A post earlier this year by CNET News.com's Stephen Shankland pondering how he should store photos while traveling got me thinking about the same question.
I can't claim to have come up with "the answer," but I've thought about the issues, read through some discussions about what people consider best practices, and have tried to roughly quantify relative failure rates. What's right for you will depend on priorities and circumstances, but hopefully the following will offer some food for thought.
Real-world failure rates are hard to come by. However, having been the owner of a variety of laptops and other devices with hard disk drives, a 1:100 drive failure rate in a portable device over the course of a month's vacation doesn't seem out of line. Flash memory fails too. Anecdotal information from a couple of dealers (based on product returns) suggests that a 1:1000 rate is a reasonable stake in the ground--10x the reliability of disk. Further complicating the story is that some errors are recoverable, but you'd probably better stop using the card when you have a problem.
That's the hardware. Then there's the wetware--i.e. you.
This one's even harder to quantify. However, speaking for myself, I'm always misplacing loose memory cards. Furthermore, procedures that involve a lot of multi-step copying, editing, and so forth offer lots of potential to erase something that you thought you backed up or for an operation to otherwise fail without your knowledge. Or you might, like me, sometimes just do something really dumb. Also, consider theft and other forms of loss beyond your control.
Add it all up and my guess is that, for most people, minimizing the possibility of human error is more important than incrementally reducing the impact of a potential hardware failure.
With those reliability estimates and human realities as a baseline, here are my thoughts for some reasonable practices:
- If at all economically feasible, carry enough flash memory to hold all your photos. Flash has a good 10x the reliability of hard disks, more when you consider that it's probably going to be OK even if you drop it or run it through the washing machine.
- Common wisdom is that name brands are, in the aggregate, more reliable, and some higher-end cards also come with data recovery software. This seems reasonable. However, I've never seen actual data to bolster this belief--only random stories about crappy off-brand cards purchased on eBay. One data recover company notes that differences in build quality are indeed part of the reliability story but goes on to say it doesn't correlate in any consistent way to brand.
- Because photos can sometimes be recovered from memory cards after they've had a problem, it's a good idea to have at least one backup card. That way, if there's a problem, you can take the card out of the camera and work on it when you get home. Messing with it in the field is a recipe for losing data that could otherwise have been retrieved.
- A lot of people advocate putting fewer eggs in one basket. That is, they suggest using multiple smaller cards rather than one or two larger ones. This is hard to argue against so long as you develop a good system to ensure you don't lose the spare cards or accidentally erase or otherwise mess something up while you're swapping them around. Given overall flash reliability, I don't see this as a particular win--and may even be a net loss if taken to the extreme of some complicated scheme of rotating cards in and out of the camera.
- Although I tend not to bother, making a periodic hard disk backup of your memory cards is good belt-and-suspenders practice. If you're traveling with other people, a hard disk is also a good way to trade pictures. A computer is one possibility. Hard disk-based media players or portable devices specifically designed for the purpose are others.
- If you can't keep everything on flash, then you obviously need to copy it somewhere. Based on the numbers I threw out above, I wouldn't trust a single hard disk backup as my only copy of anything I really cared about. In this case, I'd want either a second hard disk or a way to burn a copy to DVD. (One advantage of making DVDs is that you can potentially mail a copy to yourself at home. (Laptop and DVDs were the solutions that Shankland eventually decided on.) If you have a bunch of spare thumb drives of reasonable capacity laying around, that may be another possibility.
- Cameras break too--maybe more so than any of the other parts we're talking about here, especially if you're in harsh conditions. I'm not sure of the final digital camera mortality rate on the Grand Canyon boating trip I took a couple of years back, but a fair number bit the dust. So definitely consider a backup camera. Sharing memory card format and/or batteries between main and backup is nice, if feasible.
Ultimately, it's all a matter of playing the odds of hardware failure, while keeping in mind all the dumb things that we can do to sabotage ourselves.
EOS 5D ripe for replacement
(Credit: CNET Networks)There's something to be said for missing a big rumor because of a national holiday. Unless there's some real information, I don't really care about posting every time a new product name surfaces in software, or in this case, on a book title on Amazon.com.
While I was relaxing on my day off, non-vacationing bloggers had already spread the rumor about a Canon 5D Mark II book appearing on Amazon.com (Engadget, PhotographyBay, Gizmodo, and lots more), which was then discredited by the book's publisher in a Dpreview forum as simply a placeholder entry.
