Device for downloading photos

[Alexander Hogg]

I'll be going abroad later this year and I don't want to take my laptop with me as it's quite an expensive one  Is there any other devices that are good for downloading photos while away One camera can back up onto another card but the other camera doesn't Any advice will be helpful Not really need to edit photos  while away as I'll be doing that when I'm back

[Jeffrey Isaac Greenberg]

On 01/08/2023 at 04:06, Alexander Hogg said:

don't want to take my laptop with me as it's quite an expensive one

buy new or used very cheap laptop;

cover it randomly with masking tape so it looks valueless...

[M.Chapman]

On 03/08/2023 at 08:21, M.Chapman said:

 

Doesn't LR for IOS rely on using Adobe's Cloud storage or can photos be imported and stored locally on the iPad?

 

Mark

 

On 03/08/2023 at 09:05, Marianne said:

I'm not really sure -  I think when it first came out, it didn't count toward your 20GB limit - not really sure now -

 

I just installed LR Mobile on my iPad. It imported the photos from my SD card, but they aren't visible in Apple Photos or using the Files App. So where do they go??? Bit of investigation shows they have been uploaded to my Adobe.com cloud account with only a small local "cache" kept on the device. All very clever, but probably not a good "backup solution" if travelling without reliable and fast internet connection? Also would need to pay for extra Adobe storage.

 

In the meantime... I've ordered a small cheap USB/SD card hub like this https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BVB4RG2H for my iPhone/iPad which I think may provide a simple solution, especially as it has a power input which I hope can power a USB SSD drive, iPhone and SD card all at the same time and then simply use the iPhone (or iPad) with the FE File Explorer App to copy directly from the SD card to the USB SSD.

 

Mark

[Alexander Hogg]

39 minutes ago, M.Chapman said:

In the meantime... I've ordered a small cheap USB/SD card hub like this https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BVB4RG2H for my iPhone/iPad which I think may provide a simple solution, especially as it has a power input which I hope can power a USB SSD drive, iPhone and SD card all at the same time and then simply use the iPhone (or iPad) with the FE File Explorer App to copy directly from the SD card to the USB SSD.

 

Thanks for the all the info I know there is similar for Android users  I personally wouldn't buy from Amazon as I used to work for them in Dunfermline Certain things happened that really annoyed me 

[sooth]

.

Edited October 19, 2023 by sooth

[M.Chapman]

On 05/08/2023 at 08:28, M.Chapman said:

 

 

I just installed LR Mobile on my iPad. It imported the photos from my SD card, but they aren't visible in Apple Photos or using the Files App. So where do they go??? Bit of investigation shows they have been uploaded to my Adobe.com cloud account with only a small local "cache" kept on the device. All very clever, but probably not a good "backup solution" if travelling without reliable and fast internet connection? Also would need to pay for extra Adobe storage.

 

In the meantime... I've ordered a small cheap USB/SD card hub like this https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BVB4RG2H for my iPhone/iPad which I think may provide a simple solution, especially as it has a power input which I hope can power a USB SSD drive, iPhone and SD card all at the same time and then simply use the iPhone (or iPad) with the FE File Explorer App to copy directly from the SD card to the USB SSD.

 

Mark

I'm pleased to report the small USB/SD card hub https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BVB4RG2H seems to work just fine. I can connect it to my iPad or iPhone using the Lightning connector. I can also connect my iPhone power supply (if needed) and plug in the SD card from my camera and (if needed) a USB flash drive or USB SSD. I can than backup photos from the SD card directly to the iPhone or connected USB drive using FE File Explorer. I did try plugging a spinning USB HDD but that didn't work - presumably not enough power.

 

Given that I already carry my iPhone and USB power supply when travelling, this is by far the most compact and portable solution for me. I only need to carry the tiny hub if I'm just going for a day or two as my iPhone has enough storage. Or, if I'm going for longer, I can add a high capacity fast USB pen drive or SSD drive.

 

This has been a useful thread.

