Work flow for backing up photos on site

[MikeA]

I take my laptop with me and two ssd’s. One SSD has my images on it along with my lightroom catalog, the other is my backup. A copy of my catalog is saved to my laptop.

My workflow: when I get back from a day in the field in the evening, I download the images from my cameras (I have 2 bodies just in case and use two different lenses, so I use both cameras 600mm and 70-200mm). I import them into lightroom. Then I make a backup of the images of the day on the second drive. Then I format the cards and have fresh ones the next day.

Mike

 

[Roy]

I plan on doing some international travel next month. I normally use a desktop to edit photos when I get back home. As a relatively new photographer, I normally don't travel with a laptop or ipad (last laptop I have is from 2010).

That said, I just rely on the card in camera to capture all my images. As a newbie, I have not backed up the card while traveling.

Do folks recommend backing up on a hard drive while shooting? If so, and no laptop or ipad while traveling, do you recommend getting one? I'm weighing the money spent on getting to a destination with cost of adding new hardware (laptop and portable hard drive) to lower my risk of losing photos due to a bad card/other issues in camera.

Would love to hear some real world experiences. Thanks to all.

People seem to only think backup after losing all.
I try to backup in three places Card hard drive and computer. (still dont trust the cloud but you might).
I use multiple cards and change with each section of the shoot.
Dont forget to give the camera time to finish writing to the card before turning off.
Early digital often had corruption problems when deleting individual files from cards ..

 

[Lotuselite]

OWC have an App designed to copy files from an iPhone or iPad to a portable SSD.
It is in the App store.
There is a free version with a more featured add on for a few bucks.
I have not used it but card to iPad/phone to portable SSD seems like
a pretty compact system.
Space available I would take my 13" MBP.

For those not familiar, OWC is a Mac oriented company, hope I am not violating
Steve's rules here.

 

[Not A Speck Of Cereal]

If you're going to use an iPad to transfer to SSD, do test that it works as someone else mentioned.

But also, even if works, note the speed. If it takes a very long time to transfer (an hour or longer), that would be a problem for me. It may still be going when you want to go to sleep (or go to dinner) and you may not see any error messages. I want to be able to transfer a 128-256GB card in minutes, no more than 10-15m. Double this if you copy in duplicate (as you should).

This is especially important if you back-up your storage cards in the field. You will have put a fresh set of card in the camera so that you can continue shooting, but how long do you want to be monitoring that backup, in your bag, in the car, sitting there on the rock or picnic table while you wait? And this is especially cumbersome in the field if your SSDs are tethered to an iPad.

Chris

 

[htom]

I plan on doing some international travel next month. I normally use a desktop to edit photos when I get back home. As a relatively new photographer, I normally don't travel with a laptop or ipad (last laptop I have is from 2010).

That said, I just rely on the card in camera to capture all my images. As a newbie, I have not backed up the card while traveling.

Do folks recommend backing up on a hard drive while shooting? If so, and no laptop or ipad while traveling, do you recommend getting one? I'm weighing the money spent on getting to a destination with cost of adding new hardware (laptop and portable hard drive) to lower my risk of losing photos due to a bad card/other issues in camera.

Would love to hear some real world experiences. Thanks to all.

Since cost and portability are the key factors in this case, I would highly recommend to buy few large capacity SD cards and copy the files each day from the main card to a backup card. If you're able to increase your budget ( and don't mind carrying extra hardware ) then a low budget 11' inch laptop with USB-C port + an external SSD + card reader will do the job fine.

 

[Not A Speck Of Cereal]

Since cost and portability are the key factors in this case, I would highly recommend to buy few large capacity SD cards and copy the files each day from the main card to a backup card.

To a single backup card? I believe the safe thing to do is to copy to at least TWO cards, potentially storing them in different places, but at least having two to cover the possibility of one of them going bad.

I carry 4TB SSDs (x2), so I don't how well that compares to how many large capacity SD cards one needs (which of course depends on the shoot). Even compared to 2TB SSD drives, that's still a lot of large capacity SDs.

Chris

 

[Abinoone]

Here's the setup I use when in the field - USB hub with card reader and SSDs connected. It's an easy and simple transfer of image files to the SSDs.

You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.

 

[htom]

Here's the setup I use when in the field - USB hub with card reader and SSDs connected. It's an easy and simple transfer of image files to the SSDs.

View attachment 98854

It’s a great solution as you have supporting hardware at hand. However pls keep in mind that older apple devices with lightning port (except certain iPad pro) have only 480mb/s transfer speed.

