Potential Silly Qustion: Backup Device for CF Cards

[rendition]

Slap me if this sounds silly but is there such a device, probably like a 2.5" external HDD that allows you to maybe slot CF Cards (or any other card or connect card reader) and copy/backup the contents in a single press of a button sort?

I'm gonna have a pretty huge event to cover and am just being pessimist, what if after shooting for a day and my CF card got corrupted or...anything la, cannot read, yada yada. :sweat: Choi ah...but really, what if? I wonder what are the chances of CF Card getting corrupted. Happened to one of my colleagues, shot an MP during interview and bang, when reached office, cannot read the card.

Of course another way would be bringing my laptop but... of course I welcome a lighter alternative.

 

[wanrensg]

Hi Rendy,

There are many harddisk devices in the market to allow you to back up your CF cards.

One of them is the Creative Vision. I own one of it.

http://sg.creative.com/products/product.asp?category=210&subcategory=211&product=15752

Check out more from Sim Lim Square. There are many types there.

 

[rendition]

Hmmm, seems like it does exist eh...but this looks like a portable multimedia player which I don't really need actually. I assume this thing doesn't come cheap?

I just want to utilise the device as a backup disk for my CF Card. That ZenVision seems close to what am lookin for though. Thanks wanren.

 

[lennyl]

What you're looking for is a photo storage device or PSD. The top of the heap is the Epson P-5000 with 80GB hard drive and beautiful 640x480 4" LCD. It even supports many RAW formats. There are cheaper devices available, including those where you add your own 2.5" hard drive. If you need backup, then you need to trust its reliability though. Worst case scenario - backup device corrupts images on card. I'd say you're better off formatting in-camera a known good card just before the event, but it's not my job / reputation / images on the line, so it's up to you. Good luck

 

[rendition]

Woah, your worst case scenario is the worst I can ever imagine happening lor. But hmmm, thanks for the 2 cents. Another question would be the chances of CF Card corrupting, any more cents?

 

[lennyl]

From my personal experience (meaning : not a lot ) I only had one CF card go bad physically - in an industrial embedded device, not camera. I had a camera (Nikon Coolpix 950) that somehow went bad after sitting in storage for a couple of years, and would corrupt the file system. The camera can still see the photos, but plugging the card into a card reader would give very exotic errors. Even image recovery software couldn't pull out the images. Finally got the images out using a card reader on Linux and a lot of help from Google

With a brand name CF card and a good camera, I think chances of corruption is extremely low. Do you have a backup camera? Spreading your risk by alternating cameras would seem to me to be your best insurance against ending up with no images.

 

[night86mare]

Slap me if this sounds silly but is there such a device, probably like a 2.5" external HDD that allows you to maybe slot CF Cards (or any other card or connect card reader) and copy/backup the contents in a single press of a button sort?

I'm gonna have a pretty huge event to cover and am just being pessimist, what if after shooting for a day and my CF card got corrupted or...anything la, cannot read, yada yada. :sweat: Choi ah...but really, what if? I wonder what are the chances of CF Card getting corrupted. Happened to one of my colleagues, shot an MP during interview and bang, when reached office, cannot read the card.

Of course another way would be bringing my laptop but... of course I welcome a lighter alternative.

not impossible, have heard of cf card spoiling before

main reason for getting portable hard drive would be lack of space though

i don't shoot events so not sure how much space you need - but you don't necessarily have to get the epson and creative vision as mentioned, those are the same thing, but with viewing screens.

there are cheaper alternatives like the digimate series.. no viewing screen, something like portable hard drive with controls and a lcd (the digital watch type) and card slots. i tihnk should be able to find at sim lim, not so sure about price

 

[night86mare]

ah, i found the site

gadgetsmore

 

[denniskee]

why not just borrow from friends some cf cards? go home d/l to computer. not sure how much datas you will have but lots of what if, what if the portable drive runs out of juice.... anyway, i feel more comfortable using more smaller cf cards than few big ones. dont want to put all eggs into a basket. but this is just my opinion.