 

Mark

Edited August 7, 2023 by M.Chapman
Link fixed

[Allan Bell]

13 hours ago, M.Chapman said:

I'm pleased to report the small USB/SD card hub (https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BVB4RG2H) seems to work just fine. I can connect it to my iPad or iPhone using the Lightning connector. I can also connect my iPhone power supply (if needed) and plug in the SD card from my camera and (if needed) a USB flash drive or USB SSD. I can than backup photos from the SD card directly to the iPhone or connected USB drive using FE File Explorer. I did try plugging a spinning USB HDD but that didn't work - presumably not enough power.

 

Given that I already carry my iPhone and USB power supply when travelling, this is by far the most compact and portable solution for me. I only need to carry the tiny hub if I'm just going for a day or two as my iPhone has enough storage. Or, if I'm going for longer, I can add a high capacity fast USB pen drive or SSD drive.

 

This has been a useful thread.

 

Mark

 

Link not working?

 

Allan

 

[M.Chapman]

23 minutes ago, Allan Bell said:

Link not working?

 

Allan

Oops sorry, now fixed.

 

Mark

Edited August 6, 2023 by M.Chapman

[M.Chapman]

Just found an excellent app for iPhone and iPad that makes it very easy to copy photos from a camera (or SD card) into a user specified location on an iPad, iPhone or USB drive without having to import them into Apple Photos. It's called Image Capture Go and is available in the IOS app store for just £1.99. Seems to work well. Update - Subsequent stress testing found the App is unreliable when copying large numbers of RAW files and crashes. No longer recommended! 

 

Mark

Edited August 12, 2023 by M.Chapman
Removed recommendation for Image Capture Go App

[IKuzmin]

1 hour ago, M.Chapman said:

Just found an excellent app for iPhone and iPad that makes it very easy to copy photos from a camera (or SD card) into a user specified location on an iPad, iPhone or USB drive without having to import them into Apple Photos. It's called Image Capture Go and is available in the IOS app store for just £1.99. Seems to work well.

That would be a great solution if I can find something similar for Android, and transfer of ~100Gb at once to the phone and then to the drive would not take too long. Obviously, travelling with a heavy load of photo stuff (including usually 3-4 tripods), I would try and leave at home whatever is possible, and my laptop is neither very recent nor very small...

[M.Chapman]

1 hour ago, IKuzmin said:

That would be a great solution if I can find something similar for Android, and transfer of ~100Gb at once to the phone and then to the drive would not take too long. Obviously, travelling with a heavy load of photo stuff (including usually 3-4 tripods), I would try and leave at home whatever is possible, and my laptop is neither very recent nor very small...

I think it should be easier on Android because its filing and photo storage system is more open/accessible than Apple's. I imagine a simple File Manager App would work? How about this one? https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.alphainventor.filemanager&hl=en_GB&gl=US

When I was looking for iPhone solutions I found Youtube videos very useful, I expect there are similar for Android. I searched for "backup photos from sd card without computer".

 

Mark

Edited August 6, 2023 by M.Chapman

[Marianne]

4 hours ago, M.Chapman said:

Just found an excellent app for iPhone and iPad that makes it very easy to copy photos from a camera (or SD card) into a user specified location on an iPad, iPhone or USB drive without having to import them into Apple Photos. It's called Image Capture Go and is available in the IOS app store for just £1.99. Seems to work well.

 

Mark

 

Can't you just drag and drop them into a folder on your iPad from the SD card?

I'm able to do that using just a USB-C hub with an SD card slot and a slot to attach my SSD. This is the hub I have. I got it through a promo where I had to write a review, and didn't expect that much but it turned out to be excellent, much more useful than I imagined. I've had it for a year and a half now and use it a lot and it works really well. It's small and extremely light, has two USB-C slots as well as slots for HDMI and various other USB type slots so I use it with my Macbook pro as well as with my iPad. Besides using it to upload photos it's great for connecting all my old hard drives and for viewing photos on my TV thanks to the HDMI hub. So, worthwhile for more than just your upcoming trip. 

This assumes your iPad is USB-C. 

