Portable Hard Disk Drive Help please

[Patsy]

Is this what I need to take on trips to store photos and can you tell me how it works?

http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digita...6123512&sr=1-5

Any other brands, thoughts?

[Roberto]

You will need a Laptop/Netbook and a card reader.

[Patsy]

You will need a Laptop/Netbook and a card reader.

So I download my images to a laptop (Ipad????) then connect and transfer to this little gizmo? Holy cow this is becoming a full time job. I'm just going to download to Ipad and keep my cards safe and hope for the best. Thank you for the help.

[peterah]

There are many different portable drives that can backup your camera memory card directly. I have been using one of these for a while for backups on the road and they work very well - saves me having to lug a laptop around.

[Leo Theron]

Patsy,

I pointed out earlier that depending on the number of Gigabytes that you shoot, your iPad might not have enough storage space.

So, you need to take into account:

- iPad cannot take an external storage device, unless you jump through some hoops. (Hoops: Special adapter plus battery power for the portable hard disk drive (HDD)

- MBA can take external HDD (like the WD) that you have referenced.

- Good to have additional cards/card per day/spare cards - but to have back-up/archive storage is essential (for me that is!) What you try to eliminate is a single point of failure.


Every day - I have spelled it out elsewhere - remove card, copy to MBA, copy to HDD, card into safe storage, unused card into camera.


On trip:

- Do not format cards - DO THIS AT HOME - as you have enough cards...

- Store/Carry/Travel with MBA and HDD NEVER in the same room/location/bag.

WHY? If anything is dropped, stolen, destroyed you still have a copy.


Your photographs will be priceless, money will buy additional storage (HDD)/MBA/Camera.


WHY DID THE iPAD NOT FEATURE IN MY PROPOSAL?

[Patsy]

WHY DID THE iPAD NOT FEATURE IN MY PROPOSAL?[/QUOTE]

Because Leo you don't realize I need/use my IPad to read when I wake up in the middle of the night and that I'll be all cranky on our game drive when I can't go back to sleep.

I'm ordering the HDD that petereh has suggested. That one looks good.

Next week I'm making a practice run with all of your suggestions to get the kinks worked out while we cruise the Mediterranean.

Thanks to all for your time and suggestions. I reread these replies several times to absorb the info.

[HiltonP]

Patsy, are you keeping track of all the photographic related stuff which you are accumulating for this trip? The cameras, multiple lenses, the laptop, the iPad, cellphones, batteries, chargers for all of these, storage disks, memory cards, camera supports..... As someone who has been there, and done that, please be careful that your equipment does not begin to control your holiday.

All too easily one can get sucked into a routine of setting up equipment, taking pictures, backing up data, charging equipment, resetting equipment, storing equipment, etc. Before you know it you have forgotten to sit back and actually take the time to enjoy your destination in peace.

[Phillip.Grobler]

Don't know if its a viable or reliable solution but the Seagate GoFlex Satelite HDD are small portable with its own WIFI connection and they have a battery powered version

Hackseagatesatellite has a custom firmware that allows it to be an EyeFi Server

Look at http://www.hackseagatesatellite.com/...s/version-2-5/

EyeFi Server – Have an EyeFi Pro X2 Card ? We’ve incorporated EyeFi Server (Kudos to pvankemenade@gmail.com for writing the codes) in this release so that photographers are able to bring the GFS on the go, use the EyeFi Pro X2 Card and have the photos uploaded automatically into the GFS via a designated folder.

[visagieh]

actually take the time to enjoy your destination in peace.

Hilton, spot on.

Hannes