Solution for travel data storage?

[molested_cow]

Looking for a way to store photos while traveling.

Right now I have two 8GB memory cards. They are plenty usually, and even when I am traveling, I either take my laptop along or use the hotel PC to transfer the images to external HDD. However, I will be taking a 8-day trip with no access to computer. My laptop is really heavy, so I won't take it with me.

Other than buying more memory cards, is there any way to download the images onto an external HDD without using a PC or laptop?

 

[Psytrox]

You could buy one of these Digital Foci: Photo Safe II Portable Picture Storage
Its basicly just an external hard drive, with a cardread attached to it. Plug the SD card into it, and the hard drive copies everything thats on the card.

I've only read about it, dont actually have any experience with it myself, but it seems simple enough.

 

[Dao]

These may help.

Stand Alone Data Storage

 

[Trever1t]

buy more memory cards....2 is not nearly enough. I carry 8 or 10 and back-up as soon as possible. Buy smaller cards, they're cheaper.

 

[molested_cow]

Thanks for the reply. I will go to the store soon to see if they have stand alone HDDs and see how the price measure up to multiple memory cards.

 

[Trever1t]

Yeah, plan. When I travel I carry a tiny Sony laptop, it's old but fully functional. I carry a 500g portable drive, requires only a USB connection, self powered. And I carry a $hitload of memory cards and backup everything. I just added a networked hard drive so that I can actually backup to my home network remotely given a good connection and the time required. I've had drives crash so I have triple redundancy for my important files

 

[480sparky]

The issue with carrying only memory cards is you cannot copy the shots you've taken (unless you can do this in-camera).

Having multiple cards will help if you lose one card, as you won't lose all your shots, but it's still a loss no matter how you look at it. That said, I travel with ten 16g class 10 cards and I rarely fill all of them up during a trip. If I do, I have another four class 6 16g cards I can use, as well as 10 un-classed 2g cards. So at the end of the trip, I have a bunch of cards, a file on my laptop and a file on an external drive.

When I travel, I not only take my laptop, I take a 2tb external drive with me. I don't use them in the field, I fire 'em up at the end of the day and do a wholesale memory card copy.

 

[Trever1t]

Problem with the 2tb drive is they require plugin. The smaller 'passports' still allow backup even if no power is available if your laptop is functioning. Smaller sized cards 4gb max will cause you to not put all your eggs in one basket, so to speak.

 

[480sparky]

Problem with the 2tb drive is they require plugin. The smaller 'passports' still allow backup even if no power is available if your laptop is functioning. Smaller sized cards 4gb max will cause you to not put all your eggs in one basket, so to speak.

Hotels & motels typically have receptacles in them. Internet cafes do as well. I've even plugged in at restaurants. Although we consider ourselves 'cordless', there's still plenty of the wired world out there.

I don't see the need to take a shot, then run off to the laptop just to back the image up, then go take another shot, back it up on the laptop...... Just copy everything at the end of the day.