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latest and greatest ways to backup?

Ghostinz
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · latest and greatest ways to backup?

I will be doing some traveling over the next months. For the first time in a long time I wont be tethered to a work laptop. I used to just back up all my photos to my laptop, as well as have enough memory cards that I could keep them intact. So I would like some thoughts on the best way to back up your photos while on a trip. What do you guys and gals do? I likely will have access to the internet most of the time, just not always, and it might be slower connections.

Aug 09, 2023 at 03:26 PM

EB-1
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · latest and greatest ways to backup?

The 3-2-1 or 321 backup strategy is old, but still valid. You can find it all over the web.
On travel there are limitations of physical separation, but the same principle of multiple copies on different media in different "locations" applies as much as possible. I don't even consider internet as it's not able to upload more than a small amount in most locations I would visit, even in the states.

I use an ultralight (1.0kg) laptop with two 4TB internal NVMe SSDs and then at least three external 4TB SSDs. I use Breeze Downloader Pro to make three copies simultaneously on the download (2 internal, 1 external). Then I run a cross copy of one internal SSDs to the 4th external and the other internal SSD to the 5th external. The whole process is quite fast with SSDs. I keep the externals in different places, at least one in each camera bag, piece of luggage, etc. I have some old 2TB NVMe SSDs that are in small metal USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 enclosures for extra copies as needed. When I travel back to the states there are copies in each piece of carry-on and checked luggage. I keep one SSD on my person in case of emergencies.

I also have a contingency backup plan to copy data from memory cards to 1TB UHS-I SDxC card(s) in camera (UHS-I is slow at <95MB/sec., but relatively inexpensive). If all else fails SD cards are small enough to keep in the wallet with other essentials.

Ultimately you have to decide on an acceptable risk tolerance and mitigation strategy. If you are traveling domestically and the cost (or lost opportunity) is a few hundred dollars per day it may be different from an international adventure at $1-3K per day or more.

EBH

Aug 09, 2023 at 10:51 PM

rustinm
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · latest and greatest ways to backup?

So while traveling my process is as follows.

Enough memory cards so don't have to worry about deleting while on travel.
I have an iPad Air with USB-C connector. So I have a USB-C hub that reads SD cards and has USB ports.
Download files to iPad Air into Lightroom
Download files to external drive, currently using a Samsung
When moving between places external Samsung drive is with another traveling companion and iPad is typically in a different bag than the camera gear.

On road I don't plan on online backup. If there is WiFi then Lightroom will sync

Aug 10, 2023 at 10:31 AM

Robin Smith
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · latest and greatest ways to backup?

I just take as many cards as I will need and don't back up at all on the road. Nothing is that valuable to me or the world, to be honest. No one is waiting to see my images. If I lost some it would not be a disaster. I haven't lost any yet.

Aug 10, 2023 at 01:01 PM

rscheffler
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · latest and greatest ways to backup?

If you're not bringing a laptop and if your camera has dual card slots, then just bring a ton of extra cards and back up to those. While shooting you would have the camera record to both cards and each night copy one of these cards to other backup cards. I agree with the suggestion to distribute backup sets across your various travel bags and/or have a travel companion carry one set.

If your camera has only a single card slot, then you might be able to do something through your phone, such as copy cards to the phone and then copy those to an SSD or other high capacity cards you've designated for backup purposes.

You might still be able to get a standalone storage device, such as from Nexto.

Aug 10, 2023 at 08:48 PM

Todd Warnke
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · latest and greatest ways to backup?

Some good advice here, but I have a slightly different take. At home I use iDrive to create an online BU, and I'm even more particular about using iDrive when travelling. Why? I've had all my gear stolen, meaning all those cards as well. As others have commented, I bring a ton of cards so that I'm not overwriting them on the trip, but I also back the cards to a device each evening, and then start my iDrive online BU. You can copy your files to a tablet, phone or other small laptop, and then let the sync happen overnight, or even during the day if you leave the device in your hotel/VRBO/AirBnB/etc.

Just a thought.

Aug 10, 2023 at 09:57 PM

EB-1
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · latest and greatest ways to backup?

So you have actually tried that. What kind of nightly throughput are you getting? I assumed that over time they would limit or throttle your uploads or speeds would be asymmetrical.

EBH

Aug 11, 2023 at 04:10 PM

Todd Warnke
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · latest and greatest ways to backup?

Yes, I do it regularly, and just did so a couple of weeks ago. Was back in Oregon and went to Cannon Beach. Ended up with about 300 shots (Nikon Z8, average file size 55mb) and got back to my hotel in Portland about 11pm. By the time I had transferred the files to my laptop it was midnight. Hit the sack and was up and going by 6am for a 9am East Coast meeting. The files were all across by then. I didn't check the logs to see when they had completed. When I've been down in SW Colorado, shooting fall colors, I typically download files mid-morning after sunrise and then again in the evening. Typically, I'm in an AirBNB, and am shooting 200-500 shots each session. That I recall, I think I've only once had one upload session spill into another.

Aug 11, 2023 at 05:05 PM

Ghostinz
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · latest and greatest ways to backup?

Todd Warnke wrote:
Some good advice here, but I have a slightly different take. At home I use iDrive to create an online BU, and I'm even more particular about using iDrive when travelling. Why? I've had all my gear stolen, meaning all those cards as well. As others have commented, I bring a ton of cards so that I'm not overwriting them on the trip, but I also back the cards to a device each evening, and then start my iDrive online BU. You can copy your files to a tablet, phone or other small laptop, and then let the sync...Show more →

Would Google drive accomplish the same thing?? Or is there a limitation on file size? I have a dell latitude tablet. It's older, but I can store photo on it. Same with my galaxy tablet. It would store files. I like the idea of uploading some files to the cloud for sure.

Aug 11, 2023 at 06:01 PM

Todd Warnke
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · latest and greatest ways to backup?

Sure, though I don't think the process is automated like it is with a dedicated BU program.

Aug 11, 2023 at 06:23 PM

Todd Warnke
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · latest and greatest ways to backup?

A follow up - I just updated my laptop and have a 2.5TB data drive that needed to do a first sync to iDrive. It took just over 60 hours to sync, or about 1TB a day. That's on a home internet connection that only has a few users, so not really comparable to a hotel connection, but maybe more like an AirBnB connection.

Aug 12, 2023 at 02:54 PM

Tom Nevesely
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · latest and greatest ways to backup?

I use my phone (with a 256GB micro SD card in it) with a card reader and a short USB cable for all of my on the go back-ups. I also don't reuse my cards and have my 5Dmark4 set up to write to 2 cards simultaneously.

Aug 13, 2023 at 10:16 AM

jlafferty
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · latest and greatest ways to backup?

Don’t reuse cards? Like per shoot, or ever?

Aug 26, 2023 at 06:41 AM

Todd Warnke
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · latest and greatest ways to backup?

Don't reuse cards until you get back home, have verified they have been offloaded correctly, and that your backup has run. Then, format and reuse.

Aug 26, 2023 at 06:09 PM

EB-1
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · latest and greatest ways to backup?

That is ideal, but can be quite expensive if you use Type A cards and shoot videos or action.

EBH

Aug 26, 2023 at 06:57 PM


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