How do you store digital photos???

[Wennfred]

...Laptops are too heavy...

 

I take with me a Dell Inspiron 700m weights only 4.1 lbs, 1.5 inches thick, 11.7 by 8.5 this guy is very small, fits in the front of those small carryon luggages.

 

I use it mainly for travel and to transfer the pictures to it

 

I also take my Portable battery operated HP Photosmart 375, Why wait till you get home to email pictures to your tablemates when you can print them right there at the dinner table, 4x6 pictures instant. :)

 

Dell Inspiron 700m:

http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/inspn_700m?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&~page=2&~tab=specstab#tabtop

[monicuba23]

We always travel with the laptop. I like to get work done on the flight, so I can have a more relaxing vacation -- it usually makes me feel better to know that I've gotten a headstart on my work.

 

We also send digital photos of our vacation to our family -- while we're on vacation. It's tradition..... Since we love to go to new and exciting places with interesting finds, we'll photograph interesting souvenirs, jewelry, etc. and if someone at home wants one, we'll purchase it!

 

The most interesting (and expensive) was a $6,000 Cookoo Clock we found in Canada -- my uncle had been searching for something like that for over 10 years! We sent the picture, he loved it, and we took care of it for him.

[dougp26364]

I've always taken my laptop in the past but thought it would be easier to bring something smaller and easier to carry, freeing up carry on baggage space and leg room for long flights.

 

I purchased an i-Pod color that is supposed to allow me to transfer photo's directly from my camera or other portable media reading device, then allow for transfer to a computer.

 

I REALLY wish the computer geeks that write the online manuals and tutorials would understand that some people (me) just don't have the basic knowledge they expect us to have. So far my wife and I have spent well over 6 hours with these things and aren't a lot closer to understanding how to upload, transfer and download our files. All the tutorial keeps refering to is to drag and click the file but.......no file ever appears to drag and click. At this point I'd love to drag and click the engineer that wrote the manual for this thing.

 

Nothing like a little new technology to get the B/P up! I choose the i-Pod in the first place because they "said" it would do what I wanted and it had enough space to handle our needs. A device that would only store 500 to 1000 photo's would only store a portion of the pics taken between my wife and I on some vacations. The thought was a device that will store 20,000 photo's will hold more than enough pics for any trip we take.

 

As it is, I'll be taking my laptop with me until I finally get all the accessories and learn to use the thing effectively before venturing out without a tried and true back up.

[JohnQ]

I take several cards, but also had cd's made in San Diego and on Pride. On last trip, I took an EZ Digimagic cd burner. This worked quite well, but they are a little bulky when packed with instr book, cds, batteries and charger/ac adaptor, all in a case. Smaller than laptop cheaper than more cards!!!

[Kay and Hal]

I thought I had something special with my 20 GB Wolverine - it takes the cards/sticks from both of my digital cameras. It's small enough to fit into a large pocket, or a small purse, and fits nicely in my camera bag. However, after reading this thread, I see there are better options available. For one thing, there's no way to view the pics on the Wolverine, it's simply a storage device. However, I'll just have to make do for now, I'd rather put the money into more lenses or a video cam.;)

[RevNeal]

I bring my G4 Powerbook with me with which to download and process and upload photos and share them with my CC friends who are not with me on the cruise. :)

 

For my cruise photos, check here:

 

http://www.revneal.org/cruiselinks.html

[love2vacation]

I am glad someone started this thread. I was just wondering about this topic.

 

The last few times I have brought my 35M camera and my digital but I sure like the pictures from my digital better. I was going to buy another card but am also looking at new cameras so don't really want to invest in more cards if I change cameras in another year.

 

Can't bring DH laptop so that is not an option. I will check into the portable burners as that is an option and they could be used with any card later on.

 

For those of you who have used the ships service- what is the cost to burn a CD?

