sroc

I have taken 6+ trips to Europe, Israel and Africa with a RAVPower FileHub (Model RP-WD01). It has an SD card reader and a USB port. I pop in the SD card and connect a WD MyPassport 4TB drive to the USB port and transfer my photos (RAW) from the SD card to the WD drive. The operation is controlled via WiFi from a smart phone or tablet. I keep the FileHub powered during the operation though it can be powered after charging (it can be used to power a smart phone on its own). The app controlling the transfer lets me choose a file on the WD drive or make a new file. Files can also be transferred to the smart phone or to the tablet.

joeds

It can be done because im doing it now.

As far as wiping the card the camera can do that.

My point was my micro sd card in the phone is being used as the backup device in lieu of using a portable external hard drive.

I also use a sandisk extreme pro 128gb SD card in the camera (NEF and MOV go there) that i don't format every time. I also use a 32gb SD card in slot 2 that gets the jpeg files.

If the camera SD cards fill up i replace them with new ones. I never erase and reformat any cards in the field. That way i would have to have 3 seperate card failures in order to lose a picture

timcc Loc: Virginia

NEXTO DI is pricey, but compact and light weight. The SSD versions are very expensive, but the drive versions are less so and work well.

Nickaroo

There are SD card readers that will download or back photos. Just call B&H Photography Store.

cbeckett

A recently introduced product from RavPower might be what you're looking for. I picked one up from Amazon (the 600mAh) FileHub plus from Amazon a couple of months ago for $39.99. It achieves this low price by
1) Requiring you to supply your own USB device (flash drive or portable external drive) and
2) Using your smart phone for the UI.
These are both pluses as far as I'm concerned. By using a USB storage device that you supply, you'll be able to upgrade your storage without buying a new RavPower or similar unit. You can choose whatever you want to backup your photos to (and use multiple devices if you want).
By using your smart phone (iPhone/iPad or Android device) you get a much richer user interface. Other users point out that the UI isn't particularly smart looking or advanced, and I agree, but it sure beats a dedicated device and since the UI is in a smart phone app the manufacturer can easily upgrade and maintain it.
In addition to backing up your photos, this thing works as a Wifi bridge and can also convert a wired network to a WiFi hot spot. You can also share photos to your smart device. It also functions as a USB charger.

I haven't used the WiFi features but I did test the SD card transfer and briefly tested the photo share. it works as advertised, but I've only had it a few months and haven't used it on a trip yet so can't testify to how well it holds up in the field. There are also a few newer models on the RavPower site with higher capacity batteries, but I like the size of the one I have. It's small and sturdy and blows other devices out of the water cost wise.

Daryl New Loc: Wellington,New Zealand

I reckon you're right 11Bravo....

jodipfeiffer

Thanks for your help and links

Pegasus Loc: Texas Gulf Coast

The Samsung Note 8 is an amazing device. I have the same phone but I only put in a 256GB card in mine (bought it a year ago or so.) The adapters that come with it include a small OTG cable as a nub. I can connect my Lexar high speed card reader directly to my Note 8 and transfer the files from my D7500 to my Note 8. Earlier this week, I ordered a small card reader with a USB-C connector just for my smartphone; this way my larger Lexar card reader can stay with my laptop. I'm hoping this new card reader will be even faster than my current one.

It's a great way to do a quick backup even out in the field.

joeds

My card reader is a USB 3.1 and i was amazed how fast it all went. I also tried copying fron one sd card to another on the same card reader and rhat was fast too . Can you believe the Note9 will support 1 terabyte of memory !!

juan_uy Loc: Uruguay

Hi sroc, sorry to throw all these questions but I am very interested in this specific solution (can get a WD01 easily)
Do you use the RavPower app for the file transfer? or a third party one?
The phone must stay connected and with the screen unlocked?
What is the performance? How long aprox takes to transfer some Gb (16, 32, 64)?

Thanks!

Pegasus Loc: Texas Gulf Coast

The Note series are phenomenal devices, my favorites for the last 5 years. Good to hear that the speed is there with a proper card reader. My current one is a USB 3.0 with the wide USB connector. The device coming in is supposedly a USB 3.1 with the USB-C connector. Of course, the SD cards themselves will be the limiting factor, in the reader and in the Note 8.

glennroby

I just bought a WD my passport wireless ssd a week ago. It can be set up to automatically transfer new photos by inserting the sd card into the drive. The copy does not need a computer. Using the WD my cloud app in my ipad I can look at raw pictures. I'm going on a trip in a month and wanted to be able to backup pics every day and also be able to look at them on something bigger than my camera's screen. This does that. As an added bonus, I loaded some movies and tunes for the plane ride to view on the ipad.

safeman

Admittedly I am new to digital but SD cards are cheap. Buy a bunch of SD cards when one is full or you have a reason to change cards i.e. different location day what ever just eject the card, push the rite protect tab to protect, put the used SD card in it's plastic case and store it somewhere safe. I'm sure that if you need more cards they are available in Israel. Safe, secure and I would carry them home in my shirt pocket.

TheShoe Loc: Lacey, WA

You really do not need a computer to do this. Years ago, I had an HD that would detect whether its power came from an external power supply or from the USB. If powered by its external power supply, it automatically downloaded files from a reader connected to it via USB. If the power was from the USB, it acted like a normal HD. The same method or something similar could be done for an SSD.

jdubu Loc: San Jose, CA

I also picked up a RavPower Filehub WD007 recently and have tested it for a European trip coming up. I also have the WD wireless Pro. My plan is to use both on each SD card so I will have 2 backups on different devices. I am not bringing a laptop or PC tablet.

On the RavPower, I didn't even use my phone or the utility to transfer from the SD card in the slot to a plugged in portable hard drive. I simply powered up, pushed the button on the side marked "SD to USB" and it transferred the entire photo folder over. The Wireless Pro also transferred perfectly. I have run multiple tests on both to make sure it is doing backup correctly and so far, so good. Took a few 1/2 to 3/4 full 32gb cards from previous shoots and they transferred in a few minutes, wasn't clocking the download.

So between the SD cards, the portable hard drive with the Rav, WD Wireless Pro and the CF cards (cameras have CF and SD slots), I am good on my daily backups. I have plenty of both types of cards for the trip to shoot raw files and not have to erase anything, so hopefully everything goes as planned.