Questions about vacation photos

[Amy L]

Next month, dh and I are going to Hawaii! I have been shooting in RAW. How many cards should I take for a week-long trip? And should I plan to be backing them up as I go? I have two EHDs but I'm not sure they are portable. I'm thinking I'd like to leave my laptop at home if possible. Thanks for your input!

[hguenthe]

First off - yay on the trip!

Do you tend to shoot a lot of photos? With taking in raw, I tend to fill up a 8G card in no time flat - is about 400-450 photos. I will fill it and possibly another 2G card each day but I tend to take a lot as my good to bad ratio is low and I want some good ones.

Since you have the laptop and ehd already, they are a good choice that will only cost you room and travel fuss.

There are neat little hd made especially for transferring directly from memory cards to the hd for this type of thing but I believe they aren't the cheapest things to pick up.

On our Italy trip, we had the laptop with us and would transfer onto the laptop. We just had a little dvd case with blanks that we would burn, label and put back in the case as a backup to the laptop's copy.

Curious to hear other's suggestions as this worked for us but am sure there are better ways.

[KerryMac]

Yeah...Hawaii! That's awesome
What Heather said about your good to bad ratio is an important point. If you tend to get more keepers, then you can cut back on the number of cards you take. Also, some people tend to take pics of everything they see to create a story, and some just get the ones that are the obvious travel pics.
When I was still shooting with the Canon 30D in RAW, I'd take along three 4 GB cards and something I could download to; either my laptop or a small Toshiba ehd that I have. The Toshiba is 250 GB and is about 3.5 x 5 inches. It was about 100 bucks. I think that's the easiest option, just don't forget a card reader!
Recently, I've tried to pare down the number of images I take bc I'm tired of all the space they take up!! Also, it makes me really think about my composition and lighting.
But I always remember what one of my teachers told me years ago...the National Geo photogs would take about 1500 images (on film!) and only 3 or 4 would show up in the mag!
Have a great trip

[Chris]

Originally Posted by KerryMac

Yeah...Hawaii! That's awesome
But I always remember what one of my teachers told me years ago...the National Geo photogs would take about 1500 images (on film!) and only 3 or 4 would show up in the mag!
Have a great trip

This is the one I always quote to dh to justify taking so many shots, lol!

We'll be going on a month or more tour of England in the future so I want to store this info in my head too, and I have more questions than answers.

Is it possible to take the card, camera or whatever to a kiosk/shop and have them empty it out on a DVD, stick or something? Does Kinkos or a similar place do this since they are everywhere? If not, does anyone want to go into business with me?

[audrey77]

As long as you zoom in and edit photos (delete or save on the camera) on the go you should be fine with less cards.

[KerryMac]

I have two bad stories about having files transferred to discs on the road and deleting files from the card! I've become superstitious now and won't do either!!
In Spain, I took my full card to a camera store and asked to have the files burned onto a disc. Well, their equipment somehow lost all the files from Madrid!! I was so upset. I've never tried that again.
And, I fear that I caused a card to become corrupt by going back and forth looking and deleting repeatedly. I lost about 500 images that way once.
They are probably both just awful coincidences or user error of some sort, but will never do either again

[Chris]

That's a good point kerry! It's good to know they have places that do that, but I'm with you - I wouldn't trust the mail. It would be nice to have a place to DIY - like a library to so you can oversee things yourself.

I've travelled a lot overseas but never with a digital camera and here in the States I always have my laptop and a EHD so haven't had to worry.

[esther_a]

I took a cheap, lightweight laptop on our 7wk tour of Europe over a year ago. I did not want to transfer files via a kiosk because it would be awkward to find one. It was much nicer to transfer files from the comfort of our room. I'd name, cull and file the images each night. Highly recommend that for a longish trip! We were even able to pick up unsecured wireless in some locations - and in a few cafes. You can buy some very compact, cheap laptops now that would be even better. I also lent my laptop to my parents for their trip last year. It was a life saver for them because they became stranded in Sth America (Visa problems) but were able to make other arrangements and catch up with their tour via email because they had the laptop.
Amy, as you are only going for a week and you are possible staying in the one place, maybe this is not such an advantage for you - but if you're staying in the one place you can just leave the laptop in your room and it will be minimal inconvenience taking it!
Esther

[Amy L]

