Drag and drop or Lightroom Import?

[russellsnr]

Hi, I am trying to work out the best option for transferring from the card to the computer.
I have a separate internal drive that I use just for photos.
The question I have is this "Is it better to drag and drop the files from the card to the folder on the extra drive then import to Lightroom? OR Use Lightroom to import the files direct from the card".
It may sound to some as a no brainer but if you have say 300 files to deal with in one import would the drag and drop into a folder be the better option?
Thanks in advance
Russ

[Glenn NK]

I use neither method - my Canons have software that transfers files from my camera to the HDD via a USB cable.

Consequently I rarely take the CF card out of the camera - only when I have more than one card of images.

This takes longer, but eliminates the (admittedly slight) possibility of bending pins in the camera. However if one takes hundreds of shots in one session, then the card reader would be worthwhile.

I think most people recommend using a card reader (one of my computers has card readers for CF and SD, but I've never bothered with them - the cable is plugged in full time).

Glenn

[russellsnr]

I use neither method - my Canons have software that transfers files from my camera to the HDD via a USB cable.

Consequently I rarely take the CF card out of the camera - only when I have more than one card of images.

This takes longer, but eliminates the (admittedly slight) possibility of bending pins in the camera. However if one takes hundreds of shots in one session, then the card reader would be worthwhile.

I think most people recommend using a card reader (one of my computers has card readers for CF and SD, but I've never bothered with them - the cable is plugged in full time).

Glenn

Thanks Glenn, I should have mentioned I do use a card reader to transfer the files.
Russ

[kris]

When using LR you transfer the files from your Card to the HDD but you also import files into the LR database. You can also apply "on the fly" a preset with developing instructions to the the whole bunch of pictures you are importing and/or modify some metadata. So using LR is more than a simple file transfer.

Every brand usually supplies a software to handle the transfer of files from the camera card to the HDD. These programs generally transfer files and allow for some metadata modification and PP adjustments.

With drag and drop you are only copying the files from the card to the HDD.

I use LR, Bridge or ViewNX by Nikon to transfer files.

Without entering into detail, with a card reader you can have a sensible gain of transfer rate. When the size of the files is large and/or you have a large number of files to transfer you will appreciate the difference. Besides cameras usually have a USB2 port, while now many computers and card reader use USB3. Least but not last, you save the camera battery.

The problem of bending pins is really remote, and if do not have CF card you even do not have have pins. I always take out the CF card form the camera and use a card reader to transfer files and, until now, I never had any problem.

Cheers
Andrea

[DanK]

Like Glenn, I usually use a cable and the EOS utility rather than a card reader, even though I have a good one. I never have enough photos to download that it would make much difference in terms of speed, and like Glenn, I would rather not risk bending pins. The other advantage is that I have the EOS utility set to bring up Zoom Browser automatically. I find that I can often quickly cull some unsuccessful shots before fussing with syncing to LR, which takes some time.

[Macmahon]

Russ

I too have always used a card reader. It never occurred to me that there might be a danger of bending pins in swapping cards. If I'd worried about that I'd have bought 64Gb cards a long time ago so as not to have to swop cards during a shoot!

As far as shifting the files off the card is concerned, I used to drag and drop them, and then add to LR's database. I now use LR's import which both copies the RAWs to your HD and creates the catalog entries. It is just as fast, and offers the opportunity to make an automatic second backup copy if you want. I set up LR to automatically import when the card is connected. Works like a charm. That said, I use COPY rather than MOVE in LR's import options so as not to delete the images from the card until I've checked all is OK. It always has been OK, but I'm conservative like that!

Cheers

Tim

[Colin Southern]

I use Adobe Bridge to pull the images off the card - rename them - convert them to DNG - and start the initial processing on the (all usually whilst I'm having a shower or inspecting my camera equipment).

Can't see any advantage to drag and dropping if you're not going to retain a copy at that location (not sure if LR does this also, but Bridge can also pop a backup copy somewhere else).

[Glenn NK]

Admittedly, pin bending while transferring CF cards is rare.

I've seen about five posts in the past six years that start out, "help, I think I bent the pins in my camera", or "when I put my CF card back into the camera it doesn't work anymore and it looks like one of the pins is bent". These cries for help have been on various forums. So the problem isn't non-existent.

As for dragging and dropping, I see no reason for this (unless one enjoys the process). To each his own.

Glenn

[dan marchant]

LR import using a card reader.