memory cards and readers.......

[banman1]

thanks again for the replies guys.first off both of my 2 main cards, the lexar 8gb and transend 16gb work great in my cam with the 600x being a little faster when i shoot in rapid fire like 50-60 picts in one shot,its just gettin them into my pc...i have a custom built pc that a good friend built for me from the ground up with lot of memory and speed...the only down fall so far is my pict down load speed, thats why he told me to try the firewire 800 deal with no speed gain lol...so i just dont know what to try next.... rod

[banman1]

they r just in my pc hard drive,i to have been thinking about a external drive to because of same malware problems to.

[jcrowe87]

Do you convert to DNG?

[neuroanatomist]

they r just in my pc hard drive,i to have been thinking about a external drive to because of same malware problems to.

How important are your pictures to you? If the answer is anything other than, "I don't give a cr*p if I lose them forever," then you'd better get a backup. Or two. Or three. Or more.


In addition to hanging out here on TDP, I also participate in Apple Discussions (a great forum for Mac and iPhone/iPod/iPad users). Every day there are posts along the lines of 'my hard drive crashed but I have my pics backed up to my iPhone, how do I get them back?' At least those folks have a second copy of their favorite pics. The sad part is their only remaining copy of what started out as a nice, high-resolution image is a 0.6 megapixel version that's not even suitable for a 4x6" print.


Personally, my RAW images go from the CF card to my notebook's hard drive, immediately get backed up to an external drive, and remain on the CF card while I'm processing them, too. Once the RAW images are processed and converted to jpg, the jpgs stay on my computer, and the final RAW file set is backed up to two separate external drives - one at home and one at work. Then I format the CF card. Finally, every two months I burn the RAW files to a DVD and that goes in a safe deposit box, in a bank that's in a town different than the town where I live and the city where I work.


So, the only time I've got only one copy of my images is while they are in the CF card in the camera after I've shot them. Once I transfer them, I've got at least three copies stored on three different hard drives in two different locations.


Note that having an offsite backup is key - obviously, no one wants to think about what would happen if your house were to catch on fire. But then why do you have insurance? If the unthinkable happens, your 'stuff' can be replaced - things like furniture, appliances, whatever. But in the material loss department, one of the worst is the loss of your family memories and records. So if you back up your photos and movies to an external drive, and both your main and your backup drives are in the same place, you're still at risk.


One other option to consider is an online backup service like Mozy or Carbonite.

[Chris White]

Personally, my RAW images go from the CF card to my notebook's hard drive, immediately get backed up to an external drive, and remain on the CF card while I'm processing them, too. Once the RAW images are processed and converted to jpg, the jpgs stay on my computer, and the final RAW file set is backed up to two separate external drives - one at home and one at work. Then I format the CF card. Finally, every two months I burn the RAW files to a DVD and that goes in a safe deposit box, in a bank that's in a town different than the town where I live and the city where I work.


So, the only time I've got only one copy of my images is while they are in the CF card in the camera after I've shot them. Once I transfer them, I've got at least three copies stored on three different hard drives in two different locations.


Note that having an offsite backup is key - obviously, no one wants to think about what would happen if your house were to catch on fire. But then why do you have insurance? If the unthinkable happens, your 'stuff' can be replaced - things like furniture, appliances, whatever. But in the material loss department, one of the worst is the loss of your family memories and records. So if you back up your photos and movies to an external drive, and both your main and your backup drives are in the same place, you're still at risk.

Wow neuro, I am glad to know that I am not the only one with such redundancy! []


I have all my RAW files backed up on four Seagate FreeAgent GO drives and I have started to burn them to DVD. I have a two small personal fire safes which are water proof. I keep one at home in my basement and one in my office at work. The safes are for protection from fire and the elements more than from theft. I rotate drives form home to work and back as I back them up so only my most recent images are in the same place at any one time. I know, pretty anal, but it works well.


Seagate appears to be replacing the FreeAgent GO drives so the price is dropping as they clear out the old drives. I am buying a couple extra since I have the docks and am happy with them. A 500GB can had around me for $75.00 today. That is less than one of my 8GB CF cards, and way less than my newer ones. In other words, it is very inexpensive to avoid a disaster.


I am sure other brands can be had for similar pricing. The important thing is to find a system that works for you and to do it. It does not have to be a major disaster to take your images, it could be as simple as the harddrive on the only computer you have backed up your files on dying. I am surprised how many people have no backup for any of their important work.I backup everything, I have other drives I use for my other work. I keep my images separate. That is just the way that works best for me. The important thing is to backup, however works best for you.


Chris

[Steven23]

I back mine up crazy amounts as well, while at school, i use 2x external hardrives, one main and one back up. After going threw keepers and tosers, edit what i want for the day. Then i back up to 2x 1tb hard drives. the finished images get backed up, while i keep them on the external hard drives until finished. Some times i back up to DVD/CD and give to my dad to keep at his place. Normly its images i sell or a wedding.