Forget the laptop for pictures... Bring the iPod!

[mobster75]

I just got an iPod in the past month and I'm realizing just how cool it is! I was considering taking my laptop with me on my VOS cruise in January to store pictures since I know I will fill up my camera over and over, but now I don't have to.

 

My gf got me an iPod camera connector for Christmas that lets you plug in your standard USB digital camera and it will download all the images onto itself and even let you sort them by "rolls". Of course, you can also use it as a viewer for the pictures.

 

I have a newer Video iPod (30GB), so I don't know if this works will all other iPods, but its definitely a lot easier than lugging my laptop around!

[imatarb]

Great idea! :)

[dougp26364]

The problem is in how the i-pod stores the photo's. When you put them back on your computer, the resolution isn't nearly as good.

[lilducky]

Really? It messes up the resolution enough that its really noticable? grrr...

[dougp26364]

Really? It messes up the resolution enough that its really noticable? grrr...

 

If you can even get them on your computer. It's not the easiest software to work with IMO.

 

I bought a 20 GB i-Pod just to store pictures on rather than taking the laptop. It's been nothing but trouble and, IMO, a waste of money for what I wanted it for. It's cheaper and easier just to purchase enough memory cards for you camera and upload them at home rather than mess with the i-pod.

 

Now of course I'm a PC user and not a Mac user. I would like to assume that the photo usage of the i-Pod would work better on the Mac.

[dougp26364]

Really? It messes up the resolution enough that its really noticable? grrr...

 

The problem is it compresses the photo's down even further than you camera does. It also has some funky file format that makes it difficult for a PC user to open the files without purchasing the correct program to read it. It's not the easiest hardware to work with IMO.

 

I bought a 20 GB i-Pod just to store pictures on rather than taking the laptop. It's been nothing but trouble and, IMO, a waste of money for what I wanted it for. It's cheaper and easier just to purchase enough memory cards for you camera and upload them at home rather than mess with the i-pod.

 

Now of course I'm a PC user and not a Mac user. I would like to assume that the photo usage of the i-Pod would work better on the Mac.

[BallFour4]

Interesting comments about the iPod and the conversion of files for storage.

 

I agree that any storage method that changes the resolution, file size or type is not worth the trouble.

 

Let me toss my two cents in here for an option. Get more memory, and use then actual camera memory as storage. I use a Canon PowerShot 450 and a Digital Rebel XT and have purchased at least 2 gig of memory for each camera.

 

Here are my reasons for using the actual camera memory:

 

* No loss of picture quality

* No chance of your entire vacation image collection going bad with a hard drive crash

* You can edit on the fly and delete unwanted images on the flight home, in the cabin, etc.

 

With rebates, memory for digital cameras is a bargain, and I'd rather not leave a iPod or laptop behind full of vacation memories. I walk off the ship with the full memory cards in my front pocket.

 

With all that, this is just my opinion, and we've had a blast cranking the HP photo printer out as soon as we hit the front door and printing about 30 of our favorite images to enjoy before we turn in for the evening at home.

 

Lee in Houston

[moxie99]

I have a sony digital 7.2 megapixel hubby bought for my birthday - it replaces a previous sony so all of my memory sticks are changable into each camera. The price for the memory sticks has dropped significantly to the point where I just picked up a couple of 1 gig sticks for about $90 each with a $30 rebate on each - makes them more than affordable.

 

We're going to Hawaii on the Radiance in May and I too was worrying about the storage of photos. I figure I can keep my resolution reasonable and get by on a few memory sticks as they will hold thousands of pics at a good resolution at the 1 gig level.

[mikefast]

I agree about buying more memory rather than taking a laptop or IPod. I bought a 1 gig compact flash card for under $50.00, and a couple of those will give you all the pictures you want to take unless you are a real camera bug. I brought home around 750 pics and I used the highest resolution on a 6 meg camera. Still could have taken a few more.

 

 

[BeachBumMama]

I have several memory sticks, have a Sony F717 and can only fit so many on sticks because I always like to keep it at high resolution. My saving grace has been what's called a Digibin. You can do a search on Digital Wallet and several things will come up, all very resonable now. Mine is 20GB of space in a very small hard drive. I use an adapter to upload my pictures into to empty, then reuse over and over again. Both me and my kids used it for all our cards, and daughter borrowed it for a trip where at least 4 people used all their different cards to upload pics and empty their sticks. We've come back from cruises with over 2,000 pictures.

 

Easy to hookup to pc when you get home with a simple usb cord and pull it right up as an external hard drive. Can't beat it for an investment for saving pics and will cost probably just as much as a few memory cards for whatever your camera uses.

[mutual]

We took a laptop on the first cruise after buying our digital camera. After we got back we bought extra memory cards and that works great.

