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05/08/2008 12:05:41 PM · #1 |
So my partner and I are going to London in September and we just found out he can't take his laptop (it's a work laptop and since the trip is not for work.......). We don't own a personal laptop so we need a way to store all of my photos. He is looking at this, does anyone have it, or another solution to our problem? Thanks!
//www.amazon.com/Wolverine-Data-7060-FlashPac-Portable/dp/B0007WLI0M/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_t
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05/08/2008 12:09:19 PM · #2 |
Oh wow, that looks pretty damn slick for that price. I've seen things like that before but only with a huge LCD screen that shot the price almost to a thousand.
It appears to have a good rating. Just make sure that is enough space. I know I can burn 4gb per hour with my camera. :)
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05/08/2008 03:50:34 PM · #3 |
No one else has an opinion? Would it be better just to buy a bunch of CF cards? I already have two 2gb cards and one 1gb card.
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05/08/2008 04:33:09 PM · #4 |
It depends on how much you'll be shooting. When I went on my photo safari to Kenya, I 'budgeted' 1-2 GB per day. For a 16 day trip that meant I needed 16-32 GB. Turns out I shot 22 GB. I shouldn't imagine needing more than .5-1 GB per day for an average trip to the UK.
I love my Epson P-2000, but don't use it much. Maybe once I start doing more weddings. |
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05/08/2008 05:10:47 PM · #5 |
It does look slick. Having just experienced a hard drive failure in the past couple of months though, I guess my question would be is which do you trust more when you are out in the field: 1) The reliability of the backup unit? Or, 2) your ability not to lose that "bunch of CF cards"?
I guess, if you wanted to be bullet proof the answer would be to get both a handful of CF cards AND this in order to have a redundant backup in the field.
Sorry, I know this is sounding paranoid and excessive, but hard drive failures will do that to a guy. ;) |
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05/08/2008 05:25:35 PM · #6 |
Originally posted by KarenNfld:
No one else has an opinion? Would it be better just to buy a bunch of CF cards? I already have two 2gb cards and one 1gb card. |
Depends on how much you are planning on shooting. My last trip 2 years ago I was shooting RAW and bracketing for HDR and I took 7,000+ pictures . Probably a lot more if the weather was more cooperative. I was shooting for stock so I ended up with much more photos then I probably would've taken if I was just enjoying my vacation without thinking about stock.
Some things to check before buying:
-Battery life.
-Speed of transfer.
-Confirmation of card download. Either with in device software or viewing screen. With viewing screen you can confirm with your own eyes. Some devices will not allow viewing of RAW.
I personally own 2 Archos devices. One allows for the use of a card reader so I can transfer . The other allows for direct transfer to the device through the camera without a card reader. Both devices allow for viewing of the pictures after transfer as long as it is in jpeg format. Unfortunately I shoot mainly RAW, but sometimes for events I will shoot RAW +Jpeg so people can view images with the Archos. The devices are really slow in transfer, I originally transfer files that were from a 3 megapixel camera and now use a 10 megapixel one.
I also own the HyperDrive HD80 40GB which I bought because of it's super fast transfer rate.16MB/s Transfer Speed. Works well, but doesn't have a viewing screen to confirm files have transferred. It does have it's own confirmation software and works. It's heavy because it uses a laptop size harddrive which is why I like the device. The weight verses the ability to increase the size of the internal harddrive is a good trade off. The device uses AA batteries so it's easy to just pack a couple extra batteries.
Most times on vacation you would transfer files when you get back to the hotel. So battery life isn't that big of a deal. Just plug it into an outlet. Same for transfer speed. Upload while you are showering, having dinner, sleeping,etc. |
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05/08/2008 05:33:39 PM · #7 |
Thanks everyone. I never shoot RAW so I don't have to worry about that. Still not sure what I am going to do.
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05/08/2008 05:46:37 PM · #8 |
| What's the most that you have shoot in 1 day? |
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05/08/2008 05:55:33 PM · #9 |
Originally posted by faidoi:
What's the most that you have shoot in 1 day? |
Not sure, but when I was in Victoria, BC for 1 week I shot about 4gb. I am sure I will take more photos in London, though, considering I've never been there before, there are a lot more things to shoot there and the weather will be better than it was in Victoria in March. I just don't want to have to ration my shooting and miss shots because I am worried about filling up memory.
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05/08/2008 06:08:03 PM · #10 |
Originally posted by KarenNfld:
Originally posted by faidoi:
What's the most that you have shoot in 1 day? |
Not sure, but when I was in Victoria, BC for 1 week I shot about 4gb. I am sure I will take more photos in London, though, considering I've never been there before, there are a lot more things to shoot there and the weather will be better than it was in Victoria in March. I just don't want to have to ration my shooting and miss shots because I am worried about filling up memory. |
If it was me, I think I would grab a couple of these, or 3 or 4 of these. After all, you are going to London. If it really looks like you are going to fill up the cards you take with you, there should be plenty of places where you can pick up some more.
