Using a Tablet for backing up images
Having suffered the total failure of a good quality SD card a couple of years ago and the complete loss of holiday photos I have taken an old laptop along and backed up at the end of each day.
I am looking to lighten the load and considered using a lightweight tablet with OTG cable to mount a card reader to download images to tablet and then transfer them to a USB memory stick.
Having researched this idea on the internet, it may not be possible.
The only tablet I have used is a Kindle Fire with minimal storage space.
Has anyone used a tablet for this purpose? Is there a similar option available.
Finally, I do not use a smart phone and budget is around £150
Any ideas would be appreciated
I am looking to lighten the load and considered using a lightweight tablet with OTG cable to mount a card reader to download images to tablet and then transfer them to a USB memory stick.
Having researched this idea on the internet, it may not be possible.
The only tablet I have used is a Kindle Fire with minimal storage space.
Has anyone used a tablet for this purpose? Is there a similar option available.
Finally, I do not use a smart phone and budget is around £150
Any ideas would be appreciated
I've not used one myself, but take a look at https://amzn.to/2QPdoFQ and add an external hard-drive, it seems to answer your problem and should be robust too. Might buy myself one ..
HTH
Geoff
HTH
Geoff
I like the tablet idea, you could even edit and upload a bit too if you get Wifi.
As you say the tablets in that price range have limited storage and you'd need to consider uploading them them from camera to tablet then taking them off and onto USB storage etc.
The other approach is to use more, smaller cards and as one fills up move onto the next. - Less of a backup but if one does fail at least you might only lose 1 days's worth of images.
Otherwise a dedicated device like this SD Card Mini Duplicator might work for copying from an SD card to a backup SD card ?
As you say the tablets in that price range have limited storage and you'd need to consider uploading them them from camera to tablet then taking them off and onto USB storage etc.
The other approach is to use more, smaller cards and as one fills up move onto the next. - Less of a backup but if one does fail at least you might only lose 1 days's worth of images.
Otherwise a dedicated device like this SD Card Mini Duplicator might work for copying from an SD card to a backup SD card ?
I use this device from WD for backing up the cards while away from home. Put the card straight into it from the camera and the transfer is done in a couple of minutes. OK, it's pure back-up, but at least you than have the safety of images on the cards and on here. Simply plug into mac/pc when you get home...
Thank you Stuart and Malc for two great options.
I like WD products so the My Passport backup device could be my best option so far. It is also good that it is a system which someone is using and takes the guesswork out of it.
Still interested in any other ideas people may have
I like WD products so the My Passport backup device could be my best option so far. It is also good that it is a system which someone is using and takes the guesswork out of it.
Still interested in any other ideas people may have
I should add that you can choose whether to back-up all imaged form the card, or just those not previously transferred, and whether the images on the card are deleted after transfer. Available in 1, 2 or 3 TB.
Hi Malc.....just checked out this device on Amazon and it appears that the latest version is nowhere near as good as previous ones, scoring only 2.7 out of 5 from 90 reviews. Also scoring more 1 star votes than 4 and 5. Amazon have discontinued selling this item.
I know that there are always people who will find fault with the best of equipment, but most reviews seem to be genuine issues.
It appears that you were one of the lucky ones.
Shame because it did look good
I know that there are always people who will find fault with the best of equipment, but most reviews seem to be genuine issues.
It appears that you were one of the lucky ones.
Shame because it did look good
That's interesting, Phil. I have never experienced any of the problems the reviewers mention. However, I fully understand your reluctance to buy based on their feedback.
FOLOW UP …………. Solution Found
Just thought I would let you know that I have found a solution to my problem.
Having done further research I came across the Kingston MobileLite wireless G3 which you can use to transfer/copy SD cards to USB flash drives or USB hard drives using its own wireless network. You need to download a small simple Kingston app which is available in iOS, Android and Kindle Fire format which enables you to control the functions of the device. This enables you to back up anywhere without power or internet.
The unit creates a local wifi to which you can run several devices simultaneously. It will also act as a power bank and will charge phones and tablets. I have a Kindle Fire and it charged this from flat.
I have copied two SD cards to USB flash drive and each card had 2GB of images and this took around 20 minutes for each card. I only shoot jpg format with individual files of around 6MB so it is perfect for me to copy a days shooting, perhaps RAW files would take quite a long time to copy. Have also watched a video on my tablet from the USB Flash Drive which ran extremely well.
So for just under £50 from Amazon I am ready to go with my existing Kindle Fire Tablet and can view my images on the tablet and even do a bit of editing and save everything to USB storage. Only used it for a week but am very pleased with it.
Might suit others with tablets, smartphones or kindle fire tablets. Thank you for your comments previously.
Just thought I would let you know that I have found a solution to my problem.
Having done further research I came across the Kingston MobileLite wireless G3 which you can use to transfer/copy SD cards to USB flash drives or USB hard drives using its own wireless network. You need to download a small simple Kingston app which is available in iOS, Android and Kindle Fire format which enables you to control the functions of the device. This enables you to back up anywhere without power or internet.
The unit creates a local wifi to which you can run several devices simultaneously. It will also act as a power bank and will charge phones and tablets. I have a Kindle Fire and it charged this from flat.
I have copied two SD cards to USB flash drive and each card had 2GB of images and this took around 20 minutes for each card. I only shoot jpg format with individual files of around 6MB so it is perfect for me to copy a days shooting, perhaps RAW files would take quite a long time to copy. Have also watched a video on my tablet from the USB Flash Drive which ran extremely well.
So for just under £50 from Amazon I am ready to go with my existing Kindle Fire Tablet and can view my images on the tablet and even do a bit of editing and save everything to USB storage. Only used it for a week but am very pleased with it.
Might suit others with tablets, smartphones or kindle fire tablets. Thank you for your comments previously.
