Storage of digital photos whilst travelling

[rukh]

Guys, I'm really struggling with this problem!

I'll be travelling for around 9 months, predominantly in South America and therefore will not have regular access to photo shops where I can burn CDs or even power supplies!

First the data:
I will be travelling for 275 days, taking (probably?) 30 shots/day. At 2mb/shot, this works out to be around 17gig, or filling a 512mb flash card 33 times (once every 2 weeks). I will probably carry two 512mb cards with me (to use in a canon d300) (512mb cards so that I can burn CDs - most shops can't read > 512mb from what I've heard).

The options (and add more if you have any!):
1) Buy an extra card or two, and hope to find photo shops!
Pros: Very cheap
Cons: Risky that I will be trekking or remote and wont be able to find a shop

2) Buy a portable CD/DVD burner
Pros: Cheap, reliable, thieves would not steal CDs
Cons: Bulky

3) Buy a HDD device with a (fast) built in card reader
Cons: Risk of hdd crash, size

4) Buy a mp3 HDD device with a (fast) built in/separate card reader
Pros: Can also listen to music
Cons: Expensive, card readers are usually slow, prime target for thieves

5) Buy a portable viewing device
Pro: Able to successfully verify copying
Cons: Device is too big, prime target for thieves


When access to power points, camera shops and limited space are more important than cost and I'm a bit worried about putting all my eggs in one basket (ie thieves in south america), which options would you recommend or have tried before??

Thank you!

Cheers,
Rukh

[Trevor Ash]

Personally, I'd buy the portable CD burner (even though it's bulky) and then sell it on ebay when I'm done with it. At least then cost isn't so much a factor. You'd only get about half what you paid for it but I'm sure it's worth the loss.

The main reason I'd choose that over a larger storage device is the whole "not having all your eggs in one basket" thing. 275 days is a LONG time to rely on electronic devices that are storing your photos!!!

You can leave the burning device where you're sleeping and only burn the CD's before bedtime. That helps with the bulky problem.

[Michael Fanelli]

Guys, I'm really struggling with this problem!

I'll be travelling for around 9 months, predominantly in South America and therefore will not have regular access to photo shops where I can burn CDs or even power supplies!

First the data:
I will be travelling for 275 days, taking (probably?) 30 shots/day. At 2mb/shot, this works out to be around 17gig, or filling a 512mb flash card 33 times (once every 2 weeks). I will probably carry two 512mb cards with me (to use in a canon d300) (512mb cards so that I can burn CDs - most shops can't read > 512mb from what I've heard).

I would also choose he CD option. You don't mention where you are going specifically but those portable storage devices all use mini hard drives. These hard drives are not designed to go above 8500 feet or so. If you do, the danger of a drive crash increases quite a bit. The CD would be immune to that.

[rukh]

I would also choose he CD option. You don't mention where you are going specifically but those portable storage devices all use mini hard drives. These hard drives are not designed to go above 8500 feet or so. If you do, the danger of a drive crash increases quite a bit. The CD would be immune to that.

It seems the consensus is a portable CD/DVD burner... in that case, can someone recommend a brand/model that has a decent battery life and is fairly robust?

Also, how do they cope with cards larger than the size of a CD?

Cheers,
Rukh

[JRobert]

When access to power points, camera shops and limited space are more important than cost and I'm a bit worried about putting all my eggs in one basket (ie thieves in south america), which options would you recommend or have tried before??

I've had the similar concerns, being more a "wanderer" than a "tourist", but I'm new to digital in the last year, so I haven't yet had the opportunity to actually address this question. But here are my thoughts:

I'd be concerned about the CD writer being bulky, attractive to theives, too valuable to be willing to lose it, delicate, power hungry, heavy, etc.

Extra CF cards are rugged (especially if kept in their plastic cases), tiny, light, and not particularly attractive nor even very visible to potential thieves. If you find you're running out of capacity and not expecting to see a city soon, you'd have the option to start shooting at lower res or higher compression to maximize your remaining card space.

A cheap, light film camera gives you a backup camera, almost unlimited capacity, since film is available nearly everywhere, can be made less attractive with a few wear marks, and can be had for money you might be less upset about losing than the cost of a CD burner, if it walks away from you someday. You probably already have one - can't get much cheaper than that!.

Have a great trip - I'm envious!

-jeff-

[rukh]

Jeff,

FYI, I'll be travelling around Central America and South America So I'll be in hot, humid climates well above 3000m... so in my situation, I've ruled out the portable hdds.

The portable burners these days are fairly light-weight (however throw in 50-100 cds and your getting a decent weight), portable and cheap. In addition, some models can burn 6 CDs (and verify them) on one battery charge. Thieves could be a problem, however not the same scale as what I'd get with a mp3 hdd player!

I had considered multiple cards, however when I'm shooting 3mb photos (and I wont lower the quality), then I'll be going through a 512mb every 6-8 days (about 20-30 photos/day). If I'm away from a town for a week or two (which is likely) I'll need to empty two cards somehow - if that town is small and has power at best (and I doubt there will be photo shops!) then I need a portable storage device.

A backup camera is not an option, as I'd want to take my EOS 50, which is not that light!
;)


Cheers,
Warren

I've had the similar concerns, being more a "wanderer" than a "tourist", but I'm new to digital in the last year, so I haven't yet had the opportunity to actually address this question. But here are my thoughts:

I'd be concerned about the CD writer being bulky, attractive to theives, too valuable to be willing to lose it, delicate, power hungry, heavy, etc.

Extra CF cards are rugged (especially if kept in their plastic cases), tiny, light, and not particularly attractive nor even very visible to potential thieves. If you find you're running out of capacity and not expecting to see a city soon, you'd have the option to start shooting at lower res or higher compression to maximize your remaining card space.

A cheap, light film camera gives you a backup camera, almost unlimited capacity, since film is available nearly everywhere, can be made less attractive with a few wear marks, and can be had for money you might be less upset about losing than the cost of a CD burner, if it walks away from you someday. You probably already have one - can't get much cheaper than that!.

Have a great trip - I'm envious!

-jeff-

[Chunk]

I currently use a Sima Imagebank when travelling. It's one of the portable hard drives that has a couple card reader slots. It's worked well for me but There's no confirmation that your files are on there until you get it to a computer.

I recently saw reference to a Roadstor CD burner by Microsolutions.
http://www.micro-solutions.com/roadstor/index.asp
It's a stand alone burner that has memory card slots for burning cds directly from your cards. It also connects to TVs (both NTCS and PAL format) so you can see what you've just recorded or play other CD's and DVDs. I think I would make 2 CDs and carry one and mail one home to someone as a back up. CDs are cheap.
I think this looks like a pretty good solution. There are some reviews of the unit on Amazon.

[rukh]

Thanks Chunk... will check it out.

Seems like they also have a Roadster PRO version which can burn DVDs... hmmm!