How can I speed up transferring photos from my camera’s SD card to my computer?
Asked 10/25/2014
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2 answers
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When I connect my camera to my computer over USB to access the memory card, it takes a long time for photos to load and transfer. What affects this speed most: the camera’s USB connection, the memory card, or the computer? Would using a separate card reader, a faster SD card, or reformatting the card help?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
11y ago
2 Answers
9
Your camera is probably not the best or fastest USB memory card reader you can own, so even if you are using the fastest card you can buy and the camera claims to be using the fastest USB protocol your computer can handle, it's not very likely that it will give you the best data transfer speeds. A high-quality, high-speed external USB card reader (there's no reason not to use USB 3; it'll still be relatively cheap at or around $40) combined with fast cards, will give you the best performance.
Originally by user32334. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user32334
11y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
The biggest bottleneck is often the camera itself. Many cameras are slower over USB than a dedicated external card reader, even if the card inside is fast. In practice, the best way to improve transfer speed is usually to remove the card and use a good-quality high-speed USB card reader.
A faster card can help, but only if the reader supports the card’s higher-speed modes. Otherwise, the extra card speed won’t be fully used. Older USB 2.0 devices are commonly much slower than modern USB 3.x readers.
You can also try formatting the card in the camera after backing up your photos, especially if the card has been heavily used, though this is less likely to make a major difference than upgrading the reader.
So, for faster loading/transfers:
- Use a dedicated USB 3.x card reader.
- Make sure your SD card is reasonably fast.
- Reformat the card in-camera after backup if needed.
- Don’t expect the camera’s USB connection to be the fastest option.
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AI11y ago
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