Camera Labs

Picture yourself in the Moroccan Sahara desert or in the jungle surrounding the Angkor Wat archaeological site, getting back to the hostel or wherever you're staying. I don't see myself taking a laptop on a long and exotic trip like the ones I mentioned before. Is there any practical solution to backup the daily pictures without the hassle of a laptop computer, cables and all the stuff one is carrying on the go? Thanks!

I know you want me to recommend a battery-operated hard disk with card reader, but I'm going to suggest something different!

Admittedy this won't work in the true wilderness, but most touristy locations, like Angkor Wat, are near to touristy facilities including cyber-cafes. Most of these offer backup to CDs. So if I wanted to travel light, (and I do!), I'd backup my cards onto CDs or DVDs in a cybercafe (being sure to verify the data afterwards), then to be REALLY safe, I'd post them back home.

This strategy will also protect your images from equipment loss or theft later in your trip. I've seen lots of travellers doing this.

Alternatively if bandwidth is quick and cheap, you could even consider uploading images to an online backup location, although this is only really practical for a handful of images and again from locations where bandwidth is cheap and quick.

Hi Gordon, thanks for your reply, I think it's the way to go, just to know why you advice against the portable back-up drives? By the way, great reviews on youtube!

Also, make 2 copies of each CD/DVD - one to send to a home address and the other to keep with you. I sent a DVD of images home once which never arrived. Fortunately, I'd made another copy which I'd sent to my sister which did arrive.

I've been an ex-pat for 6 years or so and have lost count the number of letters/parcels that have gone missing in both directions.

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Panasonic G3: 9-18mm, 14mm, 20mm, 45mm