View Full Version : How much memory should I take?
RichNY
11-22-2006, 10:01 AM
It looks like my trip to Europe next month is going to happen so I'm trying to figure our how much memory to buy- currently I only have (1) 2Gb card so I know I'll be needing more.
The trip details are not confirmed but it will be for 2-3 weeks. Outside of this vacation (2) 2GB memory cards would suffice for all my shooting needs. I plan on shooting Raw.
How many cards should I bring (I know I can always find a CF card in Europe if I had to) and at what point does it make sense to purchase a portable drive to upload the CF cards to rather than buying lots of CF cards.
The maximum time I can envision spending on the trip is 4 weeks, but 3 weeks will be more likely.
Bluedog
11-22-2006, 10:06 AM
I always shot RAW and when traveling carry at least 8 GB and even more would be better if bracketing exposures. I have given thought to getting a storage device this coming year though. A Laptop gets heavy carrying through airports.
It looks like my trip to Europe next month is going to happen so I'm trying to figure our how much memory to buy- currently I only have (1) 2Gb card so I know I'll be needing more.
The trip details are not confirmed but it will be for 2-3 weeks. Outside of this vacation (2) 2GB memory cards would suffice for all my shooting needs. I plan on shooting Raw.
How many cards should I bring (I know I can always find a CF card in Europe if I had to) and at what point does it make sense to purchase a portable drive to upload the CF cards to rather than buying lots of CF cards.
The maximum time I can envision spending on the trip is 4 weeks, but 3 weeks will be more likely.
How many photos will you take in a day? How much memory can you use in a day?
I reckoned when I went around Eastern Europe on my last trip to Eastern Europe that I'd use maybe 512mb using a Nikon 3100 3mp camera (file sizes of 1mb approx). Oops. I ended up buying more memory and came back with 1.5GB of 128mb cards and I never did any video clips either.
If I were to go again then I'd probably use my Canon S1 IS and I'd take video as well so my likely memory requirement (for 3mb) would be 20/30GB. I might thus find a use for my Hyperdrive.
You have to work out the costs and the practicality.
A Hyperdrive costs maybe $200. 1GB of memory costs maybe $20. You can have 10GB of memory cards that take up hardly any space, are lightweight and don't need to be fed with batteries or you can but a Hyperdrive with 60GB but which needs an external AA battery pack or to be recharged frequently.
The new Hyperdrives have an internal battery or can run off an external AA source. Mine takes 4xAA batteries.
GaryS
11-22-2006, 11:37 AM
On my last 2 vacations of 1 week in duration, I have found I take about 600-700 pics per week, which on my S2 means about 1.2gb or so.
Personally, I would always rather invest in additional memory cards, rather than an external drive.
Nickcanada
11-22-2006, 12:07 PM
What about a laptop? That way you could edit and store your photos on your trip. I guess it would depend on how many pictures you plan on shooting a day... but I guess you probably wouldn't know until you got there, eh?
That's sticky situation, if you end up spending all that dough on cards and you never use them again. You could buy a few 1GB cards, for 20 bucks thats a joke. Here they are like $80, for a cheep card. You can always delete pictures if you run out of room or switch to JPEG.
On my last 2 vacations of 1 week in duration, I have found I take about 600-700 pics per week, which on my S2 means about 1.2gb or so.
Personally, I would always rather invest in additional memory cards, rather than an external drive.
I would tend to agree. I have a hyperdrive but find it's bulky and heavy. These days I would never buy one. I seem to use mine more as a laptop backup unit than as anything else.
Given that memory cards keep falling in price, it makes sense to run on the absolute minimum. Hence rather than a cheapo solution I suggest a portable DVD writer. I've seen them around.
kjosker
11-22-2006, 12:26 PM
With the falling prices of memory cards, it becomes possible to easily carry all the memory you might need.
We went to Italy last year for three weeks; I planned on one 1gb card a day with my 20D. I took 20 cards, and never ran out of memory, although there were two or three days when I came close to filling my card of the day. And even though 20 cards sounds like a lot, they were easy to carry, especially when compared to a laptop, or other memory device.
Plus if you had to, you could either buy more cards there, or pop into any internet cafe or photo shop and have them burn some cd's for you of what you have already shot, freeing up some cards.
forno
11-22-2006, 12:37 PM
I was in Europe for 5 weeks last year with a Canon iXus 50 and a 1GB card so every 3-4 days I would get them burnt to CD at the local photo joint
was about 5euro a cd, came back with 5 cd and a full card
cdifoto
11-22-2006, 01:23 PM
When I went to Disney Orlando this past summer, I shot 1100+ RAWs in a week's time. I didn't have a laptop or storage device, so I had to play it safe and keep most everything until I could see if it was a keeper for sure on a real screen.
Just some food for thought.
RichNY
11-22-2006, 05:07 PM
If I'm calculating correctly I'll get about 125 raw shots/Gb card, correct?