[IKuzmin]

4 hours ago, M.Chapman said:

I think it should be easier on Android because its filing and photo storage system is more open/accessible than Apple's. I imagine a simple File Manager App would work? How about this one? https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.alphainventor.filemanager&hl=en_GB&gl=US

When I was looking for iPhone solutions I found Youtube videos very useful, I expect there are similar for Android. I searched for "backup photos from sd card without computer".

Thanks, very possibly it will work. Need to try (but overcome my incompatibility with cell phones first; as much I like the real computers, as much I hate all such tiny/fancy gadgets :-)) Will post once I do this, am particularly curious about the speed.

[M.Chapman]

On 06/08/2023 at 22:42, Marianne said:

Can't you just drag and drop them into a folder on your iPad from the SD card?

Yes that works well using the inbuilt Files App but, as discussed earlier in this thread, only if the camera can be set to store each day's shoot in a new folder. My Lumix camera doesn't do this and puts all pictures in one folder (unless I manually create and name a new folder each day via a very fiddly interface). The alternative Apps I mentioned solve the problem of copying duplicate files on the second day as follows.

FE File Explorer - provides a "Skip All" option when copying duplicate files (The inbuilt Files App doesn't have this)

Image Capture Go - is even simpler, it allows "Select all" photos on a day by day basis, and can also will grey out files already copied. But subsequent stress testing showed this app is unreliable when copying large numbers of RAW files.

 

One thing I didn't like about FE File Explorer app is that it did a poor job of rendering thumbnails and previews of RAW images from my Lumix G100 (too dark and wrong colour balance). So, for me, the best combination found so far is Image Capture Go app to copy the photos and the inbuilt Files app for full screen preview. I can also use the RAW Power app if I need to post process the odd image (or use PS LR apps if I'm am happy for the images to be uploaded to Adobe.com)

 

Mark

Edited August 12, 2023 by M.Chapman
Removed recommendation for Image Capture Go App

[Marianne]

6 hours ago, M.Chapman said:

Yes that works well using the inbuilt Files App but, as discussed earlier in this thread, only if the camera can be set store each day's shoot in a new folder. My Lumix camera doesn't do this and puts all pictures in one folder (unless I manually create and name a new folder each day via a very fiddly interface). The alternative Apps I mentioned solve the problem of copying duplicate files on the second day as follows.

FE File Explorer - provides a "Skip All" option when copying duplicate files (The inbuilt Files App doesn't have this)

Image Capture Go - is even simpler, it allows "Select all" photos on a day by day basis, and can also will grey out files already copied.

 

One thing I didn't like about FE File Explorer app is that it did a poor job of rendering thumbnails and previews of RAW images from my Lumix G100 (too dark and wrong colour balance). So, for me, the best combination found so far is Image Capture Go app to copy the photos and the inbuilt Files app for full screen preview. I can also use the RAW Power app if I need to post process the odd image (or use PS LR apps if I'm am happy for the images to be uploaded to Adobe.com)

 

Mark

 

Sorry, forgot. Too bad you can't just change the camera settings to shoot into daily folders. Glad you found a way around the problem.

[GP Essex]

I've got a 1TB portable hard drive that has SD&CF card readers built in, there's several makes around now, including a Western Digital one. Runs off a USB adaptor. Can connect it to a phone USB port with an OTG ("On The Go") cable 

I use an app called My Files to organise files on an Android phone. Available from the Play Store. Works ok, but still more annoying than doing it all on a PC...

[M.Chapman]

On 07/08/2023 at 01:34, IKuzmin said:

Thanks, very possibly it will work. Need to try (but overcome my incompatibility with cell phones first; as much I like the real computers, as much I hate all such tiny/fancy gadgets :-)) Will post once I do this, am particularly curious about the speed.

 

I'm getting transfer rates of about 14MB/S. That's using my iPad to copy from my Camera's SD card to a Samsung SSD drive using the hub https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BVB4RG2H I mentioned earlier. I copied 20 RAW files of 24MB each in 35 seconds. Not blazingly fast, but fast enough for backup purposes.

