Digital Photo Storage

[JimHam4]

Hi Everyone,

Cruising on the Carnival's Triumph and just found out they DON'T have a way to download my memory cards to CD (they do have a printer kiosk though). I am looking for alternatives for download. I am leaning toward the iPod, since I can get multiple use out of it, but wondered if anybody had experience with other mp3 type devices.

 

Thanks

[mountainhouse]

Based on advice here, I went with the Addonics MFR. It's pretty cool. I have the same concern about all hard drive devices, and that is that if they fail it's all over. I plan to burn 2 CD of each set of photos before reusing the memory card, with the Addonics. I like shooting max resolution too, so it was an economic decision, in part. My DSLR require 5Mb per photo (RAW). I'm going to be on the Grand Princess next week, and I'm taking 20 CDs (6Gb by my method). If that doesn't cover it, I'll buy more CDs. Good shooting,

[judynorth]

We bought a Roadstor which is similar to what Frank mentioned. It burns CDs and you can also use it to view the pictures on the TV in your cabin. It also works as a portable DVD player when you hook it to the TV. That's great if you have kids. We just bought it for the cruise but in our trials it worked like a charm. It costs about $270 but it is worth it for the peace of mind that it gives us.

[Suzieb]

We also got what Judynorth has, and it is a great unit. No need for a PC and it burns a CD. We got our for $240, so if you are interested just watch around and there will be a sale soon.

You can also go to Ebay and look for "image tanks" and there are some other things to do the same thing.

Good Luck

[judynorth]

We found our Roadstor at CompUSA on sale for $219 but it wasn't advertised. We just happened to be there and saw the sale. The normal price there and at Ritz and Circuit City is $269. It is much smaller than a laptop and we figured that we can use it any time that we travel rather than taking the laptop along.

[zackiedawg]

I too have the Addonics MFR unit...I used it on several cruises and vacations now and love it. The Roadstor unit is basically a twin...they have some minor differences as to which cards they accept (I think the Addonics actually has a slightly beefier card reader which can accept 9 different types as opposed to 7). Look at the two and you'll know they are made by the same company!

 

The Addonics unit I picked up for $189 directly from their site last year...I notice it is down to $179 now! It may be one of your least expensive options, and the most flexible, since as I always do (and Frank mentioned) you can make 2 copies or more of your data...just so you don't have to worry in case of a failure. The system is VERY easy to use - press one button twice, and it burns the CD. You can add more to a partially used CD, or if a CD fills up before done, you can span to another disc.

 

The iPod should be pretty solid...it is just a little harddrive. Though chance of failure is infantesimal, I still don't like all my data in one place so I personally wouldn't use that route. I have an iPod 20G version that could certainly fit my pictures, since I've only got 4 G of music on there...but I feel better with the data burned onto CDs in multiple copies. The picture attachment tool Apple just made available makes it easy - just plug the USB into the iPod and it can transfer shots from the camera...and if you intend to use the iPod anyway, it is a worthy consideration.

 

A portable harddrive also works for alot of people...it allows huge storage capabilities, and can be reasonably priced...and would work if you didn't want to spend the money for the iPod. I haven't tried other mp3 players, but most are fairly straightforward and probably of similar reliability to the iPod.

 

The Addonics MFR does have multiple purposes too, which make it a decent option - you can use it to burn CDs of your pictures (as many as you want to back up your data, but also burn copies for friends which is nice), play back your pictures on the cabin TV (hooks up with standard audio-video cables), use it as a portable DVD player (hooked up to a TV, it works just like a regular DVD player, with remote control and all), or even as a portable CD player which can play back MP3 CDs (stick in the headphones and load a CD). So it does have some nice flexibility for me.

 

Good luck!

[Cruise99]

I've used a Roadstor for about a year now. Very happy with it. Suggest you download the latest firmware from their website (might not have the latest loaded on your device).

 

Don't try to span CDs even though the firmware should handle it. I had problems when I tried to store more pictures on a CD than would fit. I did lose some images because the appeared to be jpeg files, but weren't complete files.

 

Roadstor support was very helpful, I now have a later version of the firmware.

 

Make sure you take extra CDs. I usually put one days worth of photos on each CD.

