Ask the Teaboy

Q: I'm off on a holiday with my digital camera, but I'm worried about running out of space for all those photos. What should I do?

A: Option A: Buy more memory. Memory cards are light, small, pretty robust & coming down in price all the time.

Q: But I'm going to be away long enough for my relatives not to recognise me by the time i get back. Enough memory cards for this trip would be enough for a deposit on a small house, what other options do i have?

A: Option B: Visit a friendly local camera store, there may be one in your part of the world, and ask them to copy the images from your memory cards to CD. This way you can keep on shooting without buying more cards, and still have all your digital images backed up. Note: always check the CD has copied correctly before leaving the store, or deleting the images off your memory card.

Q: Hang on, I'm touring the Mongolian highlands on horseback with a tribe of Nomads, and i don't like my chances of them having CD writing software.

A: Option C: Take your own portable CD burner, either in the form of a laptop, or if you're not keen on the weight, check out something like the Apacer Disc Steno, basicly a battery operated portable CD writer you plug your memory cards into. The bonus with this option is you can make multiple copies, posting them home as you go or just storing them in different bags for security.

Q: The CD writer itself may not be too heavy, but the hundreds of CDs I'll need are going to burst the sticthes on my Lowepro Trekker bag, if not cripple my trusty horse.

A: Option D: A portable hard drive storage solution. The big daddy in terms of storage, most options range between 20 and 60 gigabytes, giving you plenty of room for those extended trips. The ever popular Apple iPod & appropriate adapter is an option in terms of basic storage, but if you want something a little more dedicated to it's task check out the Epson P2000 and Jobo Giga Vu. With big bright screens, direct from memory card download, MP3 and movie playback, the only risks you'll face are your new nomadic friends not wanting to give it back, and having all your eggs in one basket, so to speak. If you back all your images up to a portable hard drive, then said hard drive is stolen or broken, that is a lot of memories gone forever.

Q: Thanks, that's given me plenty to think about.

A: You're welcome :)

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