Frankly, my initial reaction on seeing the book post was that Wiley's time frame seemed awfully ambitious. The author's book on the relatively elderly EOS 5D only came out last month, so I thought it a bit odd that she'd manage to get out a new book, on an unshipped camera, by November.
Of course, it's still quite likely that we'll see a 5D replacement sometime this year and that we'll probably hear some fairly accurate details about it from a blog site way before Canon decides to put out an official pronouncement. At least we haven't seen any hissy fits from Canon reps about a Web full of misinformation, like Adobe Systems' John Nack posted this weekend.
(Credit:
Circuit City)
For about the price of a budget digital camera, you can snag a budget digital camera and portable snapshot printer to go with it. Circuit City has the Kodak EasyShare C613 6-megapixel camera and EasyShare G610 dock/printer for $129.99 shipped (plus sales tax in most states).
The camera's fairly basic, offering a compact design, 2.4-inch LCD, and 3x optical zoom; CNET readers rated it 6.2 out of 10, meaning it's probably fine for tossing in your bag for everyday use, but not the camera you want to rely on for the family photo that's going to hang over the mantle.
As for the printer, it docks and charges the camera and churns out 4x6-inch prints in about 60 seconds. Over at Amazon, users didn't seem to mind the slow performance: They rated it 4.5 out of 5.
This is new gear, no rebates required. If you really want to get crazy, Circuit City is also offering an Epson CX8400 photo printer for $9.99 (after rebate) with any camera purchase--including this one.
(Credit:
Lori Grunin)
When Canon's Chuck Westfall popped by last month to give us a sneak preview of the EOS Rebel XSi, I expressed my disappointment that the camera's raw continuous-shooting maxed out at a mere 6 frames. I asked Chuck if there was anything on the horizon that might deliver a better raw burst-shooting experience for the can't-afford-a-Mark-III set. His immediate and somewhat unexpected response: "JPEG XR." A few weeks later, I put a similar question to Casio's Scott Nelson, a product manager in the camera division, as he showed off the company's burst-mode blitzkrieg, EX-F1--a camera which doesn't support raw for burst shooting. He, too, indicated that JPEG XR held the key for delivering higher-quality, high frame-rate photos at reasonable prices.
Never let it be said that I couldn't recognize a trend once it whacked me on the head a couple of times.
Raw files--data straight from the sensor--place a heavy performance burden on a digital camera. Though they're same dimensions as JPEGs, raw files support 12-bit or deeper color, while JPEG and its widely ignored successor, JPEG 2000, support only 8 bits. That makes the raw file footprint bigger, even when compressed, and increases the required amount of buffer memory. Furthermore, while JPEG-processing chips are cheap, the proprietary nature of raw files makes it necessary to use dedicated silicon for processing them with any speed. That's a lot of cost to add to a sub-$1,000 dSLR or enthusiast shooter.
Microsoft's JPEG XR--the XR stands for "extended range"--provides some of the image-quality benefits of raw while offering the smaller file size and non-proprietary processing benefits of JPEG. Keep in mind that JPEG XR doesn't replace raw. It simply offers better compression algorithms, and a wider dynamic range than JPEG. At best, one might find a JPEG XR photo visually indistinguishable from a processed raw file. That lets it stand up to retouching better--suffer from less degradation--than its predecessor. For shooters in that market segment, that may be enough.
Clearly, no one's talking about actual products yet, and JPEG XR-as-standard hasn't even attained Committee Draft status within the ISO's JPEG committee (that's scheduled for the end of March). But the fact that I'm actually hearing about it in conversation makes me think that we might start to see some implementations by next year. While I still would prefer longer raw bursts, JPEG XR strikes me as a reasonable compromise.
Care should be taken when plugging holiday gift gadgets into your personal computer and laptop, said security researchers at Sans.org, Microsoft, and Kaspersky in recent blog posts. Reports of strange files being found on USB storage devices increased over the holiday season. Reporting Monday on the SANS' Internet Storm Center blog, director Marcus Sachs said, "In years past this would have been limited to iPods and USB memory sticks, but now it includes digital photo frames, GPS devices, external hard drives, and of course digital cameras."
