Extra storage - travelling - what to do with photos?

[richt]

I'll start with an apology here as I've seen a few posts about adding/accessing additional storage however I've found no definitive answer (poss there isn't one) before going off travelling for a few weeks

I used my iPad whilst away earlier this year and found its capacity very limiting. I soon ran out of films so have been looking into using the camera connection kit with an external hard disk or pen drive - also considered I'd be taking loads of pics which could be dumped onto a drive so as to avoid filling the iPad. I've read about the Seagate Satellite, and that's probably the best option, but feel I could get a cheap netbook for the same money (then add extra hard disks if necessary). I also found the Hyperdrive - seems a cheaper option but there doesn't seem to be much written about it here

Then I started thinking, I have loads of external hard disks (powered & portable) and also a couple of Airport Express's. Surely this should give me the same function as the Seagate drive? Current Airport software seems to have removed the Airdisk function but maybe previous software could bring that back. Has anyone tried?

I know the iPad could be jailbroken but feel this is to complicated a solution for this one problem I have. I do have an LG NAS drive and maybe should look into setting that up for access via wifi whilst abroad - would that give me the options I need? upload some films and download some pics - then delete off the iPad

If anyone has any thoughts or solutions then I'd be very grateful to read them as this is doing my head in

Thanks a lot

 

[RAC]

I used my iPad whilst away earlier this year and found its capacity very limiting.

I have been looking for an answer for a year and haven't found a really satifactory one. Before I had the iPad, I used a Netbook with an external USB HDD. Frankly, I think that it is probably still the best solution.

Out of sheer determination to use the iPad, I have developed a sort of solution. I use a very small Linux box called a DreamPlug with X Widows installed. I can use iSSH on the iPad as a console to copy files frm SD card to HDD, via the Linux box. I actually use a Perl script, originally developed for the Netbook, to copy the files. The script copies only new photos and splits the files into JPG and RAW subdirectories. To be honest, there's no real benefit over taking tha Notebook along as well as the iPad.

I am looking at the Seagate WiFi drive. Be aware that, out of the box, it can't be used to copy files using the iPad, it has a browser based Phoot Viewer and that's is. I would actually have to plug it into the DreamPlug to copy the files the way I do at the moment then view the photos wirelessly as Seagate intended.

There IS a hack for the Seagate that ditches the photo viewer and provides a full, web based, file browser plus a better photo viewer. I believe that it also makes SMB shares possible so that it should work with FileBrowser. This solution with AirStash (for SD card) might work, altough copying files via the iPad via WiFi would be slowish. There is also WiFi SD card that might work, I think that it's called an Eye.Fi card.

I find it frustration that the iPad is great for viewing photos but not much use for managing them.

EDIT: Be aware that you need to check carefully how any device you are considering (e.g. Eye.Fi) functions. They usually have built in firmware with limited functionality. Sometimes a hack is available to open the device up, but not always.

 

[richt]

Thanks a lot for your reply. It's comforting to see others with the same frustration and trying similar avenues
It is frustrating and I'm the same in that I feel determined to find an answer. I appreciate, from Apple's perspective, that the 'needs' we have here would be easily met by other products - MacBook Air I guess - but it's frustrating in that the iPad was bought for travelling light and it nearly is brilliant. Grrrrr

I'd read about the Seagate drive not being quite the perfect solution and that's why I've held back up to now. Any thoughts on using an Airport Express? There was a time i used to use it with a hard disk connected for anything on the network.

 

[Bluesjam]

Everything has its limit, buy an Airbook.

 

[jsh1120]

Everything has its limit, buy an Airbook.

Or a Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet with a USB port.

 

[RAC]

The next time I buy a tablet I will be looking for a device that offers a better solution for managing photos than the iPad does. I am not too concerned whether it will be an iPad, Andoid, etc.

Something that woul interest me is a battery powered, WiFi portable HDD with an SD Card slot (or USB port) and embedded, browser based, file manager and photo viewer, basically an "Image Tank" that is accessed via a tablet computer. To me this would be better than connecting a portable HDD to the tablet directly simply because wires and handheld devices aren't a good mix.

 

[Czevski]

I use online storage - photobucket - as backup for my photos from my iPad and my computer. I also have an eye-fi card that sends my photos to my iPad, their online (7 days only unless you purchase longer storage) site, photobucket and my computer. In photobucket they are by date and so far I haven't been able to get movies. There are lots of online sites to choose from.

