[Idyllchat] Portable memory storage & Cheap Camera Batteries - devil's advocate

[Joan Herriges]

That is good information re batteries Ed.  I will contact the photo shop to discuss this.  Thanks.  Joan. 
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Ed Comer 
  To: IdyllChat at lists.untours.com 
  Sent: Saturday, November 10, 2007 9:18 AM
  Subject: [Idyllchat] Portable memory storage & Cheap Camera Batteries - devil's advocate


  I'll play the devil's advocate on both issues:

  1. Portable memory storage  - devices such as the Wolverine FlashPac contain a hard disk whose spinning magnetic disk is far more susceptible to damage from impact and motion or just general failure than are the FLASH cards used in cameras. You are therefore less likely to lose your photos if, instead of using an external hard drive, you simply purchase additional FLASH cards. Personally, I prefer many smaller capacity FLASH cards over a few very high capacity FLASH cards. In this way, should a given FLASH card fail, the loss is limited to that one card. If, instead, you transfer all of your photos to a hard disk, like the Wolverine FlashPac, and a hard drive failure occurs, you will have lost all photos. An alternative is that many Internet Cafes are now offering an inexpensive service to off load your FLASH cards onto a CD. A CD has no moving parts and is thus less likely to be damaged than is an external hard drive. I was just in Chile in March and almost every Internet Cafe offered this service for about $7 to $10.

  2. Cheap Camera Batteries - previous discussions mentioned a source for inexpensive third-party camera batteries. I too have purchased some of these, including some on eBay. However, be forewarned that Lithium-Ion batteries are what is currently used in cameras and they contain a microprocessor chip to carefully control the charging. This is required because if improperly charged they can explode. Additionally, you may remember the highly publicized recalls by Dell, Apple, Sony and others for Lithium-Ion batteries catching laptops and cellular telephones on fire. This was due to defects in manufacturing. Third-party camera batteries can work well and, as I said, I own some and keep them as spares. Just be aware that Lithium-Ion batteries are rather precise, highly engineered devices and that you get what you pay for in this world. A new, safer chemistry is becoming available for Lithium-Ion batteries but it is more likely to found in a brand-name product than it is in a cheap knock-off. Manufacturing defects and design shortcuts can cause Lithium-Ion batteries to become dangerous so, in the long run, paying for the original manufacturer's batteries is a cautious but safer course than saving a few bucks. 

  Watch viideos of exploding Lithium-Ion batteries at:
  http://tinyurl.com/2pbxpq 
  and
  http://tinyurl.com/343f3t 

  Written information is at:
  http://tinyurl.com/3a6wx6
  and
  http://tinyurl.com/2qp74 






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