 

Mark

Edited August 8, 2023 by M.Chapman

[IKuzmin]

4 hours ago, M.Chapman said:

'm getting transfer rates of about 14MB/S. That's using my iPad to copy from my Camera's SD card to a Samsung SSD drive using the hub https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BVB4RG2H I mentioned earlier. I copied 20 RAW files of 24MB each in 35 seconds. Not blazingly fast, but fast enough for backup purposes.

Thanks, Mark, sounds promising. I did not have a chance to try my gear for the same yet. Just noticed that drive capacity on my phone is 64Gb, half of which is occupied by other stuff, hence will need to transfer by pieces. Will try when have time. Thanks again.

Edited August 8, 2023 by IKuzmin

[M.Chapman]

6 hours ago, GP Essex said:

I've got a 1TB portable hard drive that has SD&CF card readers built in, there's several makes around now, including a Western Digital one. Runs off a USB adaptor. Can connect it to a phone USB port with an OTG ("On The Go") cable 

It seems the Western Digital Passport drive with SD card reader may have been discontinued, and the Lacie equivalent is not easy to get either. It's a shame because they offer a particularly neat solution if needing to backup large amounts of photos whilst on the go. Do you know any that are easily available?

 

Mark

[Marianne]

6 hours ago, M.Chapman said:

It seems the Western Digital Passport drive with SD card reader may have been discontinued, and the Lacie equivalent is not easy to get either. It's a shame because they offer a particularly neat solution if needing to backup large amounts of photos whilst on the go. Do you know any that are easily available?

 

Mark

 

I had one of those, it died right before the warranty did. They sent me a new one and in less than 2 years it stopped working. I've had dozens of WD drives that were fine, but it's probably a good that one has been discontinued.

 

The small hub with a card reader I mentioned earlier (the size of two thin stacks of credit cards laid end to end and weighing next to nothing) paired with and a small backup drive like this  or this both 1TB drives each themselves only the size of a small stack of credit cards, would be lighter and take up less room than the all in one you describe. I've got one of each of these and they've been great for travel and it's also easy to keep one attached to a laptop while it's in my lap because they are so small, with short cords. I've had them both for a couple of years and so far they've both worked well and are very fast. I use them for travel but also as overflow since my files are so big and often process files on the drives - they are both very fast. At the time, the Seagate came with 4 months of free PS/LrC. The SanDisk seems a bit more rugged but I keep them in a multipocket pouch with other delicate items when not in use.   Very handy for travel, also when I'm hiking and am bringing along delicate or small items in my backpack, and to safely/store carry needed drives etc outside if I'm working at a table under an umbrella in my garden. This one is good too. They both have 2 slots for an Apple pencil or regular writing implements, and  lots of useful pockets and the origami design of both makes it easy to find what you need. I use one for all my little camera extras, and one for all the small hard drives, adapters, etc. I can combine the most necessary camera/computer stuff into one for travel. And it would fit easily into one of those hotel safes. You could even slip your passport, etc into it. 

 

LaCie has what looks like a very small rugged drive it looks to be about twice the size of the ones I mentioned, and more than twice the price, but comes with 5 years of file recovery which can cost thousands.  

 

You are spoiled for choice. Hope you find a good solution. 

[GP Essex]

Can't actually remember the make of the one I've got and can't find a link to it (It's not with me at the moment, but being used elsewhere). When I get it back I'll post the make & link.

There seems to have been a few made off the back of kickstarters & by small indpendent companies, but most seem to be discontinued, like the Gnarbox.

This one seems current:
www.cined.com/lambogo-rugged-wireless-ssd-backup-your-footage-in-the-field

The alternative is an On The Go cable to copy them onto your phone, then off to Micro SD cards or back onto a portable hard drive.

I often just put  the micro Sd out of my drone into the phone several times a day if I'm out all day filming & do a backup that way. My cameras take full size cards so I leave those until the end of the day, plus there's less chance of me crashing them into a tree...
 

[wiskerke]

49 minutes ago, GP Essex said:

Can't actually remember the make of the one I've got and can't find a link to it (It's not with me at the moment, but being used elsewhere). When I get it back I'll post the make & link.

