Copying a 'card onto HD without PC >?

Diving Pete

Diving Pete

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I'm after the smallest lightest method of copying single or multiple SD/CF cards onto another storage device - HD/SSD BUT without using a laptop or pc.
Is there anything out there ?
Any ideas ?
 
Yep, you need a portable storage backup device, you can buy one with a HDD built in for around £200 or you can buy in kit form on Amazon for about £90 of which you then add your own hard disk / SSD which also saves battery life :)
 
Specifically device and not into a cloud?

Few years ago I had a little black box - forget the name but the company went bust I think - that was little more than a hard drive with a screen and slots for various types of card. Very effective back-up but not very good for viewing and sorting the pics.

Then went to a small netbook. Fast and effective but again crap quality viewing and didn't let you see RAW files.

Used a Nexus 7 on the my most recent rip and this was disastrous for back-up. I hear the adaptor kits for ipads are problematic as well. You can back up to ipods but hear it is ultra-slow.

In short I have looked for but haven't found the ideal device for me yet...

Sorry, that wasn't much help was it? :(
 
Yes I'm aware that the lightest method is to just carry more cards but I already use 6 x 32Gb now - don't really want to buy more unless required...
 
I'll explain more...

Logistics of Safari...
2 people
2 weeks
3 cameras
= 5000 + pics (raw files)

Don't care about editing or viewing, assuming no internet, (don't want to upload hundreds of gigs) - just want the data off the cards & copied ...
 
Depending on your budget but I'd recommend a HyperDrive Colourspace device. They are quite expensive but they allow you to view your photos on its screen, which might be handy if you've no laptop or computer in easy reach. It has support for all the usual cards and will also allow RAW files to be stored, I know some don't, and will also allow you to recover deleted files and transfer photos via its built in wifi.

Here's one that's on ebay at the moment http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hyperdriv...277?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item4ac940e51d but a quick search on google will also find them.
 
Would it be a cheaper and easier option for you to just buy a couple of extra cards & use them both in camera, copying to card 2 as backup?

(suppose it depends on the other users/cameras though too)
 
Its worse than that as I also do Video - with the GOPro's.... Hence the 6 cards...

The Nexto can be ordered without a drive (£186) & as I've got about 10 in various sizes anyway that seems to do the job perfectly...
 
modchild said:
Depending on your budget but I'd recommend a HyperDrive Colourspace device. They are quite expensive but they allow you to view your photos on its screen, which might be handy if you've no laptop or computer in easy reach. It has support for all the usual cards and will also allow RAW files to be stored, I know some don't, and will also allow you to recover deleted files and transfer photos via its built in wifi.

Here's one that's on ebay at the moment http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hyperdriv...277?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item4ac940e51d but a quick search on google will also find them.
Click to expand...

That's the one I had!

Still tucked away somewhere. Like I said, I stopped using it because I wanted better viewing and sorting capability, but for pure fast field storage it was excellent. The devices Flightphoto has posted seem very similar.
 
Not as far as I know, one thing you'll find with USB3.0 is that it can be a gimmick due to the internal drive performing a bottle neck, so while the usb chipset is fast, the read / write times of the drive will make it that of a usb 2 equivalent, unless you go down the route of installing an SSD which will improve the times but also the cost!
 
They seem to all be FAT32 disks (apart from the Nexto)

Are there any on the market suitable for video?
 
Just found my old Espon 6000 only got an 80gb hard drive,find i don't use it much now days,used to use one a lot when cards were very small & cost the earth,but now days i just take the cards i need.
Its nice if your going away on a long trip,but like everything you buy check it and double check it,years ago i had the Espon 1000 and only found out after using it,their were problem with Lexar cards,in which it completely destroys them,i never did get to the bottom of it Espon blamed Lexar & Lexar blamed Espon :shrug:,and i lost a few cards :(
 
Flightphoto said:
Not as far as I know, one thing you'll find with USB3.0 is that it can be a gimmick due to the internal drive performing a bottle neck, so while the usb chipset is fast, the read / write times of the drive will make it that of a usb 2 equivalent, unless you go down the route of installing an SSD which will improve the times but also the cost!
Click to expand...

Ssd have come down in price recently. 256gb will be a good start to go for. Also another advantage is that if you did accidently drop the unit at least the photos will be ok, as normal hard drive it could easily get damaged and your photos would be lost!

The scenario would be that you copied all your photos over onto the portable hard drive, you then format the memory card to use again. Then device gets damaged some way or another. Hard drive fails to power up or has bad sectors, photos would most likley be lost.

However, bear in mind, even though SSD drives have no moving parts, then can also fail, just like any electronic device.
 
Well I have ordered the Hyperspace UDMA 2 - Driveless for £227.
I think I have circa 10 laptop drives of various capacitys lying around, but I'm happy to review it when it arrives & test with different drives.

The way I will run this in use is to:

copy card to no 1 HD,
Swap HD out, insert no 2 HD
Recopy card to no 2.

Format card & reuse

Once at home, copy no 1 HD onto NAS (which is mirrored) & format both HD's...
 
Diving Pete said:
I'll explain more...

Logistics of Safari...
2 people
2 weeks
3 cameras
= 5000 + pics (raw files)

Don't care about editing or viewing, assuming no internet, (don't want to upload hundreds of gigs) - just want the data off the cards & copied ...
Click to expand...

