Question about Olympus 350 card reader

[REII]

Hi-

Do I need to buy a card reader for the storage cards that I bought for my sp350? The camera came with a USB connector to download pictures off the camera's memory, but will this also read the pictures that are stored on the card while the card is in the camera?

Thanks,

TOM

 

[shark.byte.usa]

It should, I just use a card reader though so I don't have to worry about a cable, using up the batteries for download or installing all the BS software that comes with the camera. A card reader only cost a few bucks, I think I paid like $15 and it reads all sorts of different cards, is small and works just like a usb thumb drive.

But just downloading off the camera should work, it did on past cameras for me at least.

-Garrett

 

[REII]

Thanks Garrett. The card reader I am looking at is just like you said. $14 and its the size and shape of a memory stick.

TOM

 

[jjwdiver]

The main reason for a card reader is to avoid running down the camera's battery when downloading onto computer or whatever. I use the reader and never hook up my camera. Getting an extra card helps too, so that I'm never without a card IN the camera. Just my thoughts

John

 

[Tassie_Rohan]

You can read the card in the camera via the USB cable. No need for extra software: you can see the card and its contents in windows as you would any other drive.

Cheers,
Rohan.

 

[herman]

The 350 should come with a cable to read directly out of the camera but I find the card reader a lot faster than reading from the camera. If you have a 1G card full, it can take quite a bit of time to read from the camera. For 2 or 3 photos I shoot while testing some idea I don't bother with a reader but for lots of photos after a trip the reader is the only way to go.

 

[Larry C]

Most newer computers have an xD card reader built into them. If you have more than one electronic toy, you can get a multi reader that covers everything-xD,SD,Memory Stick, etc. really cheap. The biggest reason not to use the USB wire that comes with the camera is what happens if the battery dies or you have a glitch while you're doing it. Check the current thread about the guy who had a hiccup while downloading the firmware update. I had my dive computer disconnect while downloading and lost my entire history for over 100 dives on that computer, and it corrupted the program as well. (C_ _ P Suunto software!) I ended up having to manually input dozens of dives from my log. You can't manually input pictures you took in some exotic location. They're just gone. The Olympus software is the same "high" quality as other proprietary software. It's just better to take the card out of the camera and plug it into a reader. Just don't forget to put it or a different one back in, or you'll end up like me. 100fsw on an awesome dive on a liveaboard, take your third picture , and the little red mem full sign on the blue screen comes up saying "Memory Full, Camera In" and you go Oh Crud, I left my card plugged into the front of the computer.

 

[REII]

Thanks Larry. That's a good point about losing pictures. As my wife and I get better at taking pictures, I would hate to lose shots of a nice dive or trip. I ordered a card reader and a spare memory card. Hopefully I will have some pictures good enough to post soon.

TOM

 

[Gilligan]

It is also a good practice to delete photos off the card with the camera and not from the computer via the card reader.

There may be that one time the camera won't recognize the card after deleting from the computer/card reader.

I always use "format" instead of "delete" to clear my cards.

 

[Charlie59]

I have also been taught to format the card and not delete the pictures. May limit fragmentation of data and "cleaner".

Camera download or reader of little importance, but backup memory cards are a must.