, so make sure you choose a good one to make your offloads fast and smooth.<\/p>\n Here’s a quick summary of your different memory card reader options:<\/p>\n As this data management workflow series continues, we’ll dig into what to look for when choosing a USB hub<\/strong>, the best offloading software<\/strong> to use in the field or back in the studio, and more guides to ensure that every frame of video you shoot makes it to the edit bay safe and sound.<\/p>\n Sign up below to receive free updates on this series and other exclusive tips and resources.<\/p>\n Offload your footage quickly and safely with these recommended memory card readers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9513,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[301],"tags":[695,552,249,689,570,247,696,453,653,346],"medium":[],"theme":[],"tool":[],"series":[573],"yoast_head":"\n<\/a><\/p>\nCard Reader Requirements<\/h2>\n
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Built-in: Use What Your Mama Gave You<\/h2>\n
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Multi-Format Reader: Flexibility for the Future<\/h2>\n
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Modular Reader: Clean & Configurable<\/h2>\n
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Advisory: Avoid Combo Card Reader\/USB Hubs<\/h2>\n
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Choose the Right Card Reader<\/h2>\n
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Related<\/h2>\n
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Data Management for Video Production<\/h2>\n
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More Resources<\/h2>\n
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