[jkrislc]

There are also portable CD-Rom burners with memory card readers that allow you to burn your images to a CD without a computer. I've seen them at Costco and other places as well. This is an option for those not wanting to rely on memory cards alone.

[Cuizer2]

With rebates, memory for digital cameras is a bargain, and I'd rather not leave a iPod or laptop behind full of vacation memories. I walk off the ship with the full memory cards in my front pocket.

 

What if you have a hole in your front pocket? :mad:

[jkrislc]

What if you have a hole in your front pocket? :mad:

That's why I use a small case for my camera.

 

I travel with two memory cards--1 512 and 1 256. Even in Hawaii where I took over 300 pictures, I never needed the smaller card with my 4.2 MP camera. Of course, I deleted some as I went as it was obvious they were blurred, duplicates, etc. I also have a 1 GB card in my PDA which I could turn to if need be.

[Candleonwater]

I like to carry multiple cards... that way, if I lose one, I don't lose all the pictures from a trip.

 

I carry: 1GB, 3 - 256, 1 - 32 and 1 - 16

 

And I've found that's MORE than enough for me on a week long cruise... and I take a LOT of pictures!

[kruisecat]

The only reason I am planning to bring my laptop on my cruise in Feb is that we are traveling with friends from NH (we're in FL) and we plan to burn the pictures onto CD as the trip progresses so that they can take them home at the end of the trip. Otherwise the memory cards are the way to go.

 

My other thought is this, I don't own an ipod and really don't have a use for it so for right now I'll take the thing I own instead of buying something new :D That's just me and I make no judgements on anyone else.

[BallFour4]

What if you have a hole in your front pocket? :mad:

 

Then I'd have something to play with while I wait in line for Customs...

 

Oh wait, you mean my shirt pocket... :D

 

Serious answer, I use the little plastic cases the cards come in, and usually have about 3 gig worth to edit and sort at home. Glad to finally upgrade to a 250 gig external drive for images.

 

Also, we've taken a laptop for a second backup and presented the cruise DVD I burned to our tablemates the last night at dinner.

[BallFour4]

Duplicate post. DSL is not perfect...

[Lewdog]

This is probably not feasible but...If they allow you to hook your camera up to the computers in the internet cafe you could upload your photos to a sever somewhere. There are all sorts of file storage places on the web that provide free storage.

 

Another thought, I got a WD Passport portable hard drive, if your camera supports it, I have access to 60 GB of storage for under $150.

 

If you have no plans for viewing your photos on anything other than computer you can get by with lower resolution settings as higher settings are geared towards printing and if you use them for just computer viewing you are only making for larger file sizes.

[Cuizer2]

This is probably not feasible but...If they allow you to hook your camera up to the computers in the internet cafe you could upload your photos to a sever somewhere. There are all sorts of file storage places on the web that provide free storage.

 

You are right - it is not feasible. The cruise lines are not going to allow people to download something onto their computer (spyware, virus ...). The ship's computers are for Internet access only. No downloading and uploading. If you want to do that, bring your own computer.

[Lewdog]

You are right - it is not feasible. The cruise lines are not going to allow people to download something onto their computer (spyware, virus ...). The ship's computers are for Internet access only. No downloading and uploading. If you want to do that, bring your own computer.

 

Hooking up a camera and uploading photos does not equal problems with spyware and viruses, it doesn't work that way.

 

But yes, they aren't going to let people hook up their camera to public access computers. You are right though, your own machine is the way to go as the above mentioned issue and the machines on the ship are often times in poor shape to begin with.

[Cuizer2]

Hooking up a camera and uploading photos does not equal problems with spyware and viruses, it doesn't work that way.

If your point is that the photo files created by the camera will not have a virus or spyware in them, that is true. But someone can easily preload a virus or spyware on to a flash card. In fact, I don't upload my pictures using the camera software, I just take the memory card out and stick it directly into the computer.

 

Also, cameras are not the only things you can connect to a computer using a USB connection. How is the cruise line going to prevent someone from hooking up something besides a camera to the USB port? I have a 40GB USB hard drive. Any hacker could have one also (I bought mine at Best Buy). Just think of all the damage that could be done by uploading files from the USB hard drive to the computer.

 

The only input device you can use on a ship owned computer is a mouse and a keyboard. If you want to store your photographs on a computer (as I do) then you have to bring your own computer.

[Cuizer2]

And just to make my point clear - I thought I would post it twice. :mad: another double post :mad:

[albertablueskies]

The ships offer a service to burn your photo's from card to CDROM for about $15 USD. Otherwise just buy lots of memory cards before your trip.

[Cuizer2]

Here is a link to a story that might make you reconside using an iPod for storing photos (or anything else for that matter) ...

 

http://dailynews.att.net/cgi-bin/news?e=pri&dt=051229&cat=frontpage&st=frontpageipod_meat_051229&src=abc