The BEST USB hubs for your Laptop, Camera, & Lightroom!
/It has come to my attention that many of you are using older, slower USB 2.0 hubs and or cables that are significantly slowing down the speed of any attached cameras, SD card readers, hard drives, and other peripherals. Using a slow hub slows Lightroom importing and editing! Below are three fast USB 3.0 or faster options for connecting additional drives and other devices to your computer or laptop. First, we need to clear up the confusion surrounding the cables.
USB-A cables are the standard that has been around for decades and they look like two cables on the right. The cable with the blue plastic is a USB 3.0 cable. The cable with the white plastic is USB 2.0. The far left cable is USB-C. It can be more difficult to tell what speeds a USB-C cable supports. Usually, faster USB-C cables are thicker. Confusingly Thunderbolt 3 and 4 cables use the exact same connectors as USB-C. You will need to refer to your computer documentation to figure out what your computer supports. Often they are marked with a small lightning bolt. The good news is Thunderbolt cables are backward compatible with USB-C. So when in doubt just buy the faster cables and know that they will work and really USB 3.0 is fast enough for most of us, I really just want to make sure you are no longer using USB 2.0.
| Type | Speed |
|---|---|
| USB 2.0 | 480 Mbps |
| USB 3.0 | 5 Gbps |
| Thunderbolt 3 | 40 Gbps |
| Thunderbolt 4 | 40 Gbps |
Thunderbolt 4
Fast USB-C type connector cords that support up to 40 Gbps! I recommend OWC
And don’t cheap out on USB-C cords. Many cords, including Apple’s white USB-C cords, only support USB 2.0 and that is SLOW! I recommend these USB-C/Thunderbolt cords - OWC Thunderbolt 4/ USB-C Cords
Xcellon 4-Port Slim USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C Hub ($12.95)
Provides 4 standard USB-A ports. USB-C connector - Buy from B&H Photo USB-A connector - Buy from B&H Photo
VersaHub 4-Port USB 3.2 Gen 2 Hub 2 x Type-A & 2 x Type-C ($49.99)
Provides 2 standard USB-A ports and 2 USB-C ports - Nothing fancy just fast USB ports.
Buy from B&H Photo
Anker Hub
USB-C 7-in-1 ($34.99)
With this hub, you can take one USB-C from your computer and get 2 x fast USB-A ports, HDMI, SD and MicroSD card reader, a fast USB-C for data and a USB-C for pass-through power, meaning you can charge your connected laptop/iPad and run hard drives attached to the USB ports that require power. Note that some ports not pictured are on the opposite side of the hub.
Just $34.99 and is occasionally on sale for slightly less.
Buy from Amazon
Dockteck Hub Ethernet HDMI
6-in-1 USB-C
($45.99)
A slimmer version of the Anker above that drops the SD/MicroSD card reader and adds an ethernet port.
Buy from Amazon
CalDigit TS3 Plus Thunderbolt 3 Dock ($299)
A big jump in price and size and this dock does require power (included) so it is not suitable for travel but in the home office it offers a huge number of FAST ports. On the front it provides an SD card reader, audio in and out, and 5Gbps USB-C, and USB-A ports. On the back 4 USB-A ports, USB-C, two Thunderbolt 3 along with Gigabit ethernet, and a display port connection.
