USB Backup Device for SD Cards

RandomlySet

RandomlySet

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Yes
Evening all.

I'm looking for a decent portable HDD/SDD to take with me to the States to keep a back up of all the video footage I'll be getting.

Originally I was looking at one of these:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00IRV0...colid=12QP1VZH6VPKG&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it&th=1

Which considering it's a HDD, it has decent read/write speeds. However, I've just thought, what devices are out there that will automatically back up a SD card without the need to connect to a PC? Not something I can see myself needing to do a lot, but something that would definitely come in handy if the price difference isn't too much.

Does anyone here use such a thing whilst out in the field?
 
Would it not be easier just to buy a load of SD cards?
You will probably find SD cards are cheaper in the US than here.
 
troutfisher said:
Would it not be easier just to buy a load of SD cards?
You will probably find SD cards are cheaper in the US than here.
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Yes, and I have a wallet full. But would be nice to have a second copy (I will have my Laptop with me too)


B1ts said:
Western digital my passport wireless pro.
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That sounds familiar - I think I've looked at that in the past

*clicks to Amazon*
 
Does your camera have two card slots? Some cameras with two card slots can transfer the files from one card to spare card using the copy functionality at any point of the day. It can be good to make a second or third copy of data.
 
No, I'll be filming with a Lumix G7 and some days may also have a couple of GoPros on the go too, plus a drone and whatever I may grab on my phone
 
snerkler said:
I have one of these and backup onto a high capacity memory stick. You use an app on your phone to transfer the files. Transfer time isn't the quickest, but it's always worked fine for me.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Verbatim-9...pID=41Ozwit-s5L&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch
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i also have one of these which i bought for another purpose ( portable wireless bridge ) which unfortunately the transfer speeds were a little on the slow side

to use it as a backup device you would really need a portable hard drive ( or an SSD ) and your phone to control it
as a cheap portable alternative it works quite well but it can take a bit of time to make the backups

i also have a WD my passport wireless pro ( 2tb drive ) which is a one box solution with good battery life
it also has a Plex server built in which means you can use it along side a tablet or phone to view the footage once you have set up Plex on whatever device you have
if you can't be bothered with PLex ( like me ) VLC media player picks up the WD my passport wireless pro and can stream the footage, it seems to cope with 1080p but not convinced it will stream 4k

as already mentioned you can set the wireless pro to automatically back up whatever you plug into it ( sd card , usb pen drive , usb card reader with different card types including Cfast ) and it has the facility to only back up new files from the same card which is handy

in practical use it's pretty good, at the moment i'm trying to get it to slideshow photos to my daughters ipad which is turning out a bit of a challenge
i can play video stored on the drive quite easily through VLC media player and scroll through a photo album but to get the ipad to automatically play the album as a slideshow isn't turning out to be an easy task

i'l get there in the end

there not the cheapest way for backup but they are quite feature full and totally portable
 
snerkler said:
I have one of these and backup onto a high capacity memory stick. You use an app on your phone to transfer the files. Transfer time isn't the quickest, but it's always worked fine for me.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Verbatim-9...pID=41Ozwit-s5L&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch
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Even that's more than necessary. All that's actually needed is a USB3 hub with integral file reader plus an OTG dongle if required. The Files app on an Android phone can copy folders or files from SD card to USB stick or external SSD.
 
I should add that my camera has dual card slots and its set to back up onto the second card.

All these devices are fine, but only if you also keep the original card with its contents otherwise you still only have one set of files.
Not what I consider to be back up
 
tijuana taxi said:
I should add that my camera has dual card slots and its set to back up onto the second card.

All these devices are fine, but only if you also keep the original card with its contents otherwise you still only have one set of files.
Not what I consider to be back up
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Agreed. When I was on safari, I had the D810 and D500. I used the SD card as backup and kept the original XQD and CF cards as main with backup the WD My Passport wireless Pro. New XQD/ CF as required and recycled the SD cards.
 
tijuana taxi said:
I should add that my camera has dual card slots and its set to back up onto the second card.

All these devices are fine, but only if you also keep the original card with its contents otherwise you still only have one set of files.
Not what I consider to be back up
Click to expand...
Another point is keeping the two cards apart. I shoot backup in camera but if both cards are left in the camera and you lose the camera you lose everything. You can write data from old slot to a new card too. That’s great to make a third copy if you have a large capacity slower card.

It sounds like the OP is playing to use multiple devices with single card slots. A separate backup device sounds like the only option in their case.
 
iPhone with the Lightening to SD adaptor.
Backup all your files to the cloud, job done.
The benefit of this is that your photos are backed up at a remote location, downside is that you’ll need a unlimited 4G data bundle.
 
Riz_Guru said:
iPhone with the Lightening to SD adaptor.
Backup all your files to the cloud, job done.
The benefit of this is that your photos are backed up at a remote location, downside is that you’ll need a unlimited 4G data bundle.
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And be in a country where you don't get hit with roaming charges.
 
Decided to go with the WD Passport in the end.

2Tb for £70 on Amazon (maybe £69.95). I wanted a red one, but that was £15 more! Whilst looking, I spotted the blue one for a fiver less... Can't complain at £65 TBH.

Then bought a case for it with the fiver I'd saved :LOL:
 
RandomlySet said:
Decided to go with the WD Passport in the end.

2Tb for £70 on Amazon (maybe £69.95). I wanted a red one, but that was £15 more! Whilst looking, I spotted the blue one for a fiver less... Can't complain at £65 TBH.

