Field Backup of Photo Cards

[gkarris]

Does anybody backup their cards right away while in the field?

Took some awesome pics today, but would not have been too happy if the card had been damaged or lost/stolen before I got a chance to put the pics onto my MacBook.

How do you do it?

Tried to backup my card to my windows laptop I had with me, but it ran out of battery since I forgot to charge it...

Maybe thinking of a NetBook instead just to throw the pics on there in case the card gets lost, or the camera with the card in it gets stolen.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[NightGeometry]

Years ago I got one of those battery powered hard disks that you can back up a memory card to. At the time the price / capacity was in favour of them - my use was more to free up the card to use again.

Nowadays, for my particular use, I'd prefer to get more cards.

Your case is a bit different I guess, wanting a copy of the card rather than to re-use it, so I guess my experience isn't so relevant...

Anyways - Jobo have a range of these - like these

 

[georgemann]

Maybe thinking of a NetBook instead just to throw the pics on there in case the card gets lost, or the camera with the card in it gets stolen.

I have used quite a few different portable image storage devices over the years and now agree with you that a small netbook is the best and most economical solution at this time. You should be able to get an 8-inch or even a 10-inch netbook for under $300.

George

 

[compuwar]

Does anybody backup their cards right away while in the field?

Took some awesome pics today, but would not have been too happy if the card had been damaged or lost/stolen before I got a chance to put the pics onto my MacBook.

How do you do it?

Tried to backup my card to my windows laptop I had with me, but it ran out of battery since I forgot to charge it...

Maybe thinking of a NetBook instead just to throw the pics on there in case the card gets lost, or the camera with the card in it gets stolen.

Thanks for the advice!

All of the older "back up to CD or HD" products were way too slow and wouldn't hold enough battery for me- and still have the same "remember to charge it" issues. These days I tend to just rely on keeping the cards safe until I get to a place where I can back them up. Long-term, I'm considering a D3x, which has dual card slots, so I can mirror and not worry about a dodgy card ruining a good shoot. I've been considering what it would take to make a small battery-operated CF<->CF or CF->SD imager with something like a Gumstix board, but I really don't have the time to mess with hardware at this point in time.

 

[techie4life]

Epson makes some "Multimedia Storage Viewers" that have large screens, hard drives, and card slots. They can get pricey though.

 

[ChrisA]

Maybe thinking of a NetBook instead just to throw the pics on there in case the card gets lost, or the camera with the card in it gets stolen.

Maybe you might want one of these.
http://www.hyperdrive.com/

 

[CK Williams]

Field Backup of Photo Cards

+1 for the Hyperdrive. I took a trip to Europe last year and carried one along instead of a laptop. Accepts multiple types of cards. Very convenient, easy to use, and a decent price.