Holiday storage/backup suggestions

GSXRMovistar

GSXRMovistar

GSXRMovistar

Soldato
Joined
6 Nov 2002
Posts
9,890
Location
London UK
Hey all, I should be off one holiday and a month or so time and I need to start planning my strategy for data storage/backup whilst away.

I’ve not got huge amounts of storage on existing CF cards (probably around 20Gb) as most of my photography is one day events.

Therefore going away for 14 days I need additional storage, so do i:-

a) Buy a load of smaller cards (4-8Gb) enough to cover the full holiday, or
b) Pick up one of those mobile card reader/backup devices. This could be eggs in one basket but possibly a lot cheaper than loads of CF cards.

No longer have a laptop (just ipads/iphones) so dont have the option of transfering to a larger USB stick/drive.
 
Raymond Lin said:
Netbook for £150 would be cheapest tbh.
Click to expand...
Did think about taking my daughters netbook but with the amount of other tech gearing I'll be taking (plus the fact her netbook isn't that small/light) I'd rather avoid having to include that.

Nexus said:
I use my iPad and the camera connection kit.
Click to expand...
I've got a connection kit to read CF cards but concerned I wouldn't have enough free space on the idevices (will have a pair of 32Gb ipads, one 32GB iphone, and one 16Gb iphone). Also iirc the transfer speed wasn't that great (need to test again).

I suppose £150 would get me a fair amount of CF cards and if any of it could be backed up to the idevices that would be a bonus.
 
I was using a 64GB iPad on a holiday where I took a lot of photos. The iPad really only had Apps and some videos on it. Of course provided you manage your iPad properly, you can delete stuff on the fly and just re-add it all when you get home.

The iPhone doesn't work with the camera connection kit.

Its not as fast at transferring as it used to be, due to Apple limiting it as a result of people using all kinds of USB devices via the connection kit. However, its not like watching paint dry and ultimately is something you can easily do while in a hotel room. If you were shooting a wedding and needed to make a backup, then yes, its too slow for doing that quickly.
 
Without knowing anything about your holiday, is it a family trip or a photography one and where are you going? I would say just buy a few more cards it's only 14 days so a handfull of 8GB cards should be fine, I did a three week trip round South America this summer with 5*8GB, 3*4GB and 2*2GB and didn't run out of space. It wasn't a photography trip but I was using the camera every day and did some quick deletes of the real junk in camera most evenings.
 
14 days = all your CF cards.

every now and then go to internet cafe and *copy* the definate keepers onto a spare card and delete any rubbish ones. When full send the "keeper" CF cards back to your home address.

That way you will have a backup if you get your stuff nicked/lost.

If you just delete as you go you shouldn't run out of space.
 
Hodders said:
14 days = all your CF cards.

every now and then go to internet cafe and *copy* the definate keepers onto a spare card and delete any rubbish ones. When full send the "keeper" CF cards back to your home address.

That way you will have a backup if you get your stuff nicked/lost.
Click to expand...

If you go to the trouble of using an internet cafe, or even taking your laptop, surely its easier and cheaper to just upload your images to something like Dropbox, FTP for your website, or even an image hosting service. There is still a chance your cards might get lost in the post.
 
Nexus said:
If you go to the trouble of using an internet cafe, or even taking your laptop, surely its easier and cheaper to just upload your images to something like Dropbox, FTP for your website, or even an image hosting service. There is still a chance your cards might get lost in the post.
Click to expand...

You ever tried uploading a few GB's of pictures from an interent cafe 99% of the time it's simply not going to happen, I carry a 16GB USB stick just incase I run out of memory cards and I'll tend to use a small empty card if I'm going anywhere really dodgy for an outing so if my gear gets nicked I don't loose a few days shots.
 
Not used an internet cafe in years, so no.

Personally though, I tend to lock my memory cards in the hotel safe. Then they will be in my hand luggage while travelling, so chances of them getting nicked are slim. Even the cheapest of accommodation such as hostels tend to have lockers or a safe behind the counter.

Obviously if you are going backpacking around the world to some dodgy places, where there are criminals who pray on such tourists, then I can understand it. For your average holiday for a couple of weeks though, sending your memory cards home seems overkill to me.
 
Shame you are on CF rather than SD - Plextor do a stand-alone DVD writer which will copy SD cards without needing a computer. It's about £80 or £90 from memory.
 
#Chri5# said:
Shame you are on CF rather than SD - Plextor do a stand-alone DVD writer which will copy SD cards without needing a computer. It's about £80 or £90 from memory.
Click to expand...


I wouldn't even use it as a door stop :p.

DVD's/CD's are possibly the worse backup medium known to man!
 
kae2 said:
I wouldn't even use it as a door stop :p.

DVD's/CD's are possibly the worse backup medium known to man!
Click to expand...

They are fine for a second copy but I certainly wouldn't be erasing my memory cards just because I had a copy on CD especially when it's likely to be stuffed in a bag and bounced around an aeroplane!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom