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gpc1

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Greg
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Hi all,

The departure date for my 12 month central and south American, New Zealand and Philippines trip is fast approaching and im now just trying to get the last few bits together.
So far I seem to be taking quite a bit

40D
400D (spare, in wife's rucksack)
Sigma 10-20
Canon 24-105L
Canon 70-300 IS
Canon 50m 1.8
kenko 1.4 TC
gorilla pod
Polarisers / card reader / cleaning gear

But my issue is that I shoot in RAW. Im going to need something to be able to take the photos off the card, and burn onto disc to post home. Normally I use lightroom. Easy and great workflow. I would love to have this on the road with me but cant lug around a huge laptop, it weights about 3.5 kg.
I have been looking at these Netbooks and would appreciate some opinions / views on them

http://www.dixons.co.uk/martprd/sto...null&sm=null&tm=null&sku=256582&category_oid=

They only have a 10in screen, but for basic editing, accessing web and writing blog they seem OK. The only issue is they dont have a DVD/CD Writer which I would need to burn to disc and post home. I would have to take a seperate hard drive, take the files to an internet / computer cafe and burn them there.

Any ideas on the best way i can edit photos on the road, burn to a disc, upload to a web gallery etc.
 
gpc1 said:
Hi all,

The departure date for my 12 month central and south American, New Zealand and Philippines trip is fast approaching and im now just trying to get the last few bits together.
So far I seem to be taking quite a bit

40D
400D (spare, in wife's rucksack)
Sigma 10-20
Canon 24-105L
Canon 70-300 IS
Canon 50m 1.8
kenko 1.4 TC
gorilla pod
Polarisers / card reader / cleaning gear

But my issue is that I shoot in RAW. Im going to need something to be able to take the photos off the card, and burn onto disc to post home. Normally I use lightroom. Easy and great workflow. I would love to have this on the road with me but cant lug around a huge laptop, it weights about 3.5 kg.
I have been looking at these Netbooks and would appreciate some opinions / views on them

http://www.dixons.co.uk/martprd/sto...null&sm=null&tm=null&sku=256582&category_oid=

They only have a 10in screen, but for basic editing, accessing web and writing blog they seem OK. The only issue is they dont have a DVD/CD Writer which I would need to burn to disc and post home. I would have to take a seperate hard drive, take the files to an internet / computer cafe and burn them there.

Any ideas on the best way i can edit photos on the road, burn to a disc, upload to a web gallery etc.
Click to expand...

Firstly I would not edit on the road at all!

Personally the bit I enjoy about photography is capturing the image. Get yourself a data bank... se my recent post backup on the move... only a few days ago on the equipment forum... for good ideas.

Also I've been to South America... if your doing things as I did like the inca trail... id take as little equipment as possible... I really mean it... the basics you need purely to capture and back up... you can spend your time processing later on. Its a personal thing but my experiance of holidays in general is if you plan to do all this processing etc... writing a journal... whatever seems a good idea before you go... you will never find the time to do it. You are on holiday... and you might never be back... do what you can when you are there and dont waste time doing what you can do when you get home.

I question why you will need the nifty 50... I know its nice to have... but seems unneccessary weight to me... you cover that range in your zooms... with travel photography you are on the move... the less lens changing the better... I just feel the 50mm will be unneccesary... I cant think of many travel photo needs where i've ever thought for one... travel photography is to varied in my eyes... you dont know whats round the next corner... and missing something because you did not have your 24-105mm and hurredly changed would be hell!

Just my point of view... Id more think comfort and ease... is your bag right... accessories, accessories, accessories... especially stuff you need you might not be able to pick up there... batteries, memory, cleaning liquid, cloths. You will be surprised how minging your camera can get, a mixture of sun cream, dust, aftersun and sweat on hands all the time.

And remeber these travel bits and bobs... a small screwdriver, pair of tweesers, cable ties, swiss army knife, insulation tape, small first aid kit... and for south america... imodium and rehidration salts. Biggest tip for south america though... always carry your own loo roll!
 
Do other people have any travel photography tips... as a keen travel tog myself ... now im interested in this threat and what people have to say... quite surprised I was the only reply!

M
 
That Samsung looks like a good compromise between size and spec and I'd be happy with it myself. Make sure you get it in time to give it a good workout and check it doesn't die too soon.

As for emptying your cards, the fact that you have to do it for a year means that you cannot adopt the same ways that a normal holiday tripper uses. Yes, you can get a portable hard drive. The biggest usb-powered one is 500gb. It took me a month to acquire 150gb of Raw+jpg on a US road trip. Cut out the jpg, do some culling as you go and I think you'll still be full long before your year is up. So you'd need two. But then you don't want to trust all your photos to just one drive, so you'd need four. And don't think that they cannot fail. They can - and I have experience of this. I copied to two drives, so I lost nothing.

Burning is a good idea - if you're happy with carrying a stack of discs. Finding new ones to buy on the go might be a problem. There are external usb-powered burners from £52 on the Dabs site. Again, I wouldn't want to burn and post just one disc, but two, posted separately. Or post one and keep one.

