Reading mode: Light Dark

35mm Film or Digital Storage Problem

Go to last post
A

andrewopuk

New member
Messages
7
Reaction score
0
Location
Cheltenham/Glos/UK, UK
I have had a Canon EOS 500N with Tamrom 28-200 zoom lens for some years and I'm thinking about changing. I'm going to Egypt for 2 weeks later this year and so I want something that will give me great quality, versatility and, very importantly, enable me to take lots of pictures !

I'd like to change to a digital camera but I am concerned that (a) storage cards are still quite expensive and (b) how do I know how many storage cards to buy before I go? If I stick to 35mm film, it is cheap to buy 20 or 30 36-shot films and so be confident that I won't run out of "storage resources" during the trip. But if I bought an equivalent amount of digital storage, it would be very expensive (assuming that the digital images are captured at high resolution).

So, what I need is some kind of device that would enable me to download images from the digital storage card for subsequent processing - WITHOUT needing to take my latop with me. My trip will include some trekking and so I really don't want to carry anything that I don't need (like an expensive laptop!!).

Has anyone out there got a solution as to how you can store lots of digital images whilst travelling in the middle of nowhere ?

All help welcome !!
 
Confused_in_the_UK wrote:
[snip]
andrewopuk said:
So, what I need is some kind of device that would enable me to
download images from the digital storage card for subsequent
processing - WITHOUT needing to take my latop with me. My trip will
include some trekking and so I really don't want to carry anything
that I don't need (like an expensive laptop!!).

Has anyone out there got a solution as to how you can store lots of
digital images whilst travelling in the middle of nowhere ?

All help welcome !!
Click to expand...
I bought a widget called X-Drive II for my last trip, and have been beating myself up since for not having done it before: I would've saved myself a lot of headaches. It's basically a plastic box about the size of a small sandwich, that contains a 20 to 60 GB hard disk, and readers for most current memory cards. It's pretty robust, and very straightforward to use -- pop in the card, hit "Power" and then "Copy," and it'll beep and switch itself off once it's done. Then plug it to your computer via USB, and it appears as a hard disk (and each of the card readers appears as another drive).

Another nice thing is that you can replace the HD by a standard mini one, once bigger ones become available.

I'm sure there are other solutions out there, too, but I've been very happy with this no-frills one.

I have two CF cards. Once one is filled up, I pop it in the drive, start copying, and switch in the other one. I format it, and continue shooting. Minimal break, no frustration.

Check it out here: [ http://www.card-media.co.uk/xsdrive+II.htm ]

Petteri
--



Portfolio: [ http://www.seittipaja.fi/index/ ]
Pontification: [ http://www.seittipaja.fi/ ]
 
I've begun to think about this challenge as well. I'm sorry to say that I don't have a good answer. My wife and I are planning to take the kids to Europe this Summer. My assumption is that the laptop will be making the trip as well :-( - Perhaps it will stay in the room during the day and I'll unload my cf card in the evenings...

Mark
Confused_in_the_UK said:
I have had a Canon EOS 500N with Tamrom 28-200 zoom lens for some
years and I'm thinking about changing. I'm going to Egypt for 2
weeks later this year and so I want something that will give me
great quality, versatility and, very importantly, enable me to take
lots of pictures !

I'd like to change to a digital camera but I am concerned that (a)
storage cards are still quite expensive and (b) how do I know how
many storage cards to buy before I go? If I stick to 35mm film, it
is cheap to buy 20 or 30 36-shot films and so be confident that I
won't run out of "storage resources" during the trip. But if I
bought an equivalent amount of digital storage, it would be very
expensive (assuming that the digital images are captured at high
resolution).

So, what I need is some kind of device that would enable me to
download images from the digital storage card for subsequent
processing - WITHOUT needing to take my latop with me. My trip will
include some trekking and so I really don't want to carry anything
that I don't need (like an expensive laptop!!).

Has anyone out there got a solution as to how you can store lots of
digital images whilst travelling in the middle of nowhere ?

All help welcome !!
Click to expand...
 
I've been traveling for four years with a 20 gig portable hard drive (Image Bank). Using it is a piece of cake, stick in your card, push a button, put the card back in the camera and reformat.

When I get home I connect PHD to computer and copy the files over (it works as an external hard drive).

I've spent over six months on the road with mine, some rough traveling in the back of pickup trucks in Myanmar, trekking for a couple of weeks in the Himalayas.

The other option is a portable CD burner. You'll find lots of discussions on the Storage and Media forum on this site.

--
bob
Latest offering - 'Dusk on the Buriganga'
http://www.pbase.com/bobtrips
Shots from a bunch of places (esp. SEA and Nepal).
Pictures for friends, not necessarily my best.

http://www.trekearth.com/members/BobTrips/photos/
My better 'attempts'.
 
