what are the benefits of using a CF card reader vs. transferring using a digital camera

Question

I know that the transfer rate is playing a major factor here

Answer 1

Many cameras use the older USB 1.1 standard for transferring data, which is slow. USB 1.1 can run in two modes (Low speed 1.5 Mbits/sec and Full speed 12.0 Mbits/sec). Your actual speed will be lower than theoretical maximum. USB 2.0 the newer standard supports 480 Mbits/sec. maximum. FireWire and PCMCIA are even faster.





With an external reader, you are not limited by what you camera supports, but by what your PC supports, so you can get higher speed interfaces such as PCMCIA, FireWire or USB 2.0, even if your camera doesn't support it. I've found USB 2.0 to provide acceptable (not blazing, but reasonable) performance, even with high-res 8MP images.