Using an iPAD and external drive for travel

[360iViews]

I am eyeing up ways of reducing weight for my forthcoming weight-restricted safari. One thought has been to leave the MacBook Pro at home and use an iPAD for initial downloading, preliminary editing, and then backing up on an external drive. But, a real drawback of the iPAD is its incompatibility with plug-in drives. It seems that you have to connect wirelessly, and there are not many compatible drives - the LaCie Fuel and Mypassport wireless are mentioned on the web. I also use .cr2 files.

So, I would like advice on a) software for preliminary editing of .cr2 RAW files and b) backing up.

You might-could use that iPad Pro and a Gnarbox or LaCie. I have both, and are used for different types of shooting/downloading/editing. The Gnarbox is good because I can download image files to it, then do immediate editing on my phone or iPad. On a trip to Disney back in March, I did a quick download, edit and post to Instagram while waiting for the wife and kids to finish their ride. I don't use the editing software provided by Gnarbox, because I have Adobe Cloud - LR, PS & Pr are on all of my mobile devices.

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

The SSD version is 235.3g,

https://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/WD-My-Passport-Wireless-SSD.aspx

I think you misread that,

Compared to the tiny bus-powered portable hard drives such as the WD My Passport portable hard drives, the WD My Passport Wireless SSD is noticeably larger and heavier (16.2 vs. 8.3 oz, 460.3 vs. 235.3g), accounting for the substantial battery and additional electronics required for the wireless functionality.

The 235 is for the regular bus powered My Passport, not the My Passport Wireless.

I read that backwards, after double checking, you are, of course, right.

I'm still interested.

 

[AlanF]

This site gives very good reviews of back-up systems. https://havecamerawilltravel.com/photographer/wd-my-passport-wireless-pro-review/ Go to near bottom of page and there is a table plus links to reviews of other devices.

 

[Vivid Color]

I guess that one of the considerations is the availability of power and high speed internet.

OP: This is a very important point and not one to be underestimated. I don't know where you are going or the conditions you will be facing, but when I went to Tanzania a few years ago, I made the decision to stay in lodges not tented camps so I'd have more and continued access to power. What I didn't know at the time is that many of the lodges in remote areas also rely on generator power and the power is often cut out for a bit when they change the generators. Some days, I barely had power to sufficiently charge my camera batteries. One day, I had no power and was really glad I brought along the huge flashlight my tour provider had sent me before I left on the trip. My trip was also weight restricted (to 33 pounds total) and I'm glad I made the decision to leave the extra weight of an iPad and external drive at home (I also considered this for a while) and instead take enough SD cards that I wouldn't need to worry about taking extra stuff along to back them up to reuse them. I'm glad I made this decision as it not only allowed me to take another change of clothes along, it also freed up time for me to do and see other things on the trip--things I would not be able to do when I got back home. Don't get me wrong, I believe in backups and have my files triple backed up once I move the images from the cards to my computer. But, so far at least, I've never lost an image on an SD card. (Maybe this is more of a risk on CF cards, I don't know.) I should probably note that I grew up with film so it's no big deal for me to not view my photos until I get back home. (Plus, I've already seen previews on the back of my camera, which is way more than I ever got to do shooting film.) Everyone is different, but for me, unless I'm going on a dedicated photo workshop in which I am expected to process my images and share them with the group, it's more important to me to enjoy my time on my trip, and experience to the fullest my being in a foreign place. Especially one that is hard and expensive to get to. Good luck on your trip! --Vivid