At 100 shots/day, 12Gb-18Gb seems like a lot of memory to need to bring. Is my math off?
Is the Epson P-200 the most economical brand of drive/display? Anyone have an idea of how much it will cost to have DVDs burned in Europe. That might be the perfect solution with about 8GB of memory.
Would you recommend buying all 2GB cards?
At $20 per 1GB I'd say CF cards from NewEgg looks the best option.
DonSchap
11-22-2006, 05:55 PM
I found a decent price on RiDATA 8GB at NewEgg... somewhere around $150 a pop.
Follow this thread...
RiDATA 8GB (http://www.dcresource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24663)
I'd get 3 or 4 and just cruise. The entire vacation on 32 GB of storage... and if you run low... use those other 2GB units you have... as emergency storage.
Have a solid trip, pal. Remember... get snaps of the pretty ones, too. ;)
forno
11-22-2006, 06:05 PM
Why the hell would you spend $600 on stargae that you would not need
Just got to the nearest photo lab and get them burnt to CD/DVD
It was about 5euro a cd when I was there last may/june
Why the hell would you spend $600 on stargae that you would not need
Just got to the nearest photo lab and get them burnt to CD/DVD
It was about 5euro a cd when I was there last may/june
Because you cannot rely upon other people's equipment. Some have followed that route with disastrous results.
kjosker
11-22-2006, 06:40 PM
Why the hell would you spend $600 on stargae that you would not need
Just got to the nearest photo lab and get them burnt to CD/DVD
In considering foreign travel, I considered the following:
1. Portability. Nothing that does the same job is easier to carry than memory cards.
2. Security. In this day and age, a laptop computer screams "steal me" in every language. Easily carried and concealed memory cards provide less concern for security.
3. Control. Your cards, your pictures, you've seen the results, they are there. I've read on various travel and photography boards of burned CD's being unable to be opened and read back at home. The best way to check them is on your computer, and you're back to carrying a laptop. It maybe rare, but is it worth taking the chance? If you can live with it, go for it. Yes I have heard of corrupt or defective memory cards, but I haven't come across any, but I have had unreadable cd's.
4. Value. How much are your pictures worth to you? If they are not worth $600. to you, then by all means consider lesser alternatives.
There is no right or wrong, just levels of risk and practicality. Do what you are comfortable with.
DonSchap
11-22-2006, 06:42 PM
CDs also do not fit as nicely in your pouch. One good scratch and it's adios vacation images!
Nah... I'd pop for the portable stuff, every time. They are big enough in storage that you can always sell them when you get back. ;)
forno
11-22-2006, 07:03 PM
Because you cannot rely upon other people's equipment. Some have followed that route with disastrous results.
I always made sure I checked the contenst of the cd before earsing the card;)
I always made sure I checked the contenst of the cd before earsing the card;)
There was one guy that went to Thailand for 3 months, checked his CDs and when he got home, they were all unreadable.
DonSchap
11-22-2006, 08:06 PM
I'm tellin' ya... sport for the media cards... no doubt about it. This is almost no-brainer stuff. Believe me, there are harder decisions to make than this one... :rolleyes: especially in Thailand... smooth or ribbed?
The Wolverine 40GB storage unit is $150 at B+H
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=1096&A=details&Q=&sku=367685&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation
1 GB of Compact Flash is $19.99 at New Egg
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820178049
It seems to me that it's worthwhile to buy a few CF cards. If you take around 130 RAW photos per card then for the price of the wolverine you could have 7 cards and be able to store 910 photos. I took 1,500 in 6 weeks. You're going for 3. Some days I took maybe 200 photos. Others I took none. Something to think about!
StephenC
11-22-2006, 11:44 PM
My two cents: Do you have an iPod? If so you can get a little dongle that lets you dump photos from the card in your camera, via your usual USB cable, into the iPod. If you use jpeg you can view them on the iPod straight away, RAWs have to wait until you get back to the computer. It only works with the full sized, colour iPods. As a bonus it will play your music as well!
24Peter
11-23-2006, 07:42 AM
My two cents: Do you have an iPod? If so you can get a little dongle that lets you dump photos from the card in your camera, via your usual USB cable, into the iPod. If you use jpeg you can view them on the iPod straight away, RAWs have to wait until you get back to the computer. It only works with the full sized, colour iPods. As a bonus it will play your music as well!
Didn't know you could do that. That's probably the best suggestion on this thread. Personally I travel with my laptop and transfer photos off the card to my hard drive right away. I usually burn CD's/DVD's while on the road to give to others but could obviously do them for myself as back up on a long trip to a foreign land. A laptop also let's me start editing my photos while on the road.
Just a thought but the next time airport security gets scared, everything could be tossed willy-nilly into the hold (where baggage handlers toss things and steal from them). It might be better to pack some CF cards instead. Those can easily be concealed about the person.
cdifoto
11-23-2006, 08:21 AM
Just a thought but the next time airport security gets scared, everything could be tossed willy-nilly into the hold (where baggage handlers toss things and steal from them). It might be better to pack some CF cards instead. Those can easily be concealed about the person.
