Memory Card Solution

[laawaaris]

I'm going to be taking a trip to India very soon. I'm very excited and am thrilled that I get to take my Nikon D50 with me to capture all the great sights.

What I want to ask about is a solution for what I see to be a memory card problem. I have 4 GB of total memory spread over 4 cards - 2GB, 1GB, 512MB (2 cards).

I don't plan to buy anymore cards - but when I am India, I don't know if I will have anyway to download the images to a computer and burn a CD. What can I do about the problem of my memory cards filling up? What have other travellers to "3rd World" countries done shooting digital knowing they have no access to computers to download images?

[stacyreeves]

Well I don't know if you have an iPod, but I know either Belkin or Apple makes a little tool that plugs into your iPod that has CF and SD slots so you can plug in your card and the files will automatically dump to your iPod. I know there are other iPod type devices that do the same thing.. I think Archos makes one. Hope that helps!!

[wadebarker]

You might have a look at the Epson P-2000 or P-4000. A guy I know has one and really likes it for backing up at weddings. It has a screen to so you can view photos on the screen including most RAW formats. Have fun on your trip!

[TxManx]

I found a phenomenal solution a couple months ago...

I tried using the camera add-on for my 60gb Ipod, but the battery life was attrocious and I couldn't empty two 4gb CF microdrives before the battery was dead...which eliminated the use of the ipod to boot.

I did some research and found that the Archos AV multimedia players would work - at least, after a firmware upgrade they do.

So I bought an Archos AV700 100gb portable media player - it has a USB host functionality (like the Epsons and such) and lets you copy to/from the cards, view pictures (resolution isn't too wonderful, but you can tell if you got the shot or not). The battery life is excellent.

I hook up an external media reader (15$) and can read any format memory card on the market.

They can view photos, play MP3s and other music files, play Windows Media Player video files (as well as DivX video), and can act as a portable hard drive as well.

They come in various sizes - the AV700 is the big dog (huge screen) and comes in various HD sizes, and the AV500 has a smaller screen...

They are available at Frys if you don't want to buy online...

Ken

[Cope]

While you are spending money, a couple more 2GB or one 4GB card would make more sense to me than the 1GB/512 variety.

[dlbdata]

I have two 8 gb memory cards. When shooting in RAW mode, I get approximately 480 shots per card. Daily I download to a laptop. Just can't imagine getting caught during a shoot with full card. In JPG fine mode, I get approx. 3500 images per card.

Get as much memory as you can afford...............

David
Murphy,TX

[mettur]

I have 6GB worth of CF cards for my Canon 30D. My problem is I am hooked on RAW. I don't shoot any thing other than RAW. 6GB of RAW is about 600-650 pictures. For me its not enough for a week long trip (leave alone places like India). When I went to DC I took one of the disk drive based solution, and it worked like a charm. I have a 120GB solution for about $160. Its very portable, compact, works on battery. It came in handy again when I had to take pictures at a dance recital where I took about 980 pictures in about 5 hr period.

Here is the link for a reasonably priced solution.

http://insidecomputer.stores.yahoo.n...alpartner.html

I bought one with out the drive for $39.99 and bought a 120GB drive for $115. I have a good soluiton that I can use with my Camera, or with my laptop for additional space as I need it.

Mettur
Austin, TX

[Chimper]

I used a 100gb Hyperdrive on a three week trip to Zambia. It downloads a 4gb card in about 3 minutes and runs on AA batteries.

http://hyperdrive.com/shop/index.php

[haraki74]

Wow, that Archos is a really nice device, but at $600 really pricey

[TxManx]

Originally Posted by haraki74

Wow, that Archos is a really nice device, but at $600 really pricey

True - but for trips (or camping)...you get a video player, an MP3 player, offload capability for your flash memory, and if you shoot JPEG, the ability to review your pictures on a larger screen...

and when you're home...you get a DVR (captures incoming video), video/picture playback through a TV, and 100gb external drive for your computer ::SMILE::

[johnastovall]

Originally Posted by laawaaris

I'm going to be taking a trip to India very soon. I'm very excited and am thrilled that I get to take my Nikon D50 with me to capture all the great sights.

What I want to ask about is a solution for what I see to be a memory card problem. I have 4 GB of total memory spread over 4 cards - 2GB, 1GB, 512MB (2 cards).

I don't plan to buy anymore cards - but when I am India, I don't know if I will have anyway to download the images to a computer and burn a CD. What can I do about the problem of my memory cards filling up? What have other travellers to "3rd World" countries done shooting digital knowing they have no access to computers to download images?

I wouldn't call India "3rd World" country. They have a booming tech economy and You could find cards there and places to burn a CD.

If you want to visit a real "3rd World" country, try Djibouti.

[Bill]

Look for Internet cafes. Upload pix to online storage. Take your own card reader.

[johnastovall]

Originally Posted by Bill

Look for Internet cafes. Upload pix to online storage. Take your own card reader.

List of just a few cyber cafes in India.

http://www.aryashaadi.com/cybercafelist.aspx#a

Cyber cafes are the most common way for Indians to access the net.

[sbp]

take your usb card reader. it will cost you no more then $1 to dump that photo in computer and no more then $2 to burn cd from cyber cafe. There are lots. DVD burner is not that common yet. But you will find it in big city. take few blanck media with you.


Which part of the india are you going?

[zeroendless]

4Gb won't last me an hour if shooting is good. If photography is you primary target for the trip, i would carry photo storage as well as 2nd backup (PC) for safey. keep image on storage in the field then back it up with PC when the day is over.