 

[babytuckoo]

@Abinoone I'm going to try something similar to what you have and see how fast the transfer speeds are. @htom as you mention, I have a lightning port on my ipad so it may be a rate limiting step.

@Not A Speck Of Cereal I will have a back up card in camera (to duplicate all images) then plan on keeping photos on the ipad and on an external SSD drive. I should have Wifi for much of the trip. After being out during the day, I can come back to the hotel and relatives house and see what transfer speeds are like If I choose to try adding a cloud based back up to the work flow.

As many people have pointed out, buying a laptop may just make the most sense. I have time to figure things out (trying the above) and I appreciate all the input!

 

[J J]

If you don't want to carry a laptop or an iPad like device, the best option is to carry a USB hub, card reader and a handful of pen drives.

Plug the card reader with the card in it and one pen drive into the hub and connect the hub to your phone. Use your phone file manager to copy/move your images from the card to the pen drive. After confirming the pictures are safely on the pen drive, unmount the hub. You can then unplug the card reader and plug in a second pen drive and reconnect to the phone to copy from the first pen drive to second for another back up. Be sure to unmount the hub each time. It isn't advisable to plug more than 2 devices into the hub as the phone may not be able to power all of them.

I find this setup light, cheap and cheerful! Hope it helps.

 

[Michael Bisset]

As has already been described by others, I use a iPad Air (M2), USB hub and a SSD drive to backup from my CF Express card in the field. For more nuanced backup, I use the app Sync Folders Pro having first set the backup parameters I wish. It is possible to backup large amounts of data (I’ve copied over a TB at a time without problems)

‎Sync Folders Pro

‎Sync Folders Pro is an easy-to-use app for beginners, has the ability to fine-tune synchronization settings for the most exacting professionals. Sync Folders Pro is perfect for backups to external storage devices including: USB, memory cards, disks on remote computers within your network...

apps.apple.com

Interested to know if others, have experience with this app.

 

[Replytoken]

Here's the setup I use when in the field - USB hub with card reader and SSDs connected. It's an easy and simple transfer of image files to the SSDs.

View attachment 98854

A couple of questions. What hub are you using? And I am assuming that it is not powered, and that your iPad (which I am assuming is USB-C) is not objecting to the two devices being powered.

I ask because I am tying to find something similar with an Android phone (USB-C) that will not pull too much power, or can be powered by a USB-C port.

Thanks,

--Ken

 

[Michael Bisset]

A couple of questions. What hub are you using? And I am assuming that it is not powered, and that your iPad (which I am assuming is USB-C) is not objecting to the two devices being powered.

I ask because I am tying to find something similar with an Android phone (USB-C) that will not pull too much power, or can be powered by a USB-C port.

Thanks,

--Ken

Although your question was for Abinoone I thought I would let you know the usb C hub I use.

USB-C | SOHO Dock – CalDigit

www.caldigit.com

Although I have powered it from an iPad, I would suggest that if you are attaching a SSD drive and a card reader to the hub, you should use a PD battery or PD mains power supply.

 

[Replytoken]

Although your question was for Abinoone I thought I would let you know the usb C hub I use.

USB-C | SOHO Dock – CalDigit

www.caldigit.com

Although I have powered it from an iPad, I would suggest that if you are attaching a SSD drive and a card reader to the hub, you should use a PD battery or PD mains power supply.

That's what I am looking for. But what I do not know about USB-C PD is does it just pass power to the host, or does it also power the ports? And can it be powered by a smaller wall wart that provides 25-35 watts via USB-C? Were are talking about two drives or card readers, and I want to keep this compact if possible.

--Ken

 

[Abinoone]

A couple of questions. What hub are you using? And I am assuming that it is not powered, and that your iPad (which I am assuming is USB-C) is not objecting to the two devices being powered.

I ask because I am tying to find something similar with an Android phone (USB-C) that will not pull too much power, or can be powered by a USB-C port.

Thanks,

--Ken

Hi,
I'm using a Satechi 4-port USB hub (https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1667212-REG/satechi_st_uc4phm_4_port_usb_c_hub.html), and it's an easy plug and play on my iPad Air. No issues to report whatsoever.

 

[Anjin San]

As has already been described by others, I use a iPad Air (M2), USB hub and a SSD drive to backup from my CF Express card in the field. For more nuanced backup, I use the app Sync Folders Pro having first set the backup parameters I wish. It is possible to backup large amounts of data (I’ve copied over a TB at a time without problems)

‎Sync Folders Pro

‎Sync Folders Pro is an easy-to-use app for beginners, has the ability to fine-tune synchronization settings for the most exacting professionals. Sync Folders Pro is perfect for backups to external storage devices including: USB, memory cards, disks on remote computers within your network...

apps.apple.com

Interested to know if others, have experience with this app.

