Liveaboard photography - sd cards & storage solution?

[Stoo]

I'm not sure I agree that SC cards are the best choice for "storage"... although I do agree that taking some spares is a good idea. Even good cards are an expensive alternative. For example, up here in Canada, retail price on a 32 GB "Extreme" card is almost $50. You can buy a TB Seagate drive for under $100, so the cost per GB is a fraction of SD cards. (And you should buy high speed cards... that little camera will generate a large file if you shoot Raw... probably close to 20 MB each... If you are banging off a quick series of shots, a fast write time to the card really helps..)

The reason that I, and others, suggest taking spare cards, is that they are notoriously unreliable... They're probably the weakest link in your system.

If you really don't want to take a laptop, then your solution of having a gizmo that can copy cards to a drive, that's great. The unit you mentioned is, I think, just a card reader... I don't know it will allow you to copy files to a remote drive... All it's doing is connecting two "dumb" devices together. To actually get those two devices (the card and the drive) to do something, I think you need to stick a computer in between...

It might be that you could add a simple little Netbook or something to do this...

Speaking to my own experience, the "picture taking" is the reason I go on the trip. I shoot to cards (I have two on board my D7000, one backing up the other), copy to a Macbook, then back the Mac up to a remote drive, daily. When I'm flying, I don't keep the drive and the Mac together... A bit paranoid, but if I am dropping $6 - $10K on a trip for Mrs. Stoo and I, I really want my pics to survive. I've been around computers long enough to know that they only fail when you really need them... Like when you're on a boat in the middle of the Red Sea for example...

I also agree that having a laptop with some software on it is a REALLY useful tool to improve your photography. Being able to review your daily shooting is invaluable. When you consider all of the cr*p you need to take on a dive trip, sticking a 13" laptop into your carry-on isn't much additional load.

No matter what you decide, have a great trip, and shoot LOTS!

 

[Sieg@VU]

I generally shoot 2000 raw images during a week long trip and travel with a Macbook Air to review images and then backup to 2 compact external drives.

 

[JDelage]

If you really don't want to take a laptop, then your solution of having a gizmo that can copy cards to a drive, that's great. The unit you mentioned is, I think, just a card reader... I don't know it will allow you to copy files to a remote drive... All it's doing is connecting two "dumb" devices together. To actually get those two devices (the card and the drive) to do something, I think you need to stick a computer in between...

It connects wirelessly to an iPad (or other device), so you can do triage & quick review.

No matter what you decide, have a great trip, and shoot LOTS!

Thanks!

 

[johnohuk]

So wish I had read this info before my first liveaboard last week in the red sea...took 6 8Gb cards for the video camera, one per day and several 16gb cards for the Camera... Couldn't review the camera images until getting home and noticed issues I could have sorted out there.. Video is different as its just a point and shoot with no variables...( Sony action cam)...

Next time, take a laptop...strangely, this is what I did on a previous land based trip... duh...

 

[Darnold9999]

HOWEVER, I strongly caution against not bringing a device to review your photos daily. You'll like get back to a whole bunch of images you could've improved if you knew what you were doing wrong. Things like shooting up not down and WB and exposure issues. You don't need a device to edit them but you do need to look at them. Only an experienced shooter can go shooting images underwater and come back with mostly good stuff. Further, I strongly suggest reviewing your images at least nightly to adjust your technique and use of the strobes.

Excellent advice!

Don't rely on the liveaboard's web site that says there is a computer aboard. There might be, but there is a better chance that that computer has died and the web site not updated. Have yet to be on a liveaboard where the liveaboard computer advertised actually exists.

I carry a laptop, 3 large SD cards that I swap after every couple of dives and a small USB drive to back everything up nightly.

 

[Damselfish]

I agree with taking some kind of computer, really helps to be able to review pics on a decent size screen to see what might be going wrong. Better if you can correct the next day instead of getting home with a zillion crappy pictures because of something stupid. Could also give you the option of doing at least a little simple processing. Swapping pictures with people at the end of a trip or contributing to a slideshow is common and hard to do without a computer. As said, while places might have a computer to use, you can't rely on it. Even if it's there and working it's a shared resource, and may or may not have the software you want.

We take a netbook and a little USB DVD burner. Not the most powerful computer, but relatively small and light and a huge win over having nothing. Plus it can be used for other things like checking email or looking up restaurants or flights, stuff you could do on a phone but sometimes it's nice to have a bigger screen.

 

[Tippytoes12]

I also just started taking underwater photos....love it so much. I would reiterate the advice to not see the red sea through a camera lens. The water is so clear and the coral so fantastic that you will feel like David Attenborough at the end. I used and iPad and transferred my picture directly onto it after each dive. This is so quick and easy. For security once I had amended them , I uploaded them to Dropbox. ...great to share with friends , family and people you dive with. I would certainly also agree that you do need to review your pics regularly , we have just been on a Raja Ampat LOB and our fellow passengers and the cruise director gave me some great hints.

Have a wonderful time.

 

[orenbvip]

just buy a macbook air.

 

[Shasta_man]

I'll add that I suggested just bringing cards because I work on computers for a living and as mentioned, they only fail when you need them. Certainly backup drives are cheaper per MB but again, they can fail and, again, require a device to use them unless you get some dedicated backup device which aren't as cheap. Are they likely to fail? No, but the likelihood is above zero and you'll have no alternatives on the boat. You can always use the sticks in the future.

I also left the laptop at home on my last trip because between hand carrying the housing and the lights and the regs, etc, etc, I was already well over the carryon limit and a pain to carry all that junk too. However, for shooting underwater photos and it being the first time (or any time for that matter) being able to review and adjust is critical.

Don't forget to take some video as your camera is capable of good stuff. Good WB is essential for that. Good video of the sunlit reef around 30 feet is pretty easy and really shows the colors and what it's like to dive there.

 

[Stoo]

One other thought, and quite unrelated to the OP's question, but in my experience, liveaboard cabins don't have an abundance of electrical outlets. On top of that, I have a (completely unsubstantiated) feeling that the current to these outlets probably fluctuates a fair bit and may be subject to surges as generators kick in and out...

Anyway, I've made a point of taking a small surge-protected powerbar when I travel. It solves both problems. I used it last week again at Huracan in Belize a couple of weeks ago, and it's little blue light made a nice night-light as well in a room that was VERY dark at night... Huracan is a bit like a liveaboard, only on land!