The unofficial Sans.org investigation started on Christmas after researcher David Goldsmith received an ADS Digital Photo Frame - 8". He soon discovered that the built-in 128MB of storage included file cfhskjn.exe. When he tried running the mystery file, he received several error messages.
Others have noticed odd behavior with storage devices as well. Kaspersky antivirus reports purchasing a Kensington memory card in Napal which contained Worm.VBS.Small.n, a computer worm. A second Kaspersky blog mentions Victory LT-200, an MP3 player that includes (at no extra charge) the malware Worm.Win32.Fujack.aa.
Coincidentally, the January 2008 issue of Microsoft TechNet magazine includes a report on "island hopping", the act of using USB storage devices to infect personal computers. The author of the article, Jesper M. Johansson, said many USB controllers are Direct Memory Access (DMA) devices that bypass the operating system and directly read and write memory on the computer. "Bypass the OS and you bypass the security controls it provides--now you have complete and unfettered access to the hardware. This renders device control implemented by the OS completely ineffective. I am unaware of any hacking tools that currently use this technique, but I very much doubt that this has not already been done."
Kaspersky said most removable media exploits in the wild use the Windows autorun functionality. Kaspersky said the autorun vector is not perfect. In Windows XP SP2 the autorun.inf feature is disabled and the user is asked whether or not to run the file. A similar process occurs within Windows Vista. In both cases, however, researchers note that the user can still infect themselves by selecting Run setup.exe.
(Credit:
Circuit City)
Smile! Circuit City has the Samsung S730 7.2-megapixel digital camera for $90.99 after an instant rebate. But wait, there's more: Toss the Epson R280 photo printer into your cart and get it free after a $75 mail-in rebate.
The S730 is an ultra-compact model with a 2.5-inch LCD, 3x optical zoom, and 10 scene modes. I haven't tried it myself, but CNET readers gave it an average rating of 8.3/10. As for the R280 printer, it's a six-color model that promises to crank out borderless 4x6-inch prints in as little as 11 seconds. It can also print on compatible CD and DVD media.
Because this is Circuit City, you'll likely end up paying sales tax in addition to shipping (unless you pick everything up in-store, in which case you'll just pay the tax). No word on how long the camera will be on sale; the free-after-rebate printer deal expires on January 12.
(Credit:
Canon)
Been waiting to pull the trigger on a digital-SLR camera? Wait no more: Dell has the Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT--by all accounts a fantastic model--for $382. Considering that this baby sold for upwards of $900 when it debuted a couple years ago, it's pretty much a steal at that price.
Specs include an 8-megapixel sensor, 7-point auto-focus, and loads of fancy photographic features that, quite frankly, I don't pretend to understand. I can tell you that I bought an original Digital Rebel several years back, and I absolutely lurve it. (I won't, however, tell you what I paid for it, because it would kill my cheapskate cred. Sometimes, you just gotta splurge.)
Before you get too crazy with excitement, note the two catches: This deal is for the camera body only, so you'll have to buy a Canon-compatible lens if you want to, you know, take pictures. Second, the product page says the Rebel XT usually ships in 3-5 weeks, so it might be tricky to get this in time for under-the-tree duty.
Update: The product page now says 1-2 weeks, so it might just make it into Santa's bag after all.
Update #2: My mistake. The ship time is indeed 3-5 weeks. The links got messed up; they've been corrected. Apologies!
Sony DSCT20 Cyber-shot camera
(Credit: CNET Networks)With the holidays, as they say, "upon us," you might want to take a bunch of pictures. They're useful for reminding yourself how grandpa looks passed out on the lounger post-turkey, staying in touch with family, and proving that you have friends documenting good times.
If you want an easy point-and-shooter, this might be a good way to go. It's an ultracompact camera with great reviews and a nice discount. Offered elsewhere at $300, it's available at Butterfly Photo for $220.
What: Sony DSC-T20 Cyber-shot digital camera
How much: $219
Shipping: Free
Where: Butterfly Photo
When: Through unknown date
Click here for CNET's product review.
Canon SD1000 Elph
(Credit: CNET Networks)As a back-pocket backup, the Elph series is well respected and widely enjoyed. Canon left off the manual controls on this snapshooters' favorite, but for what it is, it's a sound product and a great deal. It started out on the market earlier this year at $220 or higher, and sellers are starting to lower the price. On Thursday, Amazon's winning the race to the bottom, especially since in most cases they offer free shipping for this item.
