I'm just wondering if anybody here has used any of those stand alone data storage devices which read memory sticks ( such as those made by Smartdisk Sanho, or Jobo ).

My present strategy is either to shoot until I fill my 4GB of multiple memory sticks ( and then I'm done for the trip ) or I will on occassion bring along my notebook & DL the sticks to the PC if it's a longer trip. Since I'm not yet shooting RAW, I've been managing well. But I'm pondering buying one of these portable devices to eliminate the need for the notebook and make life in general easier.

If anyone else here is utilizing one of these sorts of portable devices, I'd appreciate your product opinion/evaluation.

Barry

I have one (a Nikon Coolwalker) and consider it an indispensable travel item whenever I plan on taking a good number of photos. However, I bought it several years ago, and since then, other better options are available. The reason I bought the Coolwalker is because at the time, it was the only one that could allow me to view the EXIF data/histograms generated by my Nikon camera. Not sure if other models now do this, but I've found that I don't really review this data while traveling anyway.

Still considered "cream of the crop" of PSDs is the Epson P-3000, with it's bright, large display. Worth a look if you are considering a PSD.

However, at this point, I personally would simply buy an adapter for my I-Pod, rather than purchase a separate PSD (less to carry).

I have found that when traveling, I haven't really had much of a desire to have a lot of functions besides simple storage and perhaps simple viewing. All the other features (like slideshow, hooking up to a TV, etc.) sound nice, but I find that when traveling, I simply don't have the time or interest to do all that. However, I could see that these features would be nice if you are bringing the device over to Aunt Agatha's house to bore the family with pictures of your last vacation. :p

I think a PSD is a very worthwhile investment, and essential for any backup strategy you might have, especially for longer trips.

Wirelessly posted (HTC TyTN: BlackBerry7230/4.0.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1)

There was a thread on this that I started in the Travel Technology forum last fall. In my case I was going to Africa and wanted something that would work on batteries. I ended up with a 40GB Hyperdrive which was recommeded in the thread. I was very happy with it and filled it up. It didn't have a monitor and since I was paranoid I also backed up on a notebook. This also let me look at things which was good since it was a new lens and fairly new camera I was getting used to. But the Hyperdrive was good

I have a Hyperdrive Space PSD that provides nice piece of mind via a second backup at a small cost in size and weight.

I posted this a few months back.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=678749&highlight=digimate

I use the prior generation of Hyperdrive - darn nice thing to have along.

I'm hoping in the future to get a nice ultramobile PC.

I use a Jobo GigaOne 40Gb device... does the job nicely and stores all the cards I use - would happily recommend them (plus they make a very posh CF card reader)

the GigaVue is my next target.. but i need to buy a lot more glass before getting that...

I bought a 30G portable storage device off ebay last spring for my Ireland trip. I had a 3.2Mg camera at the time, and barely put a dent in that (I think I used 3G) with 3000 photos. That camera didn't have RAW capability, but my new 10Mg does... still won't worry about capacity on my next trip. 30G should be plenty - and I have a 4G card and several 1Gs as well. If I should run out, then I run into town to have some CDs made, and off I go again.

Loved the device on the trip - the only downer is it had to be plugged in while you were transferring, or it would run low on power and cut off. Not a problem once I knew.

I'm still searching for the best travel storage device. I have a 20Gb Hyperdrive 80 that works fairly well. It sucks batteries like a daemon and really needs to be plugged in for transfers.

Since I have 24Gb of CF now the HD80 doesn't extend my reach all that much unless I put in a new HD and you can't view the images.

I've lugged a four pound 15" laptop around which worked fairly well, despite the weight. I could take a first whack at my images in the field which greatly helped my learning curve as well as conserving CF.

I'm now thinking about a Toshiba R200 or the ultra-light Vaio for my next major trip.

Has anyone experimented with using an iPod for photo storage?

Has anyone experimented with using an iPod for photo storage?

Is there anyway to bridge from a digital camera straight to an iPod without a PC intermediary?

Is there anyway to bridge from a digital camera straight to an iPod without a PC intermediary?

Apple has a USB adapter for the iPod:

http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wa/RSLID?mco=20538A8A&nplm=M9861G/B

Personally, I think that my Archos 604 is a perfect solution. Can be found for as low as $250 (30Gb) or $400 (100Gb) and has an optional USB host adapter. Can even be used as a wifi network harddisk...

Is there anyway to bridge from a digital camera straight to an iPod without a PC intermediary?

Yes, you can buy an iPod camera connector from apple.

2nd hand I've heard transfer speed is quite slow and battery usage is quite high using the iPod as a photo storage device, this coupled with the iPod reliability (not high in my experience) led me to other solutions.

I bought an Epson P-2000 for our trip to S. Africa last year; it worked perfectly. Now there's at least one newer/bigger version, but I love mine.

Yes, you can buy an iPod camera connector from apple.

2nd hand I've heard transfer speed is quite slow and battery usage is quite high using the iPod as a photo storage device, this coupled with the iPod reliability (not high in my experience) led me to other solutions.

I forgot I actually bought (and returned) one of these. Didn't work with the Sony Mavica.

