Tom,
I'm still weighing up options too, as I plan to spend two months in
the UK and France later this year. There are card->hard-drive units,
card->CD units and one card->DVD unit that I can find, but only a laptop
provides you with card->hard-drive & DVD capabilities.
The "compactdrive" that Rob Studdert has mentioned in the past seems to be
the best option for card->hard-drive as it is fast and double as a AA
battery charger, so on less device and plug pack to cart around.
The JOBO "image maestro pro" which also sells under two other names, seems
to be the only card->DVD option other than a laptop. I like the idea of
carrying one backup DVD and mailing the other home, to be sure, to be sure.
( http://www.jobodigital.com/products/imagemaestro_pro.htm )
There are a number of card->CD products, but if you were shooting 2GB RAW a
day (140 frames, four rolls of film in the old money) that is three CDs each
day, six if you use my off-site backup regime as well.
As for laptops, the smallest, lightest ones with DVD burner appear to be a
Sony T series or an Apple 12" Powerbook. This is a big step up in weight and
cost.
You should be able to get by with a card->hard-drive unit and get DVDs burnt
at computer shops or internet cafes, but that may not be convenient if you
are on a tight schedule.
My ideal unit would be like one of the portable DVD players, with a DVD
burner instead of a player, a notebook hard-drive and enough computing power
to view the files (assuming a RAW converter) and move the files between
directories.
Paul Ewins
Melbourne, Australia
-----Original Message-----
From: Tom C [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: RE: On-the-Go Storage, it works!
What I'd like is a single device that will store 120g of data, provide the
ability to burn CD's and/or DVD's, and not require a computer.
I have a 40g Flashtrax, but I anticipate far exceeding it's capacity on a 2
week vacation, plus if it were to 'go south' I'd lose everything. I want to
be able to burn a backup copy to CD/DVD after copying files from the compact
flash to the hard drive.
Does anything like this exist in a single unit?
Tom C.