 

There are some other products available now. Check out my photo page for useful links. (click on my home link in the signature)

 

hth

 

gary

[pengu1n]

Jim, unlike the posters above, I use a hard-drive based unit: Vosonic 6210. I know the risks involved, but I like to be able to verify that my pictures are actually stored in it, and it takes a lot less space to travel with. It does play mp3s and videos. The instruction manual is sparce, so it helps if you are good at figuring things out without a manual or know someone who is. Once I return from a trip I copy the pictures to my computer, an external hard drive, and ultimately save on CDs. Another similar device is the Epson P2000, (I do not have this one) it's screen is larger and better for viewing your pics but I use sony memory sticks and I wanted a device that I didn't need to use an adaptor with.

[cruzqueen518]

Doea nyone know if the Conquest has the ability to download my memeory card onto CD and if so, what are the related costs? Thanks...We may just end up taking our laptop.

[JimHam4]

I got the impression from Carnival that NONE of their boats had this ability, but I may be wrong. Calling the Carnival phone number I was able to get specific information for the Triumph. I think I'm going to save my money for excursions this trip and just bring laptop.

[KevinAdMan]

Got this idea from a friend who sailed in February. Brought along her laptop computer and downloaded the photos to her computer. Then at the end of the cruise, burned the pics onto a disk. That way, everyone got one and could pick out the pics they wanted. Planning on doing that when we sail to Mexico in June.

[JACKWC]

I too have the Addonics MFR unit...I used it on several cruises and vacations now and love it. The Roadstor unit is basically a twin...they have some minor differences as to which cards they accept (I think the Addonics actually has a slightly beefier card reader which can accept 9 different types as opposed to 7). Look at the two and you'll know they are made by the same company!

 

The Addonics unit I picked up for $189 directly from their site last year...I notice it is down to $179 now! It may be one of your least expensive options, and the most flexible, since as I always do (and Frank mentioned) you can make 2 copies or more of your data...just so you don't have to worry in case of a failure. The system is VERY easy to use - press one button twice, and it burns the CD. You can add more to a partially used CD, or if a CD fills up before done, you can span to another disc.

 

The Addonics MFR does have multiple purposes too, which make it a decent option - you can use it to burn CDs of your pictures (as many as you want to back up your data, but also burn copies for friends which is nice), play back your pictures on the cabin TV (hooks up with standard audio-video cables), use it as a portable DVD player (hooked up to a TV, it works just like a regular DVD player, with remote control and all), or even as a portable CD player which can play back MP3 CDs (stick in the headphones and load a CD). So it does have some nice flexibility for me.

 

Good luck!

 

I just checked on both the Addonics MFR and the RoadStor. This site has a great review of the Addronics MFR, which now happens to be about $75 less expensive than the RoadStor - http://www.steves-digicams.com/2003_reviews/addonics_mfr.html Sounds like a great solution to my backup storage delima.

[mshe]

Any reason why don't you guys just buy more memory?

 

At those prices, you could get 3 - 4GB worth of flash memory :)

[Suzieb]

But what if you loose a chip along the way that has some pictures on it? Also with the roadstor or the other units you do not have to bring along a laptop so that save some space.

 

:)

[judynorth]

On our cruise to Alaska last year we took almost 600 pictures and that was with missing 2 ports of call and not making it to the glacier in Tracy Arm. We might have taken more than twice that number if we had made it to all the ports of call. Taking pictures at max resolution would require a lot of memory cards and if you lose one you lose a lot of pictures. Two 1 GB cards would cost about $180 and we only paid $230 for the Roadstor and I will have it for the next cruise and the next. Another reason that we decided to get the Roadstor is that there are 4 of us using it. That makes it not so expensive compared to paying $40 per person to have the ship download pictures each day. Under normal circumstances we only need one card per camera.

[JACKWC]

Any reason why don't you guys just buy more memory?

 

At those prices, you could get 3 - 4GB worth of flash memory :)

 

Because with the Addonics and RoadStor, you get much more than a way to upload your pictures and burn to CD, you also get a portable CD/DVD player that can be used after the vacation for many more applications. The newer Addonics also burns to DVD.

[zackiedawg]

Also, the portable CD burner systems provide a way to view your pics on a television while travelling, and give you a way to make copies of your pictures for friends you are travelling with, or get copies of their photos. Add that to the portable DVD player functions it can provide, and the safety aspect of allowing as many copies of your data as it takes to make you feel secure...and in some people's eyes it is a better option than simply buying more memory.

