best way to store/backup data while travelling?

slartibartfast · 07-31-2012, 12:02 PM

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I'm going on a 5 week trip to Indonesia in a few days, my camera bag is already packed but I am still unsure how I should save/backup my pictures. How are you backing up your data while travelling?

I don't trust external HDDs so much that I would happily buy one. a double set of SD cards maybe? are they more reliable? or burning it all on DVDs? ( I have access to a laptop with a dvd drive, unfortunately it's not my own)

thanks for your input

vonBaloney · 07-31-2012, 12:10 PM

Originally posted by slartibartfast

I'm going on a 5 week trip to Indonesia in a few days, my camera bag is already packed but I am still unsure how I should save/backup my pictures. How are you backing up your data while travelling?

I don't trust external HDDs so much that I would happily buy one. a double set of SD cards maybe? are they more reliable? or burning it all on DVDs? ( I have access to a laptop with a dvd drive, unfortunately it's not my own)

thanks for your input

Well, you can't trust anything totally, but an external hard drive (especially an SSD) is not particularly more risky than anything else. The main trick is to have backups somewhere and preferably at different physical locations. The best thing you could do is upload the pics somewhere, but huge uploading bandwidth while traveling is probably hard to come by. They have hard drives made just for this purpose with built-in card readers -- no computer needed.

Docrwm · 07-31-2012, 12:27 PM

I try to have enough SD cards for the entire trip AND back them up to a hard drive. They make some very nice tough hard drives that are water resistant, shock resistant, etc. that meet military specs. I got one recently from NewEgg and it's worked like a charm.

**photomission** · 07-31-2012, 12:36 PM

Do you have the brand/model # I'm planning on taking a trip and that might be a nice to have item.

slartibartfast · 07-31-2012, 12:41 PM

ADATA DashDrive Durable Series HD710 1TB USB 3.0 Blue Water & Shock Proof Portable Hard Drive AHD710-1TU3-CBL

JenniferLeigh · 07-31-2012, 12:49 PM

I have an old Archos 605 (160gb) that I'm planning on taking with me on my upcoming monthly long trip to Thailand. Unfortunately the actual device doesn't have a card reader, but the charging dock has a USB port.

My plan is to copy all the photos to the Archos at night, so I have two backups. Plus it doubles as a media player for the long flight.

I'm won't have access to a laptop so a media player where I can see the photos on the device is ideal.

Since you have access to a computer, SD card would be a good idea. Whatever method you choose, just keep at least two copies, one on your person and one in the hotel room.

pxpaulx · 07-31-2012, 01:00 PM

How much data do you foresee using? I shot raw+jpeg when we went to Italy, on a 17 day trip I ended up with just over 100gb of data, which I double archived directly on a netbook and then an external drive. With the price of SD cards these days, perhaps if you have the time to cull your photos every few days maybe 2 64gb cards (or flash drives) could be a compact option for storage?

**jatrax** · 07-31-2012, 01:12 PM

If you have access to fast internet occasionally (and the computer) then backup to online storage of your choice is one way. But internet access is not always available or fast enough.

I try to have enough cards so that I do not have to reuse any, they are cheap enough now. I always take a laptop, and make a copy of the card onto the laptop hard drive, just a bulk copy, no renaming or anything. And then that gets backed up to an external HD. Current 2.5" externals are quite reliable, and since they are not usually running many hours when used just for backup they will last a long time. By all means get a mil-spec one if you want but for this application an off the shelf one will work just fine. That leaves me with three separate copies of the images. Cards go in the camera bag, laptop into it's bag, and the external drive in a suitcase wrapped in my socks, not in the laptop case.

Since it is not your laptop, I would just get a good external drive and copy the cards onto it. DVDs are not an option in my opinion, too little capacity, take too long to write and they are not all that reliable. Less reliable than hard drives according to my experience. And unless you are buying archival blanks they have a limited lifespan, as little as a couple years if not kept in controlled environment storage.

