Need to dump footage or video from your camera? These are some of the best memory card readers available. Note that a majority of these card readers are specifically for SD and/or CF cards, but there are a few that take several types of cards in addition.
Lexar LRW025URBNA Multi-Card 25-In-1 USB 3.0 Reader
- The IOGear USB-C 3-Slot Card Reader is the best SD card reader for most people because it's affordable (usually less than $20) and produced fast speeds during our SD, microSD, and CF tests, every.
- In brief, if you have a really fast CF card, your Mac’s IDE or Ultra ATA data bus will be the limiting factor. If you have a really slow CF card, it will be the bottleneck. Your best bet is to find a card rated as follows.
The Lexar LRW025URBNA is one of the most versatile card readers on this list, accepting 25 different types of cards. It also allows concurrent downloads, so you can pull content off of two different card types at once — or you can even transfer from one card type to another.
With USB 3.0, this Lexar card reader can reach transfer speeds of up to 500 MB/s. The only real downside is that this reader is not UDMA 7 compatible.
Card reader not being detected by the PC. For Mac users, see Troubleshooting USB device on Mac SOLUTION 2- Verify the reader's status under Device Manager. STEP 1 - Connect the reader to the PC. NOTE: The card reader will appear in two places: Disk Drives and Universal Serial Bus controls as USB Mass Storage. I have a iMac (Intel) desktop and also a Windows based PC. I use the newer Mac to process JPEG photos in Lightroom 3, but here's the catch: most of the time my older Sandisk ImageMate 8-in-1 CF reader does not show up in LR3 (I connect the USB plug directly to the back of the Mac's USB slot).
- USB 3.0
- Transfer Speed Up to 500 MB/s
- Accepted Cards Types
- Compact Flash (CF)
- Type I and Type II
- UDMA 0-6
- Not UDMA 7 compatible
- SD
- SDHC
- SDXC
- miniSD
- miniSDHC
- MMC
- MMCplus
- RS-MMC
- microSD
- microSDHC
- Memory Stick
- Memory Stick with MagicGate
- Memory Stick PRO
- Memory Stick PRO Duo
- Memory Stick Duo with MagicGate
- Memory Stick PRO Duo Mark 2
- Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo
- Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo HX
- Memory Stick Micro (M2)
- xD-Picture Card
- xD-Picture Card Type-M
- xD-Picture Card Type-M+
- xD-Picture Card Type-H
- Compact Flash (CF)
- Concurrent Downloads
- Card-To-Card File Transfer
This card reader is available from retailers for $21 to $23 USD.
Kingston USB 3.0 Media Reader
This USB 3.0 card reader from Kingston accepts CF, SD, microSD, and MS cards. It has a 5 Gb/s max speed transfer rate when using a USB 3.0 port.
- Supports UHS-I and UHS-II Card Speeds
- Up to 5 Gb/s Max. Data Transfer Rate
- Accepts Compact Flash cards
- CF Type I & II (UDMA 0-7)
- Accepts SD and microSD
- SD
- SDHC UHS I-II
- SDXC UHS I-II
- microSD
- microSDHC UHS-I
- microSDXC UHS-I
- Accepts Memory Stick cards
- MS PRO
- MS Duo
- MS PRO Duo
- Built-In LED Light Indicator
- Compatible Operating Systems (OS)
- Windows
- Mac
- Linux
- Chrome
This card reader is available from many retailers for $17 to $21 USD.
Rocketek RT-CR5 USB 3.0 Memory Card Reader
Card Reader For Mac Pro
This Rocketek RT-CR5 memory card reader is an 11-in-1 device that is incredibly small and packed full of features.
- 3 Media Slots
- Accepted Card Types
- SD
- Mini SD
- SD/MMC
- Micro SD
- SDXC
- up to 2TB
- SDHC
- MMC
- RS-MMC
- MicroSDXC
- MicroSD
- MicroSDHC
- Mini SD
- UHS-I Cards
- USB 3.0
- Backwards compatible with 2.0/1.1.
- Compatible OS
- Windows 2000/ME/XP/Vista/7/8(32bit/64bit)
- MacOS 10.X or above
- Android 4.0+
- LED indicator
- Free lifetime technical support
- 24-month manufacturer’s warranty
The Rocketek 11-in-1 USB 3.0 memory card reader is available for $8 to $17 USD.
Transcend RDF5 USB 3.0
The Transcend RDF5 is a very cheap and portable memory card reader that’s worth carrying in your laptop or camera bag. It’s certainly not the fastest card reader on the market, but its size and price makes it worth investing in one or two. It also includes a data recovery program with purchase.
- Accepts SD and microSD cards
- SDHC
- SDXC
- microSDHC
- SDXC Cards
- USB 3.0 Interface
- Free Data Recovery Software Download
- Compatible OS
- Windows 8, 7, Vista, XP
- Mac OS X 10.2.8 or later
- Linux Kernel 2.6.30 or later (USB 2.0 only)
The Transcend RDF5 is available from $6 to $10 USD.
Delkin Devices USB 3.0 Universal Memory Card Reader
This Delkin Devices universal memory card reader is extremely versatile and accepts a wide variety of memory cards.
- 5 Gb/s transfer speed
- Accepted card types
- CF Type I & II
- including UDMA 6 and 7
- SD
- SDHC/SDXC
- all classes, including UHS-I
- microSD
- microSDHC
- Memory Stick
- Memory Stick Micro
- MicroDrive
- MMC
- Memory Stick XC
- Memory Stick DUO (HG)
- Memory Stick PRO (HG)
- Memory Stick PRO DUO (HG)
- xD
- CF Type I & II
- Universal Format Compatibility
- USB 3.0
- Backwards compatible with USB 2.0 / 1.1
- 5-Year Warranty
- FCC & CE Approved
- Compatible OS
- Windows 7 / XP / Vista / ME / 2000 (SP4)
- Mac OS9 or Later
The Delkin Devices’ universal memory card readers is available for $17 to $20 USD.
Lexar LRW400CRBNA Professional USB 3.0 Dual-Slot Reader
Fast Cf Card Reader For Mac
This memory card reader from Lexar has a collapsible body designed to protect the contact points from the elements, which is great for shooters whose bags and gear are susceptible to sand, dirt, or debris. The card reader has a USB 3.0 connection and a data transfer rate up to 500 MB/s.
- USB 3.0 Interface
- Compatible with CF Cards
- UDMA 0-7
- Compatible with SD
- SD
- SDHC UHS-II
- SDXC UHS-II
- Max. Read Speed: 150 MB/s
- Data Transfer Rate: Up to 500 MB/s
- Supports UDMA 7
- Allows for Concurrent Transfers
- Enables Easy Card-To-Card File Transfers
- Pop-Up Design Protects Card Slots
Cf Memory Card Reader
The Lexar LRW400CRBNA Professional Dual-Slot Reader is available for $32 to $78 USD.
Top image from contributor Masterchief Productions.