Hard Drive Backup on the move?

SummerSound

SummerSound

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Tom
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Hi all,

I was just wondering what TP members think of hard-drive based photo backup/transfer gadgets that can be used on the move. Do these seem like a good idea, or would you just buy more memory cards?

I shoot in RAW and currently have one 8-gig SD card (which, from memory, means I can store 657 shots at a time).

I'm undertaking some fairly substantial photo projects in the near future though and was wondering about getting a hard drive unit to either backup my shots or free-up card space on the move.

A work colleague sent me this link to 'Storage Depot' who are doing some incredibly cheap solutions - like a 40GB drive for £68!
http://www.storagedepot.co.uk/Digital-Photo-Storage/sc889.aspx

Using one of these as a backup seems like a no-brainer but would anyone risk transferring images onto one and then wiping the card?! :cuckoo: Obviously, if it was to fail you'd be screwed but then memory cards aren't exactly bullet-proof are they!

Any thoughts? Anyone use them? (Professionally?)
 
I carry a 40gig hard drive based system.. can't remember for the life of me what its called, but I bought it in 2006 and its still working.

The battery capacity is just enough to back up 40 gigs. It does music and films too, but I don't use it for that.
 
My dad used to use an epson one, but now he just uses more cards. I much prefer to use more cards then copy all of the images onto a computer, then to a backup, before formatting the cards.
 
Cheers for the thoughts guys. Those 40gig drives @ £68 on Storage Depot do look like a tempting purchase though don't they!

Does anybody own one of them? Are they any good?
 
I've got a similar thing, they're good peace of mind.... it means that when you leave the shoot, you've got two copies of each of your pictures (one on flash memory, one on hard drive) so that if something does happen (heaven forbid..) then you've still got the images. Keep them in seperate bags / one set of pictures on you, so that even theft etc won't cause you legal hot water from a paying gig.
 
I would be more worried about having all my photo's on only 1 card, always prefer to spread them across multiple cards as nothing is fool proof
 
I use a Digimate III HDD case with builtin card reader (not my video) to create a backup but I do not delete my originals until I know for sure the backup worked OK, and that I have a second backup as well. Remember, a backup is not a backup if you only have one copy, so in my opinion it is not enough to dump files off to portable storage and then wipe the cards. Make two copies first, verify the copies and only then wipe the cards.

I find a small laptop makes a fine secondary backup storage device and also allows review of the files, including raws, to make sure they are secured safely before I wipe/format the cards. When I travel I will backup at the end of each day to the portable HDD first and then import from the HDD to my laptop, where I can check that the files were saved correctly. A copy also stays on the portable HDD. Only then will I format the cards for reuse.
 
SummerSound said:
Using one of these as a backup seems like a no-brainer but would anyone risk transferring images onto one and then wiping the card?!
Click to expand...

Not me. If you just want more space then you could buy another 12-16GB of cards for the £68 price. I'd only use this sort of thing as backup to be sure in case my cards died.
 
I've used Hyperdrive backup solutions on long haul trips several times. By the empty case and pop a drive in. Never had any problems. I use 2 and backup each card twice. Then one goes in handluggage and one in a trouser pocket
 
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