Digital Camera --> images straight to a **real** micro HD?

the pie manthe pie man
Posted:
in Genius Bar edited January 2014
I am looking for a little advice.



I have finally decided it is time to take the leap and get a digital camera.



I have started doing research into a good camera (I went to school for photography so am a bit of a snob in that regard), but the real issue looks like storage.



The first trip this camera is going on is a research trip in the hills of SE Asia - so lots of storage in a small size is a must (cost is also an issue of course). This is a 2+ week trip so a lot of images are going to be taken.



I don't want to take a laptop (I shudder to think of taking my wife's titanium powerbook into the jungle), and don't want to buy a ton of flash cards for storage because of price (talking hundreds of images here at highest res.)



I have heard of a 1 GB USB microdrive you can use as straight storage with digital cameras, but I really need more space than that. Also, if at all possible I would like to get a USB/Firewire drive so I could use it as day to day storage as a normal HD (contract web design so it is nice to keep my work mobile).



Does anyone have any experience using HDs with digital cameras? It has to be a special HD to work directly to camera yes? (I don't want to go through a comp - just download directly to the HD and keep shooting). Do they even make such a beast (at least 20 GB and if at all possible a USB/Firewire hybrid)?



Thanks for any answers!

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 5
    mrbilldatamrbilldata Posts: 489member
    I have a 1 Gig Microdrive in an OLYMPUS E-20.



    Your big problem is not storage capacity, its battery capacity. Even with the 1 Gig Microdrive, I use 8 to 10 sets of NiMH batteries before its full. I visited some caves in Pennsylvania last month and needed to use the flash for everything. I was changing batteries every 10 minutes. I had only taken about 100 pictures(about 400M) and ran out of battery power.



    I will be purchasing a High capacity battery that clips on my belt before my next Photography worthy trip. I recommend you do the same.



    1394b Layered on 802.11e is the future.



    And it would make photography alot easier
  • Reply 2 of 5
    ebbyebby Posts: 3,110member
    Right now the Microdrives are the largest for any reasonable price. I use them in my new Canon D-60.( ) I have 2 microdrives and each hold 450+ High res JPEG images. Battery also dies after 500 images. Right now you will have to bring a second Hard Drive and computer to copy the files, or lower the resolution.



    I know of hard drives you can plug directly into Digital Video cameras, but not still cameras.



    But a few companies are releasing 802.11 (wireless) compact flash cards that will in the futuresend the images directly to a 30Gb hard drive on your belt. (Note: the technology is not out yet, my guess is at least 5-8 months, and the camera manufactures will have to add the drivers to their cameras.) <img src="graemlins/oyvey.gif" border="0" alt="[No]" />



    [ 07-08-2002: Message edited by: Ebby ]</p>
  • Reply 3 of 5
    mrbilldatamrbilldata Posts: 489member
    I saw someone using one of these in New York yesterday, its called "Mine" by Terapin, he was using it to download photos from his camera.



    The guy said that as long as there is a LINUX USB driver ( thats what Mine runs ) for your camera and your camera USB mounts as a virtual Harddrive, the Mine is a great solution. It also has a Compactflash slot, but he does not use it and was not sure if it could read Microdrives.



    It holds 10 GB and has many other neat features.



    It might be worth looking into.



    Digital is so cool. <img src="graemlins/smokin.gif" border="0" alt="[Chilling]" />

    Last month I finished rendering a 3 ft by 38 ft circular panarama from the top of Diamond Head in Oahu Hawai'i. Everyone has a hard time believing it is from a Digital camera.

    Digital is so cool. <img src="graemlins/smokin.gif" border="0" alt="[Chilling]" />



    [ 07-11-2002: Message edited by: MrBillData ]



    [ 07-11-2002: Message edited by: MrBillData ]</p>
  • Reply 4 of 5
    mrbilldatamrbilldata Posts: 489member
    Of coarse the <a href="http://www.archos.com/us/products/product_jbmm.html"; target="_blank">http://www.archos.com/us/products/product_jbmm.html</a>; also has a Compactflash reader module, but I can not find any indication that it would read Microdrives.



    It provides about the same features as the "Mine" and works nicely as an MP3 player while you take your pictures. <img src="graemlins/smokin.gif" border="0" alt="[Chilling]" />



    Kenny must die... to live
  • Reply 5 of 5
    the pie manthe pie man Posts: 425member
    Hey thanks for the replys...



    I ended up going with a 128MB CF and a 10GB Mindstor for a combined total of about $370. That was about the best price of any combination of products I could find.



    Originally I had gotten really excited about the functionality of that new NixVue Vista, but it was nearly twice as much as the Mindstor, and who really cares if you can plug it into a TV and look at your images?



    I can get about 60 images at high resolution on the CF, and downloading to the Mindstor takes less than a minute - good enough. Also the fact I can use it as a USB or Firewire HD makes it a sure winner in my book.



    Never been one to use an MP3 player so the Archos is overkill for me (I had a walkman at one point years ago, but basically used it as a weak @$$ stereo). That being said, the iPod is so sexy I wish I could afford one just to use as a HD
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