Docrwm · 07-31-2012, 01:13 PM

Originally posted by slartibartfast

ADATA DashDrive Durable Series HD710 1TB USB 3.0 Blue Water & Shock Proof Portable Hard Drive AHD710-1TU3-CBL

That's the one. Works like a charm. Comes in several eye catching colors too

slartibartfast · 07-31-2012, 01:24 PM

Originally posted by pxpaulx

How much data do you foresee using? I shot raw+jpeg when we went to Italy, on a 17 day trip I ended up with just over 100gb of data, which I double archived directly on a netbook and then an external drive. With the price of SD cards these days, perhaps if you have the time to cull your photos every few days maybe 2 64gb cards (or flash drives) could be a compact option for storage?

hard to tell, but I plan to shoot a LOT

interesting, that you get 2 x 500 gb HDDs for the price of 2 x 64gb SD-cards....

ah, what the heck... I'll get 2 WD 500gig passports as they are on sale for a good price here just now... then I'll keep the full sd-cards and two copies on the HDDs. maybe they're better than their reputation.

slartibartfast · 07-31-2012, 01:34 PM

I think I'll get a hand full of SanDisk Ultra 8 GB cards... they're not the fastest, but I won't shoot high speed bursts anyway....

adpo · 07-31-2012, 02:35 PM

i just use a netbook. They've got decent sized hard drives, usually have an sd card reader, let you view the pictures larger so you can cull and are relatively compact for travel

pxpaulx · 07-31-2012, 02:51 PM

2 small HDDs and a handful of inexpensive cards for daily use are a great way to go, the prices of both have never been lower.

twitch · 07-31-2012, 05:43 PM

I don't own one, but this seems to be the best solution if you want to go laptop free

HyperDrive COLORSPACE UDMA

slartibartfast · 07-31-2012, 10:14 PM

yeah, right... for this price you can buy a new laptop and hire someone to carry it for you ;D

500 GB HyperDrive COLORSPACE UDMA Fotospeicher RAW JPG | eBay

07-31-2012, 12:02 PM	#1
slartibartfast Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Hjørungavåg, Norway Posts: 130	best way to store/backup data while travelling? Staff note: This post may contain affiliate links, which means Pentax Forums may earn a small commission if a visitor clicks through and makes a purchase. If you would like to support the forum directly, you may also make a donation here. I'm going on a 5 week trip to Indonesia in a few days, my camera bag is already packed but I am still unsure how I should save/backup my pictures. How are you backing up your data while travelling? I don't trust external HDDs so much that I would happily buy one. a double set of SD cards maybe? are they more reliable? or burning it all on DVDs? ( I have access to a laptop with a dvd drive, unfortunately it's not my own) thanks for your input

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07-31-2012, 12:10 PM	#2
vonBaloney Pentaxian Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Albuquerque, NM Posts: 6,029	Originally posted by slartibartfast I'm going on a 5 week trip to Indonesia in a few days, my camera bag is already packed but I am still unsure how I should save/backup my pictures. How are you backing up your data while travelling? I don't trust external HDDs so much that I would happily buy one. a double set of SD cards maybe? are they more reliable? or burning it all on DVDs? ( I have access to a laptop with a dvd drive, unfortunately it's not my own) thanks for your input Well, you can't trust anything totally, but an external hard drive (especially an SSD) is not particularly more risky than anything else. The main trick is to have backups somewhere and preferably at different physical locations. The best thing you could do is upload the pics somewhere, but huge uploading bandwidth while traveling is probably hard to come by. They have hard drives made just for this purpose with built-in card readers -- no computer needed.

07-31-2012, 12:27 PM	#3
Docrwm Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Somewhere in the Southern US Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,285	I try to have enough SD cards for the entire trip AND back them up to a hard drive. They make some very nice tough hard drives that are water resistant, shock resistant, etc. that meet military specs. I got one recently from NewEgg and it's worked like a charm.

07-31-2012, 12:36 PM	#4
photomission Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: texas Photos: Gallery Posts: 289	Do you have the brand/model # I'm planning on taking a trip and that might be a nice to have item.

07-31-2012, 12:41 PM	#5
slartibartfast Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Hjørungavåg, Norway Posts: 130 Original Poster	ADATA DashDrive Durable Series HD710 1TB USB 3.0 Blue Water & Shock Proof Portable Hard Drive AHD710-1TU3-CBL

07-31-2012, 12:49 PM	#6
JenniferLeigh Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Southern Alberta Posts: 281	I have an old Archos 605 (160gb) that I'm planning on taking with me on my upcoming monthly long trip to Thailand. Unfortunately the actual device doesn't have a card reader, but the charging dock has a USB port. My plan is to copy all the photos to the Archos at night, so I have two backups. Plus it doubles as a media player for the long flight. I'm won't have access to a laptop so a media player where I can see the photos on the device is ideal. Since you have access to a computer, SD card would be a good idea. Whatever method you choose, just keep at least two copies, one on your person and one in the hotel room.

