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Advice on picking out CF card readers. Or - what to buy so you don't end up having to do what I did.
(Quick background, although SD cards are popular, many professional or prosumer cameras still use CF cards because they offer excellent read/write speeds, which is vital for commercial photography).
I bought my boyfriend 2 CF card readers this year. Why? Because the first one broke after 2 weeks.
The second one... I didn't hear much about how it was doing until 2 weeks ago. The reader is almost 6 months old and he's really happy with it.
The difference between the readers? How deeply the pins were set.
CF Card Reader 1: shallow pins. This means you can insert the card at an angle and fuck up the reader by bending the side pins. This is what happened actually.
CF Card Reader 2: Deep-set pins. This is also what the camera manufacturer did too. Because the card-holder is deep, so if you try to insert it at an angle, it won't go in... it'll straighten out before the card touches the pins, thus prolonging the life of the card reader. (as I said above, it's almost 6 months old and still working like a champ)
So if you ever need an CF card reader, check the depth of the pins. The good reader is almost the length of the card.
(Quick background, although SD cards are popular, many professional or prosumer cameras still use CF cards because they offer excellent read/write speeds, which is vital for commercial photography).
I bought my boyfriend 2 CF card readers this year. Why? Because the first one broke after 2 weeks.
The second one... I didn't hear much about how it was doing until 2 weeks ago. The reader is almost 6 months old and he's really happy with it.
The difference between the readers? How deeply the pins were set.
CF Card Reader 1: shallow pins. This means you can insert the card at an angle and fuck up the reader by bending the side pins. This is what happened actually.
CF Card Reader 2: Deep-set pins. This is also what the camera manufacturer did too. Because the card-holder is deep, so if you try to insert it at an angle, it won't go in... it'll straighten out before the card touches the pins, thus prolonging the life of the card reader. (as I said above, it's almost 6 months old and still working like a champ)
So if you ever need an CF card reader, check the depth of the pins. The good reader is almost the length of the card.