[Idyllchat] Portable memory storage

[Bill Kover]

  Linda:
  I think that your questions will be answered in blogs I wrote on the Untours Cafe. I purchased a Wolverine Data 7060 portable storage device.  However, I was mistaken about the storage capacity.  It has a 60GB (not 30GB) storage capacity, and weighs just 8.3 ounces.  It has a built in lithium battery.  So you could carry it with you.  But I leave it back in my apartment during our day trips.  The price I paid is listed below.  I hope the photos below come out.  Otherwise go on the Untours Cafe and look up my blogs on photography.

  Bill 

  Portable Storage Device

  Just as important to me as my camera is the portable storage device I bring with me on vacation. These devices make it possible to go out into the field each day without having to worry about running out of memory. They have a built-in rechargeable battery as well as the capability of being plugged into an electrical wall outlet. At the end of each day I download all my photos to the storage device. I can then empty the memory cards by formating them. I just recently purchased my third portable storage device. My first one, Digital Wallet by Mind at Store, had a 3GB capacity. That was followed by the Nixvue Vista, with a 30GB capacity. My latest camera, a Nikon D40X, is a 10 megapixel camera requiring more memory storage than any of my previous cameras. I just purchased a Wolverine 60GB Portable Storage Device. With my new camera set with an image quality of "Fine" and Image size of "Large - 3872 x 2592 pixels", the Wolverine can store about 7500 high quality photos. The Wolverine is a basic device. It's job is to store photos among other things like video and audio, and that's what it does. As a result it's cost is low, about $145 including shipping. My previous device, Nixvue Vista, had the capability of displaying stored photos on the LED screen. That along with a number of other fancy features made it expensive, about $275-$300. Those extra features I never seemed to get around to using. Besides, in a year or two the devices become obsolete, not to mention the companies that make them. The makers of the Digital Wallet and Nixvue are no longer in business. I found out the hard way. So I go for basic and cheap. The fewer features, the fewer things that can break down. I just want memory storage...that's it. There's enough memory there that if I am not sure that a card was copied properly, I can copy it again.....although the device also indicates if the download was successful. The Wolverine (pictured below) fits in the palm of your hand. It has the capacity to copy from 7 different types of memory cards.



  Once it is turned on you insert the memory card and press a button. The LED screen tells you when it is done. What I really like about this device is that when I received it in the mail, all I had to do was charge the battery for 4 hours and then plug it into my computer. The drivers were automatically loaded (Windows XP). If I bring one of the new video camcorders (that record on SD memory cards) with us to Paris next year, I can download those videos onto the Wolverine.


  If you are a person that does not take a lot of photos on vacation, then a few extra 1GB, 2GB, or 4GB memory cards will be enough memory. As for me, I consider many of these vacations trips of a lifetime. The last thing I want to worry about is running out of memory.

  Permanent storage and archiving of photos

  The seemingly unlimited possibilities offered by digital photgraphy also create a problem : permanent storage and archiving the thousands of photos that pile up after some unforgetable Untours trips.

  Here is one solution that has so far satisfied my needs :

  Since getting into digital photography, I have always saved my photos on CD's, and now on DVD's. A second backup copy is also made and stored in a fireproof box. I store all my photos in chronological order. Up until now I used 512MB memory cards, because one 512MB memory card will fit neatly on one CD. With the new camera requiring larger memory cards, I began using 2GB SD memory cards. Two of those cards will fit neatly on a (4.7GB)DVD. Before burning a CD or now a DVD I use Photoshop to make thumbnail "contact sheets" and include those on the CD or DVD. I then print the contact sheets on photo paper the same size as the CD or DVD, 20 thumbnails to a sheet. The thumbnails are big enough (with photo ID number ) to identify each photo. At the top of each contact sheet (using The Print Shop) I put the CD# or DVD# and the contact sheet number as well as the date span of the photos.





  The contact sheets in the photo are all the photos included in the DVD, a total of 1,193 photos plus many short videos. The reason I was still labeling them CD#1, CD#2, etc. is that these are leftover photos from my old camera and had been stored in the CD format. Once I start using my new camera, I will have to come up with a different label for the top. What's nice about this method is that I can use an elastic band to bind DVD and contact sheets together. The DVD/Contact sheet packets can then be placed in a routine CD/DVD storage box in chronological order. When I find a particular photo I want, I insert the CD or DVD and look up the CD label # and photo number to get to the desired photo. A second DVD I just burned had a total of 1502 photos plus contact sheets stored on it. So on just two DVD disks I have total of 2695 photos with contact sheets included.

    ----- Original Message ----- 
    From: richard paplinski 
    To: Bill Kover ; idyllchat at lists.untours.com 
    Sent: Friday, November 09, 2007 12:16 PM
    Subject: Re: [Idyllchat] Photos from Greece


    Bill,

    In answer to your question, we were returning to our hotel from the National Archeological Museum via the subway system.  I was carrying the camera in a bag across my chest.  The camera bag was unclipped and the camera lifted out without my noticing.  We assume it was taken on the subway, but really don't know as we were a couple blocks from the station before I noticed the camera was gone.  We all know to be vigilant regarding possible pick-pockets, but sometimes they are just too practiced for us.  Keep your hands on valuables?  Put them in a bigger bag?  The bottom line is we look like tourists with our guidbooks, etc. and just have a big target on us.  It won't keep my husband and I from traveling, but we will be even more alert to possible problems, and I won't have a 4GB in my camera.

    Speaking of which, how big (and heavy) is the portable storage device you are taking with you?  Is it expensive?  You had some good ideas about keeping track of memory cards and chargers also.

    Linda Paplinski



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