Backup Storage Drive

[bohaiboy]

I have 4 32MB Sandisk CF drives and a few other 16, 8 etc.  I will be on a 21 day safari/holiday and plan on takings tons of pics.  I will be sending full RAW to the CF with in camera backup with an SD.  The SD will be able to hold about 4 times what the CF will hold even at L setting.

What are your recommendations for a backup drive.  Shooting 5DMKIII?  I am thinking a 1TB MyPassport.

[Mt Spokane Photography]

It depends on how you plan to power everything.  Laptop, solar, or what.  Someone could give you a better idea if they had enough information to make a sensible recommendation.  You cannot just hook a hard drive to your camera.

[neuroanatomist]

I have several 1 TB LaCie Rugged drives - tough and bus-powered. But, on my last trip I brought a handful of Iomega 64 GB USB flash drives (and a laptop) as backups for my CF cards.

[bohaiboy]

Would be backing up from a MAC AIRBOOK so USB powered.  Never thought of a stick to back up to, thanks.

[msdarkroom]

Hey Tim,

Check out these OWC drives for some USB powered options: http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/on-the-go
I've always been pleased with them.

-MS

[scottkinfw]

Hey fellow Texan.

Check out Hyperdrive Colorspace UDMA.

http://www.hypershop.com/HyperDrive-COLORSPACE-UDMA-s/64.htm
I purchased one of these for Safari in Serengeti March 2011, and worked great.  It has a rechargeable which powers the unit, a color screen, and will handle all storage types.  It is small enough to fit in a pocket.  I like the case only, as I purchased a large capacity hdd and easily installed it myself.  When I got home, kept the drive in a safe, and it is a pristine original.

I'm going back to The Serengeti August 19th to witness the wildebeest migration across the Mara.  When/where are you going?

sek

The screen is about the size of the lcd on the camera.  The interface is a bit clunky, but otherwise, it works like a charm, very reliable.

I have 4 32MB Sandisk CF drives and a few other 16, 8 etc.  I will be on a 21 day safari/holiday and plan on takings tons of pics.  I will be sending full RAW to the CF with in camera backup with an SD.  The SD will be able to hold about 4 times what the CF will hold even at L setting.

What are your recommendations for a backup drive.  Shooting 5DMKIII?  I am thinking a 1TB MyPassport.

[scottkinfw]

I have two other suggestions, speaking of power.

I brought a very small power inverter that plugs into the cigarette lighter.    Unfortunately, that didn't work.  Next time, I will bring that along with a couple of solar chargers which can be purchased at places like Bass Pro Shop, etc.

I recommend also bringing power adapters for the country and a few extension cord/plug multipliers.  In the bush, electrical outlets will be scarce, and many times powered by generators which go off at 9 PM, so you need to power up as much as you can as fast as you can.

Bring plenty of AA batteries as well.  I am ambivalent regarding rechargeable batts due to limited plugs and need for extra gear.  You need to be very careful on luggage size and wight limits.  You may find that all weight is taken up by photo gear.

sek

It depends on how you plan to power everything.  Laptop, solar, or what.  Someone could give you a better idea if they had enough information to make a sensible recommendation.  You cannot just hook a hard drive to your camera.

[bohaiboy]

We are doing a self drive tour, so luggage limits not a concern, thank goodness.  All of our Lodges are on teh grid but great point about generators.  Else my wife would be sitting at home because no way could she get down to the limit.

[EvilTed]

I have an old Epson P-5000, a precursor to the Color Space.

Rather than buying a new similar device, I'm seriously thinking of buying the Apple Photo Adapter kit for iPad and a Seagate Go-Flex Satellite.

This way one can download photos to the iPad, view them and store the keepers on the Seagate.
Not as quick and direct as the handheld devices, but arguably a better screen for viewing the pictures.

Anyone tried this combination?

ET

[DianeK]

I was in Africa last July and what I took was a Macbook that had LR installed and a G-Drive 500GB mini.  Downloaded into LR on the Macbook with a secondary copy to the G-Drive mini.  Always had the computer, G-drive, and camera stowed in different bags so that potential theft of a bag would only mean losing one storage device.
Diane

[Biffbim]

I have an old Epson P-5000, a precursor to the Color Space.

Rather than buying a new similar device, I'm seriously thinking of buying the Apple Photo Adapter kit for iPad and a Seagate Go-Flex Satellite.

This way one can download photos to the iPad, view them and store the keepers on the Seagate.
Not as quick and direct as the handheld devices, but arguably a better screen for viewing the pictures.

Anyone tried this combination?

ET

I have this combo.  All good except that the seagate satellite is WiFi output only.  Means that you have to
plug into a USB port and load it up from a computer.  Also the satellite is NTFS so I had to install a kernel
module for it to work on my MBP.  Software comes with it. 
It will store RAW (or anything) of course but its software only displays jpeg on the go-flex iPad app.

There is a Linux hack to make it work as you would like.  However, the install is diabolical. 

So in short, you still need a laptop with you. Excellent for loading up with HBO video for the trip.

[expatinasia]

The Seagates, Samsungs and WDs are all pretty good external HDs. I would take a 1TB drive and also back up to the cloud if you are staying in some quality lodges with high-speed internet. Have a safe trip.