Hello everyone,

I'm planning on leaving the country on this intense trip next summer for four months. Now I don't want to be carrying a laptop when I'm backpacking so what device could I use to hold the 1000 pluspictures I will be taking???

If I was to get an external memory flash card.. i would need a laptop, amd I don't have one.

When you guys travel, what do you use to put all your photos in one place. I plan on getting a 1GB memory card, bu that can only hold so much yanno? I plan on taking waaaaaaaymore pictures than a 1gb card can contain. Once that finishes where can I transfer them so I can free the memory again? What is it that you guys do?

I saw this multimedia player thats costs about $550 that can hold about 6 GB of memory for videos, pictures, etc. But its just to view them and hold them. Would that be my best option?

ANY advice would be so greatly appreciated. Thanks =)

xoxo

Claudia

I don't know if where your going has a Walmart, but you can give them your card, and they will burn your pictures to a cd....cheap.Brad

For $499, you could get the Epson P-2000, which is basically a device with a laptop hard disk and an LCD and the software/hardware for you to download off a flash and then review your images on the screen. Check it out here:
http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/c...p;oid=49164278

Attributes:
Good:
Amazing screen. Truly great.
-Really good battery life. It can download 13 1G cards (or so) before the battery dies. That is really stunning, as most devices like this (even models without the LCD) averge around 5-6G before dieing.
-Does a lot of stuff. Plays videos, can do slide shows to a TV, and more.
-good sized hard disk. 40G (I don't recall.)
-Robust quality. I know of many who own them and like them a lot.

Bad:
-Not small. It isn't huge either (definitely smaller than a laptop) but it isn't "fit in your pocket" small. Then again, none of the others I've heard of are either.
-It is expensive (there are similar, but lesser quality devices for cheaper.)
-No good cover. IT comes with a leather case for carrying, but I'd prefer something with a harder cover for the LCD. It is so nice a screen that I'd hate to damage it.

There are also backup devices that burn to a CD. They do allow you to make multiple backups. And you could even ship one set home ahead of you. Something to be said for that. But CDs can break quite easily, so I'd call them a "different" type of security... better in some ways, worse in others.

If you're backpacking, how will you charge the batteries? This applies to your camera and any portable devices. You have to make sure you plan for this. You'll probably need to recharge every few days. Nightly if you're paranoid.

Eric

I'm actually hitting diff countries all around the world. Morroco, Egypt, India, Spain, France, Italy, Belguim, Netherlands, Australia,Costa Rica, Peru. I'm going for four months.

I may need to do my research, but Idefinitely need toget a converter for electrical outlets devices such as battery chargers and so on. Don't most hostels have electrical outlets? (sorry if that may be a stupid question)

Charging nightly is a DEFINITE, as long as I can take my pictures.

Perhaps I should buy TWO 1 GB memories? Oh man thats gonna be pricey, what do you suggest?

Walmart will definitely not help but thanks for the tip Bradg =). Laptops are way too bulky to carry around for four months.

Thanks Eric for the suggestion, that is exactly what I was looking for when it came to this. So I guess this is my best option eh?

Thanks

I just realized it only has a SD card slot as well as CF card slot. I carry an Olympus camera and it uses an XD-card.

I wonder if this Epson device can also transfer images uses an XD-card.

Any help would be appreciated.

xoxo

For the length of time you will be away, and the number of countries you will be visiting, I would definately suggest taking a laptop.

Look at the ultra compacts, like the Fujitsu Lifebook P series. Very small, very light and very portable.

http://store.shopfujitsu.com/fpc/Eco...o?series=P7120

I have used the Fujitsu P series for travel for over 4 years now. Excellent laptop. Sony and others also have ultra compact laptops too.

Okay, why a laptop. Well, you can review your photos in detail on a good sized display. You can do all your post processing (very useful, especially if you shoot RAW). You can burn your photos to CD for backup to your laptop's hard disk (very important).

You will need to check the power supply that comes with your laptop (or whatever device you decide on), but many today can be used with 110-240 Volts, 50/60Hz, so you will not need a convertor. You might need an adapter to allow it to plug in, depends on what plugs various countries use.

In all my travels, I have only once encountered an hotel room that did not have at least one electrical outlet in the room (Koh Samet, Thailand). So I doubt you will have any problems.

I would also suggest taking a short extension cord. Sometimes the electrical outlet is in a very odd place, plus you may need to have two items plugged in simultaneously - such as the room's TV.

Declan

Thanks alot for the info Declan, I will look into buyinga laptop, but this trip will cost about 10 grand and I'm trying to save up.

I will only be taking those backpacking liter backpacks so one thing I'm afraid of is having that tiny, thin, expensive laptop stolen.

Oh lord, the many things you have to worry about when traveling.

xoxo

I would look at the Wolverine Flashpac, a portable harddrive with a built-in battery and 7-in-1 card reader. It works for xD cards, but you have to update teh firmware before using the 1gb M-xD cards. Can get it for just over $100. I used it for three months with no problems, and use it as an external harddrive now that I'm home. There's also a portable CD-burner called the Roadster (I think) that would probably work pretty well. A laptop's just another thing to worry about getting stolen, in my opinion.

OMG that sounds absolutely amazing! I will definitely look into this as well.

style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #000000"Thanks so much dethsman!

style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #000000"xoxo

A friend of mine has a card reader designed specifically to interface with iPods - you plug it into the iPod, put the card in the reader, press a button, and it moves the files to the iPod. I'm not sure what it was called, but I'm sure you can Google some related words and come up with a handful of iPod accessories that do this.

(Myself, I just have a handful of memory cards, 4 gigs total. I'm never away from my laptop for more than three days, though, and 4 gigs would not be enough for a 120-day trip! Ten gigs might, but I'd make sure I have a little more than that to be safe.)