hard drive to bring on vacation to store photos

[scottfiji]

hey, I need to go buy a hard drive today to store my photos, I'm going to SE asia this week for diving & photography.

can anyone recommend a product? I should just be able to plug in my camera via a USB connection, and download the photos/video onto this device. Anything over 10 gig should be sufficient. I don't need to view the photos.

thanks alot!
scott

 

[Dee]

I use a Maxtor 120g HD. The USB connection makes it super simple to hook up to my laptop. My old laptop's USB port is only 1.0 so it takes a while. But since I do the backups in the evening I'm not sitting there waiting on it.

 

[ChrisM]

You probably want something like http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0007XGORI/002-4542097-5185601?v=glance&n=172282&n=507846&s=electronics&v=glance

Small and easy for storage, runs on batteries. Other types are Flashtrax, Nikon Coolwalker, etc. Most have some sort of screen, but not all

I have an Epson P-2000, which ABSOLUTELY ROCKS but sounds like more than you want.

You'll need to make sure whatever you get supports your camera and you'll need to know whether you want RAW support

 

[scottfiji]

thanks Chris, I think something like the smartdisk fotochute is what I had in mind. although the epson p-2000 does look intriguing!

but at some price point, I can just also buy a small used laptop! lol

 

[Dstone20]

I am guessing by your post, that you are looking for a drive that you can use to backup your camera without the need to have a computer with you.

Simply buying a hardrive that can accept a USB connection and plugging your camera into it won't do any good because there is no software to control the hard drive.

There are a number of drives built specifically to download photos to without the need to have a laptop or other computer handy. However they are pricey. Most stand-alone portable photo storage devices are in the $200 - $400 range.

The Fotochute ChrisM posted is a good example of this.

If all you need is something over a gig, it might be cheaper just to buy another memory card for you camera. This of course depends on what type of media your camera supports.

In addition, if you have an iPod photo or iPod video (not the nano) you can buy an adapter for $30 which you can use to plug your camera directly into your iPod. An easy way to backup photos wihtou having to lug your laptop around or buy another expensive storage gadget. The adpater works with most digtal cameras, but not all.

 

[Gilligan]

I have taken the Vosonic's X's Drive with me on two trips to store my photos in so as to free up the camera cards. The item is under $100. + the cost of inserting a laptop hard drive into to it. I put a 20 gig in mine.

The device is USB2 and is basically a case that accepts several types of memory cards. A very simple storage device. Each time you insert a memory card into it a numbered folder is automatically created starting with the number 01.

 

[Dee]

You might want to check out these past threads...

http://www.scubaboard.com/search.php?searchid=2022362

Chris....does the P-2000 accept and show Oly Raw ORF files?

 

[ChrisM]

You might want to check out these past threads...

http://www.scubaboard.com/search.php?searchid=2022362

Chris....does the P-2000 accept and show Oly Raw ORF files?

Dee, just checked, and it doesn't look like it

And scott, yeah, I had to weigh this against a laptop, but this won out since it's the size of a couple decks of playing cards

 

[TheNitroxinator]

I was in a similar situation just over a month ago (went to PNG). My RCA mp3 player was old and subpar, I went over to get some more rechargeable batteries, and then saw the hard drive mp3 players, the clouds parted, sunrays shone down, harps played, voices sang, I knew I needed one. I wound up getting a Creative Zen mp3, with 20GB of storage space, which eliminated my need to bring a subpar mp3 player for music and an external hard drive for backups. You can easily store photos to it, and it doubles as an mp3 player that will play for 10+ hours on a charge. I gather you don't have a laptop, and I sincerely doubt you could hook the camera up directly to the mp3 player. I think you need the laptop as an intermediary between the camera and the mp3 player in the case of the Creative Zen. I suppose I'm posting in case someone else with a laptop is in a similar dilemma. Although, if you can pick up a laptop cheap, its worth it, you can then do some editing during your downtime if you so choose, and see your photos on a bigger screen so you can learn from your earlier shots.

 

[scottfiji]

Thanks for everyone's help and advice.
scott