SD card backup of photos without a laptop or tablet: Need a reliable SD card backup system for photos on our upcoming trip to Egypt, Jordan and Israel, without needing to take a laptop...

dleebrick Loc: Indian Land, South Carolina

Need a reliable SD card backup system for photos on our upcoming trip to Egypt, Jordan and Israel, without needing to take a laptop or tablet. Seems like the WD My Passport Wireless Pro is what a lot of people use, but it has very mixed reviews. Is that still the best option for backing up direct from camera? Camera WiFi to the cloud is also a possibility, but is pretty slow.

PixelStan77 Loc: Vermont/Chicago

dleebrick wrote:

Need a reliable SD card backup system for photos on our upcoming trip to Egypt, Jordan and Israel, without needing to take a laptop or tablet. Seems like the WD My Passport Wireless Pro is what a lot of people use, but it has very mixed reviews. Is that still the best option for backing up direct from camera? Camera WiFi to the cloud is also a possibility, but is pretty slow.

For me the most reliable is going with many SD cards and download when you get home. Cheaper and more reliable.

rcarol

I use the Asus Travelair but it does require a Smartphone to control the transfer from the SD card to the HDD.

https://www.asus.com/us/Optical-Drives-Storage/Travelair-N-WHD-A2/

jdubu Loc: San Jose, CA

Do a search on UHH, there are a few recent discussions about this very subject. Bypassing the need for us to reiterate our posts regarding backing up while traveling with and without a laptop.

I posted recently on this subject with others here

https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-579026-1.html

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

dleebrick wrote:

Need a reliable SD card backup system for photos on our upcoming trip to Egypt, Jordan and Israel, without needing to take a laptop or tablet. Seems like the WD My Passport Wireless Pro is what a lot of people use, but it has very mixed reviews. Is that still the best option for backing up direct from camera? Camera WiFi to the cloud is also a possibility, but is pretty slow.

You are good to follow and read the bad stuff. It is far more telling than the rave reviews.

That being said, I was in a similar conundrum several years ago when I discovered the RAVPower WD-03 - it is a self-powered router, bridge, SD Card reader wireless access point, and with a phone you can initiate a file copy from an SD card to any other medium - I use a pair of 256 gb memory sticks for redundant backups, but you can add/use as many as you need. The sticks have proven very reliable over the years, as has the WD-03. I got mine at Amazon for $35, I think it is up to $50 now.It also can recharge a phone.

jdubu Loc: San Jose, CA

Gene51 wrote:

You are good to follow and read the bad stuff. It ... (show quote)

Upon Gene's advice, I also took the RavPower plus my WD My Passport wireless pro on a trip last year to France. I opted to back up onto 2 portable hard drives via USB. Both worked as they are supposed to and I had multiple backups. The RavPower also powered the drives for downloading.

I could never rely solely on the single SD card as my file source while traveling. They are too easily misplaced and I am too easily paranoid, having lost files to a bad card and losing my wife's whole trip accidentally once. Luckily for me, I found a backup to her trip I had made on an external drive I forgot about at the time.

dleebrick Loc: Indian Land, South Carolina

I did do a search first, but was hoping to hear some more recent experience, since the comments of a year or two ago were somewhat mixed.

dleebrick Loc: Indian Land, South Carolina

Of course, I'll be taking multiple SD cards, but that's not really a backup. That just limits how much you lose if a card goes bad.

jdubu Loc: San Jose, CA

dleebrick wrote:

I did do a search first, but was hoping to hear some more recent experience, since the comments of a year or two ago were somewhat mixed.

Well, my last experience was last year also, but it was in September. I didn't use a laptop or my tablet, though I had the tablet for email and such. If the experience you need is newer than that, it might be a bit sparse.
The differences in experience others may have could also be biased by how they use the different devices. Based on my experiences with the WD wireless Pro and RavPower, I played with the software before hand and found the wireless worked. But decided to just do the cable route for the RavPower and card slot download on the WD as a simple plug and forget process while dining at night or unwinding before going to bed.

Not sure if things have changed significantly in what's available and what works for backing up on the road in the last year or so. Would consider the past discussions would still be relevant to how people experience backups. Even new responses I'm sure will be mixed.

Have great fun on your trip!

jdubu Loc: San Jose, CA

dleebrick wrote:

Of course, I'll be taking multiple SD cards, but that's not really a backup. That just limits how much you lose if a card goes bad.

OR it gets lost!

david vt Loc: Vermont

dleebrick wrote:

I did do a search first, but was hoping to hear some more recent experience, since the comments of a year or two ago were somewhat mixed.

The UHH search function leaves, ahem, something to be desired. This topic has come up a least 6, if not more than a dozen times, in the last year (seems like about every 2-3 weeks).

Try some different search parameters.

AndyH Loc: Massachusetts and New Hampshire

dleebrick wrote:

Need a reliable SD card backup system for photos on our upcoming trip to Egypt, Jordan and Israel, without needing to take a laptop or tablet. Seems like the WD My Passport Wireless Pro is what a lot of people use, but it has very mixed reviews. Is that still the best option for backing up direct from camera? Camera WiFi to the cloud is also a possibility, but is pretty slow.

I have used several WD hard drives, both internal and external, including a My Passport. I have found the drives to be sturdy and reliable but the software is buggy and difficult to install. The worst thing was setting it up on my Easyshare, testing it to make sure it was working properly, and then having it stop working with no explanation or apparent cause. WD online support was poor, at best, including nearly two hours of remote access to my computer by "Bob" in Mumbai. It's functioned properly since I gave up completely on the software and switched to another system. I've never had a WD drive fail in a desktop or laptop computer internally.

WD hardware has a reputation for being bulletproof, so I'd probably trust it in this situation. There is lots of good advice here on models and options between spinning and SS drives.

Good luck.

Andy

johneccles Loc: Leyland UK

Take a few extra SD cards such as 32/64 gb, as they are rather small you will need a suitable storage method, if your camera bag has a small compartment you could use that.

b roll wanabee

You could always bring a usb card reader and a portable usb powered external drive and use a hotel computer or stop in an Internet cafe.
Multiple cards are probably the way to go.

Rogers

The Passport Wireless Pro can do backups without having a tablet or phone; however I don’t recommend that approach because when using it on a tour of the Oregon coast, I was never sure if the files copied without using the phone or tablet. Also the passport wireless pro is pretty bulky, and is subject to file corruption if the battery runs down.

I’ve used different variants of the RAV with good results, but it needs a phone or tablet to control it.

I imagine you’re spending a pretty penny going to Egypt, so why not spend a bit more and buy or rent a camera that has its own built in WiFi and get a phone that has plenty of memory? My canon 77D does that and I like that solution best.

On the other hand, it’s very handy to have the ability to recharge your phone via a portable device such as this little RAV RP-WD01, that can make a backup to an SD card or usb stick. This little gadget fits nicely into my shirt pocket.