Transferring stills to PC
 

At the risk of sounding ignorant, is a card reader required to get stills from an Optura 400 to a PC? I have a card reader for my 100MC and consider it the "default" method, but it occured to me that maybe one can transfer directly through firewire (or USB connection?).

Even if a "direct" method exists, is it the preferred method? I'm thinking here in terms of wear and tear on the camera. How do you all do transfers?

Thanks

You can transfer stills directly from the card inside the camera via USB, but you've gotta use the Canon Zoom Browser software to do so. In my opinion, a card reader is a much easier way to go. No software, no camera required.

Thanks, that's the info I was looking for. I've been trying to get my mom set up with the 400, and wasn't sure if things had changed much over the last couple years. But it sounds like the card reader is still the way to go (I like the idea of not operating the cam any more than necessary)

So... is a card reader pretty much a card reader? I see that you can get them pretty darn cheap these days. But are there features such as read/write speed to look for?

Jeff

Always go for a USB 2.0 or Firewire (over USB 1.1) internal or external card reader and might I suggest one that accepts multi-formats (SD, Memory Stick, CF, XD...) for future compatibilities.

I agree with you on that one. Thats the reason I never use my cams as webcams. I'd rather run the hours up on something that is much cheaper! :) On my last two or three cams I have not even cracked open the USB cable bag or the driver CDs.

Good luck with the stills/reader!

Re: Transferring stills to PC
 

<<<-- Originally posted by Jeff Applegate : At the risk of sounding ignorant, is a card reader required to get stills from an Optura 400 to a PC? I have a card reader for my 100MC and consider it the "default" method, but it occured to me that maybe one can transfer directly through firewire (or USB connection?).

>>>

At the risk of sounding stupid - what exactly is a card reader (ie, include brands) and what kind of cost is involved? Also how exactly does a card reader work? Does it interface with a computer?
Thanks,
Earon

Card readers cost about US$10-40. They usually connect to your computer via USB and appear as another drive in your system. You can drag and drop files like you would any drive in your system.

It's a good idea to get a card reader that has multiple slots for different types of cards in case your different electronic devices use different types of cards.

Dazzle makes a few that are available almost everywhere, but these devices are simple enough that almost any manufacturer will do.