Thanks for the info brosko. I found some USB OTG troubleshooting apps that helped solve the problem while I was searching the app store.
As it turns out it's a compatibility issue with my SD card reader. I tried a few other usb type devices (camera, mouse, keyboard) and they all worked with the 8.0 tab. So no issues with USB OTG functionality when you have the right cable.
Soon as I plugged in my camera the tablet was asking me if I wanted to download photos or view them on the SD card in the camera. I could see the camera using the file Samsung file management app as well.
The mouse and keyboard also worked fine.
Looks like a need to try a few other SD card readers.