I forgot I actually bought (and returned) one of these. Didn't work with the Sony Mavica.

It has to be a pretty new camera which (I think) supports PTP.

I use the iPod as backup with my DSC-N1. As mentioned, it is slow and it eats battery like crazy as the hard drive (60Gb) is spinning continuously while copying. In fact, the battery is pretty much dead after transferring about 130 pictures or so, which has caused me to start using different folders on the memory card in order to manage which folders I have backed up.

After learning these tricks, it works fine as a backup device giving me peace of mind during long trips where I don't want to haul along my laptop or another backup gadget.

I'm now thinking about a Toshiba R200 or the ultra-light Vaio for my next major trip.

I have one of those super-small Vaios purchased specifically for business travel, and I love it. However, if I am traveling on leisure, I don't really like hauling it around -(it's still an extra thing), especially since the places I vacation at don't always have internet access or any other reason why I would need a computer except as photo storage.

That said, if you don't mind carrying another gadget larger than a PSD, I would highly recommend the vaio, but you will find that it is not ideal for everyday use,(IE, I still have a full-size laptop and desktop for work because the small size gets annoying for daily use) . Don't count on it being able to replace your primary laptop.

I've wanted to like PSDs but have always gone back to using a very inexpensive laptop when traveling. These days $450 can buy you a basic machine with built in card reader, 14" screen (for weight & size), and a DVD writer as compared to $300+ for a reasonable PSD. I like to burn my pics to optical media incrementally (along with the hard disk) and am even so paranoid as to mail a completed disc home from exotic locations as another backup to lost luggage, equipment failures, etc.

I know it's a bit cumbersome, but the advantages of e-mail access along with previewing and archiving the day's pictures is worth it to me.

I use the epson-p2000 and am also a fan.
Before that used the Smartdisk Flashtrax (older version) which worked well but the epson is far superior in terms of quicker download time, picture quality etc.
When travelling I put the epson in a micro Pelican case, which I also highly recommend. It keeps it safer damage-wise in carry on luggage etc.

I use the prior generation of Hyperdrive - darn nice thing to have along.

I'm hoping in the future to get a nice ultramobile PC.

I use a Fujitsu P1120 at present and it works great. The P1610 is the current model and runs faster.

I've decided to add a little extra weight and get a Fujitsu T4215 tablet PC as an upgrade though. I bought the P1120 basically as a picture storage device and internet access when traveling, but I soon found I missed having the programs I had at home. The T4215 is powerful enough for a desktop replacement and light enough (just) for travel.

I started out with an X-Drive II with a 60 gig drive, but on long trips you start to loose track of the amount of space still available and you can't view anything without a PC. I now carry 8 to 10 gig of cards when I go out for the day and download when I go back to the hotel that night.

Leon.

I've used a couple here,

Historically, the I/O gear media vautl, 20GB battery op'd, DL'd about 6 gigs without charging.

And more recently, the Smartdisk 20GB device, smaller and lasts longer and has a USB port in, which means I just put the CF cards in a USB reader, and plugged them in to DL. Visual and smaller. They are harder to find.

The I/O Gear ones go now for about 40$ on ebay.

I use the iPod as backup with my DSC-N1. As mentioned, it is slow and it eats battery like crazy as the hard drive (60Gb) is spinning continuously while copying. In fact, the battery is pretty much dead after transferring about 130 pictures or so, which has caused me to start using different folders on the memory card in order to manage which folders I have backed up.

After learning these tricks, it works fine as a backup device giving me peace of mind during long trips where I don't want to haul along my laptop or another backup gadget.

I use the 60 GB iPod and the apple camera adaptor too. I use 2GB SD cards in my Pentax K10D, and I can on a full charge transfer 2 memory cards to the iPod before I need to recharge.

It's not fast, but with the K10D it is fastER than on, say, my *istD - so the camera has an impact too.

I usually have enough memory cards to get through a day or so of photography, but I try to dump cards to the iPod whenever I can (if driving between sites, lunching, ...) and charging the iPod and camera batteries similarly. At the end of the day, it usually ends up with only 1-2 cards to dump, even if the SO and I both have been shooting.

So for me the iPod serves double-duty as a music-thing and a photo-storage, which means one less item in my baggage (and on my bank account).

Ideal? Nope -- but good enough for now.

FWIW; Sams Club has the 30Gb WiFi Archos 604 in many stores for $299.

Fry's is advertising the Wolverine 60GB Flashpac USB 2.0 drive for $89.99 after two rebates.

They are claiming "today only", but this usually means "until they run out".

I got one of those Wolverine units (in 60GB even) about a year back. They're decent units, especially at that price @ Fry's. Transfer speed isn't nearly as fast as the Hyperdrive units (1GB card in ~6-8 minutes?), but I haven't had an issue w/ mine yet.

And if you need to swap hard drives, it's pretty easy to open up and swap out.

FWIW; Sams Club has the 30Gb WiFi Archos 604 in many stores for $299.

How is the wifi/web browsing functionality on the Archos 604?

Ideally I'd like an uber PDA for photo storage - something with WiFi, GSM, and 60GB or so of storage. An UMPC is about the only way to get their now, but is more money than I wish to take along and more overhead than I desire.