In this article I will examine some scenarios in which a digital photographer might need to use backup devices and which backup devices are the best right now. The reason for writing this is because I am one of the users who needed to backup data on long backpacking trips and location photoshoots.  All efforts have been made to make this article as complete as possible regarding the subject.

Overview:

Most people with a camera use an SD or CF memory cards to store photos they took on their cameras. However, for professional photographers who work on location with digital files or for travellers (like me) memory cards might not be the most economical way to go.

In recent history (2009) memory cards have been going down in price. However, with new video features of the Rebel T1i and the Canon 5D MKII the need for good backup devices is more dire than ever.

Scenarios (Which one are you?):

1. You are a professional photograher who is doing some video recording on your DSLR camera and you are also shooting a multi day shoot in a remote part of the country. You do  not want to bring a laptop. You have a few memory cards, but you would like to be able to back up these cards right away. you can be a nature photographer who shoots 9000 photos of birds in RAW. In this case 32GB memory cards are lurking in your belt. But those memory cards cost you about $300 (cad).

2. You are a traveller on a budget. You do not want to bring a laptop on your backpacking trip to Europe or Asia. You are going to take some HD video with your SLR and shoot in RAW. You have a new 15 megapixel camera and you can only fit about 250 shots on a 8GB card. You need more memory cards, but do not want to shell out $400 in memory that you might not use after.

The solution(s):

Memory Cards – the straightforward approach

They are light, durable, and sometimes cheap. Right now you can get a 16GB card (class 6) for about $90 (cad), assuming you get a good brand.

Memory cards will not be a burden on you unless you loose them. However, as mentioned before, you might spend a considerable amount of money on them if you are in need of, say, 80 gigs of storage space. 32GB cards are expensive and 8gb at a time would mean you would have about 10 cards altogether.

Portable Backup Devices – massive storage capabilities

These units come in many different flavours. They range from iPod-looking devices that have a one tone displays to full color display units with 3″ LCDs. Digital backup devices can come with video players and mp3 players built in.

The real advantage to photographers is the shear massive-ness of the hard drive that these devices boast. They range from 60Gb to 250GB of storage space. You can read below to see the variants in these portable units.

Ok, I want a backup device! What do I look for in one?

Here is a list of things you will need to have in your backup device:

• Large Hard Drive (at least 60GB) – if you do not get one with a large hard drive you defeat the purpose of getting one
• Rechargeable Battery or Lithium Ion Batter - Three reasons why:

1. Last longer than AAs and the last thing you want to have happen is for AA batteries to die on you when you are in the  middle of a backup.
2. Also it saves you from buying AA batteries or carrying an army of AA rechargeable backups
3. Lithium Ion batteries charge faster and last longer than rechargeable AA batteries
4. The lithium batteries and their chargers are more compact than AA equivalents

• Features for backup confirmation. This is important because you want to know that your photos are securely backed up before re-using that memory card.  Some people complained about the cheaper units that the confirmation indicators are not clear (more below)
• Full Color Screen. This is a good feature that allows you to see what you just backed up.
• Fast Data Transfer. Some hard drives are very slow to transfer files. The entry level ones will take about 15 minutes to transfer 8Gb. Most cards of today are about 8-16GB. If you have to back these up regularly you will have to spend an hour waiting for the transfer to finish.
• The right slot for your type of memory card. Make sure that the unit accepts your card. This is negligible because most units have all card connections anyways.

Here are some extra features that will make the unit stand apart from the rest:

• removable hard drive
• video/photo/mp3 player included
• portable size
• good warranty

In my experience these units are basically a screen and firmware hooked up to a laptop hard drive. You cannot drop them because the hard drive is not solid state (SSD). It will corrupt all your files. In this aspect, the memory cards offer a safer route.

My favorites:

Wolverine:

MVP 9000 Series (discontinued)

My take:

The reader is a fully functional backup device with everything you want to have on the go. I have done 2 europe trips with this unit and it works very well. It is analogous to the one shown below, except for the large screen.

This unit broke down on me once, and fixing it was not a big deal. The back had to be removed and the hard drive had to be pushed back into place because it disconnected from the contacts. If  you need more info on this just email me. Overall it comes highly recommnded if you are gentle with it.

Some specs:

• 60 GB hard drive
• color screen
• mp3 player
• video player
• voice recorder
• fast transfer
• 12-1 card reader
• lith-ion battery
• carry case
• reads RAW and displays exif data

Wolverine ESP 120 GB Portable Multimedia Storage Player

120 GB is all you need if you are doing a trip unless you are going for a long time. This unit retails for about $300 (us). It is more of a luxury unit, but in my opinion it is worth it. If you need more space (250GB) check out this one.

I have not used this myself, but the specs are exactly what you would be looking for.  Check it out here.

Epson

These units are expensive but have very nice controls and are reliable. They have been the most trusted name in the industry for a long time.

P-3000

This unit if a luxury to use.  It has a brilliant screen and easy controls. The only downfall of this one is that is has only 40GB hard drive space. If you are financially gifted, buy the P-5000 with 80Gb of space.

For the moment Epson and Wolverine are the only brands I think are good. Even though Epsons are very nice, the Wolverine is the best. On a budget you can get a very nice unit that will keep working and be full of useful features.

For more information about my experience with the unit, please email me and I will be happy to get back to you.

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