17 12 2014

I am always required to file my pictures remotely throughout the day whilst working for newspapers and for processing I use my Fujitsu Lifebook AH531 laptop, which has a decent spec for a relatively cheap model.

Obviously I have to first get the images from the camera’s memory card into the laptop somehow.

Every photographer has a different way of working, but I generally prefer to copy all of my memory card data to my laptop so that a) it’s all safely backed-up so I can reformat the card when I reinsert it in the camera and b) it’s quicker to browse and select images locally rather than continually polling the card.

I have until now been using a Lexar Professional USB2 Dual Slot Card Reader plugged in to the laptop’s USB2 ports (it doesn’t have any USB3 ports). I also have a Lexar Professional USB3 Dual Slot Card Reader, but I generally only use that on my home PC, which does have USB3 ports.

However, having latterly noticed that my laptop has an ExpressCard slot, I thought I would buy one and see if it’s any quicker in terms of data transfer times.

After a quick search of eBay I found a second hand Delkin ExpressCard 34 UDMA CompactFlash Adaptor for a little over £5. This then simply plugged into the side of my laptop.

Lexar USB (top) and Delkin ExpressCard Compact Flash Card Readers

I happened to have a random 9.16GB on my card when the Delkin arrived, so thought I would try copying that to the laptop as a kind of ‘data time trial’. The results are below…

• Delkin ExpressCard 34 = 4 minutes 39 seconds
• Lexar USB2 = 6 minutes 56 seconds
• Lexar USB3 (still plugged in to a USB2 post) = 7 minutes 3 seconds

The Delkin card is the clear winner by 2 minutes 17 seconds, so I will be using it from now on. It also has the advantage of not requiring a cable.

Of course, almost 10GB of data is perhaps more than you will usually be moving and obviously for significantly lower amounts the time difference will be less noticeable, but when you’re up against the clock, any time saved can be a godsend.

Note: Out of interest (and fairness) I also tried the USB3 card reader connected to my much more highly specified desktop PC and when connected to an actual USB3 port, achieved a quick time of 4 minutes 3 seconds for the 9.16GB transfer. Obviously this is irrelevant in the context of this laptop transfer test, but does show that the USB3 reader is a lot faster when connected to its intended interface and would perhaps therefore provide similar or even quicker results to the Delkin if you have a laptop equipped with USB3 ports.

Watch This Space…