 

Not to mention if you happen to have multiple cameras, using different card types. Rather than having to upgrade the memory of both types of cards, one Addonics/Roadstor unit can burn copies from any type. A traveller with a Canon DSLR on CF cards and a Sony P&S on MS cards can get by on smaller memory cards for one-day of shooting, and drop onto CD at the end of the day.

 

The Addonics unit certainly has the price advantage over Roadstor, plus the card reader is more versatile and they've added a DVD burning version. The units are otherwise the same as you can tell from the design of the case...but Addonics seems to be the developer of the unit (since they are a fairly large peripheral and software company).

 

You can't really go wrong...it is just a matter of what satisfies your comfort level, and what fits your budget. If you are comfortable bringing your laptop, buying a portable harddrive, burning onto CD with a portable burner, or just buying more memory...all options work fine and are unlikely to experience failures. For me, my security issues made me want multiple copies of my shots in the rare event of a problem...the portable CD burner gives me the most portable and cheapest way to achieve that (the laptop option would work for me too, since I can burn CDs from the laptop...but the laptop is much less portable and much more valuable if it gets stolen or broken).

[mshe]

But what if you loose a chip along the way that has some pictures on it? Also with the roadstor or the other units you do not have to bring along a laptop so that save some space.

 

:)

 

 

Well with that logic... you could lose a CD too! :D Or for that matter... the entire roadstor!

 

 

I just bought an iRiver PMP-120 for digital photo storage... it's a PVP (Personal Video Player) that has a built in 20 GB hard drive.

 

Anyways, the comment someone made about making copies of pictures for friends is a good one... I guess that's where the Roadstor has an advantage :)

[Michelle in Maine]

unit (the attachment for a non-photo ipod). Why haven't I used it? While it works with Sony's Memory Sticks, it doesn't work with the "pro" MS (which covers most of the larger capacity ones. So, as an FYI, if you're by chance dealing with a Sony, that is something to keep in mind.

 

You guessed it, I have MS pros. UGH! Though I just bought a Canon for a second camera and I didn't think to try it with the Compact flash units.

 

We generally bring DH's laptop because the kids can also use it to play games/watch a show on the plane, etc too.

 

~Michelle

[cruzmann]

I purchased a SanDisk multiformat reader/display unit for about 80 dollars that lets me sort and erase photos from many different types of cards. What I really like is that with a couple of 1Gb cards I can get a lot of photos saved and I can get a lot of pictures from people I meet at the dinner table or elsewhere. Did this on the Oosterdam and it was a lot of fun. It's called a Sandisk Photo Album and comes ready to hook up to a tv completewith remote. No CD or such but look at the Web site (www.sandisk.com) and see if you might like this compact tool.

 

Terry

[Oma24boys]

Just found the following...Had to purchase the $49 adapter for my sony stick but I think it is well worth it!

 

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?Sku=V290-1082

[flighttekchris]

i have been using a "jump drive" it has a "USB" plug that plugs right into my laptop and i just down load my pic right to the jump drive and clear my memory stick ready to shoot again, another thing i like i can take the drive plug it into any computer and show the pictures no adapters and no cables its great.....

" http://www.flash-memory-store.com/lexar-usb-flash-pen-drives.html"

[sherrintxs]

I want to thank all of you for answering the question that dh and I have been asking ourselves, we did not know such a thing exsisted and we were looking for something to help out with all the pics we take. I found the link about this Friday, found a Road Stor and called dh and he picked it up on his way home. We used it at a Nascar race this weekend and it was great, can't wait for our cruise now and not having to worry about needing more memory sticks. Thank you again!!!!

[JACKWC]

Does anyone who has cruised on the DREAM recall whether or not the TV's have inputs for Audio/video cables so that we can plug in a digital storage unit and look at pictures we have downloaded to CD from our digital cameras?:confused:

[mountainhouse]

I wonder if Radio Shack has anything that will let you connect those, through an adapter, to the rear cable jack on a TV (twist on coax jack). If you had that, you'd be set for all circumstances. I suspect some sort of video game adapter will work, but I'm not sure.