PNY 3.0 High Performance card reader at a glance:
- Website: www.pny.eu
- Price: £15
When my last card reader gave up after many years of service, I invested in a PNY 3.0 High Performance card reader. Its six memory-card slots run around the side of the device, and allow it to read most types of flash memory cards including SD, SDHC, SDXC, MicroSD, MicroSDHC, MicroSDXC, MiniSD, MiniSDHC, Memory Stick Pro, Memory Stick Pro Duo, Memory Stick M2, MMC, RS-MMC, xD and CompactFlash.
These days it’s mostly just CompactFlash, SD cards and occasionally MicroSD cards that are used in cameras, but it’s good to know it’s possible to read others on this device. On the card reader’s underside you’ll find a small USB cable that’s embedded into the unit itself and sits completely flush. You can pop this out and have a USB 2.0 connection even if you’ve forgotten the supplied USB 3.0 cable. While the card reader is of a fairly fast speed when connected to USB 2.0, when used with the USB 3.0 set-up it’s claimed by PNY to be 10x faster. In practice, I found it to be very fast – transferring up to 10GB in around a minute. There’s also a built-in LED indicator, which lights up when it’s in use and indicates when it’s safe to remove the card/reader.
The PNY 3.0 High Performance card reader is compatible with most types of flash memory card
Measuring just 83x57x10mm, the reader is quite small, making it easy to slide into even the snuggest pockets of a camera bag. The components and circuitry inside the device appear to be solidly in place, with no play when cards are inserted in and out. However, the case is made of plastic and doesn’t seem as rugged as other card readers on the market.
In all, though, this card reader is small, compact and fast, and will read just about every card available. Besides which, it also scores well for having a ‘get out of jail free card’ with the built-in USB 2.0 connection.