[Berries]

Hey Love2, I just got a RoadStor refurbished from an E-bay auction 10 days ago for 51.75 plus shipping. It has arrived and I tested works fine came with manufr. warrenty. and looks new. this outfit was running 3 auctions for roadstor's a day. prices were running between $48 and $65 on successful bids. You might try thatk to get one. The roadstor has slots for 6 variations of cards.

[love2vacation]

Hey Love2, I just got a RoadStor refurbished from an E-bay auction 10 days ago for 51.75 plus shipping. It has arrived and I tested works fine came with manufr. warrenty. and looks new. this outfit was running 3 auctions for roadstor's a day. prices were running between $48 and $65 on successful bids. You might try thatk to get one. The roadstor has slots for 6 variations of cards.

 

Bill,

 

I checked ebay and registered so I can bid. ( Hopefully I won't get too obsessed with on line bidding!) The Roadstor sounds pretty handy since it could be used to play DVDs.

 

Hope I can get one at a good price- thanks for the info.

 

Judi

[Photomom22]

Wow,

I was worried about how I could take my Digital SLR along with me and still be able to continue to take photos.We really coudn't afford to buy a laptop before our Cruise and after reading up on the ships Internet fee's I figured I would have to buy several memory cards before we leave, because I LOVE taking pictures,(Usually I can take 100 or more on any given Saturday during Baseball/Softball or Soccer season)So as you can see I was really worried.But after reading everyone's different way of downloading I have decided to buy a Roadstor(:) Great Info)also on EBAY,I was pricing the different products as I would read on,and as tempting as the $24.99 thing that would hook up to my External Hard Drive sounded,I would worry eather they were really downloaded before I could safelly delete them off of my Camera.And What if something happened to my Hard Drive during transport,I would DIE all of my photos are stored there.

How great is it that you can also watch DVD's on there, while on the ship,if the kids need some wind down time,since they say the TV doesn't always pick up the stations well.

 

:D Thanks everyone for all the great suggestions!!!!!

[itsanita]

I have always relied on photo stores to download my pictures onto a CD while traveling, but this RoadStor thing sounds great!!

 

Perhaps a dumb question, but here goes anyway..........

 

It says it plays music from JPEG, MPEG and MP3 files....where does the sound come from? Do I need to buy this contraption some speakers? Do you hook it up to the tv to play the music and use the tv's speakers??

 

I'm learning...slowly maybe, but I can't thank you all enough for this info.

[Marcys]

Thanks for this great info. I'm going to look for a Roadstor since we were going to get a portable DVD player anyway for the plane ride. Either that or bring my laptop, but Roadstor is definately smaller. Are the directions easy to understand? Is it so easy to use that even I can burn CDs and transfer pics??

[love2vacation]

Thanks for the ebay info. I have been watching and bidding and finally this AM I got one for 58.01. A bit more than you paid but still much less than retail. I am excited for it to arrive so I can play!

 

Thanks again for this thread and your great info.

 

Judi

[zackiedawg]

Thanks for this great info. I'm going to look for a Roadstor since we were going to get a portable DVD player anyway for the plane ride. Either that or bring my laptop, but Roadstor is definately smaller. Are the directions easy to understand? Is it so easy to use that even I can burn CDs and transfer pics??

 

Just a quick note...the Roadstor/Addonics unit does play DVDs, but doesn't have its own monitor...so you have to hook it to a TV to view the DVDs. Just making sure you know that!

 

As far as directions...they are VERY simple to use. The process of burning a CD is: Load memory stick, load blank CD. Press 'copy' button (machine will ask you if you'd like to make a copy), press 'copy' button again. That's it...machine will start burning the CD. If your memory card is larger than what can fit on a CD, the unit will fill one CD with as much data as possible, then prompt you to put in a new blank CD to continue the burn.

 

If you put in a disk which already has some data burned to it, the machine will add as many more photos as will fit on that disk, then prompt you for another.

 

It's about as easy as it gets. And if you bring along the RCA cables (red/white/yellow), you can plug the unit into a TV's video inputs and play back the CD to view the pictures on the television...a great way to make sure the data burned correctly.