Rhys, you're a paranoid dilusionist. People travel with laptops and other even more expensive things every day. And last time I checked (I'm on one right now), laptops weren't that big. They're carry-ons.
A good balance of memory cards and a laptop is ideal really. If you don't want to risk a really high end notebook, you could get an entry level laptop for not a lot more than a storage device if all you want to do is drop the files and preview/chimp easily during downtime...maybe even do a little editing if you're patient and don't need a huge screen.
Having said that, I bought my laptop to use it. If I'm travelling, I'll be damned if I'm not taking it along.
24Peter
11-23-2006, 08:58 AM
Rhys, you're a paranoid dilusionist. People travel with laptops and other even more expensive things every day. And last time I checked (I'm on one right now), laptops weren't that big. They're carry-ons...
Well said Don (esp. the first part :eek: ) I've travelled with a laptop 3-4 times per year for 10+ years and never had a problem. (But I'll keep a couple of CF cards in my underwear next time I travel just to be sure Rhys. :rolleyes: )
Rhys, you're a paranoid dilusionist. People travel with laptops and other even more expensive things every day. And last time I checked (I'm on one right now), laptops weren't that big. They're carry-ons.
A good balance of memory cards and a laptop is ideal really. If you don't want to risk a really high end notebook, you could get an entry level laptop for not a lot more than a storage device if all you want to do is drop the files and preview/chimp easily during downtime...maybe even do a little editing if you're patient and don't need a huge screen.
Having said that, I bought my laptop to use it. If I'm travelling, I'll be damned if I'm not taking it along.
Remember the last security scare in Britain that had everything tossed in the hold - including mobile phones?
DonSchap
11-23-2006, 09:07 AM
yes, Microfilm... that's how MI-6 and the CIA used to carry their precious secrets... look where we are, today! :rolleyes:
Anyway... portability... anti-theft... "where did I leave those darn CF cards?"... uh, anyway... I still like having the least weight to worry about. These little CF cards are pretty rugged compared to almost all other solutions. What's that worth?
Okay... my four-cents... or four CF-cards... as the case may be. :cool:
yes, Microfilm... that's how MI-6 and the CIA used to carry their precious secrets... look where we are, today! :rolleyes:
Anyway... portability... anti-theft... "where did I leave those darn CF cards?"... uh, anyway... I still like having the least weight to worry about. These little CF cards are pretty rugged compared to almost all other solutions. What's that worth?
Okay... my four-cents... or four CF-cards... as the case may be. :cool:
Agreed. As soon as I'd received my Hyperdrive I realised it weighed a lot more than the same capacity in CF cards and needed extra batteries. What a pain! I'm so glad that I don't normally use more than 2.5GB before returning to my laptop. Having said that, if I were on a prolongued trip then I would most likely buy more memory cards as I did in 2003. It worked for me then and will work again.
When I travel I usually carry two 2GB cards for the day. I download each day to my Epson P-2000 (40GB). I hate the thought of running out of memory.
forno
11-23-2006, 12:58 PM
I still dont see the issue, we all have photos stored on CD?DVD at home with no problems. I got my card burnt over to CD by the photo lab, could have done it at a few internet cafes, and then verified that the pics were on the cd before I erased the card and then put the CD in its case in the bottom of my suitcase.
Then when I got on the plane to come home I carried on the CD's
cdifoto
11-23-2006, 01:03 PM
Alternatively you could just stow a card reader and find a place with internet access. Upload your pics to a server like smugmug or your own space. Then download them when you get home to edit. Internet access is available just about everywhere. Public libraries, universities, cafes, etc.
There are plenty of options and they all have their benefits and pitfalls. There's just no point being paranoid about any of them.
StephenC
11-28-2006, 05:27 PM
I thought I'd update on my iPod idea. I'm also headed overseas soon and don't want to run out of memory. As I'd be taking my iPod anyway (30Gb Video) I figured it weighs less than even 1 spare CF card (creative mathmatics at it's best!). I bought the little Apple dongle,which is about the same size as a CF card (fatter but less wide) and only AU$48. It plugs straight into the camera via your camera's usual USB cable.
I've tried it twice now and it works well. It takes about 20 minutes to transfer 1Gb of RAW images (av 114 shots) to the iPod. The camera battery seems to survive pretty well though the iPod battery drains significantly (you would want it fully charged before you start as you can't plug it into the mains with the dongle attached). If you shot in jpeg you can view your photos straight away. RAW images show up as a simple icon, so at least you know they are on the iPod.
The only gripe I've got are that you can't seem to use a card reader with it, so your camera is out of action for 20 minutes. I haven't actually tried but my research indicates that this is the case. I'd love to hear if anybody has had any luck and if so what brand of CF reader they used.
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