File Transfer Question?? Nikon D850

ANB · Jan 1, 2020

Hello,

I recently purchased a Nikon D850 and am shortly going on holiday to Botswana. I have a dilemma though. Does anyone know if I will be able to transfer image files directly from my camera to an external hard drive? I don't want to purchase a bunch of QXD cards and I don't want to bring my laptop on the trip. I am planning to bring an I-pad.

Does anyone know of a solution?

Thank you!

tirediron · Jan 1, 2020

No, I don't believe so EXCEPT if you purchase a wifi enabled HDD, however this would likely be more expensive than XQD cards, and I'm not sure if it would work. If you don't want to spend the money on XQD cards (which are ridiculously expensive!), then why not just go with SD cards? I find that unless I'm shooting events/action (something I rarely do with the D850), it's very happy on SD cards. The camera does have wifi and BT, so an inexpensive tablet, or even high-capacity smartphone might work as a storage device.

Braineack · Jan 1, 2020

Such the problem with 1000mp sensors...

ANB · Jan 1, 2020

tirediron said:
No, I don't believe so EXCEPT if you purchase a wifi enabled HDD, however this would likely be more expensive than XQD cards, and I'm not sure if it would work. If you don't want to spend the money on XQD cards (which are ridiculously expensive!), then why not just go with SD cards? I find that unless I'm shooting events/action (something I rarely do with the D850), it's very happy on SD cards. The camera does have wifi and BT, so an inexpensive tablet, or even high-capacity smartphone might work as a storage device.

tirediron,

I really like the idea and capability to record a bunch of images on one card and then dumping them onto a HDD at the end of the day. I'm mostly after wildlife shots and once in a while I'll be relying on the D850s FPS performance coupled with the 400mb/s recording speed of the QXD card. I don't know if I can find that kind of performance from an SD card? So, if I can I'd like to rely on the QXD and have the SD cards as backup. I shoot a lot of action shots and usually don't shoot on burst, but sometimes I do..

I'll look into a WiFi enabled HDD. It might be cheaper than buying several QXD cards.

Thank you!

Braineack · Jan 1, 2020

They sell drives specifically for this.

https://www.amazon.com/Passport-Wireless-Portable-external-Drive/dp/B06X6H1LY6

ANB · Jan 1, 2020

tirediron,

I'm new to digital photography at only about 12 years ago... I haven't considered that I might need a wireless internet signal in order to do this transfer. Is that the case? My wife just informed me that I probably need a Bluetooth signal to do such a transfer while we're out in the African bush. I just need to look at the owners manual, but I appreciate your time!

ANB · Jan 1, 2020

tirediron said:
No, I don't believe so EXCEPT if you purchase a wifi enabled HDD, however this would likely be more expensive than XQD cards, and I'm not sure if it would work. If you don't want to spend the money on XQD cards (which are ridiculously expensive!), then why not just go with SD cards? I find that unless I'm shooting events/action (something I rarely do with the D850), it's very happy on SD cards. The camera does have wifi and BT, so an inexpensive tablet, or even high-capacity smartphone might work as a storage device.

Braineack said:
They sell drives specifically for this.

https://www.amazon.com/Passport-Wireless-Portable-external-Drive/dp/B06X6H1LY6

Braineack,

I just saw that myself and that's a much cheaper option than purchasing multiple QXD cards! Call me stupid, but I don't know if I would need to have a WiFi signal from somewhere or would the camera be able to communicate with the HDD out there in the bush?

Thanks!

ANB · Jan 1, 2020

Just to follow up with this conversation...I found this in the Q&A on Amazon. It looks like it has worked for someone who uses a D850. The external hard drive in question has a port for USB devices and it looks like the capability to transfer files from either type of card into the drive. I think that my question has been answered well enough to give it a try anyway. Thank you guys!

Q: I see the sd card will instantly transfer, but can anyone confirm you can do this using the usb (leaving the sd card in the camera) from a gopro?
A: I don't have a gopro but I've transferred photos directly from a Nikon D850 with ease. No matter the memory type. The D850 uses a SD and QXD. Hope this helps.
By R.Perrotta on June 29, 2019