ipod on safari
 

i read some posts that people have taken ipods with them. we leave for kenya in a little over 2 weeks for our first safari and i was wondering what you used to charge your ipods. we have the charger that plugs into the wall but i'm thinking we will need some sort of adaptor plug? i was just at the local Apple store and they were very busy and not very helpful.

You probably need the adapter plug that allows you to plug into the outlet. Depending on country (different adapter plugs) you can find these at any local store that sells travel items - adapter plugs, luggage tags or straps, money pouch, etc. etc. Inexpensive.

thanks for the fast reply. that's kind of what i was thinking. My brother-n-law has already told me that he has plenty of those plugs and not to worry about bringing them.

i brought my ipod (5th generation) and used it for photo storage. Also, music for the LONG flights. If you have the ac charger, you only need plug adaptors as Sandi mentions. No problem charging them at any camp.

Don't forget to load the theme from Out of Africa!

My ipod stays at home......i try to buy one or two books at the Joburg airport (Africa related fiction) and try to read during the afternoon nap time.

Hari

Marty -- on the subject of using the iPod as photo storage, what kind of transfer rates did you get? We have a Creative Zen Vision with a CF card reader that will copy an entire 4GB card in about 20 minutes -- how fast is the iPod camera connector with a USB 2.0 camera (we have a Digital Rebel XTi). I was thinking of getting the iPod camera connector and using my wife's 5G iPod as a backup in case we run out of space on my Zen, which will be our primary storage device.
Thanks for the feedback.
Chris

Hi Chris
Forget the ipod, great for audio files but not much good for photo storage. If your serious about storing your Jpeg/Raw files quickly you'll need the Jobo Giga View Pro Evolution 40/80/120GB HD.Will download a 4GB CF card in well UNDER 10 mins! The BEST & FASTEST media storage/player yet. Available in the US from $495.00.
Check out Rob Galbraith review of this HD here. I have one on backorder for my Zambia trip next year.
http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/mul...id=7-7892-8176

Cheers
Marc

Çhris,
As Marc says, the ipod is not the finest method of photo storage, but it works. I have a digital XT as well and I was able to download over a gig of photos in about 20-25 minutes. That will pretty much delete the charge on your ipod and it then goes right into the charger. However, it does work and is a lot cheaper than a dedicated photo storage device, especially because I already had it. I came back with over 8 gigs of photos from my 3 week safari on the ipod. You can also do little slide shows and really check out your pics. You cannot deliete individual slides, only whole sets. So you end up uploading all the pics to your computer when you get home--no big deal for me. I did some deletes in the camera before uploading to the ipod any way.

Feel free to ask more,
Marty

Thanks to both of you for the replies. I don't intend to use the iPod as our primary photo storage device, but this will be our first trip with this camera, and my wife can shoot a LOT of pictures when we're on vacation. If I run out of space on my Zen, then we may turn to the iPod as a second choice -- she has the 60GB version, so it will hold a decent number of pictures. We also have an older portable hard drive storage device called a Flashtrax, which has a CF card reader built in and has a 20GB hard drive, and we plan to take that as well. The reason I got nervous about this was that we took a trip to the zoo to test out our new camera and lenses, and my wife shot 6GB of pictures in a single day, without even using RAW! But I suspect in practice we will not shoot that man pictures on this upcoming trip to Ethiopia, Uganda and Rwanda. I just wanted to see whether I could give myself access to another storage method without spending several hundred dollars for an Epson P2000, Archos AV500 or the Giga View that Marc mentioned.
Chris

marty,

i was thinking of using the ipod as a back up, back up photo storage device, like you said since i already have it. how do you get the pictures off the ipod and onto the computer when you get home? I use a Imac G5 (sorry for what may sound like a really dumb computer question)

i was working on an Africa play list last night will have to add that song.

Chris-
Not shooting the same amount of pics in one day on your trip?? I'd be very surprised if your wife doesn't. ;)

The landscape alone in Uganda and Rwanda (Rwanda especially) is beautiful enough to make you go nuts with a camera. And photographing the gorillas is a whole other story.
In one hour, I have shot up to 2 to 3 gigs worth (RAW) which on my D2X is between 100-150 photos.
And it's just as bad shooting in jpeg 'cause you think you've got more memory so you go twice as crazy.
Of course, I'm trigger (shutter) happy but like I said, when you're somewhere special, you may as well take advantage of the situation.

Will the ipod handle RAW format?

make sure that the charger that plugs into the wall handles the 220v current. I had no trouble finding one that did, but you have to ask specifically, since some don't. You can ask for 'universal current'.
Also, you will need the adaptor plug. Get one with three prongs labelled as for 'UK'. yes, most of the lodges will probably have one, but why in the world have the hassle of asking at each place. Radio shack (and even my local drugstor) have the adaptors.

I bought a cigarette lighter extension cable... with a long leed, so you can plug 4 cigarette lighter adapters in the end. My portable drive has a cigarette adapter.

In fact, this one....

http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?...5&doy=6m11

Local-
From what I understand, yes, you can download RAW format photos to an ipod. I don't know how long it takes though. I have an epson, so I've never used my ipod for anything but music.

Sandy -- Perhaps my thought that my wife will control her shutter-happy finger on this trip is wishful thinking. Her previous record is taking roughly 600 pictures on one day, which was at Machu Picchu with our previous camera (a Fuji point & shoot). Our JPEGS with the new camera are about 4MB each, and our RAW files are about 14-16MB each. That's why I want to make sure we have enough storage space to last the whole trip! I am hoping that the combination of our CF cards (8GB) and our three hard drive devices (total of probably 65GB) will be enough! If not, we may try to find an internet cafe in Addis where we can burn some DVDs or upload some photos to home from there, because I doubt we will have that opportunity when we are doing our gorilla treks!
Regarding the question on the iPod and RAW files, what I have read is that you can store them on the iPod, but cannot view them.
Chris

Joey,

I have an intel Imac, but things work the same way. You just hook up the ipod to your computer and a dialogue box will open up asking if you want to synch X-hundred pictures. You say yes and into Iphoto they go. No worry about charge on the ipod because it will be drawing power from the computer. My 2500 pictures took about 10 minutes to download. I think you had better try this at home as a trial first just to be sure you can do it.

As for charging plugs, the one which comes with most camera chargers (definately the one with the Rebel XT) and the ipod charger are universal so you only need the plug adaptors.

marty,
thanks for the info. and the tip about trying it before we go. i have this vision of us traveling with 8 million cords and chargers for all our gadgets.

joyce

Hi Local2452

Yes the ipod will handle RAW files, but your battery power won't and will take forever to download. Don't forget also that you won't be able to view these RAW files, only the jpeg preview file embedded in the RAW.
Cheers
Marc