Cheweyhead

Hello,
What is everyone using for mass storage on their safaris? I still have Epson P3000's. Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Keri

sdb2

I bring along a netbook. Some camps seem to be making wifi available so the netbook has the added advantage of being able to connect to the net/email---useful for me because I usually travel alone and can touch base with wife/family when I'm away.

ShayTay

My Epson P2000 couldn't read my SDHC cards, so I opted for a Wolverine drive... no screen to view the pics, but my cards are backed up. I now have a netbook, but don't think I'd take it to Tanzania... South Africa, maybe, as those types of permanent camps and lodges are more likely to have WiFi (not that I need it!)

Cheweyhead

That's what I have to check: whether the Epson p-3000 reads the SDHC Cards. Thanks for that.

cary999

I also have an "old" harddrive card reader/backup storage unit, a PD70X, that will not read/input a SDHC card. Sooooo, when that happens you use an SDHC to CF card adapter - http://www.amazon.com/SD-CF-II-Type-.../dp/B000YZGCIU
From Amazon $25. I have similar one and it works great, takes the SDHC card in one end and turns it into a CF on the other end.

Mass travel storage now has I'd say three choices. Simply more camera cards, cards are cheap. A laptop/notebook/netbook. A simple harddrive storage unit, like the Nexto ND 2700. http://www.nextodi.com/product/eXtreme_en.html

My camera safari kit is too heavy now so I try real hard to limit what I take. But I also feel I need two copies of every camera image. So I take two backup storage drives, that oldish PD70X and the new Nexto ND2700. No laptop/notebook. A friend takes about 250 Gig of camera cards and a notebook as his two backups.

regards - tom
ps - FWIW, for those flights to Africa all of my camera kit is in its own (2) bags which go into a typical carry-on bag with big WHEELS. At safari camp the carry-on and misc kit bag stays in the room, the camera bag goes with me on game drives.

Hanuman

Being a "netbook" I assume that your Epson P3000 have WiFi capability. If that is the case you can get an Eye-Fi SDHC card which will transmit the pictures wirelessly to your netbook or other WiFi compatible devices.

Just one example of a Eye-Fi card: http://www.amazon.com/Eye-Fi-Class-W...ref=pd_sim_e_1

Cheweyhead

Does an ipad 2 fit into this discussion? I think I saw an article about the ipad 2 and large photo file storage. I'll look for it and post the link. Maybe an ipad and a western digital 500 gb little (physical size) hard drive would be a good way to go? We really don't want to take a laptop. Ours is a heavy older macbook.

Hanuman

I am very familiar with the Ipad2 and have been researching the net for a solution to the storage size. Here's my take on it.

You can download movies and photo from a computer at home onto a Seagate "GoFlex Satellite" hard disk with internal battery and Wifi built in. You then stream movies or photo from the drive to the Ipad as the hard drive will act like a media streamer. However this is a one way thing as you cannot upload any pictures from your camera to the drive without the aid of a computer.

Sounded good to me too but then even a 64gb Ipad will only have around 30 - 40 gb storage space after you remove a lot of apps. That is, to me, the equivalent of 2 SD or 2 CF card only. I'll still bring it along with me but IMO not a solution for storage.

Hanuman

I think they explain it much better than me on this web site's review: http://reviews.cnet.com/hard-drives/...-34672408.html

Cheweyhead

Do you know whether you can up load the cf card to the ipad and then download that file to an external drive? I guess I would need to buy the camera kit from apple. My ipad is a verizon and I am not sure how the 3G thing works in the middle of Africa !!!! Could I up load to my Zenfolio account? Just starting my research...

Hanuman

Yes you can and I just bought a very hard to find CF card adapter, from a non Apple manufacturer, which fit onto the bottom of the Ipad. The only way to upload from the Ipad to a hard drive will be via a computer.

I know it's frustrating as the machine, in theory, can do what we have discussed easily but IMO the people at Apple want to protect their Mac Book Air from being outdone by the Ipad2!

I've posted a few question on the TA forum about the best 3G service provider in Kenya and I can share that information with you:

Best coverage = Safaricom.
Fastest 3G = Orange.

I believe the Verizon version will not work in a lot of countries only the AT & T version will work.

cary999

Whatever techno solution you like, be sure you test it thoroughly, including download speed/time, battery life, at home. Don't count on it working in Africa .

regards - tom

Cheweyhead

Tom,
Just looked at the NEXTO. Looks great and much faster that the epson - especially with raw files. (No immediate gratification though.) Where did you buy yours?

Best,
Keri

Cheweyhead

Hanuman - where/what is that very hard to find CF adaptor? Is it a cf to sd adaptor?

Thanks,
Keri

Hanuman

Keri,

It's a card reader that reads CF, SD, micro SD and MMC memory cards. I tried it out with the CF card from my DSLR and it read and uploaded the RAW files into my Ipad2. Hard to find in shops!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53GztBfzJzI
http://cgi.ebay.com/Capdase-3-1-iPad...-/140558029814

cary999

NEXTO - Amazon sells them - http://tinyurl.com/6f4lg83
With 500GB drive, $334.
But I bought the basic unit/case (no drive) from Howen Int out of Hong Kong -
http://www.howenint.com/howen/main/c...?lang=C&id=280
Cost $180 shipped, two weeks. Then added my own Toshiba 320G drive, easy to do, $50. Used PayPal to make payment to Howen, customer service was great from them.

Unit is easy to use with simple menus you push button once or twice. But like you said, no (re)view screen. It will do data verification against the original card (option). I've used it really only once, in Tanzania for 3 weeks last Feb. Worked good and fast.

regards - tom

sundowner

I've been using a Nexto for quite a few years. I bought a 2nd one last year because my ancient Epson P2000 was soooo sloooooww. The nexto is fast and I think I can download a couple of 8GB cards on a charge. I bought mine at http://www.nexusamerica.com/ but as Tom mentioned, several places carry them.

Cheweyhead

Thanks I think I'll buy one soon.

sundowner

Hanuman, you downloaded RAW files into your ipad2 and you could see them? Cool!

I normally only take 2 Nexto portable harddrives to Africa but I really want a laptop for my trip in Sept so I started searching for lightweight ones. The reviews all over the web convinced me to buy the Toshiba Portege R835-P56x. And if anyone is interested it's on sale for $650 at OfficeMax, in store only, and $800 everywhere else.

It's 13.3" and weighs 3.2 lbs with up to 9 hr battery life.
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Intel Core i5-2410M 2.30GHz
4GB DDR3
640GB, 5400rpm, SATA
DVD Super Multi
1 x USB 3.0 port
2 x USB 2.0 ports (1 eSATA/USB combo with USB Sleep and Charge)
1 x VGA
1 x HDMI
1 x Microphone jack; 1 x Headphone jack
Card reader - Memory Card Reader supports Secure Digital, Secure Digital High Capacity, Mini SD Card, Multi Media Card (shared slot may require adapter for use)


I will load Lightroom 3 and Photoshop CS5 for the trip and Quickbooks for accounting work that I do in the real world.

cary999

That Toshiba laptop looks sweet with its i5 Intel CPU, USB 3, DVD writer, built in card reader. probably faster than my current (3yr old) desktop!! But won't fit in my camera carry-on bag!!!

My problem with many laptops is the screen for photo viewing. Of course it all depends on your use/need for the laptop on safari. But many screens/monitors (laptop and desktop) change contrast and color depending on viewing angle. The TN type screen is particularly bad for this. Here is a good over view on monitor types by Roger Clark -
http://www.clarkvision.com/articles/...tor/index.html

regards - tom