Photo storage for a traveller?

bass_junkie83

bass_junkie83

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I have a friend who is soon going travelling for 4-6 months. They will be taking lots of pictures, with a compact camera, so no large raw files.

What is the best option for photo storage. Lots of cards? One of those card backup devices?
Not sure what they are called or where to find them mind.

Internet access will be limited so online storage isn't really an option.

Cheers
 
I use one of these when I'm travelling. Great product IMO, I just copy the contents of my cards at the end of each day.
 
For travelling light then it's both lots of cards AND a photo storage drive. Don't underestimate the necessity of having a backup, you [he] can very easily come back with no pictures.
 
IMO photo storage devices days have been and gone.They are much more expensive than just buying extra memory cards.If you want to see your pics just put the card back in the camera.Your pics are much safer on a card than on a hard drive.
A much better and cheaper alternative is a netbook and a cheap usb hard drive if you want to back up your pictures.It also gives you the chance to edit while you are away.

Gary
 
vulcan2912 said:
IMO photo storage devices days have been and gone.They are much more expensive than just buying extra memory cards.
Click to expand...

Hyperdrive with 160GB drive = £180.94 (£144.25 + £36.69)

10 x 8GB SD Cards = £159.90

10 x 8GB CF Cards = £379.90

;)
 
I was in Patagonia for a month taking a lot of pictures. I looked at the portable devices but decided to carry a number of spare memory cards. I also carried a pair of cheap SD card readers and backed up the cards to when I was near a computer (most towns had one somewhere). Your friend will also find that most tourist destinations, even the smaller ones, have photo shops that will copy files to CD/DVD. I don't think it's a great option as the discs are not that robust, but it is a valid option if they don't want to carry extra kit. I took my ipad with me too, but with RAW files it filled up really quickly (even the 64GB model). I put a load of TV on it instead which was far more useful on the longer journeys.

I think I'll wait until SSD prices come down then get a portable backup device. I think a killer drive would have SD/CF slots, SSD and powered by AA batteries. That would allow you to stay away from power and I'm not sure about the robustness of HDDs for trekking/mountaineering. HAs anyone put an SSD in one of these housings?

Until that becomes a reasonable cost, I'll stick with the backup cards approach. It's not that cheap, but it is robust and the cards are reusable.
 
Hmm, i might have a spare SSD somewhere i can put in a storage device for some added robustness.

I'm not sure how much storage they will really need to be honest, she is not a keen photographer and will only be using a little p&s, maybe just a few extra cards will do?

I can sort out some hosting for her so she can upload them whenever the is able to get to an internet café. But i don't thing she will be keen on sitting in front of a computer for a full day every few weeks.
 
Transcend 16gb CF 133x £20 each.
That's £200 for 160GB.Much safer on a CF card than a hard drive.Also spreads the pictures out a bit.

You can also buy a netbook for approx £200 with a decent size hard drive.Stick a £50 500gb usb hard drive with it and you can back up in duplicate,surf the web,edit your pics etc etc.

Gary
 
I went travelling a couple of years ago for 10 months and did the following (just a 12mp compact shooting JPEG):

1) Keep all pics on memory cards until you need to delete them due to lack of space, then start with oldest/least valuable (I had 4GB worth of cards)
2) Back up all photos to iPod/external hard disk as soon as possible (I would visit an internet cafe every few days, but would maybe take a netbook next time)
3) Once 4GB worth of photos, burn 2 copies onto DVD - post one home, keep other in bag other than where camera/iPod were (in case of theft/loss)
4) Back up to Facebook. Although in general the Internet connection wasn't reliable so would only get low quality pics (which could be used as a last resort).

I didn't lose a single pic that way, and met many people who had their camera stolen or lost pics somehow. I came close once, when my iPod died the day after backing up to DVD, but was able to restore them all. In general the DVDs weren't great - quite a few images were corrupt on one copy, but I'd still feel better having something posted home just in case you got your bags nicked.

p.s. I took 7000 pics in that time and was trying to keep numbers down, so she could easily come back with 4000 photos..
 
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Personally, I took a proper laptop (or a netbook, that stupid iPAD thing just can't hack it [no proper USB]).
I then got a small USB to sata converter, and bought a 2.5" hard disk.

So, at the end of each day, I transfer all of the pictures from the CF cards to the laptop.
I then backup all photos to the USB hard disk drive.
I thus have two copies of the pictures.
If the laptop dies on the journey, well, I have to fix that somehow
If the disk dies, then a lot of places are capable of getting them now

You don't say where they are travelling
 
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