 

It says it plays music from JPEG, MPEG and MP3 files....where does the sound come from? Do I need to buy this contraption some speakers? Do you hook it up to the tv to play the music and use the tv's speakers??

 

Yes...you would need to hook the unit to something that has a speaker on or connected to it. The unit comes with standard audio/video cables...known as RCA (the ones with the red/white/yellow tips). These can be hooked up to televisions, stereos, CD players, and various other devices...so to play back audio, you would just have to hook it up to a TV, CD, VCR, DVD, or stereo system to use its speakers. For video, the process is much the same...you just have to find something which can accept those standard RCA plugs. On ships, many of the TVs have these inputs on the front or back. For those cabins that do not have RCA plugs on the televisions, you can often request a VCR or DVD player be installed in your room from your room steward, and THAT device will have the RCA plugs.

[zackiedawg]

Thanks for this great info. I'm going to look for a Roadstor since we were going to get a portable DVD player anyway for the plane ride. Either that or bring my laptop, but Roadstor is definately smaller. Are the directions easy to understand? Is it so easy to use that even I can burn CDs and transfer pics??

 

Just a quick note...the Roadstor/Addonics unit does play DVDs, but doesn't have its own monitor...so you have to hook it to a TV to view the DVDs. Just making sure you know that!

 

As far as directions...they are VERY simple to use. The process of burning a CD is: Load memory stick, load blank CD. Press 'copy' button (machine will ask you if you'd like to make a copy), press 'copy' button again. That's it...machine will start burning the CD. If your memory card is larger than what can fit on a CD, the unit will fill one CD with as much data as possible, then prompt you to put in a new blank CD to continue the burn.

 

If you put in a disk which already has some data burned to it, the machine will add as many more photos as will fit on that disk, then prompt you for another.

 

It's about as easy as it gets. And if you bring along the RCA cables (red/white/yellow), you can plug the unit into a TV's video inputs and play back the CD to view the pictures on the television...a great way to make sure the data burned correctly.

 

It says it plays music from JPEG, MPEG and MP3 files....where does the sound come from? Do I need to buy this contraption some speakers? Do you hook it up to the tv to play the music and use the tv's speakers??

 

Yes...you would need to hook the unit to something that has a speaker on or connected to it. The unit comes with standard audio/video cables...known as RCA (the ones with the red/white/yellow tips). These can be hooked up to televisions, stereos, CD players, and various other devices...so to play back audio, you would just have to hook it up to a TV, CD, VCR, DVD, or stereo system to use its speakers. For video, the process is much the same...you just have to find something which can accept those standard RCA plugs. On ships, many of the TVs have these inputs on the front or back. For those cabins that do not have RCA plugs on the televisions, you can often request a VCR or DVD player be installed in your room from your room steward, and THAT device will have the RCA plugs.

[zackiedawg]

Sorry for the double post above...some spiky issues with the CC boards lately and lots of hangups when posting or browsing. My first post didn't show up...so I posted again. The next day, both posts were visible!

[Photomom22]

Hey,

:) GREAT INFO guys & gals,after researching the Roadstor which I found out about here.My husband won mine for $59.51 including s & h a few minutes ago off of Ebay.He couldn't believe that they are selling them so cheap retail is $299.00 hope it works.He is a big ebay shopper and said it souunded fine.

 

He told me to mark it off my list.This will be our first cruise and I'm so glad all of you here at CC give tips and info, so I don't stress over the small stuff,just able to go prepared and ready to have fun.......

 

Thanks

[itsanita]

Thank you everyone, I too just got a Roadstor off ebay...$55. Sounds just about perfect. Actually a little too good to be true!

 

We bought our first digital camera the day before we left for a 2 week Alaska cruise/tour a few yrs ago, and I learned how to use it on the plane. When I began taking pictures, I used up my only card, a 128, the first day! So I bought another. I bought my 3rd one 3 days later and was about to buy my 4th when the dear man at the photo store took pity on me. After laughing his head off, he took my 3 cards, copied them onto a CD, erased the pictures and charged me $5.50, handing me back the REUSEABLE photo cards. I guess I needed to read a little further into the instruction manual!!!

