hensil Posted January 6, 2004 Share Posted January 6, 2004 I guess its time for me to go digital. Since I have a Nikon setup I have decided to buy D100. After buying D100 I'll have to invest in Flash card. The cost of D100 in the middle east is USD 2000 and the CF 1 gig is USD 325. This is the maximum I can spend for next 6 months. But one thing bothers me. When shooting outdoors, especially on vacation, where do I store my file once the CF is full? Do I have to invest in a laptop computer for storage or is the portable harddisk storage fine? How many pictures (RAW) can I take in 1 gig CF? Is 1 gig fine or two 512mb? If the cost of storage is even half of laptop then I'd better buy laptop. Since the laptop cost as much as D100 I'll have to postpone going digital for another year. Thanks in advance.<P><I>There seems to be some confusion in the answers. Obviously those who shoot digital will need a computer to run image processing software such as PhotoShop to manipulate their images afterwards, but that can be a desktop computer at home. In this thread, Henry is asking about <B>the need of a laptop to travel with, for image upload "on the road.</B>" -- Shun Cheung</I> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertfarnham Posted January 6, 2004 Share Posted January 6, 2004 I have a new D100 and had similar questions. Can't answer everythng for you but here's a shot at the CF card questions. On one 512 Mb card I can hold 151 large size jpg files and I think it's about 50 uncompressed RAW files. I'm considering a laptop, but since I really don't need the latest and greatest for simple storage and I'm looking at getting a used, refurbished one for a couple hundred bucks. Should be able to get a Pentium 3 with a 20 meg hard drive pretty cheap - maybe cheaper than a new portable CD burner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShunCheung Posted January 6, 2004 Share Posted January 6, 2004 The RAW NEF files from the D100 are about 9.8M each. A 512M card can hold 51 RAW (uncompressed) and a 1G card can hold 102. I would never have only one CF card; if you only card fails, you are out of luck. Therefore, two 512M is better than one 1G. For travel, I use a 10M digital wallet for storage but I also shoot film. If I ever go all digital, I'd have at least two DSLR bodies and a laptop. For this type of questions, IMO you are better off with the Digital Camera Forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamiew Posted January 6, 2004 Share Posted January 6, 2004 Yes shooting digital without a computer is like doing B&W without a darkroom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hensil Posted January 6, 2004 Author Share Posted January 6, 2004 Jamie, I do have a desktop computer. My concern is storing the files when on vacation. Shun you are right regarding the digital forum. I completely forgot about it. As I never shot digital I never go to that forum. Hence forth I'll remember. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ofey_kalakar Posted January 6, 2004 Share Posted January 6, 2004 You can get an ipod and use that as a small portable hard drive. They have capacities as high as 40 Gb and will cost a little more than a 1Gb CF card. The D100 has USB 2 connectivity. I believe the iPOD does also. Alternatively I think there are media hard drives that are intermediates between the camera and a computer. Here is one option that is available from www.vistech.ca he Nixvue Vista is the ALL-IN-ONE device for today's digital camera user. Professionals the world over love it for its rich feature-set. Amateurs and novices love it because of the ease of use. It specially appeals to users who want to shoot and store hundreds of thousands of photos without being burdened with having to lug around a notebook computer. Built-in Color LCD Panel The built-in high-quality 1.8" TFT LCD panel allows the photographer to instantaneously view the images after they are transferred over to the Vista. With the zoom and pan feature, users can immediately check for focussing and exposure accuracy. Using the LCD panel the user can organize his files and folders to his liking. A virtual keyboard allows the user to rename the folder names and file names quickly and easily. If he so wishes, he can cut, move, copy and delete files and folders around. Professional features include: Display of EXIF info on the LCD Display of Histograms Display of RAW file formats: Nikon .NEF file format (Nikon D1, D1x, D1h) Canon .CRW file format (Canon EOS 1D, 1Ds, D60, D30) Support for TIF files from 6MegaPixel cameras, up to a maximum file size of 18MB. Large Storage Capacity: Weighing only 290 grams (10 oz.), the nifty appearance of the Vista belies its high performance capability of either 10, 20 or 30GB for storing over 10,000 images or more. (Assuming 10GB model using 3.34 MP digital cameras). Compact and lightweight, it is truly a palm-sized marvel. The high capacity rechargeable Lithium Ion battery allows you to perform over 30 transfers