Originally Posted by esther_a

I took a cheap, lightweight laptop on our 7wk tour of Europe over a year ago. I did not want to transfer files via a kiosk because it would be awkward to find one. It was much nicer to transfer files from the comfort of our room. I'd name, cull and file the images each night. Highly recommend that for a longish trip! We were even able to pick up unsecured wireless in some locations - and in a few cafes. You can buy some very compact, cheap laptops now that would be even better. I also lent my laptop to my parents for their trip last year. It was a life saver for them because they became stranded in Sth America (Visa problems) but were able to make other arrangements and catch up with their tour via email because they had the laptop.
Amy, as you are only going for a week and you are possible staying in the one place, maybe this is not such an advantage for you - but if you're staying in the one place you can just leave the laptop in your room and it will be minimal inconvenience taking it!
Esther

We are staying in one place--on a ship! We will cruise around the islands at night while we sleep and see a different site every day. I had not thought of an inexpensive laptop; that sounds like a good idea.

[anke]

that would still be your best bet I would think. I dragged my laptop with me and was glad to be able to upload all my raw pics every night. Yay for going to Hawaii, I am jealous! Maybe when the kids are older, paying everything for 5 can really add up

[audrey77]

Or one of those Epson drives with the screen on them...
HERE

[katrinak]

I would carry my laptop with me even if a pain! I try to avoid viewing photos on my lcd for anything other than exposure on the histogram. Viewing and zooming will eat at your battery quickly and doesn't always give you a good enough view of your photos. Cards are fairly inexpensive. Look at the number you shoot on a "photo kind of day" double it and take that many cards Opt for a number of smaller cards rather than one giganto one just in case you have card error! I love my 4G cards.

Does the cruise ship have any computers on board?

[Bush Girl]

Originally Posted by audrey77

Or one of those Epson drives with the screen on them...
HERE

I'm another vote for these little gadgets if you're not taking a laptop. Will fit in a bag no problem.

I just upload each night then format the card. So we usually take 3 cards max.

[kathie02]

I don't have any extra advice to give, I either schlepp my laptop along or bring a zillion cards with me. I just wanted to say....have a great vacation!! Sounds wonderful!

[Teri A]

I always shoot in RAW too, but when we went to the Bahamas, I decided to shoot the fun candid shots in jpeg and when I was shooting the scenic, travel shots I switch to RAW. Worked great and was a good way to save room on my cards. I think I took about 5GB with me split up on 3 cards. Have a great time Amy. Looking forward to the photos.

[Teri A]

Oh Kathie, I love your new avatar

[katrinak]

Originally Posted by Teri A

I think I took about 5GB with me split up on 3 cards. Have a great time Amy.

I need a lot more room for error! I take 4G just walking outside of my house any given day Teri Rocks!

[Myra]

I have to chime in with Katrina. It would be hard to shoot and not want to look at the photos on my laptop after, and I've already made the investment in the computer - vs. extra cards. That said, I also am with Kerry in that I would definitely burn as I go! I can imagine losing precious photos!

[HeidiKnight]

This could turn into an enabling thread quickly! I'm going to Disneyland with my family next week and with my D300 in RAW mode and my happy shutter finger, I expect to take a ton of pictures (we're there 7 days and my mom wants "nice pictures of the grandkids together" too). So.... I just ordered a SanDisk 32gb extreme III CF card from BH. I thought about a 16gb CF extreme IV, but it was about the same price for 1/2 the storage space and while increased speed is great, I really need the storage space for this trip.

I am not taking my laptop and don't have a portable storage device, so I do face the risk of losing everything by having all my pictures on one card. But the convenience of never having to worry about changing cards or running out of space during an entire week trumps that. SanDisk has great reliability so I'm going to just cross my fingers and go with it.

[katrinak]

Wow Heidi! That is HUGE! Can't wait to hear how it performs for you...may have to rethink my strategy!!

[Jen D]

We are going to Disneyland too...but the first week of April =) I have two 4G cards and I am bringing my laptop. I figure I can download the pictures each night and sort them so I don't have such a big job when I get home. And, this way I am not buying more cards and that makes my hubby happy =)

I can't imagine a 32G card!!! WOW! Can't wait to see how it goes for you!

[dugarner]

My little Sony takes 10MB RAW files, I have 2 2GB cards and filled them up here in Charleston in just a day and a half, and that was with "not a lot to shoot" and a very conservative shutter-finger because I FORGOT my transfer cable!!!

When I went to Disney in 2007 I shot in JPEG and had 2 1GB cards and a 2GB card. I took 2,500 pictures (that's how many I kept, I took closer to 5000 frames) and unloaded them every night onto my DH's Mac, then burned them to DVDs that I brought, then emptied the card.

