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downloading from cfcard to external hd

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James K Cheung

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Hi, Is there a way to download images from cf card to an external hd using my Nexus7 ?

Jim
 
Jim,

There is very limited external media support on any Nexus branded Android device. Reading and writing with memory cards and USB thumbdrives is easy enough, but harddrives are a challenge due largely to thier power demands. Travel sized HD units rarely offer external power supplies, bigger desktop units do and may work. I use a battery powered WiFi enabled Patriot Gauntlet Node successfully. please read this thread for details

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/50375824
 
The easiest solution might be to buy one or more 32 GB thumb drives - you'd copy to the tablet, switch to the thumb drive, then copy to that and delete the files from the tablet. BUT, the low memory capacity of the tablet is a complication. I have a tablet that takes microSD cards so I just copy from the CF card to a microSD card (these cards are pretty cheap).
 
Jeff, I agree that a few USB drives might be the way to go on the Nexus. Using the WiFi HD was the only option when I started this adventure. But now that Nexus Media Importer can both read and write I am considering the 32 or 64 GB thumb drive option. Certainly smaller and lighter, just not cheaper or as much capacity. My last trip filled around 120 GB in two weeks, so HD's are still useful.
 
Ken Gosden said:
Ken Gosden wrote:

Jeff, I agree that a few USB drives might be the way to go on the Nexus. Using the WiFi HD was the only option when I started this adventure. But now that Nexus Media Importer can both read and write I am considering the 32 or 64 GB thumb drive option. Certainly smaller and lighter, just not cheaper or as much capacity. My last trip filled around 120 GB in two weeks, so HD's are still useful.
Click to expand...
What about plugging in a powered hub to the OTG cable and powering the HDD from that?
 
I have tried without success on 3 different USB HD's. I could read from them all, but not write to them. Nexus Media Importer does have a few limitations and spinning HD's are still a work in progress. I have tried a USB power injecting cable as well. And my Patriot Gauntlet Node is internally powered even when USB connected. That said, I have not given up and will continue to experiment.
 
The advantage of your WiFi option is that you don't need to transfer the files to the tablet first - not a problem is you have a lot of space and are only copying a few files, but a big issue if you want to copy 16 GB of photos.
 
Actually it does not solve the tablet as intermediary issue. The Nexus Media Importer app does not expose the external storage to other apps. And the WiFi HD needs either an app that can browse network storage or ftp servers. Maybe a new release of the Nexus Media Explorer app will change this as the app improves quite a lot every upgrade.
 
What if the Node has a ssd drive inside instead of spinning hd.

Will this sidestep the hard drive limitation.

Jim
 
I doubt it. The Node is self-powered so it did not have any issues in that regard. I think there are still some limitations in the Nexus Media Importer app. I will continue to test other drive and hub combinations. But I am getting more comfortable with the idea of spending the money for a few big flash drives. They are still cheaper and smaller than an SSD.
 
I shoot big RAW files. I guess I'll still have to lug a laptop and external drive for now until the tablet will be made to work downloading files to an external drive.

I believe the wireless Node is not a speedy transfer anyway. So the old laptop way will still have to do till a better way is found.

Jim
 
Ken Gosden said:
Ken Gosden wrote:

I doubt it. The Node is self-powered so it did not have any issues in that regard. I think there are still some limitations in the Nexus Media Importer app. I will continue to test other drive and hub combinations. But I am getting more comfortable with the idea of spending the money for a few big flash drives. They are still cheaper and smaller than an SSD.
Click to expand...
So what I gather from this, Ken, is even if you have a self-powered HDD, Nexus Media Importer may not work, and if we want a guaranteed HDD backup workflow it'll have to involve a photo vault like a UDMA 2. Ouch.
 
This all depends on the tablet - we're discussing one model so far and the limitations of that model. My Acer Iconia A500 takes 32 GB microSD cards and has a full size USB port that works fine with an external hard drive. I can plug a standard card reader into the USB port, transfer RAW files from my CF card to the microSD card and then I have three choices:

1. Just leave the files on the MicroSD card (swapping MicroSD cards if I need more space).

2. Remove the card reader and connect a thumb drive and copy from the MicroSD card to the thumb drive.

3. Remove the card reader and connect a hard drive and copy from the MicroSD card to the hard drive.

I can do all the above with my Samsung Galaxy SII phone as well, but I need to use an OTG adapter cable as it has a micro USB port.
 