of a full-capacity 64MB Compact Flash memory card on a single battery charge. Multiple Connectivity The completely self-contained ultra-sleek Vista contains all the slots needed to allow you to connect to the TV, a/c power adapter and the PC or Macintosh using the USB 1.1 interface. There is nothing else to carry along on your journeys or assignments, just your digital camera and your Vista. For users who want high-speed transfers via the IEEE1394 FireWire interface, there is the FireWire Jack accessory (available July 2002). The Printer Jack (available July 2002), allows the Vista to print to ink-jet photo-quality printers from Epson and Hewlett-Packard using the parallel port. Other interfaces planned for release include Ethernet, MP3 and USB 2.0 plug-in accessories. KEY FEATURES: Built-in USB 1.1 Interface, Video Output Jack and A/C Power adapter jack. "TravelJack" Not Needed. Universal 100-240V A/C Power adapter Rechargeable high-capacity 1400mAh Li-Ion battery Built-in Compact Flash Type 1/II slot. Supports all other popular memory card formats with optional adapters for Smart Media, Memory Stick, Secure Digital, Multimedia Card. Card Reader Function ' Copy back from hard disk to memory card New Options on LCD and TV Menus: Slide Show to include/exclude sub-folders Display/Don't display ERASE function after successful VERIFY function.. Selection of all or individual files for slide show, printing, copying, moving or deleting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl Stone Posted January 6, 2004 Share Posted January 6, 2004 An excellent idea Fab! <http://www.apple.com/ipod/> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShunCheung Posted January 6, 2004 Share Posted January 6, 2004 Unfortunately, the USB on the D100 is USB 1.1, not the much faster USB 2.0. If you use USB to upload your images from the D100, it will take a loooong time. The Digital Wallet I use has a slot for the CF card. I remove the card from the D100 and plug it into that slot; the upload is very fast. The various D1 use IEEE 1394/Fire Wire and new D2H has USB 2.0. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamiew Posted January 6, 2004 Share Posted January 6, 2004 Regarding getting a laptop computer, that all depends on how many photos you intend to take. A D100 will fit about 150 jpg pictures at the highest setting or about 51 RAW photos on one 512mb card. here are your options for storing photos where the card is too small. a - Get bigger / more cards (this can be VERY expensive if you shoot tons) b - Get a portable media storage device. This will cost about 300-500 dollars, and some will give you a tiny screen to view the pictures on. c - Buy a new laptop (about $1000) d - Get an older small laptop and upgrade the harddrive (but not too old) ($200-500, and some luck) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael_duplechian Posted January 6, 2004 Share Posted January 6, 2004 Henry, the portable storage units do work fine but if you're like me you will want to view your pics (some have this feature but not all if any, will show "raw" files). I have found a laptop to be a good companion when shooting digital. You can view the shots and then burn to CD and be assured they are fairly safe. High end laptops are not required for this and lower cost units will work fine, just make sure it has a CD burner. Also USB 2.0 and USB 2.0 reader for quick transfer from CompactFlash to laptop is recommended. Good luck with your D100, it's a great camera. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ron c sunshine coast,qld,a Posted January 6, 2004 Share Posted January 6, 2004 One cheap option is to get the CF card burnt to CD at any photo shop or even internet cafe.I think most have the card readers because backpackers need the service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig_bridge Posted January 7, 2004 Share Posted January 7, 2004 If you are a serious photographer, you are quickly going to want a laptop with enough guts to run PhotoShop when you travel. Evaluating what you really got on the small LCD beyond exposure (histogram and blinking blown highlight) and gross composition, like detecting motion blur and DOF, is beyond what I can see. Using the video output to a TV with a composite video input does a lot better than the LCD but it is not a substitute for a laptop. But not having a laptop is no worse than using film that you don't trust to be developed locally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ky2 Posted January 7, 2004 Share Posted January 7, 2004 Shun, If you ever go all digital, I'm buying your F5 :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShunCheung Posted January 7, 2004 Share Posted January 7, 2004 Yaron, I have already sold all the film cameras I wanted to sell, before prices dropped due to people switching to digital. That was why I got rid of my FE2, N8008, etc. a couple of years back. The F5 has traveled with me all over the world and will go into my private "museum." :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed_Ingold Posted January 7, 2004 Share Posted January 7, 2004 A laptop is the best solution if you can afford it and are willing to carry it. You really don't want to download pictures directly from the camera. It's slow at best, and a power hog (and AC adapter is strongly advised.) USB, USB2 and FireWire adapters are readily available for reading CF cards directly to a laptop. A laptop allows you to transfer the images to a hard drive, then to archive them on CD-RW, and to verify the integrity of each transfer. Other means of mass storage risk failure (ie. hard drives), or don't allow verification (ie. direct CD writers.) The large screen is ideal for reviewing your results. You can also edit on the road, and send pictures home (or to a client) by email. The 512Mb CF cards are the best value at present. Cards 1Gb or larger have quite a premium. The micro drives are cheaper in the larger sizes, but fragile. I'm avoiding them for that reason. I get 63 x 7.7Mb raw images per 512Mb card with my D1x. Your files are somewhat larger. You need to have enough cards to hold a day's shooting, plus about 50%. In a pinch, you can switch to JPEG, with little loss in quality. With JPEG, however, you need to get it right the first time; you don't have much latitude for post corrections. On the road, I carry a CD wallet which can hold about 20 CD's. It's a lot safer and more compact than jewel cases. Once home, I transfer the CD's to archival envelopes for cataloging. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olivier_reichenbach Posted January 7, 2004 Share Posted January 7, 2004 And of course, if you shoot Raw files (called Nef in Nikon jargon) you WILL need a computer and Nikon Capture or some other software to read and convert them to Tiff or whatever format photo editing programs can read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_cattell1 Posted January 7, 2004 Share Posted January 7, 2004 IPod Will NOT work for this!!! I am pretty certain that the iPod will not connect directly to your digital camera, unfortunately. One of the devices on a USB bus needs to be a master (like a PC), both the iPod and camera are slaves, so they'll just sit there waiting for each other. If one of the devices is a USB OTG (on the go) device, then it should work. It's a shame that USB isn't peer-to-peer like Firewire. If they're both Firewire then you're sorted. Dave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl Stone Posted January 7, 2004 Share Posted January 7, 2004 "IPod Will NOT work for this!!!" Oh YES it will!!! But, you need to use a Belkin Media Reader to connect to the iPod, and then the reader handles 6 different types of memory cards, compact flash, etc.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_cattell1 Posted January 8, 2004 Share Posted January 8, 2004 That belkin gadget looks nice, and it will let you store your files on your iPod. It's a shame though that it's another $99, and another piece of junk to carry with you. Effectively $99 just for a cable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl Stone Posted January 8, 2004 Share Posted January 8, 2004 Yeah Dave, too bad it's not a direct connect. But folks used buying Nikon cables probably wouldn't notice the high price, LOL. 40 gigs makea a pretty slick storage unit. :o) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brandonhamilton Posted January 8, 2004 Share Posted January 8, 2004 Yes the Ipod will work, but you need a device to connect the CF to the pod. I am not sure what this requires. Another option is using micro drives instead of flash memory cards. They are about half the price. I have (3)1GB microdrives, each giving me 107 uncompressed RAW images. I don't see any disadvantages to using such a drive. I luckily already have a laptop with a microdrice -> PCMCIA adapter, which gives me basically unlimited photos before I go to a burn or desktop HD. I just stick the Micro drive into the laptop, and put an empty Micro drive into my D100 while it downloads. This provides unlimited and uninterupted shooting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShunCheung Posted January 8, 2004 Share Posted January 8, 2004 If you accidentally drop your microdrive onto a hard surface, it is very likely you'll see the disadvantage of it as the damage can be permanent. If that happens, it can be very costly to retrieve any images trapped inside. Microdrives are literally very delicate tiny hard drives with moving parts. Compact flash memory cards are solid state devices with no moving parts. They can fail too, of course, but the chances are much smaller. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brandonhamilton Posted January 13, 2004 Share Posted January 13, 2004 If you drop your microdrive, you deserve to have to buy another... don't be an idiot and you wont have problems! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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