There seems to have been a few made off the back of kickstarters & by small indpendent companies, but most seem to be discontinued, like the Gnarbox.

This one seems current:
www.cined.com/lambogo-rugged-wireless-ssd-backup-your-footage-in-the-field

The alternative is an On The Go cable to copy them onto your phone, then off to Micro SD cards or back onto a portable hard drive.

I often just put  the micro Sd out of my drone into the phone several times a day if I'm out all day filming & do a backup that way. My cameras take full size cards so I leave those until the end of the day, plus there's less chance of me crashing them into a tree...
 

 

What happened to LAMBOGO in the end? Do you have one? They seem to have vanished and the comments say it was a scam.

 

wim

[M.Chapman]

59 minutes ago, wiskerke said:

They seem to have vanished and the comments say it was a scam.

Doesn't look good. Indiegogo kickstarter funding page status says "suspended".

 

Mark

[IKuzmin]

Came across this discussion: 

https://bcgforums.com/index.php?threads/backup-without-a-computer.20952 

 

Sounds like most people use iPad or a laptop. Given that Dell Outlet sells for $360 the "out of lease" refurbished 13" Latitude (RAM 16, SSD 512), weight 1.3 kg, with both USB-C and USB-A ports, this will be my solution that also helps to browse and cull images in the familiar environment unlike iPad or cell phone.

Edited August 9, 2023 by IKuzmin

[M.Chapman]

OK, here’s the most portable solution that works for me.

It’s light, small and low cost and works in the field (no need for internet connection or extra power supply) and can provide up to 256GB of storage (in addition to any spare in the phone).

 

 

• iPhone 7 or iPad - already got
• 4 in 1 Lightning hub - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BVB4RG2H - £16.99
• 64GB Samsung “fast” USB 3.1 drive -  https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07HPS8GQM - £11.00
• Or... 256GB Samsung "fast" USB 3.1 - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07HPX38XC - £33.00
• Image Capture Go App - Apple App Store - £1.99  subsequently found to be unreliable
• Inbuilt Files App - works well
   

If power is needed (e.g. low phone charge or loads of images to backup) I can simply connect my existing Lightning - USB iPhone/iPad charging lead into the hub and connect the other end into any 5V USB source (car charger, USB wall socket, PSU etc.)

 

Transfer rate reading from camera SD and writing direct to Samsung Flash drive (formatted as ExFAT) is about 13.3MB/sec. It takes 3 minutes to backup 100 x 24MB RAW images. It's not blazingly fast, but it's fast enough for me. There was no speed benefit in using a faster SSD drive as the maximum speed seems to be limited by the hub or my iPhone/iPad.

 

Weight (excluding iPhone) 25g

 

I can also use the Files App on iPhone (or even better with iPad) to review the images fullscreen without the need to import photos into Apple's (IMO awkward) Photos app.

 

Mark

Edited August 12, 2023 by M.Chapman
Removed recommendation for Image Capture Go App

[IKuzmin]

On 08/08/2023 at 03:17, M.Chapman said:

I'm getting transfer rates of about 14MB/S. That's using my iPad to copy from my Camera's SD card to a Samsung SSD drive using the hub https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BVB4RG2H I mentioned earlier. I copied 20 RAW files of 24MB each in 35 seconds. Not blazingly fast, but fast enough for backup purposes.

So, I tried a solution with my android cell phone. As shown in Mark's post above with both card reader and SSD connected to a dongle, it did not work. The phone was repeatedly missing connection with one device or another, required to restart due to incorrect disconnection of an USB device, and in total transferred nothing.

The approach without a dongle, copying files from cardreader to the phone first, and then from the phone to SSD, worked but with speed 21 Mb/s, and i can only do it by pieces 30 Gb each due to the phone drive capacity. This suggests that ~100Gb files I would be transferring to phone and then to SSD (in 3 portions) during 3-4 hours which does not sound very tempting. As such, a solution with a light cheap laptop (2 posts above) is going be my workflow (as previously...)

Edited August 11, 2023 by IKuzmin