Heidi, I'll cross my fingers for you---I used my SanDisk xD with my Fuji and twice during above mentioned Disney vacation my card became corrupt before I unloaded the pictures, and I lost all the pictures on that card from that day. So I'm a little apprehensive about putting all my eggs in one basket, so to speak! But that was an xD, it's such a tiny medium and not as hearty as a CF or the other physically larger formats. Have fun!

[HeidiKnight]

Oh Sarah, that stinks! I should be paranoid - my PC died a couple weeks ago and my data died with it, so I lost lots of recent photos. You'd think I'd be superstitious now, but I'm not. I get my Mac about a week after I get back, so I probably won't even dump my card until I have that all set up.

[blkcow]

First of all Yeah for the cruise!!! My sister and I cruised to the Black Sea and Egypt in the fall of 2007. It was just to much to schlepp the laptop along. I was obsessed (possessed?) about the memory card(s) and batteries.....but I didn't need to worry. We were on the Rotterdam (Holland America)...they have an entire office devoted to photography. They will burn your photos to DVD's (or CD's). You can buy more memory cards...batteries...Tripods, camera cases....everything you could need. They also had a complete computer library with wifi for the laptops or you could use their computers. (Not completely cheap, but when we were soo far away it worked great.)

Have a great time and we can't wait to see your LO's!!!

[anke]

Wow Heidi, that sounds like one big card....Wouldn't mind having one of those myself! (of course I would still bring my laptop )

[bluelemur01]

Amy, that sounds AWESOME! Yah for you going to Hawaii!
I'd recommend bringing LOTS of memory cards, the 4 GB size ones or larger.

I'm sure you can buy more cards in Hawaii, b/c they know it's a photographer's paradise, and there are photography stores, at least on the main islands. But they may be marked up or hard to find in a pinch, and you might not want to waste good time shuttling around to photo stores.

I'd say to bring about eight 4-GB cards with you, or get one of Heidi's "super cards", lol. Don't worry about not seeing the photos right away, as long as you're pretty familiar with your camera and are able to gauge light/exposure from the preview pane & the histogram. However, if you bring the laptop you can download the photos right away, AND keep them on the memory card, and that way you'll have an instant backup "just in case." I'd bring the laptop, leave it in the room, and download each nite. (Now I SAY this, but on vacations I've always just brought my cards and did NOT bring the laptop, because bringing all the camera equipment was cumbersome enough!)

I don't have a portable EHD thingie but that might be good too.

I don't know if my card suggestion sounds excessive, but I'm the kind of person who likes to have more space than not enough. And I'm also the kind of person who will take 60 pictures of a waterfall from all angles and zooms and then select the 2 best ones as "keepers."

Good luck and I can't wait to see your pics!

[bluelemur01]

I have also heard that it's not a good idea to parse through and delete pics here and there on the memory card while it's in the camera. It's relatively rare, but supposedly that CAN lead to card corruption errors in some cases. I have done it in a pinch, and nothing bad has ever happened, but I prefer to leave everything on the card, stinky shots and all, and do my paring back on the computer later. Then I reformat the card each time.

I also do agree with katrina that having more smaller cards is a "safer" bet in case one gets corrupted.

So get carded up and have some fun!
Oh, and have you considered renting an underwater camera for snorkeling/scuba shots? (ARe you doing any of that?) I've not rented an underwater one myself, but I've heard that you can rent a camera that takes 10x better pics than the disposable underwater point and shoots. When DH and I were in Hawaii on a snorkeling adventure we saw a few people with bright yellow Fisher-Price-Looking cameras that were not actually toys, but underwater rental cameras, and they all raved about them. Of course these renters were not photo experts like all of us DD gals (!) but it looked like fun. Anyone have experience with that???

[katrinak]

Originally Posted by bluelemur01

Oh, and have you considered renting an underwater camera for snorkeling/scuba shots? (ARe you doing any of that?) I've not rented an underwater one myself, but I've heard that you can rent a camera that takes 10x better pics than the disposable underwater point and shoots. When DH and I were in Hawaii on a snorkeling adventure we saw a few people with bright yellow Fisher-Price-Looking cameras that were not actually toys, but underwater rental cameras, and they all raved about them. Of course these renters were not photo experts like all of us DD gals (!) but it looked like fun. Anyone have experience with that???

In a pre child trip to Hawaii with my hubby we bought a disposable underwater camera and had a blast with it! We have dolphin, turtle, and fish pix with it that are AMAZING (for a p/s) in the only paper album I ever made for myself! They still make me smile

A rental would be even more fun!