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

[Bill Kover]

  Ed:
  I agree with you.  Buying additional memory cards is another option, especially if you don't take thousands of photos while on vacation.  When it comes to a portable memory device like Wolverine, common sense has to prevail.  Dropping it has the same result as dropping your camera.  Chances are you will have problems as a result.  I store my Wolverine in bubble wrap when traveling or carrying in a back pack.  However, I generally leave mine at home anyway.  You can also go one step further:  Buy enough memory cards for all your anticipated photos, but still bring the portable storage as a backup.   A second copy of all the photos could be stored in case something happens to the memory cards.  Or making a backup copy on CD's is another option.  I am usually too busy while on vacation to go looking for an internet cafe.  Lugging a laptop on vacation is not for me.  That is why I bring the Wolverine.    

  I've always been leery of generic batteries.  All the backup batteries for my Nikon D40X are Nikon batteries.  I paid too much for that camera to take a chance on questionable generic batteries.  I also follow the instruction manual directions strictly when charging my batteries.  Furthermore, I make sure any batteries I put in my backpack or pocket have the plastic protective sleeve on.  Otherwise any change in your pocket or metal object can short out the battery and start a fire.

  Bill        
    ----- Original Message ----- 
    From: Ed Comer 
    To: IdyllChat at lists.untours.com 
    Sent: Saturday, November 10, 2007 12:18 PM
    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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