Light Computer Equipment for the Fleet of Foot Photographer

Anouilh · 01-01-2009 10:03am #1

I've started looking at netbooks in preparation for a trip into the "Not Quite the Outback". Photographers may need to take considerations like grainy monitor quality into account when choosing, and I am now very aware of all the extras that could make my rucksack very heavy indeed.

The range of netbooks is overwhelming and I'm tempted by the Samsung NC10, despite dire health warnings from some quarters about the nano silver anti-bacterial coating. Some witty posters suggest that all will be well just so long as one does not lick the keyboard...

I have recently bought a very light external memory notebook by Western Digital.

Any tips on time saving equipment for photographers on the move would be welcome, please.

I came across a Belkin card reader/writer in one shop.
Would it be worth having?

bbbbb · 01-01-2009 11:30am

Not sure what you plan to use a netbook for?
If I was going on an extended trip I would be thinking:
- buy lots of memory cards.
- when they fill up, post home, or go to web cafe & use their cd/dvd burning service & post home.
If the netbook is to store images, maybe a usb drive with a built in card reader which can do the file tranfer. e.g. this. Not sure if this is a good model or not.
Enjoy the trip!

Calina · 01-01-2009 1:12pm

I'm not sure what you want either. Do you need to run processing software, or is it just a dumping ground for full cards?

If the latter, I believe Canon have hard disk card readers onto which you can store stuff.

If the latter, then you'll need to let us know what software you want. I believe sineadw had a dinky little one running linux that she had the Gimp installed on but frankly...

I've taken a 17in laptop with me to Morocco and to Brazil.

Borderfox · 01-01-2009 1:25pm

I use an Epson P3000 to store, backup and view on the go, superb screen and 40gb hard drive.

Kbeg3 · 01-01-2009 1:26pm

If you just want to back up memory cards then an Epson multimedia storage viewer like this would be great. I got one for Christmas and its good so far! You can edit raw files, play videos, music, store photos. Its great.

I wouldn't be too keen on running post-processing software on a netbook, as they wouldn't really have enough power

Hope this helps

nilhg · 01-01-2009 1:50pm

The problem with those Epson devices is that they are very expensive, that P7000 is much dearer than a NC10.

My mother in law was given a NC10 for Xmas and I have to say it's a lovely piece of kit.

When I was in Oz for a month last year I took a WD passport drive along, I had no trouble copying my photos on to it as I went along, and was able to backup to DVD as well. Had a lot of photos to process when I got home though.

Borderfox · 01-01-2009 1:52pm

The Epsons are much smaller though and the p3000 or p4000 is a lot cheaper than the P7000

Anouilh · 01-01-2009 2:07pm

Thanks to all for this helpful advice and for all the links.

I now wonder if our IPod would not be the best option for storage?

http://www.dcresource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6775

dudara · 01-01-2009 2:37pm

I got an NC10 for Christmas and it's a lovely little thing. The screen isn't obviously very large but it's decent enough for viewing. It's also super light and easy to tote around.

The 160 Gb harddrive and SD port means that I can dump a lot of photos from the camera onto the netbook. Thumbs up from me.

01-01-2009 5:32pm

eeePCs are also very good, they also come with a couple of neat Linux distro's. They have the SD card slot as well.

What ever you are buying, get it from the Uk! Some great deals to be had here or up North.

Calina · 01-01-2009 5:46pm

Anouilh wrote: »

Thanks to all for this helpful advice and for all the links.

I now wonder if our IPod would not be the best option for storage?

http://www.dcresource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6775

Risk of it being stolen might be that bit higher I think.

Anouilh · 01-01-2009 6:58pm

Calina wrote: »

Risk of it being stolen might be that bit higher I think.

Any self-respecting thief would do better by trying to nab my camera, I think. There I am very careful, having trained myself to organise belongings carefully when travelling.

In fact, I'm just remembering the ongoing checking that travel involves...

Also, found these today:

http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleid=1800&page=1

http://www.drunkenblog.com/drunkenblog-archives/000355.html

Light Computer Equipment for the Fleet of Foot Photographer

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