Oly 5050: image storage on the go

[Louie]

Well, I finally did it - went out and bought camera and housing.

Now comes a problematic matter: how to store images on the road in backwaters where there are no computers to download them on.

I've been doing a bit of amateurish research and the gadgets and devices I've found are a) big as a kitchen sink; b) expensive as the camera itself or both.

Anybody with knowledge and experience? I'm going to be itinerant for a while so convenience and ease of use in a gadget would make life easier for me.

Thanks!!

 

[ReyeR]

Congratulations on your new C5050 and enjoy!

CompactFlash or Microdrive
If you're shooting on xD or Smartmedia you might consider copying the images to a larger CF card (512MB and 1GB now vailable) or Microdrive - check compatibility with the C5050 first.

X-Drive
Very simple device (and probably the cheapest) and uses a standard laptop hard drive. If you're shooting on xD then you'll need an xD to CF adapter available from Olympus.
http://www.steves-digicams.com/2002_reviews/xdrive-vp2030.html
version 2:
http://www.dpreview.com/news/0301/03012801vosonicxdrive2.asp


Other portable devices below. All have advantages and disadvantages. You might need card adapters depending on what you shoot on. Fairly expensive - might be worth considering a cheap laptop instead where you can view your images on a 14"-15" screen and run image editing software as well.

PicturePAD
http://www.steves-digicams.com/2002_reviews/delkin_picturepad.html

Digital Album
http://www.steves-digicams.com/2001_reviews/nixvue.html

Vista
http://www.steves-digicams.com/2002_reviews/nixvue_vista.html

Archos
http://www.archos.com/lang=en/home.html?country=us

Mindstor
http://www.mindsatwork.net/products1.htm

 

[Dee]

I went through the same decision a couple months ago. My old laptop was just about dead and I new I wanted to be able to view my pictures at the end of each day on a bigger screen. I looked at all the storage devices ReyeR has listed and while some were pretty good, none did all I needed. I don't do MP3's, I wanted to view my pics, I needed a secure way to store them and safe from X-rays at the airport. And the prices for what you are getting was attrocious.

I finally decided on a new laptop. Yes, it cost 3 times as much as some of those devices but it does everything I need, plus I can burn those original pics to a CD and they are safer than on a memory card or portable hard drive.....and I can play Snood on it!

 

[ReyeR]

Dee once bubbled...
and I can play Snood on it!

Very important point I missed!

 

[TedJ]

Hi,
I just bought a mindstor 20 gb unit, we'll see how well it works!
TedJ

 

[TedJ]

Well it seems to work OK but the buttons are a little"sticky" and the unit seems a bit "klunky". I know these aren't very good techie terms but I don't know any other way to describe it. It does store easily enough and on eBay it was roughly $230. It's a nice size so overall I'm pleased. BTW it's model 1720.