Luminous Landscape Forum
Raw & Post Processing, Printing => Digital Image Processing => Topic started by: SPatton on December 11, 2006, 07:04:05 pm
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I am going on an extended photo trip and need to be able to download and backup about 150 to 200gb of photos. I have looked at all the portable hard drives and most top out at 120gb. Wolverine drives are advertized as being larger, but I can't find any reliability data on them. Most reviews on all drives stress speed and/or backup software and not reliability. As the trip is expensive, I am concerned w/ cost (as well as weight and space), but as the trip is expensive, isn't it foolish to worry about the cost of saving and backing up the very reason one is going :-))
Any info on reliability and/or suggestions? Thanks in advance
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I just ordered a HyperDrive SPACE and will be installing a 160GB drive myself. You won't be seeing 200GB portable solutions as 2.5" drives top out at 160GB currently AFAIK, and I'm not aware of portable storage for photographers with larger desktop drives. With HyperDrive you'll save a lot of money by buying the casing only and installing your own store-bought HDDs. I don't know if other brands offer casing-only options.
The only viable solution I can see is to buy two, which has the added benefit of you being able to double-backup most of your shots if you "only" need 200GB.
Reliability of HDDs is mostly a non-issue - apart from bad production runs - as they all withstand g-forces you'll likely encounter by dropping them. And the moving parts in these small drives are so small - ie. little inertia - that it is highly unlikely you'll damage them by dropping even when they're reading/writing. So the main point of breakage is the casing. I went for the simplest one due to this, one without a screen which I find useless anyway. Besides, a screen unnecessarily drains the battery faster and costs a lot more.
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If you don't mind the size, Maxtor has a nice 3.5" external 300GB USB/Firewire solution - under $150 US
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16822144067 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822144067)
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That Maxtor is an external HDD, ie. it requires a laptop to be of any use. Although the top poster didn't mention if he's bringing a laptop with him, I assume he meant a portable CF reader slash HDD, such as HyperDrive.
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I am taking a laptop, so just need external drives, and not even w/ backup software - and I want 2. I would prefer not to need a separate power plug for the drive, but essentially I guess that's the choice. Two cheap, large drives w/ ac bricks, or several svelte expensive ones that run off the usb port :-)) I'll be on a ship - a small one - so have to balance weight, space and plugins. Thanks for your input.
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Well if you're bringing a laptop that changes everything, makes things easier but lots more to choose from. Your options are pretty much unlimited and you can get external HDDs from almost any computer hardware store. You can get external 2.5" HDDs up to 160GB and larger up to at least 1TB.
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Well if you're bringing a laptop that changes everything, makes things easier but lots more to choose from. Your options are pretty much unlimited and you can get external HDDs from almost any computer hardware store. You can get external 2.5" HDDs up to 160GB and larger up to at least 1TB.
[{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a] (http://index.php?act=findpost&pid=90179\")
Except that "external" does not mean "portable." Unless a HD is designed specifically for portable use -- i.e., in a laptop -- it should be considered a non-movable object. Serious damage can occur if you "bang about" a non-portable HD.
While I am here, I might as will mention that there are several online sources of computer stuff you should check out including:
[a href=\"http://www.krex.com/]http://www.krex.com/[/url]
and specifically at
http://www.krex.com/index.asp?PageAction=V...TS&Category=447 (http://www.krex.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=447)
http://www.krex.com/index.asp?PageAction=V...TS&Category=448 (http://www.krex.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=448)
see also their $15 kit at
http://www.krex.com/index.asp?PageAction=V...ROD&ProdID=1672 (http://www.krex.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1672)
Ron
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Except that "external" does not mean "portable." Unless a HD is designed specifically for portable use -- i.e., in a laptop -- it should be considered a non-movable object. Serious damage can occur if you "bang about" a non-portable HD.
When we're talking about 2.5" HDDs they are all portable for all intents and purposes, whether external or not. Whether they're designed to be banged about is another matter as enclosures differ in build quality so one should definitely look for a more rugged design as there are quite a few flimsy plastic enclosures which are designed to be sat on an office table.