On the other hand, I would be very wary about relying on a new, untested device to safely keep my "once in a lifetime" images on a trip like that. |
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05/08/2008 06:23:15 PM · #11 |
If you are not a machine gun shooter then you could get away with using non-super speed CF cards which are cheaper then the speedier versions, but if you are planning on upgrading cameras, shooting RAW in the near future, night shots with noise reduction it might be better to invest in the faster cards.
The main reason that the device is better then individual cards is that you both can use the device to upload cards so both of you don't have to buy more cards. |
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05/08/2008 08:01:43 PM · #12 |
| I believe Sandisk has a rebate still going on. Recently bought a couple 8GB CF cards from Adorama. Rebate was $100. ($40 for 1). You might find with a rebate you have more flexibility and a similar cost. |
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05/08/2008 08:27:04 PM · #13 |
| I have the 80 gig version of that Wolfpac. I think its great, I have reformatted it a few times so it has saved over 240 gigs of photos. I have lost one card that I thought I saved, but that could have been user error. I was shooting for a band and may have thought I copied it, it could have messed up too. If I was paying more attention I would have known. On occasion, I will enter a card, either SD or CF and it doesn't read it right and doesn't copy, it stays on like it is reading it the says "Copy OK 0 files". If I put the card back and redo it it works fine. Will also note it has been dropped at least twice, from about table height. This is the only problem I have with it. It takes a few(4-8 min) to download a 2-4 gig card. To answer some questions [user]fadoi[/user] had, It does read Raw files fine, a simple USB connects it to your computer and just charges in the wall. Its a pretty simple device, turn it on and it tells how much Hard drive space you have and to Insert a Card. When you are done it say copy ok how many files you downloaded and how much space is left on your drive. I usually just check the hard drive space before and after to make sure it went down the right amount. I used this on a photo trip to Bali for a week and shot over 45 gigs without any trouble. I have two SD cards(2 and 1 gig) for my D50 and two CF cards(4 and 2 gigs) for my D200. I never run out of memory! With a battery charged up, I have probably downloaded 6-8 gigs before I need to plug it in, and thats not because it died, just because it might die. It is definitely good, not the best around like the fancy Epson ones but I would recommend it. Hope that helps some. :) |
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05/08/2008 08:37:21 PM · #14 |
Second (third?) all the reccs. I've got the one you linked to; bought it used on ebay about a year and a half ago for about $80 and take it with me when I travel to back up cards, both for redundancy and to reuse cards if I run out of space.
Only downside is you can't look at the pics or the files unless you hook it up to a computer, so there are a few trust issues at first (especially when you are about to wipe a card full of once in a lifetime travel images clean, on faith that copies are safely stored on the Wolverine). BUT I'm over that now, since I've never had a failure with the device. Now I trust completely that my images are safely stored when it says Copy OK.
It also makes a nifty third backup that I use at home, when transferring cards to my computer. I make a quick backup on the wolverine before wiping it clean, just in case the computer and my backup hard drive both crash at the same time. :>P |
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05/08/2008 08:42:32 PM · #15 |
| I own a larger one, and so far it has been wonderful. I've used it both at weddings and for storing large amounts of photos during trips. Its not terribly quick about transferring, but if your using it when you come back to the hotel to clear off cards, it works great. |
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05/08/2008 08:44:55 PM · #16 |
how is the device powered? AA batteries, or through the USB cable?
I ask because i'm looking at getting the 100gb version for my 12 month trip!
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05/08/2008 08:48:52 PM · #17 |
Originally posted by Tez:
how is the device powered? AA batteries, or through the USB cable?
I ask because i'm looking at getting the 100gb version for my 12 month trip! |
It has an internal battery and needs to be charged from a wall outlet. I also had a car converter and charged it during a camping trip between locations through Southern Utah. You can also charge it while its plugged in and keep battery life. I grabbed a pack of universal travel outlet converters and it worked fine too. Thats awesome you are taking a trip for a whole year! |
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05/08/2008 09:02:05 PM · #18 |
I have a slightly older model of that.
We used it on a couple of trips (including flights with all the airport security that brings with it), but then we started taking a laptop and haven't used it since then.
The download each day was a little slow, but that isn't a problem. We learned to just put the card in the gizmo before we went into the shower or to dinner or whatever.
I didn't like not having a screen to see the photos, but it took good care of them for us, didn't lose or corrupt any data.
I think they make a great backup, but I would still be nervous to totally trust all my photos to the one thing. I'd feel better having multiple cards, as well. |
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05/08/2008 09:26:03 PM · #19 |
I recently bought a SmartDisk PhotoBank 80GB, and it's exactly what I had been looking for.
I wanted it so I could make quick backups of cards while I'm shooting weddings, without dragging my laptop around. So far, so good! The price is comparable to the one you had quoted originally, and it's 80GB instead of 60.
When I was looking for one, I wanted one that basically just copies everything and stores it. I didn't need a fancy screen to show me the pictures -- that would just jack up the price. This does exactly what I've been wanting -- I stick the card in and push the "copy" button, and it does its thing. When I hook it up to my computer, it just acts as a regular hard drive. |
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05/08/2008 09:27:34 PM · #20 |
| I have the Wolverine MVP 60 gb. It's great - small enough to take anywhere and easy to transfer photos. We camp a alot and don't really have room for the laptop so this is a great solution. |
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