You are planning a weekend trip dedicated to photography. As important as carrying the correct set of lenses is the backup option for the photographs you click. Where do you store your photographs?
CHECK FOR COMPATIBILITY
Some drives, or their software, don’t work on all operating systems. Make sure the interface on your drive is supported by your computer. Say if you are working with the latest Macs, ensure you have a drive that supports Thunderbolt 3. For an older laptop, maybe you need to go with FireWire 800. Also, ensure it’s bus-powered, that is, the drive will be powered by the connection to the computer. When you are travelling, you don’t want the hassle of looking for a power outlet to back up your photos.
SSD OR HDD
It is best to go with solid-state drives or SSDs, something like the Samsung T7. These are way faster than HDDs and feature no moving parts, which also ensures that they are less likely to fail if they have to undertake a bumpy journey. In case you want to shoot a lot of 4K videos, you will need a large SSD. The 4TB Samsung T7 Shield is perfect for those storing 4K/8K video files, and who need immediate access to them.
ON CAMERA STORAGE
Selecting the appropriate storage can be a complex task. A high capacity SD card designed for photographers is essential. For instance, the SanDisk Extreme PRO SDXC UHS-I card offers durability and quick transfer speeds up to 200MB/s read. If your camera supports UHS-II, the SanDisk Extreme PRO SDXC UHS-II card provides faster speeds and is great for high-quality video capture.
In case you’re taking outdoor photography to new heights with a drone, don’t forget a dedicated memory card. Drone photography and videography can generate large files, and high-capacity memory cards such as SanDisk Extreme micro SDXC UHS-I card help ensure you have the space to document without interruption.
EXTRA BATTERIES
For any photographer, backup batteries are important, especially when you are in remote settings. Be mindful of specific airline or country restrictions if you’re flying. Generally, the rule allows you to travel with lithium-ion battery cells, one can carry multiple batteries of less than 100Wh, in a protected case. For international flights, it is safer to carry 95Wh batteries, as the lithium-ion batteries come in 95Wh, 130Wh, 160Wh, and 190Wh variations.
THINK ABOUT WARRANTY
Three-year warranties are common among portable solid-state drives but there are options that come with five-year warranties. Go for a company that has strong customer service because it will help when something goes wrong.
WILL CLOUD STORAGE HELP?
There are amateur photographers who want limited storage but it needs to be secure. For Apple users, iCloud is a safe option and it can go up to 2TB (the tier comes with perks like Hide My Email and HomeKit Secure Video support for an unlimited number of cameras). In India, 2TB of iCloud costs Rs 749 a month. Google too has several plans for Google One. The highest is 30TB and it comes for Rs 9,750 per month.