 

[RAC]

I use online storage - photobucket - as backup for my photos from my iPad and my computer. I also have an eye-fi card that sends my photos to my iPad, their online (7 days only unless you purchase longer storage) site, photobucket and my computer. In photobucket they are by date and so far I haven't been able to get movies. There are lots of online sites to choose from.

Quite right, there are lots of cloud solutions (including iCloud) but I, and many others, aren't quite ready to ditch our portable hard drives just yet.

The iPad situation has improved slightly. It used to be that getting photos onto the iPad was easy enough, using the Photo/Camera Connection Kit but getting them off when got home wasn't quite so simple. You couldn't simply use Windows Explorer or Finder. The official way to do it was to use iTunes, hated by many, including me.

Now when you connect via USB, the Canera Roll is visible in Wndows Explorer. The folder names are meaningless but the files (raw and jpg) are clearly identifiable and I assume that they can be copied elsewhere. I assume that this became possible with iOS 5.

Even on an extended trip, taking lots of photos, I don't fill up my 16 GB SD card, so perhaps the iPad is now suitable as a photo backup viewing device while traveling.

 

[richt]

Thanks a lot for your replies - some great ideas that I haven't thought of
I started thinking I was asking too much of my iPad and the simplest solution was to get a few more sd cards for pics and accept the limited number of movies for the plane etc. I've come up with an answer though - and for a loyal Apple fan of years, it hurts! I'll get a cheapo netbook off eBay. less than a £100 and I can control my iPad just as I wish and easily hook up an external HD if required. That's much cheaper than the Seagate Satellite and I get all the function and control I need ...... Can't believe I'm about to buy a PC

 

[RAC]

Thanks a lot for your replies - some great ideas that I haven't thought of
I started thinking I was asking too much of my iPad and the simplest solution was to get a few more sd cards for pics and accept the limited number of movies for the plane etc. I've come up with an answer though - and for a loyal Apple fan of years, it hurts! I'll get a cheapo netbook off eBay. less than a £100 and I can control my iPad just as I wish and easily hook up an external HD if required. That's much cheaper than the Seagate Satellite and I get all the function and control I need ...... Can't believe I'm about to buy a PC

My cheap Netbook does the job quite well. The only shortcoming may be viewing photos, the iPad is superior there.

 

[zen2go]

I also use a cheap netbook while traveling for this exact purpose. The iPad is not the best tool for everything, unfortunately. And iTunes only makes it worse.

 

[epb]

I used my iPad whilst away earlier this year and found its capacity very limiting. I soon ran out of films so have been looking into using the camera connection kit with an external hard disk or pen drive - also considered I'd be taking loads of pics which could be dumped onto a drive so as to avoid filling the iPad.

Won't the Camera Cnnection Kit work with your current external drives?

My solution was an AirStash, which gives me wireless access to the SDHC cards my camera uses and any other files I put on them. With two 32GB cards, I've got double the capacity of my iPad 64GB, which has been plenty.

 

[RAC]

Won't the Camera Cnnection Kit work with your current external drives?

My solution was an AirStash, which gives me wireless access to the SDHC cards my camera uses and any other files I put on them. With two 32GB cards, I've got double the capacity of my iPad 64GB, which has been plenty.

Firstly, the amount of power available from the CCK is not sufficient for most external drives. Secondly. there is no file manager to access or copy files anyway.

The options seem to be AirStash or the new Seagate GoFlex WiFi drive, which has limited file management functions.

 

[epb]

Firstly, the amount of power available from the CCK is not sufficient for most external drives. Secondly. there is no file manager to access or copy files anyway.

A file manager wouldn't be necessary for the OP's requirements, as the iPad automatically detects image files.

 

[RAC]

A file manager wouldn't be necessary for the OP's requirements, as the iPad automatically detects image files.

I haven't got an external drive that will run off the amount of power that is available via CCK. With such a drive (or perhaps one that is powered separately) the next thing that is required is for a directory called DCIM to exist in the root of the drive. The iPad should then copy all raw and jpg files (perhaps all files) to the Camera Roll.

That's fine for viewing photos on the iPad but then there was the problem of getting files off the iPad later. I think that the only option used to be iTunes (ugh), but with iOS 5 it now seems to be possible to copy the files by connecting USB and using Windows Explorer or Mac Finder, Hooray!!!!.