Uploading to a web gallery will take too long. And that's before you start thinking about space available to you.

Another solution is to forget about shooting raw and stick to jpg. It's not a decision I'd like to make but you might not have much of a choice.

Editing on the road? Definitely. Otherwise you will spend months after you return doing it.

Get a GPS device so you can tag your pictures. You will thank me for it one day. Probably a normal handheld type for walking etc but you can still use the data to tag photos.

Only buy Immodium. Not the Boots equivalent cheaper version. It doesn't work.

Get a net thing from a camping shop to sleep in. Unless you're ok with the thought of bugs crawling all over you - in your ears and mouth - when you're asleep.

Insect repellant. If you get it on your hands then pick up your camera it will dissolve the printing on it.

The 50mm. You will use it......er.... maybe once. I know they don't weigh much, probably as much as an ice cream cone, but it takes up valuable space.

That's all I can think of for now.
 
Thanks chaps,

even more for me to think about now.:thinking:

Will definatel look into you rideas re data bank etc........
 
Im very ruthless just using the back of the camera to review... I can end up deleting 60-80% of what i've taken... you need to be ruthless... otherwise you end up with thousands of images when you return home... and who appart from yourself is going to want to wade through them all... you want maybe a set of 50-75 images max from each place! Anything I question I delete... possibly too ruthless some will say... but I dont think so.

Thats my opinion though and what I end up with... I think my last trip I prob took about 200 pics a day for two weeks and ended up with about 600 coming home with me.... which I then witled down to 175! And even for showing people that was allot!

You are away for much longer... but because of that you wont take as many pics anyway each day.... think about the places... even walk about a few days before getting the camera out if you can! Soak up what you want to take pics of.

As for back up... your solution is not easy as if you want to edit etc... then you do need your own comp in reality... I would suggest taking your own if thats what you want to do... and maybe a back up drive... but these things can go wrong... in a way the days of film where better... because it could not just randomly go wrong like tech stuff can... it had to be stollen or physically lost or damaged... and if you took good care of it it was easier... certainly easier and lighter to carry!

M
 
Looks like many others who have travelled are giving good advice here...Just my quick tip

Remember reading somewhere that Rizla paper make really quite good wipes for cleaning your lens and camera etc. As they are highly absorbant, cheap, quick and easy to carry.
 
i bought a 12" Packard Bell Easynote of Moos3h a few weeks ago. I stuck inbetween a netbook and a laptop but its perfect for travelling. Small but with 2gb memory and upgradable 80gb HD. It runs lightroom and Photoshop Elements no problem and the screen is lovely.

Oh and it has really really good wi-fi. Its what im taking back to the carribean with me until i can afford a macbook
 
Thats packard bell easy note looks ideal.

1.6 kg, so not toooo heavy, but slightly larger screen,

Does it have a built in DVD /CD Burner?
How does it cope with lightroom 2 and elements 6?

In an ideal world i would like to be able to do the following workflow.

Take the raw pics
Review in camera nd remove obviouse naff shots
Import to laptop HD via Lightroom
Make any adjustments / edits
Burn raw files to disk
Burn edited Jpegs to disk
Post disk home.
When email recieved advising that disk is safe and sound, delete files from HD ready for next round of shooting / editing.

However, the editing isnt crucial. What is crucial is being able to get the pics off the camera, in raw format, and somehow get them on a disk and sent home for safekeeping.

I dont suppose any of the internet cafes would be set up to handle raw format. Jpegs wouldnt be a problem i would imagin, but i want to be able to shoot raw.

Theres some great advice here, and will be doing even more research...the Rizla tip is great!!

Thanks all
 
The Samsung NC10 is a lovely piece of kit.
A slimline DVD-RW isn't expensive but it will be another item for you to carry.
We've recently bought one and we are taking it with us on a cruise.
Much easier than lugging the main laptop around again this year and handy for dumping photos onto daily.
 
does look nice

But the editing isnt the crucial part, its the getting them off the camera and onto CD / DVD to post home.

I just really dont want to carry around all my shots. If my bag gets nicked the gear is insured and replacable, the shots arent. And for a 12 month trip there is the very real possibuilty of theft / damage.

I really dont know of any other way of getting the shots off the card and onto a disk. If I take my card reader theres still no guarantee that the internet cafes will be able to burn discs or that the pcs in the cafes will recognise the raw files.

Editing on the road is a bonus, chilling on the balcony with a cold beer whilst editing sounds like a nice way to spend one or two evenings. However, the editing isnt crucuial, its the backup that i need to be 100% on first.

If the netbooks dont have a dvd burner then there no option than a laptop....eeekk...more weight.
 
hey, just thought id add... editing whilst travelling is great...spent a few weeks just sitting in the alps...on the balcony...walm hot chocolate... small laptop looking through boarding photos...:love: paradise....
...but on a more serious and travel related note, how are you planing on carrying this? im just curious, as i am going travelling in india for a month, then from india to a place called glan in the phillipines and back, for another month... and im not sure how much i should compremise between taking my lovely lenses... and weight on my back...

good luck with your travels
 
gpc1 said:
does look nice

But the editing isnt the crucial part, its the getting them off the camera and onto CD / DVD to post home.

