Storage Question

[jeremy_center]

I'll be in Paris for one week over the Christmas holidays. I am currently

contemplating some kind of storage mechanism. I currently have 6GB of flash

cards (2GB each) and my preference is shooting RAW (Canon 20D).

 

Right now the first two contenders are a) more CF cards or b) Hyperdrive

SPACE. I have a 100GB hard drive lying around that I could put into the

Hyperdrive so I would just order the bare case.

 

My concern is that I currently have no need for a Hyperdrive-like device and

wouldn't have need for one after the trip. However, I am fairly confident

that 6 GB is not enough storage.

 

I would like to solicit your suggestions/input for either a)alternative or b)

confirmation that I should just by the Hyperdrive since it's about the cost of

4GB of CF cards.

 

Thanks

 

Jeremy

[d_gillespie]

Will you have any access to a high speed connection? Would an FTP site allow you to clean your cards and then work on the files when ever/ where ever you are. The Hyperdrive would make another backup, you don't mention how you currently archive, so its a bit tricky.

[phule]

Get the Hyperdrive, install the HD, then when you get back from Paris sell the kit to me for a really good price.

 

:)

[jeremy_center]

I guess reselling might be an acceptable follow-up.

 

My current method is to download from CF directly to my computer. I'm not a professional, and I don't shoot family moments or the like. So most of my stuff is disposable. Computer dies... there go the photos.

 

JC

[carbon_dragon]

It probably depends on the consequences of you're having lost files or running out of storage (and how well off you are financially). I've struggled with this too as an amateur.

 

The choices seem to be 1) Lots of cards, 2) one of the new backup devices like the Epson 5000 (I think it's 5000) which has a reasonably big screen and a cardreader, 3) CD/DVD writers which have built-in cardreaders, 4) A laptop, or 5) A combination of more than one of these.

 

The Pros probably use a combination (even if they can send their files back home remotely over the internet). Most probably use a laptop. Since some laptops can be obtained these days for less than $500 and since that's about the cost of the Epson, it's not a bad choice. See <http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/ProductCategory.jsp?BV_UseBVCookie=yes&oid=-8175> for the epson device which is really just one of a number made by different manufacturers.

 

I haven't gone on a long trip with my digitals yet, but even though it's way to d&^n big, I'll probably opt for bring my Sony A190 (17") laptop and leaving it in the hotel where I can offload the cards at night.

 

Barring that I'd be tempted by the Epson because it's just so darned cool looking. I'm paranoid enough to consider also bringing a DVD writer to have one more copy of all my pictures. I also keep my cards no bigger than 2GB on the theory that if I lose one I don't lose TOO many pictures.

[pjmeade]

I go with lots of CF cards and a disk writer. If you get some kind of Disksteno, you can download your cards to disk. Possibly you could keep one set of disks with you and send a copy back home.

 

6G gives you about +/- 800 RAW files. You (well I) could shoot that many off in a day (and night).

 

Another 2G would give you around 1000 RAW files which is most of your 20D battery. You could back up your photos and charge up the camera battery at the end of the day and be ready to hit the streets the next morning.

 

It sounds like a great way to spend Christmas. Certainly better than the usual trial by gastronomy.

 

P

[ci_p]

The minimum cost option is to take a few DVD-R discs and copy your flash cards to them in an internet place. Take a USB reader.

 

A PSD is probably not the right solution unless you take lots of big RAW files away from home for extended periods.

 

You can (or I can) buy 15GB of (slow) flash memory for the price of a bare Hyperdrive SPACE.

[w.smith]

"I am fairly confident that 6 GB is not enough storage."

 

I'm not. So my suggestion is you go simply on holiday with your CF cards, and when you

need more, you BUY one! They sell 'm on every streetcorner in Paris, you know...

[geoffs1]

One thing to consider is that if you use something like a hyperdrive (which I plan to buy soon based on the feedback from a number of friends/colleagues who own them) then you can have fewer CF cards. This means that that if you want/need to upgrade to faster cards when you get a new camera it will be less painful/costly.

 

Right now I have around 6 Gb of SanDisk Ultra II cards that accept data as fast as my 20D can write it, but I'm sure in a year or so I'll get a new body with (hopefully) faster write-speeds, and I'll need to get new cards. With a Hyperdirve that means something like two 2 Gb cards instead of perhaps 10-12 Gb that I would need otherwise.

 

Even with my current collection of cards, I'm forced to take a break in the middle of the day to dump all my cards to my laptop (when I can get to it), and otherwise endure the painful and distracting "is that shot worth it" decision every time something interesting happens...

 

Cheers,

 

Geoff S.

[Ed_Ingold]

You need to look at storage from a number of directions. First, you need enough memory in CF cards to handle twice what you expect to shoot on an hard day. Second, plan to back up the cards each night. The backup should consist of copying the contents of each card to a hard drive (a portable drive and laptop is the most versatile and economical). Finally, the hard drive should be backed up to durable medium, probably a DVD, and verified against the hard drive. Then (and only then), you should reformat the CF cards in your camera and be ready for a new day.

 

Perhaps you are in Paris for only one day, and this seems like overkill. You will be on other trips in the future, or have other jobs running back to back. If you keep this procedure in mind, you'll be prepared. I'm just not comfortable clearing the memory cards until the images are on something that can't be changed or erased (i.e., DVDs).

 

When I travel, I fill a CD binder with blank DVDs, record them and keep the recorded DVDs in it as I go. A binder is a lot safer and more compact than jewel cases. I also have a small LaCie 80GB USB2 HD that fits in my pocket (or the camera bag). I recently spent three weeks in Spain, shooting 300-400 RAW frames a day with four CF cards (enough for 800 shots), using this method. With the laptop, I could edit and email images to the US as a progress report.

[chat_sirichanvimol]

I agree with Edward Ingold. I just returned from a two week trip to Thailand. I brought 5 gi

of CF memory with me, which I downloaded to DVDs from day to day. I would have much

rather downloaded to a portable backup drive but if that isn't an option burning to the

DVDs is both reliable and inexpensive way of storing your images. You can just bring a

card reader and some DVDs in a soft case/binder, and burn them at any Internet cafe.