And again, the HD is not the issue. All 2.5" HDDs withstand tens of Gs even when reading/writing which is more than you're likely to experience in normal use.
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When we're talking about 2.5" HDDs they are all portable for all intents and purposes, whether external or not. Whether they're designed to be banged about is another matter as enclosures differ in build quality so one should definitely look for a more rugged design as there are quite a few flimsy plastic enclosures which are designed to be sat on an office table.
And again, the HD is not the issue. All 2.5" HDDs withstand tens of Gs even when reading/writing which is more than you're likely to experience in normal use.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=90693\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]
I agree that the 2.5" HDDs are designed for laptops (but not used exclusively that way) and have no quarrel with your observation about the enclosure. I believe I was thrown off by your reference to HDDs up to 1t of storage space. Please tell me where I can find such a thing -- in the 2.5" size.
Ron
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From personal experience I've found two mabile storage solutions to have been reliable and effictive in the field. First is a small LaCie portable drive (I have an older 80Gb version but bigger ones are available) which fits very nicely inside a Lee filter pouch. These are very light and you can easily carry a couple. An alternative (bought when I'd clogged up both hard drive and computer drive on a long distance trip myself, is an iPod! Expensive but very small and with a substantially higher resale value (and other potentialities too) and useful once you specify its use as a hard drive rather than as a media player.
As I specialise in temperate underwater photography, my G4 12" and these drives have suffered substantially from being bounced around and having had to operate in damp and salty environments, often on small boats and in far from ideal conditions. The only problem I have actually encountered on a boat has been trying to write DVDs whilst a marine diesel is running - failure after failure - which seemed to be due to the harsh, pentrating vibration which goes through everything. The answer was to wait until we were anchored up and then run the p'book from an inverter to write DVDs.
Hope this is helpful.
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I agree that the 2.5" HDDs are designed for laptops (but not used exclusively that way) and have no quarrel with your observation about the enclosure. I believe I was thrown off by your reference to HDDs up to 1t of storage space. Please tell me where I can find such a thing -- in the 2.5" size.
Ron
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=90696\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]
The sentence was a bit confusing: "You can get external 2.5" HDDs up to 160GB and larger up to at least 1TB." Larger refers to larger than 2.5".
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Well if you're bringing a laptop that changes everything, makes things easier but lots more to choose from. Your options are pretty much unlimited and you can get external HDDs from almost any computer hardware store. You can get external 2.5" HDDs up to 160GB and larger up to at least 1TB.
[{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a] (http://index.php?act=findpost&pid=90179\")
2.5"external HDDs are available at least up to 200GB
[a href=\"http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/on-the-go]http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/on-the-go[/url]
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2.5"external HDDs are available at least up to 200GB
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/on-the-go (http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/on-the-go)
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=90924\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]
That's news to me. Price per gig is outrageous, though. But if that's not an issue...
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You can get a lot bigger by getting a 3.5" external. Seagate who i generally use make a 750Gb. Western digital make up to a 1Tb
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You can get a lot bigger by getting a 3.5" external. Seagate who i generally use make a 750Gb. Western digital make up to a 1Tb
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=90939\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]
Again, I urge caution when confusing "external" with "portable."
Ron
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I have two of these: http://www.transintl.com/store/category.cf...uestTimeOut=500 (http://www.transintl.com/store/category.cfm?Category=2643&RequestTimeOut=500)
and I'm happy with them. I bought the empty enclosure and put my OEM drive from a MacBook in the first. It's a Seagate 80GB drive. The second has a Western Digital 120GB drive in it, from another upgrade project. These can be purchased with or without the drive.
This is a Serial ATA enclosure with lots of interface options. It comes with USB 2.0, FW 400 and FW 800 cables.
Apparently Wiebetech are selling the same enclosure, albeit at a slightly higher price.
