Memory kick 320gb

[ScubaSteve]

I recently purchased one of the new Memory Kick 320GB models and offered to provide my opinion on why I felt is was a good match for my needs (maybe similar to some of yours) and what I actually thought of it in action. Below is a description of why I decided on it. Take from this what you will but please feel free to ask any questions. I will point Anthony Link to this thread so hopefully he can answer any questions while I am using the unit in Thailand.

My Problem (may be similar or different to yours)

- Cameras today are taking bigger and bigger files.
- My Nikon P5000, which I use underwater, takes individual JPEG files which are anywhere from 3MB to 5MB in size
- My Canon XSi, which I use only as a topside camera, takes individual RAW files that range from 13MB to 16Mb in size.
- I love to travel and my trips are getting longer whenever possible.
- I tend to take an enormous amount of photos so that I will hopefully get a few really good shots

Possible Solutions

- Travel with a regular laptop
o Results in fewer moves of files which is good
o Computers are big, bulky and “heavy”
o Older laptops have limited space thus possibly requiring external HDD for travel

- Purchase a miniature Netbook type laptop
o They cost pretty much as much as a Memory Kick unit
o They have smaller hard drives thus required external HDD for travel
o They are 4-5 times bigger than the Memory Kick unit making it near impossible to add to a camera bag for on the fly back-ups.
o You can access internet from them which is great

- Carry multiple camera memory cards
o Can be rather expensive depending on duration of trip and shutter click habits (i.e. how many shots get taken)

- Transfer files to DVD for storage
o Travel is not always close to such a store

- FIND A BETTER SOLUTION!!!!

Around the beginning of September I started to ask friends around ScubaBoard what sort of gadgets they had seen/heard of/used that would have lots of space, be VERY compact and be able to easily carry with me on various trips. I wanted something that I would be able to use in the middle of the jungle if needed so that I never had to stop shooting due to full cards.

A friend pointed me in the direction of this person that was advertising The Memory Kick on ScubaBoard. Well, it seemed up front like just what I needed however the HDD’s were too small. In talking with Anthony Link (aclink), I found out that units with drives as big as 500GB were about to become available. I quickly determined that this was what I wanted.

Why?

- The Memory Kick unit is not much bigger than a BlackBerry 8800 and has approximate dimensions of 5” L x 3” W x 1” T and a weight of less than 10oz.
- This will hopefully be easy to load into my existing Slingshot camera bag with my XSi and all lenses
- Battery power allows me to back-up my pictures anywhere I need to.
- RAW decoder allowing me to look at the pictures from my XSi.
- The price is at least comparable to what I would have spent to get a Netbook where I would have had to add an external HDD to get the space I wanted.

Putting the Memory Kick unit to the test

I leave tonight for a 3 week trip to various parts of Thailand where I will be attending a wedding, doing some diving and putting myself in a ton of situations and settings where I expect I will have a difficult time taking my finger off the shutter button. I expect the conditions to be relatively humid and muggy

I will have a primary 16GB card for my XSi which allows for a little over 1,000 pictures in RAW and a 4GB card which will allow for roughly 250 pictures in RAW. Once my primary card fills up, I will temporarily switch over to the back-up while I transfer the photos to the Memory Kick.


Using the unit.

I will report back on how I felt the unit performed however my initial playing says that I am going to love it.

 

[ScubaSteve]

To try to put the size into perspective.

 

[elan]

You can just use jpeg files and that's it. I never use RAW, I use JPEG and I see no noticeable difference in image quality but the size of the file is 4 times as small.

 

[Michael_Lambert]

You can just use jpeg files and that's it. I never use RAW, I use JPEG and I see no noticeable difference in image quality but the size of the file is 4 times as small.

You can not compare RAW to Jpeg. Simply put the JPEG has been processed to look how the CAMERA thinks it should compared to shooting RAW and processing it to look how it actually looked.

For allot of work, Jpeg is fine however a RAW file will give you much more to work with in terms of adjusting the image.

I shoot with a Canon 5D 2 / 1Dmark3 and yes the 25-30 meg files can build up however its part of the game... The shooting i do requires it.

I travel with my laptop regardless of where i am going I will leave a body behind or take less cloths if need be. My laptop slides into the back of my backpack style camera bag with no issues.

I currently have a 500Gig drive in my laptop and carry with me a smaller external ESATA 500gig drive.. Everything that gets stored on the laptop is backed up to the external drive and the CF cards are stored in my suitcase ( Yes three different storage locations ) .. The drive stays in my shirt pocket when traveling and on the plane as a backup.. I dont care if i lose the gear.. its insured i do care if i lose my images.

I personally prefer the laptop as i can edit pictures during my down time waiting or on the plane. Check my emails on the go and browse sites like this

 

[BackscatterUW]

The Memory Kick is a great solution and we are now stocking them at our shop. It is a great little unit, and quite a bit more affordable than other competitors on the market. The embedded Windows CE OS is actually quite robust, and allows for a number of functions, such as copying the images to a USB stick or external hard drive. It is a great substitute for dragging along an entire laptop.

We also had interest from pros who stopped by our booth at DEMA at the Memory Kick's potential application as a "backup laptop." For professional photographers on assignment in the field, a dead laptop would be absolutely devastating, so many carry two, which is quite heavy.

The built-in OS is upgradable, and there is potential to add additional computer-like functionality such as a PDF reader in the future.

So far, the customers who have purchased units have been really happy with them.

 

[elan]

You can not compare RAW to Jpeg. Simply put the JPEG has been processed to look how the CAMERA thinks it should compared to shooting RAW and processing it to look how it actually looked.

For allot of work, Jpeg is fine however a RAW file will give you much more to work with in terms of adjusting the image.

I do not enjoy adjusting images, I enjoy taking them

 

[Michael_Lambert]

I do not enjoy adjusting images, I enjoy taking them

Same here,

I enjoy taking the picture and being able to display what i seen, Not what the camera thought i seen cause some sort of lighting got in the way.

I have been professionally shooting for many years and i can tell you that when SLR's went digital with RAW... Shooting in RAW has saved my ass or images more than once!!!!

 

[elan]

Same here,

I enjoy taking the picture and being able to display what i seen, Not what the camera thought i seen cause some sort of lighting got in the way.

I have been professionally shooting for many years and i can tell you that when SLR's went digital with RAW... Shooting in RAW has saved my ass or images more than once!!!!

Well yeah if you do it professionally that's a different story, like you said it can save you ass should you want to process it differently.

 

[Michael_Lambert]

There is a reason that a entry level consumer camera has the ability to shoot RAW... If you chose Jpeg /Tiff or any other format over RAW so be it. However please don't suggest that it is at all same as RAW or that the JPEG compressions are even close to what the lens really see's.

 

[ScubaSteve]

I am far from professional but want to maintain the original photo information to allow for more accurate corrections. And I bet I am in the majority not the minority.

Well yeah if you do it professionally that's a different story, like you said it can save you ass should you want to process it differently.