 

[Fotophilic]

why not just borrow from friends some cf cards? go home d/l to computer. not sure how much datas you will have but lots of what if, what if the portable drive runs out of juice.... anyway, i feel more comfortable using more smaller cf cards than few big ones. dont want to put all eggs into a basket. but this is just my opinion.

I think TS just wants it for backup.

 

[Splutter]

I think a cheap PD70X will suffice. Not sure if Eastgear or sim lim still sells it though.

 

[nkhoo]

does the pd70x support 4gb or 8gb cf cards??

 

[Fragnatic]

can try digimate. they've got cheaper casings for 2.5" hdds that support backing up of CF, SD, SDHC, etc (depending on model)
can try visit SLS, 6th floor, a shop called IT image. they've got digimate casings and hdds on sale.

 

[denniskee]

I think TS just wants it for backup.

i understand his intention, but what he want to do with the portable after the event? still store the photos in it even after giving the org burned cd/dvd? how often does he do event shoot / go on tour?

infact, i would rather bring more cf cards than the big and heavy portable storage for oversea trips.

he is afraid the cf card gets corrupted, but what if the storage device goes kong off for some unforseen reason, just like the possibility that the cards can get corrupted for some unknown reason? loose all photo?

but like i stated, just my opinion.

 

[Adiemus]

does the pd70x support 4gb or 8gb cf cards??

Yes. it does. I've got one for sale (40Gb) if anyone wants.

 

[rendition]

i understand his intention, but what he want to do with the portable after the event? still store the photos in it even after giving the org burned cd/dvd? how often does he do event shoot / go on tour?

infact, i would rather bring more cf cards than the big and heavy portable storage for oversea trips.

he is afraid the cf card gets corrupted, but what if the storage device goes kong off for some unforseen reason, just like the possibility that the cards can get corrupted for some unknown reason? loose all photo?

but like i stated, just my opinion.

Thanks for the reply guys. Actually, my intention is to only do back-ups for that day itself. For instance, a full day event, after an hour or so, I'd backup whatever I've taken onto the so called PSD and continue shooting. Of course if I am done for the day and photos can be downloaded off my CF for processing, then that's it, job done.

It's just my pessimist point of view. Can't imagine covering a full day event or any photoshoot session for that matter, and come back to workstation knowing all or some become corrupted. Well, guess I know what I need now. Thanks all.

P.S. And today, something weird happened to my 40D, for 5 mins, I couldn't shoot anything (Shutter won't snap), the 'left with how many shots' number went blank and I also couldn't 'view' my shots taken. Urghh, scary. But it was fine after that, did nothing. Guess it just wanted to have a break.

 

[lennyl]

P.S. And today, something weird happened to my 40D, for 5 mins, I couldn't shoot anything (Shutter won't snap), the 'left with how many shots' number went blank and I also couldn't 'view' my shots taken. Urghh, scary. But it was fine after that, did nothing. Guess it just wanted to have a break.

Hope this don't happen during your event. Did you try removing the battery for a few seconds and re-inserting it?

 

[rendition]

Yes, I tried that actually but that didn't seem to be the problem. Thanks.

 

[reachme2003]

one way is to use multiple cards of moderate capacity size rather one or two cards of hugh capacity. simply put, minimize potential loss.

 

[Octarine]

P.S. And today, something weird happened to my 40D, for 5 mins, I couldn't shoot anything (Shutter won't snap), the 'left with how many shots' number went blank and I also couldn't 'view' my shots taken. Urghh, scary. But it was fine after that, did nothing. Guess it just wanted to have a break.

Finally, cameras are computers, too. Looks like a hiccup in accessing / reading the memory card. Taking out battery and card could help but finally it would be good to check your memory card. Use a card reader to copy all images to your computer, then reformat the card in the camera. Have you checked whether you have the latest firmware? Have you checked whether you have a genuine CF card of a fake one? There must be a reason for this behavior. Don't ignore it or you might end up losing data.