If you buy the drive separately and instal it yourself (VERY easy) you'll get a 5 year warranty on a Seagate drive or a 3 year warranty on a Hitachi/IBM. I think Toshiba gives 3 years as well. Otherwise the warranty is one year if buying it as an assembled unit.
BTW: this drive can be ordered with a 200GB drive installed if you really want that much space.
--
Dale
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I've had my HyperDrive SPACE for a week now and it works as advertised. They upgraded the overseas delivery to Holland to UPS Next Day Courier at no extra charge. Solid, simple metal construction, passable UI, small and light, works with multiple partitions. No moving parts which could break. I installed my own Samsung SpinPoint 160GB 2.5" drive in it and it works wonderfully - installing your own is _much_ cheaper than buying the SPACE with the drive. The documentation is rudimentary, though - had to contact tech support on how to enable large drive (over 120GB) support, but they replied very quickly.
It copies a 2GB Sandisk Ultra CF card in less than 3 minutes without verification, a bit over 10 mins with full verification. This drive is apparently the fastest in the market. It appears to be finicky about formatting, though: data verification doesn't work if the drive was formatted in Linux. I'm working on figuring out the reason for that with tech support.
And it works as an external HDD as well. I was pleasantly surprised to find an additional AAA battery pack in the package and a car charger which eliminates the only objection to the drive I had in the past: that you need a wall outlet to recharge the internal li-ion battery. Though the manufacturer claims it can download up to 100GB on one charge which won't be an issue for me any time soon.
Bottom line: the drive which according to reviews was exactly what I was looking for is exactly what I was looking for. Cheap, small, no unnecessary image viewing screen, user-upgradable HDD, fast, has data verification, works as external HDD, takes batteries.
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I am going on an extended photo trip and need to be able to download and backup about 150 to 200gb of photos. I have looked at all the portable hard drives and most top out at 120gb. Wolverine drives are advertized as being larger, but I can't find any reliability data on them. Most reviews on all drives stress speed and/or backup software and not reliability. As the trip is expensive, I am concerned w/ cost (as well as weight and space), but as the trip is expensive, isn't it foolish to worry about the cost of saving and backing up the very reason one is going :-))
Any info on reliability and/or suggestions? Thanks in advance
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=89945\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]
If you are shooting a 12MB raw format, that is 12,000 pictures.!!!!!
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If you are shooting a 12MB raw format, that is 12,000 pictures.!!!!!
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=92184\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]
"Note that last year were on board for a total of 10.5 days and Seth and I each shot over 110 gigs of images...this year we'll be onboard 20 days and shooting in even more varied areas and conditions, so the single biggest advice I can give is bring a lot of storage drives!!!" Jeff Schewe
That's the reason for my question :-)) Also may need nu-skin for my trigger finger :-))
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No moving parts which could break. [a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=91505\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]
The parts may not move but they can break anyhow. The card slot is very poorly designed and inserting the card with the slightest misalignment can bend the pins. I sent mine back to a refund after this happened. I also hasd alot of trouble with the firmware in respect of getting the batteries charged. Many people are pleased with this product, but my experience indicates that great care is needed in the field using it.
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I've just returned from a 3 month trip. I took with me a LaCie 100GB mobile drive that is powered from the USB port of my lightweight Dell laptop, plus 50 blank DVD discs. The idea was that all images whould be duplicated in case I lost, or had stolen, either the laptop or portable drive.
The LaCie mobile drive (or similar) seems by far the lightest and most compact option if you are taking a laptop too. On my next trip, I'd prefer to take 2 of these mobile drives and not bother with the DVDs, but of course the initial outlay for a mobile drive is more expensive than the equivalent amount of storage on DVD. However an advantage of recording to DVD whilst you are travelling is that those discs can then become your permanent duplicate copy of your images which will presumably also be transferred to another hard drive on your return.