I just really dont want to carry around all my shots. If my bag gets nicked the gear is insured and replacable, the shots arent. And for a 12 month trip there is the very real possibuilty of theft / damage.

I really dont know of any other way of getting the shots off the card and onto a disk. If I take my card reader theres still no guarantee that the internet cafes will be able to burn discs or that the pcs in the cafes will recognise the raw files.

Editing on the road is a bonus, chilling on the balcony with a cold beer whilst editing sounds like a nice way to spend one or two evenings. However, the editing isnt crucuial, its the backup that i need to be 100% on first.

If the netbooks dont have a dvd burner then there no option than a laptop....eeekk...more weight.
Click to expand...

I'd ditch the laptop and get one of the many hard drive based devices that have been mentioned in this thread, you should then burn to CD when you can get access to an internet cafe. Everyone I've ever been in has no problem with you plugging in a usb drive and they are windows based so will recognise the raw files they just won't have anything to access them with but you don't need to do that as you just want to dump them onto a couple of CD's. Most internet cafe's I've been in also have CD's available to buy so you shouldn't need to carry to many.

Slightly off topic but I'd ignore all the poeple saying don't take the nifty it takes up less room than a pair of socks and I've found mine invaluable for taking portraits and street style stuff when ever I've been away, the rest of you lenses are not very fast and your not taking a flash so the nifty is an essential.
 
a1ex2001 said:
Slightly off topic but I'd ignore all the poeple saying don't take the nifty it takes up less room than a pair of socks and I've found mine invaluable for taking portraits and street style stuff when ever I've been away, the rest of you lenses are not very fast and your not taking a flash so the nifty is an essential.
Click to expand...

I second that. I recently took mine on a trip to Cambodia and it proved invaluable for interior and a few candid portraits.
 
Ive been a bit dim here....

I have a mate currently travelling central America. A quick email to him and im sure he could pop in to a sample of internet cafes and find out whether you can burn discs. If so, then a simple device to take them off camera and store them, as advised on here, then use the internet cafe to burn them to disk and post home....

If i find a suitable lightweight laptop / netbook in the mean time then great. I can use this as the storage device and then connect it to an internet cafe pc to burn the discs.

So, if the Internet cafes do burn discs what about this option?

If i was to take the samsung NC10, download the pics from the camera, edit, save to internal hard drive, How would i connect the samsung to an internet cafe pc to burn the discs. Can it be connected directly or would i have to use a middle man like an external HD or flash thingy?

Guys, your help is invaluable...
 
gpc1 said:
If i was to take the samsung NC10, download the pics from the camera, edit, save to internal hard drive, How would i connect the samsung to an internet cafe pc to burn the discs. Can it be connected directly or would i have to use a middle man like an external HD or flash thingy?

Guys, your help is invaluable...
Click to expand...

big flash key is probably your best bet, saves carrying the laptop about town looking for the cheapest internet place.
 
gpc1 said:
If I take my card reader theres still no guarantee that the internet cafes will be able to burn discs or that the pcs in the cafes will recognise the raw files.
Click to expand...

Recognising raw files for the purpose of burning is irrelevant to a pc. It's just a file to be burned. Viewing them - that's a different matter.
 
gpc1 said:
Thats packard bell easy note looks ideal.

1.6 kg, so not toooo heavy, but slightly larger screen,

Does it have a built in DVD /CD Burner?
How does it cope with lightroom 2 and elements 6?

In an ideal world i would like to be able to do the following workflow.

Take the raw pics
Review in camera nd remove obviouse naff shots
Import to laptop HD via Lightroom
Make any adjustments / edits
Burn raw files to disk
Burn edited Jpegs to disk
Post disk home.
When email recieved advising that disk is safe and sound, delete files from HD ready for next round of shooting / editing.

However, the editing isnt crucial. What is crucial is being able to get the pics off the camera, in raw format, and somehow get them on a disk and sent home for safekeeping.

I dont suppose any of the internet cafes would be set up to handle raw format. Jpegs wouldnt be a problem i would imagin, but i want to be able to shoot raw.

Theres some great advice here, and will be doing even more research...the Rizla tip is great!!

Thanks all
Click to expand...

Sorry about the late reply but yeah it doesnt even feel like 1.6kg in your hands

Right one little downside i forgot to mention about this laptop...it doesnt have an onboard disk drive. For me personally its not such a problem although i am going to buy an external one for when i want to watch dvds

Apart from that it handles lightroom really well i uploaded some raw files on there yesterday and that is fine too. I beleive if Vista Basic isnt enough for you it can run the full Vista.

Its cheap its small and it works really well :thumbs: im really happy with mine :D

Dom
 
Guys,

Thank you all for your help. I feel a little more relaxed about the backup solution now.

Have emails my mate in Central America to see re the internet cafes being able to burn discs.

Now to choose the right netbook . small laptop

NC10
12" Packard Bell Easynote
hmmm

Thanks all

Greg
 
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