Portable Storage Device

Hi All

Just interested to know if anyone uses a Portable Storage Device, if so what type. Or is it easier to have more SD Cards.

I'm using a DigiPartner Photo Bank IV extreme with 40 GB drive. Just before our last holiday trip my old one gave up. I'm always using these things with mixed feelings (especially when you don't have a chance to test it thoroughly before going on a trip).
Having said that I never have lost a single pic with either of the two I used.

The way that prices for cards go, however, I think it is the safer bet.

Jobo GigaOne 40Gb is what I use, but only very occasionally. It's not too often that I run out of cards.

CARDS.

I also use a generic card reader with 40GB hard drive, but to be honest I don't trust it. Sometimes it's activity lights refuse to go off, and there are no on off switches, the battery is captive and all one can do is leave it - so not a backup that instils confidence.

I used to have an Apacer battery-operated CD maker, but the battery life deteriorated and you are left with piles of CD's ......

I ain't found a perfect backup solution for images yet.

35mm had messy chemicals, but that was the only really bad disadvantage...

We have a Vosonics Xs drive that we use. Never had a problem with it.
Lately however we have taken the laptop as well, so we just bung the photos on that. Last trip we took both and put the photos on both just in case. Next trip, to the US, I expect we will do the same.

Lots of Cards... They're getting really cheap now... I've got a couple dozen 1 and 2 GB cards... But make sure they're protected after the shoot...

I d/l them from the camera to the HD on the PC, which is backed up nightly to a USB attached hard drive, (which itself is backed up on a weekly basis to a USB drive on my friend's network - we have a mutual backup thing going...see below) and every time I get 3 or 4 gigs of "new" photos, I burn a DVD just to be sure. Might sound like overkill, but I've worked in IT long enough to see many drives crash and burn...

Backup is never perfect, but HDD's are cheap, CD and DVD's are cheaper, and as long as you get quality disks, they should last at least our lifetime...

(Mutual Backup : (Only really useful if you have HIGH speed internet) Find a trusted friend with a home network, buy them a USB drive big enough to hold your data. Figure out secure access and setup an FTP connection pointing to that drive. Start writing... It saved my friends skin once - he just bought a new USB drive to replace the one that died, hooked it up, downloaded from his "FTP Drive" on my system, and had full data again... I haven't had to do the same yet, but fully expect to someday...) We check the backup drives regularly, and I consider this my convenient failsafe - or as close to failsafe as I can likely get. The chances of both units and both locations (one in Ontario, Canada and the other in Arizona, USA both dying at the same time are infinitesimally small...)

Hi Ratcatcher. I have a Vosonic X's drive S VP6210 80Gb 2.5" hard drive which I took on safari in 2005 and downloaded over 1300 pics in 7 days.This has a rechargable battery but also runs on a small batterypack with 4 AA batteries as a backup. I have even updated the firmware on it to take SDHC cards although I haven't tried this yet. If the new models are as good and reliable as mine then I say get one. Although they are bigger than an iPod you can also download and play your music when back at base so you are only carrying one device. CHEERS Vic.

See these previous threads:-

https://www.pentaxuser.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5230&highlight=storage+devi...
https://www.pentaxuser.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2745&highlight=storage+devi...
https://www.pentaxuser.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1556&highlight=storage+devi... (from 2005)

The search facility here is very useful.