Heres a thought - are you going to have access to power for recharging ? Back up devices all take batteries - just taking a shedload of cards doesn't need power, meaning limited recharging time (like off a vehicle) can be devoted to keeping the camera batteries topped up
 
There's a way I got around that Pete, nothing like a solar charger rucksack, I think we paid £50 for ours delivered from Amazon (but as you'll know, the sun isn't always out so it can take a while to charge :D )
It has 3 usb ports internally for charging and then we coupled it with a canon USB charger to charge some LP-E6's :)
 
Have checked with the makers of Colorspace, it is FAT formatted so files over 4GB will break.
 
big soft moose said:
Heres a thought - are you going to have access to power for recharging ? Back up devices all take batteries - just taking a shedload of cards doesn't need power, meaning limited recharging time (like off a vehicle) can be devoted to keeping the camera batteries topped up
Click to expand...

& that is the question...

Normally, I'd take a laptop + 3 x 1tb external drives - BUT this all takes a lot of power, space, size & is potentially fragile...

On my last expedition a friend of mine kelt on my laptop - (broke the screen) which meant that I was unable to copy data from the cards to the external drives = Buggered..

This solution only requires:

small & light 2.5inch drives (which I have lots)
spare li-ion batteries - easily available & fairly cheap (£5ish)

= low weight, low power requirements, fairly robust.

Which is why I bought it.
 
Diving Pete said:
& that is the question...

Normally, I'd take a laptop + 3 x 1tb external drives - BUT this all takes a lot of power, space, size & is potentially fragile...

On my last expedition a friend of mine kelt on my laptop - (broke the screen) which meant that I was unable to copy data from the cards to the external drives = Buggered..

This solution only requires:

small & light 2.5inch drives (which I have lots)
spare li-ion batteries - easily available & fairly cheap (£5ish)

= low weight, low power requirements, fairly robust.

Which is why I bought it.
Click to expand...

I think it was probably designed for almost exactly someone with your requirements. Over at Nikonians there were several users and I never heard a bad word about it. It should be perfect for you, hope it works out that way.
 
GoPro keeps them under 4Gb - so no worries,
All the rest is RAW files - again no issue..
 
Keeper said:
I think it was probably designed for almost exactly someone with your requirements. Over at Nikonians there were several users and I never heard a bad word about it. It should be perfect for you, hope it works out that way.
Click to expand...

Hope so - but I'll keep you all in the loop...:D
 
The main reason for thinking this way is my Wife has given the nod for me to get a D800.. Yippee

Working on a 75mb raw file size each 32Gb card will allow me roughly 400 pictures...
that's 13 x 32Gb cards before I even start thinking about video on the GoPro. This is not very realistic or even cheap.
 
Well the Hyperspace UDMA 2 arrived yesterday…
This is the model WITHOUT a Hard Drive…

DSC_0029 by Diving Pete, on Flickr

To insert a drive all that is needed is to:
remove 2 tiny screws with the included screwdriver, slide off the cover,

DSC_0031 by Diving Pete, on Flickr
add the SATA type drive
replace cover
reinsert the 2 x screws (they also supply 2 spare screws – they are tiny !!!)
Figured no point in reading any instructions – just turned it on, formatted the drive & put a SD card in it.
Did 2 copies:
5.45Gb – about 3 1/2 mins,

DSC_0034 by Diving Pete, on Flickr
17.8Gb – just about 15 mins – although stopped paying close attention to it – it’s really quiet when running & then it switches off once done..


DSC_0039 by Diving Pete, on Flickr

It even allows you to tell which files are RAW files (NIKON’s ) & puts a little RAW name onto the image… The screen is very usable without being great – its not an IPAD screen….but at least allows you various display options. The manual is also well written & easy to follow.
 
Sounds very interesting, where did you get it from? Ive just found this one, its looks quite interesting with the wireless connection to be able to view the images stored on the colour space hard drive on an iPad screen. It could be just what I'm looking for. (Edit: just noticed in your photo you have the wireless adapter, could you please let me know how we'll that works if viewing on an iPad).

http://www.nefing.co.uk/hyperdrive-colorspace-udma-2-for-ipad-casing-only-ipad-hdu2

Especially if I could use something like this, either 64GB or 128GB drive (not if that even possible).

http://www.dabs.com/products/sandis...-drive-8HBN.html?refs=41580000-52750000&src=3
 
Last edited:
I have a few spare SSD's at work - I'm happy to stick one of those in...
Don't see why it wouldn't work - its a standard SATA connection & a 2 1/2 inch drive.
 
I've tried an SSD in my Colorspace and it works OK. But it's not any faster than an ordinary HDD, so the only reason to use the smaller, more expensive, drive is because of its greater resistance to mechanical failure.
 
NickR said:
I have ordered a RAVPower FileHubhttp://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00AQUMZRA/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 as far as I can make out with this using the iphone or Android App you should be able to copy files from sd to an external USB drive plugged into the USB port?

I purchased this as an alternative to an eye-fi card. £33 can't go wrong!

I'll report back when I have received and tested. (y)
Click to expand...

When I wrote above I didn't realise diving pete had found a soloution, well for anyone after a cheep wireless solution, I received and tested the RavPower FileHub today and works reasonably well with iPhone, iPad, Android Tablet and Windows PC. It's possible to transfer images/files between SD card and Attached USB Drive not particularly quickly. It's possible to transfer files from SD card to iphone which is what I have purchased this for. It also will charge iPhone but doesn't charge iPad. Anyway for the price you can't go wrong.


Any questions please ask.
 
digital said:
I've just got a (no drive included) Colorspace UDMA II for £199.99 from http://www.nefing.co.uk/hyperdrive-colorspace-udma-2-for-ipad-casing-only-ipad-hdu2?filter_name=ColorSpace Quick delivery, the only negative so far is that it comes with a US -> UK adapter for the mains charger which, I'm assured, is the normal arrangement from the US manufacturer.
Click to expand...

I was looking at this place too. Sounds like they quite good. I seem to remember them having an address in Leeds.
 
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