 

Since then we have had to search to find a place to download them for us while we waited. THIS WILL BE JUST PERFECT.

 

Thanks again everyone.

Anita

[Marcys]

Just a quick note...the Roadstor/Addonics unit does play DVDs, but doesn't have its own monitor...so you have to hook it to a TV to view the DVDs. Just making sure you know that!

 

zackiedawg, thanks so much for that info! I was under the impression we could use it at the airport or on the plane to watch DVDs. Guess we still need that portable DVD player.

 

Question for those of you who have purchased electronics such as Roadstor on e-bay. What happens if you have problems with the unit? How are returns/refunds/exchanges handled? Is it a smooth process or have you had difficulties?

[love2vacation]

Got my Roadstor via DHL today.

 

Tried it out as far as copying my memory card to a CD and then reading CD on my computer. It worked great and the unit is very simple to use. Next I will test watching DVDs on my TV via the roadstor and also looking at my photos on the TV.

 

Thanks for the recommendation.:)

[itsanita]

I received my new Roadstor from ebay.

 

Followed the instuctions, but no luck!

Can someone walk me thru this. It certainly seems simple enough.

 

I turned it on.... I put the card in the correct slot, put in a new CD-R.

the monitor 1st said: "disc loading"...next it said "stop". I then hit the button and got "backup?". I hit the button again and it said " burning CD Write Volume".

 

And thats as far as it went. After 30 minutes it still said the same thing, I could hear it running, but I turned the unit off as it was getting warm to the touch. The user guide's troubleshooting page does not even list

"burning CD Write Volume".

 

How long does the back up take. There are only 30 pictures on the card.

 

I tried this again this am with the same results? What am I doing wrong? Am I just not waiting long enough?

 

HELP!!!

[love2vacation]

I had no trouble backing up my card on a CD, then loading the pictures from the CD onto my computer. I think I only had 8 pictures and it didn't take too long. I tried it right away so can't remember what the view window said except it did show percentages when loading in. It did seem like after it showed the 100% it took a while for it to say done or whatever it was to say at the end.

 

I am sure you checked this, but is your battery pack fully charged or are you using the adaptor?

 

I will hook mine up again and let you know what comes up on mine if it helps.

 

I can't figure out how to hook it up to TV to see pictures via TV. I am thinking my remote doesn't work, ( I did try new batteries) or I don't have the plugs in the right holes or the TV on the correct channel. I don't get a menu on the TV like the instruction manual says you should. This is a frustration for me as I was wanting to look at pictures on this ship!

 

Judi

[Oma24boys]

itsanita:

 

Micro-Solutions Website

 

The above website might help you… Also, you could have a compatibility problem with your card/memory stick. RoadStor Compatibility Site I have a SanDisk 256MB Memory Stick Pro that was made in China and is not compatible :( so I bought a SanDisk 256MB Memory Stick Pro made in Japan and it work fine:o Hope this helps…

 

 

 

This is my 8th attempt at posting a reply!:cool:

[Gitane]

itsanita, I assume the batt is charged or you're plugged in, using a good quality CD-R, and not connected to your computer. The "write volume" is the first thing the unit does before copying the pictures. 30 pictures should take only a few minutes, maybe up to 5 or 6, actually.

 

You must use a new disc, not one formatted by any programs such as Easy CD Creator.

 

Using the USB cable, try hooking up to computer, try to burn something (files, pictures, ??) from your hard drive. If the same thing happens, the Roadstor is probably bad.

[Flossie]

Just recieved my Roadstor and so far so good. This is a must have item for anyone that has a digital camera!We did the ebay thing to get it, hope it continues to work was alittle afraid of the refurburished thing but as I said so far so good.This is a great unit.