LouDiamond 1 #1 January 8, 2005 Curious if anyone has actually used/seen one of these in person and what your impressions were. With the newer 4 and 8 GB memory cards out there, downloading files won't be such a big issue for some but I personally like to have a way of backing my shots up just in case. Any one using a 1,4 or 8 GB CF card?"It's just skydiving..additional drama is not required" Some people dream about flying, I live my dream SKYMONKEY PUBLISHING Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
newshooter12 0 #2 January 8, 2005 I've got a 2 gig CF card for my D70. As of yet i haven't tested actual numbers, but the camera says I could get 190 RAW, images, 179 RAW with basic JPEG or about 590+ Large-Fine JPEGs. With a smaller resolution it just gets stupid fast... up to 7.5K images. I'd want to back up images from time to time, but i envision that happening at home after a day of jumping or on a laptop after something important. matt Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dragon2 0 #3 January 8, 2005 I use a 1GB microdrive (for ground shots only, obviously) and 3 512 MB fast CF cards. I don't run out of space quickly, but it has been known to happen... For the large amount of money those data dump thingies cost, no thanx. I just keep my laptop handy. And should the 4 cards not be enough, I might consider just getting a couple more. I'm not really a fan of the really big cards at the moment, because A) they're much pricier, and mostly B) if I lose one, I'd rather not lose a very large amount of pictures at once... edited to add: I use a 6 MP Nikon D70. When shooting RAW with the 14 MP Kodak pro earlier this year, I came to appreciate 1 GB and over cards way more! ciel bleu, Saskia Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Deuce 1 #4 January 8, 2005 The problem with the gig card is that is is too much information to fit on one CD. If you use a portable burner, like I do, the 1 gig card won't fit on a single disc. Not a huge problem, but kind of a pain. I have been using a flashtrax http://www.mydigitaldiscount.com/s.nl/c.ACCT139057/sc.2/category.30/.f which is a very simple USB connectable drive with a screen. A little pricey, but nice for looking at, as well as storing pictures. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LouDiamond 1 #5 January 9, 2005 I hear you my brutha and I know you and I think big and aren't afraid to buy expensive toys . The way I can envision using this is for boogies/busy days where you want to be able to make lots of turn arounds and still have room on your card and also not run the risk of loosing pics for what ever reason(s) that we know eventually happens. Lets say you have a 256 CF card and your running b to b tandems or whatever, you DL to the device I mentioned(I'm assuming it Dls quick) and leave it with editing and put your card back in and go jump, editing can do the post prod work, etc. For the bigger cards, it allows you to back up while still staying in the mix(not busting a lap top out and booting etc)and if you do run over your CD capacity from multiple loads or a happy tounge you can do the sorting post over a beer and divide photos into CD size chunks then burn. I see this as giving you the conveinece of a laptop in ref to HD space without having to boot up or burn to a CD before you can go shoot again. Thoughts?"It's just skydiving..additional drama is not required" Some people dream about flying, I live my dream SKYMONKEY PUBLISHING Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Deuce 1 #6 January 9, 2005 Well, we use the CD burner for that at my DZ and it works great. For tandems we all pretty much use 256 cards. http://search.netscape.com/ns/boomframe.jsp?query=alera&page=1&offset=0&result_url=redir%3Fsrc%3Dwebsearch%26requestId%3D5ed7bd6b5ce3b32f%26clickedItemRank%3D1%26userQuery%3Dalera%26clickedItemURN%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.aleratec.com%252F%26invocationType%3D-%26fromPage%3DNSCPToolbarNS%26amp%3BampTest%3D1&remove_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aleratec.com%2F Dude $99 reconditioned is a freaking steal. Anyhow, stick the card in the front, push the button do the other stuff "BEEP" give the disc to the customer and off you go. If you want to keep your copies and reformat the card, just put your CD in after the customers to add the files. That works great for customers. For me, I like the flashtrax, cause I put my card in the front, push copy and my pictures are downloaded and ready to manipulate when I get back to my computer. So, for the tandem photography thing, I think the Alera is the way to go. The flashtrax is the way to go when you want to clear your cards and look at pictures. -Hey, nice article and picture in Parachutist this month. How the heck do you get photo credit for a picture you are in? