Portable storage for digital camera

[globetrotter]

Hi all,

I am hoping for a recommendation on portable storage. I have an Oly CZ-5050 setup and will need to offload the files somehow while on vacation in June. Last year I took my laptop to Fiji, but it was kind of a hassle. This year I'd like something like this:

http://archos.com/products/overview/av400_series.html

Of course there are a lot of these devices out there right now, and I utilize the xD type memory for my camera...which isn't very popular unfortunately. Any ideas for portable storage while on vacation? Ideally plug & play directly into the USB port on the camera?

-globetrotter

 

[Warren_L]

I have a photo iPod, but check this out: http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/consumer/consDetail.jsp?BV_UseBVCookie=yes&oid=49164278

Someone I know has one. Looks pretty slick.

 

[fins]

Hi globetrotter,

There seems to be 3 schools of thought here:
1. laptop
2. portable hard drive
3. portable CD writer

There are a number of old threads out here explaining the virtues of each

I have two ways to save my digital images while traveling.
1. Belkin card reader (runs about $75) that attaches to my iPod
2. CD writer (a Nixvue Vizor) that accepts many type of cards and also has a small LCD screen to preview images. The writer can also be attached to a TV in order to view images. The writer I have will also span CD's so if you have a 1Gb card with say 900Mb of images on it the writer will prompt you to insert a second CD when the first one is full.

Personally being an IT guy I prefer the CD Writer as I have seen way too many hard drives (especially on portable devices) fail without warning.

Good Luck with your choice.

 

[alcina]

Take the laptop. It's a hassle but one of the great benefits of digital is that you can review your images to make sure you don't keep making the same mistakes and that you can improve the things you are doing well on the very next dive!

I searchd long and hard and ended up with the Archos Gmini 400 - it is perfect for my needs. I had another Archos that I bought in like 96 or so - and it's still ticking. Haven't had any problems with it. I use the Gmini 400 all the time for music while I am at home and it goes on the boat with me many dive days...just in case I shoot a ton. I use CF cards so they simply slot in and download.

I did a quick review of the unit (and another one I bought for a different purpose) a few months ago - http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=89667

Good luck!

 

[Wristshot]

Slightly OT, but if you are using xD memory, you could consider adding a large CF card also (or 2 or 3). The C5050 will support two cards at once, (CF & xD or ?) with a switch that toggles between the two. You can increase the internal capacity quite a bit this way. BTW, you can also copy images from one card to the other.

This doesn't help you in the event of a flood, but can help in other ways.

If you buy multiple large CF cards, you can switch them out during the trip. In the event of a flood you would lose everything in the camera regardless, but if you swap out the CF each night, you would have your previous images "safe". Then you can always copy from the new CF to the xD then copy from the xD to fill the "master" CF card(s). (does that make sense?) A few large CFs would allow you to keep quite a few images (unless you shoot RAW) and allow you to keep the majority out of the camera (with some work)

Just a thought.

Wristshot

 

[markfm]

Price on XD is pretty low -- I just bought a new Oly 512MB XD chip for $61, off E-Bay. They're pretty continuously on sale, at about that price point. Travel with a couple of those and you have a LOT of storage capacity, shouldn't need to DL during a trip.

 

[Firefyter]

You can buy 1gig CF cards from Walmart.com for around $70. You can store lots of pics on a gig.

 

[Scubapauly]

I have the Archos AV420. Works really well for saving JPG's and also carries plenty of MP3's and movies to keep you happy while you travel

 

[OE2X]

Here is what a lot of pros are using. These drives are small size (4"X6") and range from 20 -100 gigs.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home;jsessionid=CNvnLVP2D2!595554594?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=303408&is=REG

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home;jsessionid=CNvnLVP2D2!595554594?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=367691&is=REG

 

[fins]

Hey Globetrotter,

I forgot to mention something in my previous post. You mentioned that you like XD cards but have trouble finding devices that can read them.

Oly makes a CF to XD converter that you can pickup for about $60 bucks that will allow you to attach your XD card to anything that will accept CF cards.

Here's a link: http://www.shopharmony.com/product.asp?file=Yahoo&i=OLYMACF10&sku=200837