Then bought a case for it with the fiver I'd saved :LOL:
Click to expand...

Cracking device! Good deal there!
 
RandomlySet said:
Decided to go with the WD Passport in the end.

2Tb for £70 on Amazon (maybe £69.95). I wanted a red one, but that was £15 more! Whilst looking, I spotted the blue one for a fiver less... Can't complain at £65 TBH.

Then bought a case for it with the fiver I'd saved :LOL:
Click to expand...
Does that take an SD card? If so would you have a link for that so I can grab one?
 
chrism_scotland said:
I've got one of the already mentioned Western Digital Passport Wireless Pro Drives (4TB I think).
Its excellent for backing up SD Cards, just stick the card in the slot and hit the backup button and it very quickly backs it up, no fuss or hassle.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/WD-TB-Passport-Wireless-Pro/dp/B01EAOJBHY/ref=sr_1_24?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1522356604&sr=1-24&keywords=western+digital+passport&th=1
Click to expand...

How long does it take to back up 128G card and how do you know when its done?
 
cosmicma said:
iv'e got to ask...
how are you backing up your files to the WD passport drive ?
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Via laptop and the software it comes with.

So when we go away, I'll empty all SD cards to laptop, and then make a back up to the WD drive. I may even leave footage on the cards if I have enough of them. Although I doubt it as I filled 6 SD cards (4x 32gb & 2x 64gb) on our last trip to NYC for a week just with a gopro in 4K. This trip I'll my Lumix G7, Mavic Pro, 3 GoPros and possibly even odd clip on the phone. All possibly shooting 4K. And we're over there for a month!
 
Raymond Lin said:
ow long does it take to back up 128G card and how do you know when its done?
Click to expand...

I cant tell you about 128Gb but I had a full 64Gb card and it took about 20 mins - reasonably fast SD card. There's 4 blue lights that flash and go solid to let you know progress. I find this a painless and welcome way of backing up when away for a few days and I dont want to lug laptop. It even acts as a battery source power pack to charge via usb and a wi-fi access point
 
Jim_Tod said:
I cant tell you about 128Gb but I had a full 64Gb card and it took about 20 mins - reasonably fast SD card. There's 4 blue lights that flash and go solid to let you know progress. I find this a painless and welcome way of backing up when away for a few days and I dont want to lug laptop. It even acts as a battery source power pack to charge via usb and a wi-fi access point
Click to expand...

@Raymond Lin Like Jim said!
 
chrism_scotland said:
I've got one of the already mentioned Western Digital Passport Wireless Pro Drives (4TB I think).
Its excellent for backing up SD Cards, just stick the card in the slot and hit the backup button and it very quickly backs it up, no fuss or hassle.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/WD-TB-Passport-Wireless-Pro/dp/B01EAOJBHY/ref=sr_1_24?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1522356604&sr=1-24&keywords=western+digital+passport&th=1
Click to expand...
I'd be very wary of these.
There are as many "one star" user reviews as there are "five stars" which does not exactly inspire confidence.
 
Brian G said:
I'd be very wary of these.
There are as many "one star" user reviews as there are "five stars" which does not exactly inspire confidence.
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Reading through the one stars it does seem like a lot of devices are basically “DOA” on arrival with a variety of battery and WiFI issues, luckily mine wasn’t and it seems to work just fine.
 
chrism_scotland said:
Reading through the one stars it does seem like a lot of devices are basically “DOA” on arrival with a variety of battery and WiFI issues, luckily mine wasn’t and it seems to work just fine.
Click to expand...
I'm not in the market for a backup device, but if I were I'd consider one of these https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00TI3WQJS?psc=1 which gets much better user ratings than the WD.
 
RandomlySet said:
Via laptop and the software it comes with.

So when we go away, I'll empty all SD cards to laptop, and then make a back up to the WD drive. I may even leave footage on the cards if I have enough of them. Although I doubt it as I filled 6 SD cards (4x 32gb & 2x 64gb) on our last trip to NYC for a week just with a gopro in 4K. This trip I'll my Lumix G7, Mavic Pro, 3 GoPros and possibly even odd clip on the phone. All possibly shooting 4K. And we're over there for a month!
Click to expand...


no worries

the reason i asked was i thought you were looking for a portable transfer / backup media that didn't involve a laptop but what you have will work the same as any other type of backup device
 
cosmicma said:
no worries

the reason i asked was i thought you were looking for a portable transfer / backup media that didn't involve a laptop but what you have will work the same as any other type of backup device
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I kinda did. I think I was thinking ahead. For times when I may not have a laptop with me. TBH, I wouldn't be surprised if I near enough fill this drive during the month I'm out there. When I'm back, I'll probably look at other options where I don't need a laptop with me.
 
Brian G said:
I'm not in the market for a backup device, but if I were I'd consider one of these https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00TI3WQJS?psc=1 which gets much better user ratings than the WD.
Click to expand...

That looks pretty good actually! Although wouldn't save me having to take a separate HD I guess, if I was starting from scratch that and a cheaper External HDD would be a great option.
 
There is a review of the WD passport ssd drive on the Cameralabs site he rates it highly
 
Brian G said:
I'm not in the market for a backup device, but if I were I'd consider one of these https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00TI3WQJS?psc=1 which gets much better user ratings than the WD.
Click to expand...

Is that a true backup device - i.e. transfer from SD card to HDD? It looks more like the transfer would be via your mobile device, so hamstrung by the speed of I/O of the mobile CPU and the low power file system compromises that entails.
 
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