image storage when traveling
 

I'm going to be going to italy for my honey moon in april. I plan on taking an insane amount of photos. but am wondering what the best method of saving the images is while traveling. I don't want to bring my $2k+ laptop just to download images from my camera.

The options i am debating between:

1) Buy lots of CF cards.
pros: ability to store the images in a compact manner until i get home
cons: I'll never need that many CF cards again, I can't view the photos other than on the LCD screen of the camera until i get home

2)Buy a photo viewer/harddrive.
pros: ability to store and view photos
cons: pricing start at about $300 for an 80 GB version.

3)Buy a netbook.
pros: ability to store and review photos, has many other uses besides just photo storage that could be handy on a trip.
cons: a bit large, and i also don't "need" another laptop

does any one have another option i might be over looking or any info to share on this topic?

You could get a photo storage drive without a screen to view them for cheaper I think.
Or the netbook is a good idea.
I spent 3 weeks in Japan and had... 40 gigs worth of CF cards with me. I had a 12" laptop and an external hard drive along for the ride if I needed them, but as it turned out I pretty much used ALL the CF cards but didn't overflow. I was however backing up the photos onto the hard drive as I went, just in case the cards got lost or damaged.
How much space in CF cards do you have? You could borrow a couple 4 gig or 8 gig cards from me if you promise their safe return.

yea i'm leaning towards the netbook as it can provide some other possibly useful features while traveling, ie entertainment for the plane ride, internet access while abroad etc etc.

I have about 30GB of CF cards. i was planning on increasing that by another 16GB before the trip regardless as I would like to try taking some video while there as well if possible. the other thing i might have to do is also change my settings so i take smaller images. 21MP is great but it sure is a hog.

I may take you up on that, I won't know my exact plans till after the holiday's but i greatly appreciate the offer.

I have one of these and like it a lot:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...PACE_UDMA.html

One reason I like it is because I shoot in RAW and this device allows me to view the RAW files and zoom in on them. Fast backups too.

I got a 40GB CF reader/drive for $40 on FredMiranda. The old ones go for cheap, but they're not solid state so be careful.

Honestly though, I'd just get a bunch of memory cards, even with those gigantic 5D2 files. On your honeymoon I doubt you'll want to be telling your new wife "oh hold on, let me just transfer over all of these gigabytes and reformat my card, be right there!" Plus CF cards are more durable than anything with moving parts.

edit: You can borrow the drive if you want, FWIW. I never use it except when I'm traveling.

i like my netbook. its fun, almost pocket size haha, and has a pretty big hd to store pics. another option would be to bring me to italy and i'll back up the cards for you when you are done with them haha

ha yeah i really liked having my 12" laptop (basically a netbook) on my trip to japan. i used it to grab wifi and get online for emails, etc. although you'll probably be too busy shagging to do that :wink:

Shoot jpg

White balance probably won't be an issue. If you get your settings and exposure correctly, the +/- 2 stops adjustment with a RAW image won't be necessary.
I've been shooting JPG again recently since most of the raw files I've been processing haven't had the need for more than the basic adjustments.

Thanks, I agree i don't want to be transferring during the day while walking around. My plan was to have enough CF cards for the day. Having a 16gb card would be ideal, although we'll have to see if my pockets can allow for that. :cry:

i'b be nervous about having the only versions of the files in a compressed format. Ideally I like to compress my files once, I took on the Lightroom mentality that jpg's are consumables. But it isn't that bad of an idea. probably get close to double the amount of files per card.

about 90% of my shooting is jpeg only and the times i have jpeg+raw i still only edit the jpeg files. in camera i leave all the sharpening and contrast and all that at 0 so that i can do all those adjustments on the computer. you know how to handle your camera well enough where shooting jpeg on your honeymoon shouldn't present any real problems for the probably thousand pics or so you'll take haha

Does it really take that much time to transfer files and reformat a CF card? I transfer 4G at a time and it takes me a total of 3 minutes for the transfer and reformat. Plus, I can fit the reader in my pocket. It isn't all that hard, especially if you are carrying a camera and a couple lenses around with you as you travel. It's the size of an Ipod.

Rich, I agree, and was kind of being tongue-in-cheek. What I meant is it's just another thing to do, and sometimes when I'm on these types of trips I don't like to think about anything besides enjoying my trip and occasionally taking some photos. Plus my backup drive is super slow.
But when I was in Costa Rica I brought my camera, three lenses, and 2 4-gig cards. I shot JPEG even though I never shoot JPEG these days. It depends on who you are I guess, I just wanted to keep it simple.

i say go for the netbook. small size, big hd, and multiple uses.