DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

I consider Dropbox very useful but expensive for permanent storage. There are other online possibilities, but as pointed out above, if you are somewhere without internet access or only a very slow connection you're out of luck. Best to have some other file copying and storage method with you. If I'm away from home I take a laptop and an external hard drive for backup.

df61743 Loc: Corpus Christi, TX

Dropbox is OK for sharing, but not really intended for long term backup. Besides that, Google Drive is a better option for sharing. You get a lot more space, free.

I'd go with a 4TB WD Wireless Passport drive. You can back up your camera files in the field without needing a computer or internet connection, and browse them with your smart phone or tablet. $197.99 at B&H

BigGWells Loc: Olympia, WA

Not sure Dropbox would be considered ideal for backup. For $60 a year you can get a cloud backup, such as Crash Plan, Carbonite. I do agree about having a couple backups. I have 3 ext hard drives, then Crash Plan.

photohelp

You have received many good answers, and we almost all agree that Dropbox is not the answer for this use. I also use the redundant card approach, recommended by most others, but in addition, I download nightly to a laptop and also to external storage so I have triple backup. The external storage is so small, light, and inexpensive now that it is a worthwhile insurance policy. i take the laptop (or tablet) because I can then review the photos I took that day to make sure there are not any problems, or that I should be doing something differently with exposure, etc. I don't try to edit in the field but sometimes I think I can do something better, adjust my technique, or redo a shot the next day. It also allows me to keep in touch with emails or send reports to family and friends. Having said that, in over 10 years of extensive travel using this technique, I have never needed to use the backup. It is like insurance; you hope you never need it but you have it to protect something you can't afford to lose, and travel photos fall into that category for me.

Pauld

charlienow Loc: Hershey, PA

i tried dropbox last year in Europe. i paid for a larger capacity. it was ok but inefficient. didn't always work. i shoot both raw and jpg so with several thousand shots it became impossible to upload all photos, especially with slow internet speeds. i took 10 cards with me so i didn't have to reuse any cards. the smallest was 32 and the largest was 128. when i got home the first thing i did was put in 3 different places and still have the cards.

this year we are doing a med cruise. i will again take 10 cards plus a cool device i picked up. a 2tb wireless pro. you can upload your cards thru the slot. it also has a USB slot. you can connect wirelessly to iPhone and android. it has a rechargeable battery and allows you to charge devices such as an iPhone. it comes in 1, 2, 3 and 4tb. i also got a hard case for it. here is a link to Best Buy for the device.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/wd-my-passport-wireless-pro-2tb-external-usb-3-0-portable-hard-drive-black/5194876.p?skuId=5194876

to save weight i don't travel with a laptop or even an iPad.

df61743 Loc: Corpus Christi, TX

Excellent choice... And it's only another $50 to double your space to 4 terrabytes.

bpulv Loc: Buena Park, CA

My D800 has both SD and CF memory slots. I use one to back up the other. Unlike many who use new flash memory cards each day, both of my memories are 512Gb. In addition, I have a Western Digital Passport USB hard drive that measures only 6" X 4" and a cheap $230 toshiba laptop that I take when I travel. The laptop and hard drive are only used to backup my photographs. I do not edit pictures when I travel, so the laptop only has the original factory installed software. I do, however install OS updates before each use. The toshiba is slow, but fast enough, and has an internal hard drive that is too small for RAW file backup. Each night I transfer photos to the Passport drive. I do not recommend the concept of cloud backup for several reasons, not the least of which is the slow upload speed.

10MPlayer Loc: California

If you do it this way make sure you take a shot of something like a travel brochure that tells your location and the day/date of the shoot. Wen you get back you'll be amazed at how fast the memories of where you were on which day fade.

sv3noKin51E

SafariGuy, we use Extreme/Pro CF 32 GB cards with a D300 body that travels in checked luggage as a sparem and as many spare (fresh) cards as possible. There's no such thing as taking one too many. They weigh nothing and travel in a waterproof aluminum case. We use SDXC cards in SD-CF adapters in the D7000/7200 bodies that travel carry on. We always use the 128 GB card in the 2nd slot as backup and it's never failed. We pack as many lithium camera batteries as practical and take two RavPower 20,000 lithium banks in luggage to top off laptop or camera batteries as needed each day. We always request hand inspection, and never allow x-ray scanners on us or the small amount of camera gear in carry on. Surgeries with screws/rods or metal implants requer more planning. Notarized physician statements on letterhead with copies to State also work for TSA and has saved us a great deal of grief and delays. You know this but it's always good keep a copy of your medical documents, passports and credit cards in a safe place.

If you have the budget and a camp to leave it charging, a quality large-capacity solar charger can prove to be a life-saver. None of those we use or have tested work in motion, but they fold up flat, don't weigh much in luggage and where you'll be depending on how long you're there, may be worth it. We've been in places where there's no useful internet (or safe electrical outlet) except in a good hotel, decent bandwidth is unheard of. If you use an overseas connection anywhere, like when you're home, use of a VPN is always the way to go. If/when you connect a few basic jpegs sent home caned ones more than happy. NatGeo and modern journalistic organizations may able to afford the luxury of having a generator and portable satellite uplink available for sending photos rapidly/reliably, but you probably can't swing that. Especially now, any travel out of this country should never be considered without renting a sat phone and a spare rechargeable battery (insurance usually comes with it) for the time you're gone. Only one call, one trip was the emergency you never think you'll have.

We replaced the laptop HDD with an SDD. Battery life is almost non-existent and bumps that will destroy a laptop drive don't affect it, and use a padded waterproof Case Logic case. A couple of one or two TB USB SSDs in aluminum cases, holds everything and won't deplete the laptop battery. We tried WD and Toshiba SSDs but after a new one failed we went to SanDisk SSDs. It sounds old-school, but before departing the airport we express-mail one of the drives and/or several duplicate photo cards home as insurance. The last trip the packet arrived a few days after we did. It may have traveled on the same or next flight. DHL is great if the airport has them, most don't but hotels can arrange for it. Have a safe safari and happy shooting. sv

DavidPine Loc: Fredericksburg, TX

I just returned from a two-week photo trip from Texas to New York to San Diego to Phoenix and back to Texas. I used an external hard drive and I saved my finished files on the drive and DropBox. I don't usually save my NEF files to DropBox Pro. I do make a backup to an additional external hard drive.