07-31-2012, 01:00 PM	#7
pxpaulx Veteran Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Twin Cities, MN Posts: 2,867	How much data do you foresee using? I shot raw+jpeg when we went to Italy, on a 17 day trip I ended up with just over 100gb of data, which I double archived directly on a netbook and then an external drive. With the price of SD cards these days, perhaps if you have the time to cull your photos every few days maybe 2 64gb cards (or flash drives) could be a compact option for storage?

07-31-2012, 01:12 PM	#8
jatrax Site Supporter Join Date: May 2010 Location: Washington Cascades Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,991	If you have access to fast internet occasionally (and the computer) then backup to online storage of your choice is one way. But internet access is not always available or fast enough. I try to have enough cards so that I do not have to reuse any, they are cheap enough now. I always take a laptop, and make a copy of the card onto the laptop hard drive, just a bulk copy, no renaming or anything. And then that gets backed up to an external HD. Current 2.5" externals are quite reliable, and since they are not usually running many hours when used just for backup they will last a long time. By all means get a mil-spec one if you want but for this application an off the shelf one will work just fine. That leaves me with three separate copies of the images. Cards go in the camera bag, laptop into it's bag, and the external drive in a suitcase wrapped in my socks, not in the laptop case. Since it is not your laptop, I would just get a good external drive and copy the cards onto it. DVDs are not an option in my opinion, too little capacity, take too long to write and they are not all that reliable. Less reliable than hard drives according to my experience. And unless you are buying archival blanks they have a limited lifespan, as little as a couple years if not kept in controlled environment storage.

07-31-2012, 01:13 PM	#9
Docrwm Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Somewhere in the Southern US Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,285	Originally posted by slartibartfast ADATA DashDrive Durable Series HD710 1TB USB 3.0 Blue Water & Shock Proof Portable Hard Drive AHD710-1TU3-CBL That's the one. Works like a charm. Comes in several eye catching colors too

07-31-2012, 01:24 PM	#10
slartibartfast Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Hjørungavåg, Norway Posts: 130 Original Poster	Originally posted by pxpaulx How much data do you foresee using? I shot raw+jpeg when we went to Italy, on a 17 day trip I ended up with just over 100gb of data, which I double archived directly on a netbook and then an external drive. With the price of SD cards these days, perhaps if you have the time to cull your photos every few days maybe 2 64gb cards (or flash drives) could be a compact option for storage? hard to tell, but I plan to shoot a LOT interesting, that you get 2 x 500 gb HDDs for the price of 2 x 64gb SD-cards.... ah, what the heck... I'll get 2 WD 500gig passports as they are on sale for a good price here just now... then I'll keep the full sd-cards and two copies on the HDDs. maybe they're better than their reputation.

07-31-2012, 01:34 PM	#11
slartibartfast Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Hjørungavåg, Norway Posts: 130 Original Poster	I think I'll get a hand full of SanDisk Ultra 8 GB cards... they're not the fastest, but I won't shoot high speed bursts anyway....

07-31-2012, 02:35 PM	#12
adpo Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Arizona Photos: Gallery Posts: 888	i just use a netbook. They've got decent sized hard drives, usually have an sd card reader, let you view the pictures larger so you can cull and are relatively compact for travel

07-31-2012, 02:51 PM	#13
pxpaulx Veteran Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Twin Cities, MN Posts: 2,867	2 small HDDs and a handful of inexpensive cards for daily use are a great way to go, the prices of both have never been lower.

07-31-2012, 05:43 PM	#14
twitch Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 4,571	I don't own one, but this seems to be the best solution if you want to go laptop free HyperDrive COLORSPACE UDMA

07-31-2012, 10:14 PM	#15
slartibartfast Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Hjørungavåg, Norway Posts: 130 Original Poster	yeah, right... for this price you can buy a new laptop and hire someone to carry it for you ;D 500 GB HyperDrive COLORSPACE UDMA Fotospeicher RAW JPG \| eBay