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pcalandra 0 #7 January 9, 2005 I just dumped my 512 cards to my laptop throughout the day at the DZ and found it worked very well for me, I just leave it on all day, it wasn't big deal. In addition or alternatively I'm seriously considering one of the USB 2.0 CD burners for quick and eazy backup and faster buring of CD's for the students oif they want to leave with a CD, the MicroSolutions RoadStor in another thread looks like a good choice especially since it acts as a stand alone DVD player. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LouDiamond 1 #8 January 9, 2005 Yeah I hear you on the tandem, we have a CD /CF card burner at our DZ. We picked it up after we had the thread about it some months ago on here. You didn't touch on the boogies though. I can remember a certain someone disappearing for a good hour or longer just to fiddle with pictures and what not. BTW. I RTFM and figured out how to use the self timer CHIMP!!"It's just skydiving..additional drama is not required" Some people dream about flying, I live my dream SKYMONKEY PUBLISHING Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lewmonst 0 #9 January 9, 2005 Years ago, when the whole data tank thing was new, I got one for a trip to Australia. I didn't want to buy a lot of cards, didn't want to lug my laptop around the whole trip, but wanted to take tons of photos for two weeks... you get the idea. I got this: Mindstor which was top of the line at the time. No image viewing screen, so you just had to trust that when it said the files were saved they were saved, and reuse the card. It worked, despite a power supply problem. I eventually returned it, but glad I had it for the trip. I've been wanting another one, with a color viewer like the one Deucey has... Ed bought a openbox RCA one from BestBuy thinking it was a good deal but it literally took about 5 minutes per file to unloade the card, so very impractical. I've been waiting to buy another one until I really need it. In the meantime, taking my laptop everywhere hasn't been a problem. But I'm drooling over the one Deuce has... (telling myself I don't need it. I really don't need it. my birthday is in april, anyone? anyone? jk) (and not to mention still trying to work the digital into our school jumps...) peace lew ps, photo from australia & nzhttp://www.exitshot.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ltdiver 3 #10 January 9, 2005 Awesome pics, lew! Were those with your new 20D? ltdiver Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Deuce 1 #11 January 9, 2005 Quote You didn't touch on the boogies though. I can remember a certain someone disappearing for a good hour or longer just to fiddle with pictures and what not. BTW. I RTFM and figured out how to use the self timer CHIMP!! I've given up on printing pictures at boogalees, and that is what takes up a lot of time. It's all about Shutterfly. The flashtrax or one of the other one's with a screen are the way to go. It is just as fast as if I put it in the reader of my computer, and then it just plugs and charges in the USB hub. It can also hold regular files and folders and is a "regular" fast external hard drive. Self-timer, huh? I figured maybe you were so Ninja-fast you could take the picture and be in it too. Or maybe you had a little pixie assist you? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lewmonst 0 #12 January 9, 2005 thanks, no, they were taken about 2 years ago with a nikon coolpix. old school. btw, deuce, i know what you're talking about. peace lewhttp://www.exitshot.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kelpdiver 2 #13 January 11, 2005 QuoteCurious if anyone has actually used/seen one of these in person and what your impressions were. Lou - I've used another variant - the Vosonics X-s Drive II, which came out about 2 years back. There are now numerous models from many brands, some with screens, some without. Mine came for $99 without a drive. A decent sized 2.5" notebook drive is about 100-130 more. I'd shoot for a model that confirms the fil copy count, or something more than mine does, which is simply beep once the copy is complete. Which makes this particular model you've found overpriced. You don't need the size convenience of 1.8" drives for your purpose. For at least $100 less, you can get twice the diskspace of that $350 20gig unit. Oh- file transfer is not all that quick. On mine, even a 256 would take 5+ minutes. Figure 10+ minutes on these newer models with a gig flash card. If you're going right back into the air, you'd want at least two cards. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
