View Full Version : Logistical question about pics taken while hiking
My mom is letting me borrow her Kodak Easyshare digital camera. Nothing fancy, but it will due. This thing takes the memory cards. For those of you who use cameras w/these types of cards, how do you get your pics from the camera onto your journal site at TJ?
I thought I'd buy 2 cards and send one home to my partner who could then upload them while I was filling the other card up, but then I realized you have to have the camera to upload pics from the cards. How does everyone do this? I don't want to wait till my hike is over to get pics up.
If the creating a CD of your pics is the only option, are there several towns along the AT that have those types of drugstores w/these booths so I can mail home CD's frequently? Thanks.
Footslogger
09-11-2006, 15:44
In 2003 I sent my cards home in the mail and my wife off loaded them onto our home computer and then uploaded them to my journal site. I lucked out and all my pics made it home.
In retrospect I think that sending the cards through the mail was risky and I do know of some hikers who lost (in the maill) their photo memories.
On my next distance hike I would stop along the way and get a CD made first before mailing the card home. Better to have the redundancy than to risk loosing your shots.
'Slogger
all you need is a card reader at home..cost less than 20.00
Earl Grey
09-11-2006, 16:40
Whenever youre in town you could upload them then off the camera and then delete to free up space. I dont know how many pictures you take but if you have a large enough memory card it wouldnt be that difficult.
Ewker said it best: Card Reader.
I got one that reads about 5 different types of cards (has to for work purposes, so it may be overkill for you). But the basic one that read 1 or 2 types of cards are probably under $20 as said before.
As a side note to my above post, I have also found that a card reader uploads the pictures almost twice as fast as uploading them directly from the camera... Not sure if that is because my camera's a 8MP or what..but it is slower...
get your partner a sd card reader (or whatever format it is) and carry 2 or 3 cards (as they are dirt cheap nowdays). those drug store machines are sometimes iffy, uploading online generally takes too long, mail would seem to be the simplest method imo.
TwoForty
09-11-2006, 18:22
You can get a card reader for you computer back at home. Mail them back and have someone else upload them. This should be fine with 2 cards.
For security, you can have them backed up on a large USB drive that can fit on a keychain.
I have done this at some libraries. Some won't let you though.
'Nother note...
Per my local postmaster... if one (or more) cards become "lost" in the mail, in order to recoup your loss, you must have the orginal purchase receipt showing the cost of the card. Unfortunately, you cant get back the "cost" of the pics that are lost...
Earl Grey
09-11-2006, 19:18
As a side note to my above post, I have also found that a card reader uploads the pictures almost twice as fast as uploading them directly from the camera... Not sure if that is because my camera's a 8MP or what..but it is slower...
Its because the card reader is usb2.0 while the camera is usb1.1.
Gosh, for a person who considers themselves somewhat technologically savy, I didn't even know about these card readers! :confused: Oh No!! Am I becoming my mother? :eek: Thanks, and I'll definitely look into this. Good to know I have a few options...if the CD thing is available, I might as well just do that, but if not, I can mail the card home. Thanks again.
The CD buring kiosks that are found at supercenters or drug stores are only ok. My problem with them is that I take so many pictures, and being 8MP, each one takes up quite a bit of space on a cd. By the time I get to a store to use the machine it takes me 2 or 3 cd's to get all the pics off my card... I have spent the $$ (and the cards are getting so cheap nowadays) that I have 3 1G cards and a 512 that came with the camera. I just plan on mailing each one home as they fill up...
Gray Blazer
09-12-2006, 10:52
I use the kodak easy share 4.0 megapixels. I love it. Here are some tips. They may have made the newer ones more waterproof. One time I hiked in the rain and the moisture seemed to get in the camera and ruin the shots. As soon as the sun came out it was OK but the shots that didn't come out right stayed that way. I now keep it in a plastic bag and I use those dehumidifiers (the little silicone packs). I currently have a 512 megabit card in it that will allow me to take 504 pics. Bring extra batteries as they get used up fast. For sunrise and sunset pics I use the nighttime setting, hold it very still or rest it on a rock or tripod. For the rest of the shots I use the sports setting, it has the fastest shutter speed.
hammock engineer
09-12-2006, 14:57
Check around online. newegg.com usually has good deals. You can get a 4gb SD card for relatively cheap. That should hold about 1200 7MP pics.
If you can find a reputable seller, you can get 2G cards for $65 incl. shipping on ebay... Thats where Ive gotten all mine, and never had a problem w/ them.
The Old Fhart
09-12-2006, 15:22
Through Amazon.com, thememstore sells 1Gb 150x Ridata SD cards for $18 and 2GB 150x Ridata SD cards for $33. Shipping is $3-$5. I'm using one in my Panasonic FX9 6mp camera with image-stabilization and it works great.
Note that many of the newer cameras have faster processors and can take photos faster if they have a fast card rather than a standard card that could be considered 1x. Also my camera is seen by the computer as a high-speed USB mass storage device and the USB cable works great to transfer the photos to the computer.
The Panasonic FX9 I have is .9"x2"x3.75", weighs 7oz in the carrying case, the charger weighs under 2oz, and the spare battery in its case weighs 1.1oz. The lens is made by Leica and in macro mode will focus to about 2". It has a 2.5" bright LCD screen for viewfinder. With the charger and spare battery being so light there is no need to use a bounce box and take a chance of losing them in the mail.
There are a lot of small digital cameras you can find from the $18 1.3mp ones at Walmart to high end ones that cost a lot more than what I paid. You can find reviews and lots of other good info on choosing and buying a digital camera at Steves-Digicams (http://www.steves-digicams.com/).
Most of the photos I have on WhiteBlaze were taken with a full size 35mm SLR weighing about 5-6 pounds and I have been known to carry a tripod. It all depends what you are going to do with your photos and how light and simple you want to go.
I use the kodak easy share 4.0 megapixels. I love it. Here are some tips. They may have made the newer ones more waterproof. One time I hiked in the rain and the moisture seemed to get in the camera and ruin the shots. As soon as the sun came out it was OK but the shots that didn't come out right stayed that way. I now keep it in a plastic bag and I use those dehumidifiers (the little silicone packs). I currently have a 512 megabit card in it that will allow me to take 504 pics. Bring extra batteries as they get used up fast. For sunrise and sunset pics I use the nighttime setting, hold it very still or rest it on a rock or tripod. For the rest of the shots I use the sports setting, it has the fastest shutter speed.
Wow! Thanks for the tips!! I was going to purchase a camera, but then my mom offered hers, so that saved me $225.00!! I will definitely get a plastic bag for it and thanks a ton for the info on how many pics you can get for 512 mb card. That was going to be next question....you're a mind reader! I think I'll get 3 512mb cards and then I can have a rotation going on.
Also thanks to everyone about warning me of losing the thing in the mail. I'll just mail it home w/delivery tracking. Something that light won't cost but a few more dimes probably. Very exciting for me to know this will work out. :banana