Michael…I'm toying with around with CarbonCopyCloner Mobile and find it somewhat under featured so far…which means I can't use my iPad for on the road backups in an automated fashion. On the laptop…I've got CCC tasks that copy the cards individually all do different locations on one SSD…then another set of tasks that copy from that drive to another pair of SSDs…the laptop version lets these tasks be setup, tested, and saved ahead of time so I don't have to worry about screwing it up at night by candlelight in the safari tent. Before I pay for and try Sync Folders Pro…does it let you preconfigured iPad tasks as the laptop does so that it's a matter of sticking in the right card and clicking go, rinse and repeat for remaining cards, then swap card reader for 2 more SSDs and click Go on the tasks to backup from the first SSD to those 2? I'm looking to be able to have the backup process from cards to drives as idiot proof as possible…the laptop lets me do that and doesn't recopy preexisting files (like the images from yesterday that were already backed up). The mobile version of CCC does the incremental copy just fine but so far only lets me have a single saved task rather than a whole set of tasks like the laptop does.

I don't really import into LRC on the road…the mobile version of LR lets me look at them if I want but usually there's just not enough time before bed for that…so being able to take an iPad instead of the laptop saves a couple of pounds.

 

[Michael Bisset]

That's what I am looking for. But what I do not know about USB-C PD is does it just pass power to the host, or does it also power the ports? And can it be powered by a smaller wall wart that provides 25-35 watts via USB-C? Were are talking about two drives or card readers, and I want to keep this compact if possible.

--Ken

The USB C power supply will power the iPad and all the ports if it is greater than 18W. If connected to a laptop, the laptop will supply the power. Full details can be found in the user manual linked below.

https://downloads.caldigit.com/CalDigit_USB-C-SOHO-Dock_Manual_EN.pdf

 

[Replytoken]

Hi,
I'm using a Satechi 4-port USB hub (https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1667212-REG/satechi_st_uc4phm_4_port_usb_c_hub.html), and it's an easy plug and play on my iPad Air. No issues to report whatsoever.

I see the y make a powered version as well, but this FAQ page gave me pause about connecting and disconnecting power to the drives: https://support.satechi.com/hc/en-u...ected-at-once-without-performance-degradation .

--Ken

 

[Eileen]

I plan on doing some international travel next month. I normally use a desktop to edit photos when I get back home. As a relatively new photographer, I normally don't travel with a laptop or ipad (last laptop I have is from 2010).

That said, I just rely on the card in camera to capture all my images. As a newbie, I have not backed up the card while traveling.

Do folks recommend backing up on a hard drive while shooting? If so, and no laptop or ipad while traveling, do you recommend getting one? I'm weighing the money spent on getting to a destination with cost of adding new hardware (laptop and portable hard drive) to lower my risk of losing photos due to a bad card/other issues in camera.

Would love to hear some real world experiences. Thanks to all.

I use a RAV file hub when away You set it up on your Wi-Fi at home to link to your phone Then when away you don't need Wi-Fi You attach an external hard drive or if you no got one you can upload to your phone I always take slim ssd hard drive I upload raw photos directly to a new file on my hard drive and as I do raw and JPEG ( that's so I can share on social media if I want to) I upload the jpegs to phone
Also if you in a hotel where you pay for Wi-Fi you can pay to link the RAV and then other family members or friends can use the Wi-Fi on there machines rather than each person paying for Wi-Fi
I love it First use on a Oz touring trip even out in the bush or desert

 

[MMoretti]

I always travel with an iPad Pro with Lightroom. I generally import everything (always RAW) into LR; I may cull images in camera first. After importing, I’ll cull more and do some editing of my more interesting images for near-instant satisfaction. I also bring along a small Anker USB-C hub and SanDisk 2T SSD, though rarely use it. I bring several 512 GB CFE cards which I don’t erase until I get home. My Z8’s SD slot is for overflow which I’ve never needed.

 

[MMoretti]

After several years of using iPad to back up my images (plus moving files to SSD) I have decided to go for a small laptop. The reason is that my favourite culling program, Fast Raw Viewer, will only operate on a computer. When on photography workshops, there is often significant downtime mid-day, which is perfect for culling images. Cost wise, I could have gotten a MacBook Air for the price of my iPad Pro. There’s about 1 pound weight difference.

I use Narrative for culling on my MBP… I’ve been often tempted to bring it instead of my iPad.