Do a search in the "storage and Media" forum,there are many portable storage devices available,I have used a Nixvue digital album for the last 4 years without problems,this has a 20gig harddrive and will fit in a (large) shirt pocket, I think this is the URL http://www.nixvue.com .

in saying this I did make the correct decision 4 years ago,but I am not sure that I would buy such a device now,the price of CF cards has dropped dramatically since then,and with the availibility of microdrives I would look carefully at my storage problems. but then I use only my Canon G1 and Pro90Is (3.2mp) I think that I would buy a number of 256mb or 512mb cards so I do not have all my eggs in one basket.the only other device that I would consider is the portable CD writer offered by Nixvue.
durrenm said:
I've begun to think about this challenge as well. I'm sorry to say
that I don't have a good answer. My wife and I are planning to take
the kids to Europe this Summer. My assumption is that the laptop
will be making the trip as well :-( - Perhaps it will stay in the
room during the day and I'll unload my cf card in the evenings...
Click to expand...
 
Just want to say a BIG THANKS for all of the replies.

very helpful, .. I'm off to search more in the Storage & Media Forum.

Bye for Now !!
Confused_in_the_UK said:
I have had a Canon EOS 500N with Tamrom 28-200 zoom lens for some
years and I'm thinking about changing. I'm going to Egypt for 2
weeks later this year and so I want something that will give me
great quality, versatility and, very importantly, enable me to take
lots of pictures !

I'd like to change to a digital camera but I am concerned that (a)
storage cards are still quite expensive and (b) how do I know how
many storage cards to buy before I go? If I stick to 35mm film, it
is cheap to buy 20 or 30 36-shot films and so be confident that I
won't run out of "storage resources" during the trip. But if I
bought an equivalent amount of digital storage, it would be very
expensive (assuming that the digital images are captured at high
resolution).

So, what I need is some kind of device that would enable me to
download images from the digital storage card for subsequent
processing - WITHOUT needing to take my latop with me. My trip will
include some trekking and so I really don't want to carry anything
that I don't need (like an expensive laptop!!).

Has anyone out there got a solution as to how you can store lots of
digital images whilst travelling in the middle of nowhere ?

All help welcome !!
Click to expand...
 
Good point,as I said in my first post one must weigh up your needs,with CF prices dropping do you really need portable storage devices ?,the big plus for portable CD burning is that you can burn multiple copies and post one of these home,you then have true backup.although my very early Nixvue digital album has never lost me an image in 4 plus years of use,I must admit that I am always concerned that one day I will lose images that cannot be replaced,the Vizor would remove that concern,
golfmade said:
Quite spendy, are they really worth it?
Click to expand...
golfmade said:
golfmade said:
--
Frank Perry
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
I admit i'm new to digital photography so I guess I never thought about the prospect of losing all my work. Then again if you join a website that allows you plenty of space to upload all your work to, you need never worry about your PC/Portable HD crashing. I took a look at those Nixvue's and they are definately nice. I'm in the process of saving up for a digital camera and lenses at the moment though, so that would have to be a later purchase. One thing is for sure i've got a fairly nice laptop that isn't too heavy, I would of course prefer to have something I could fit in a pocket that could backup all my photos, but at this point my laptop works just fine.

Thanks for the info by the way, i'll definately keep an eye out on those Nixvue's and see if prices ever drop.
frank perry said:
Good point,as I said in my first post one must weigh up your
needs,with CF prices dropping do you really need portable storage
devices ?,the big plus for portable CD burning is that you can burn
multiple copies and post one of these home,you then have true
backup.although my very early Nixvue digital album has never lost
me an image in 4 plus years of use,I must admit that I am always
concerned that one day I will lose images that cannot be
replaced,the Vizor would remove that concern,
Click to expand...
--
'I enjoy these calm little moments before the storm.'
Check out my photos:
http://golfmade.g3.fotopic.net/
http://golfmade.deviantart.com
 
golfmade said:
I admit i'm new to digital photography so I guess I never thought
about the prospect of losing all my work. Then again if you join a
website that allows you plenty of space to upload all your work to,
you need never worry about your PC/Portable HD crashing.
Click to expand...
There are those of us who go off traveling in out of the way places for weeks, even months at a time. Uploading a few gigs of files to the web just isn't an option. Carrying a laptop creates a definite presence in our pack.

There are pros who shoot gigs per day and need compact storage.

The price of 20 gigs of cards would break many of our budgets but a $200 20 gig PHD or $250 CD burner is affordable.

--
bob
Latest offering - 'Dusk on the Buriganga'
http://www.pbase.com/bobtrips
Shots from a bunch of places (esp. SEA and Nepal).
Pictures for friends, not necessarily my best.

http://www.trekearth.com/members/BobTrips/photos/
My better 'attempts'.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Keyboard shortcuts

f
Forum
m
My threads
Mobile site
About
Editorial content
Cameras & Lenses
Community
All content, design, and layout are Copyright © 1998–2025 Digital Photography Review All Rights Reserved.
Reproduction in whole or part in any form or medium without specific written permission is prohibited.
When you use DPReview links to buy products, the site may earn a commission.
©GPS Media - Guides, Products, Services.
Back
Top