I have not managed to get a HD working for both read and write, but others have. I plan to keep testing with a different powered hub. However, dragging along the extra cables and power supply starts to defeat the benefits. This is even true of carrying the battery powered Node. I would agree with Jeff that if an external HD is a firm requirement, then look at other tablet options. personally I am waiting to see what Samsung might do with a second generation 10 inch Note.
 
Finally went and picked up the smallest powered USB hub I could find to test; TrendNet TU2-700. I connected my Toshiba 400GB drive to the hub, plugged the hub into power and the drive spun up. I then connected the USB OTG cable to the hub followed by the OTG cable into the Nexus 7. The drive was recognized and I successfully moved a 171MB WAV file in both directions. So I can now read and write to external USB HD's via Media Importer.

As there has been a minor app update since my last attempt I broke out my USB Y power injecting cable to test that again. The drive powers up, but I still have issues even with a 2A power supply. Must be the Y cable itself. I will have to find another one as it would be much more compact than the hub for travel. No real benefit to the USB hub with the Nexus since it can only access one external drive at a time (although I have not tested two...)
 
Just gave the direct copy from USB drive to USB drive via the powered hub a try. IT WORKS. Under advanced mode in Media Importer I was able to select both a USB thumb drive and USB HD that were connected to the same powered hub as source and destination. The names are a bit cryptic, something like xyz.xyz.usb4 and xyz.xyz.usb3 (did not write the exact names down), but just make certain to select one as source and one as destination. It does appear that in this case the transfers are only one direction based on this selection process. This is unlike using the internal Nexus memory and one external USB device. In that case you can transfer both ways easily. Regardless, Nexus Media Importer has effectively rendered the need to use my internal memory at all. This makes the Nexus tablets nearly as useful as any with integrated USB host modes.
 
Ken Gosden said:
Ken Gosden wrote:

Just gave the direct copy from USB drive to USB drive via the powered hub a try. IT WORKS. Under advanced mode in Media Importer I was able to select both a USB thumb drive and USB HD that were connected to the same powered hub as source and destination. The names are a bit cryptic, something like xyz.xyz.usb4 and xyz.xyz.usb3 (did not write the exact names down), but just make certain to select one as source and one as destination. It does appear that in this case the transfers are only one direction based on this selection process. This is unlike using the internal Nexus memory and one external USB device. In that case you can transfer both ways easily. Regardless, Nexus Media Importer has effectively rendered the need to use my internal memory at all. This makes the Nexus tablets nearly as useful as any with integrated USB host modes.
Click to expand...
That is pretty much perfect, Ken. Pretty much obviates the need for a photo vault unless you want to review the RAWs directly or need to recover "lost" images from a dying hard drive. Not as flexible as a full multiple-peripheral host mode, but a great cost-saving feature as you don't have to pay Samsung's prices for their lesser-spec'd display and larger physical size. Now let's hope whatever the Nexus 7 II is this July won't prang Media Importer's functionality.

An interesting experiment would be to plug the camera in directly to one USB port and the HDD from the other to see if you can directly upload. As long as you've no immediate need for the camera, this would eliminate the need for the card reader as well.
 
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I tried directly connecting at least one of my cameras previuosly, but had no success recognizing it. Probably needed to play with the different USB modes on the camera. For me a card reader is more useful, I can copy any media, not just the types in my camera. Plus some of my cameras use funky USB cables which are actually bulkier than a small card reader. I do need to see if the powered hub makes my EyeFi card readable since it seems unhappy without decent power.
 
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Ken, thanks again for your info. on this.

I was just looking at a Glyph Portagig 50 external HD. It can be powered by a separate DC power source (charger included) or by a USB port/USB port attached to Y-cable (also included, I think).

I wrote them to ask what the file formatting is, FAT32, etc, to make sure it's compatible with the NMI app.You can buy them from the company or B&H (BH lists a number of portable drives, which are powered by AC/DC).

This might be a good way to provide backup, but as you've pointed out, it means bringing along another device, charger, cables, etc.

Right now I have about eight 16GB SD cards; for an upcoming trip, I'm thinking of getting another 3-4 cards, and I have a few flash drives I can use for back up also.

This is a more portable, slightly less expensive way to go, though it doesn't give me as much memory space (the Glyph HDs come in 500GB on up I think). I suppose if I was going on a longer trip, then I'd look into a portable HD or a dedicated photo storage device, like ones made by Wolverine.

Regards, David
 
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