I am going travelling and will not have regular access to the internet. Is there a device that would let me back up the contents of a digital photocard?
Duncan Rodger
Small SD cards are cheap, so you can spread the risk by using a number of cards, and perhaps post some home. However, several companies make portable hard drives with memory card slots so you can copy photos across. Examples of photo storage include the Epson P-7000 Multimedia Storage Viewer, the Canon Media Storage M30 and M80, and products from Vosonic and Jobo. You may also be able to use an MP3 player or portable video player such as the SanDisk Sansa View or an iPod with a "camera connector", but beware compatibility problems.
Check the specifications to find out which device suits you best, and shop around for prices.
Bear in mind that, even if you copy your photos to a portable drive, you will still only have one copy in one place. When you do have internet access, try to zip pictures into 50MB or 100MB archives and upload them to an online drive. Be careful when using online photo-sharing albums, as they don't all store the whole of the original file. If you plan to use an online resource, test it thoroughly before you go.