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However an advantage of recording to DVD whilst you are travelling is that those discs can then become your permanent duplicate copy of your images which will presumably also be transferred to another hard drive on your return.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=92219\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]
I would suggest NOT taking this for granted. A senior technical advisor working for a very large international corporation in the I.T. systems field advised us during a photography workshop this past summer that unless you are using DVD-RAM discs, permanence is anything but assured after several years. I can't be more specific than this, but I'm taking that advice seriously. I've also had a considerable number of fatal CRC errors with recorded DVDs.
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I would suggest NOT taking this for granted. A senior technical advisor working for a very large international corporation in the I.T. systems field advised us during a photography workshop this past summer that unless you are using DVD-RAM discs, permanence is anything but assured after several years. I can't be more specific than this, but I'm taking that advice seriously. I've also had a considerable number of fatal CRC errors with recorded DVDs.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=92220\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]
Fair enough, Mark. I haven't yet experienced such issues as 'bit rot' or oxidation of layers so I'm not at all paranoid about it, though I admit it could happen.
For this reason, I gradually transfer images to the new medium as it becomes established. Stuff I recorded 10 years ago on CD has now been re-recorded on DVD. Eventually, when Blu-ray technology matures, everything I now have on DVD (which will also exist on LaCie Big Disks) will be transferred to 20 or 50gb BD.
I'm not worried .
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I would suggest NOT taking this for granted. A senior technical advisor working for a very large international corporation in the I.T. systems field advised us during a photography workshop this past summer that unless you are using DVD-RAM discs, permanence is anything but assured after several years. I can't be more specific than this, but I'm taking that advice seriously. I've also had a considerable number of fatal CRC errors with recorded DVDs.
[{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a] (http://index.php?act=findpost&pid=92220\")
Yes I was sent an article that basically said the same thing about these issues. In the article, the author highly recommended these:
[a href=\"http://www.supermediastore.com/taiyo-yuden-dvd-plus-r-media.html]http://www.supermediastore.com/taiyo-yuden...us-r-media.html[/url]
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Yes I was sent an article that basically said the same thing about these issues. In the article, the author highly recommended these:
http://www.supermediastore.com/taiyo-yuden...us-r-media.html (http://www.supermediastore.com/taiyo-yuden-dvd-plus-r-media.html)
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=92254\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]
From the same web site you refer to, Andrew, is the following comment on Blu-ray disks:-
BD-R (write-once type) and BD-RE (rewritable type) Blu-ray Discs.
There are 4 new products of Blu-Ray Disc: BD-R25 (single-side, single-layer, 25GB), BD-R50 (single-side, dual-layer, 50GB), BD-RE: BD-RE25 (single-side, single-layer, 25GB) and BD-RE50 (single-side, dual-layer, 50GB).
The Blu-Ray BD-R write-once type, makes use of an inorganic material in the recording layer, entirely different from the organic dye used in previous types of write-once type discs. Because the recording layer is not affected by light, it realizes a disc with outstanding archivability. Furthermore, the Blu-Ray BD-RE rewritable type utilizes a high-sensitivity phase-change material that realizes stabilized characteristics, in the form of a low error rate, even after 10,000 overwrites.
It's often difficult to distinguish between optimism, advertising hype and the facts. It has now been widely published that these optical storage systems are not as permanent as they were intially advertised as being, but as with many things in life, there's often an over-reaction. I've had the experience myself, upon finding a disc that used to play, then later failed to play on one particular system, of automatically assuming that the disc was physically deteriorating and that this was the cause of it's apparent non-playability.
Fortunately, I don't have a single disc, CD or DVD, out of the thousands I've recorded, that I know for certain was initially playable (recorded successfully), and that is now unplayable on all my computer systems.
If I ever come across a situation, in the years ahead, where some older images I've transferred to Blu-ray have become unreadable, and the same images previously recorded on a DVD disc have also become unreadable, and again those same images initially recorded on CD have become unreadable, I'll let you know .
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Take a look at the little big disk from lacie if portability and speed is more important than price. Two 2.5 inch drives in one case, very cool!