According to CNET Reviews, the SD1000 Elph offers unusually good image quality, "solid build quality, speedy performance, an optical viewfinder, (and) face detection" along with assorted preprogrammed settings, a 2.5-inch LCD screen, and admirable speed.
What: Canon PowerShot SD1000 Elph pocket digital camera
How much: $169.95
Shipping: Free (varies)
Where: Amazon (via The Bargainist)
When: Through unknown date
Click here for the CNET product review of the Canon PowerShot SD1000 Digital Elph.
Olympus highlights the E-3's splash-proof design.
(Credit: Olympus America)Olympus shipped its first interchangeable-lens dSLR, the pro-level E-1, in the fall of 2003. Four years is a long time to wait for a new model, especially given the rapid pace of technological change in the dSLR category and a cast of photographic characters hungry for the latest and greatest to help boost their earnings potential. Consumers buying their first (and perhaps even second) dSLRs will follow where great technology leads, but pros must commit to a camera system that includes lenses and flashes. Once they've moved on, it takes more than just a snappy shutter and flashy LCD to lure them back.
That's a big burden to place on the shoulders of the new E-3.
It helps that the camera isn't a hardcore pro model; at $1,700 (body only) it's priced and suited for entry-level professionals and wannabes. But it will compete directly with the Nikon D300, which has an obvious growth path and huge accessory system behind it.
How do the E-3's specs stack up? First, here's an overview:
| Alpha DSLR-A700 | Olympus E-3 | Nikon D300 | |
| Sensor | 12.2-megapixel CMOS 23.5 x 15.6mm |
10.1-megapixel Live MOS 17.3 x 13.0 mm |
12.3-megapixel CMOS 22.2 x 14.8mm |
| Sensitivity range | ISO 100 - ISO 6400 | ISO 100 - ISO 3200 | ISO 200 - ISO 6400 |
| Focal-length multiplier | 1.5x | 2.0x | 1.5x |
| Continuous shooting | 5 fps 8 (Extra fine) or unlimited (Fine) JPEG |
5 fps unlimited JPEG |
6 fps 100 JPEG |
| Mechanical image stabilization | Yes | Yes | No |
| Viewfinder | 95% coverage 0.90x magnification 25mm eye point interchangeable matte focusing screen 2 optional focusing screens |
100% coverage 1.15x magnification 20mm eye point changeable to grid matte at service center |
100% coverage 0.94x magnification 19.5mm eye point fixed matte focusing screen with optional gridlines |
| Autofocus | 11-pt AF two cross-type sensors in center (one f/2.8) |
11-pt AF all cross-type (aperture info unavailable) |
all cross-type to f/5.6 |
| Live View | No | Yes | Yes |
| Wireless flash controller | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| LCD size | 3 inches/307,200 pixels | 2.5 inches/230,000 pixels | 3 inches/307,200 pixels |
| Shutter durability | 100,000 cycles | 150,000 cycles | 100,000 cycles |
| Price (body only) | $1,499 | $1,699 | $1,799.95 |
Olympus E-3 back
(Credit: Olympus America)So, it uses the same 10-megapixel Live MOS sensor as the Panasonic DMC-L10. Personally, I crop a lot and tend to print at 13x19, so that resolution disappoints me a bit. The full 11 cross-type AF sensors, with slightly offset focusing points, sounds like it should provide a fast focusing system when shooting both horizontally and vertically, but only testing will tell. That goes triple for Olympus' claim that the image stabilization system can deliver up to 5 stops latitude, which the company says is more applicable to long, heavy lenses.
The rest looks pretty encouraging, however. It offers a few things the D300 doesn't: a splash-proof (and dust-proof) design; built-in, independent x/y sensor-shift stabilization; huge viewfinder; and a flip-out display, which (to me) improves the usefulness of Live View mode from "so what?" to "Whoa, yeah!" In addition to a standard 2 percent spot meter, the E-3 also offers high-key and low-key spot meter options, which will meter at something other than 18 percent gray to boost highlights or shadows. And you'll be able to set the matrix metering system to evaluate its 44 points worth of data in a spiral or loop scheme. It all sounds nice and whizzy, but just how useful these really are remains to be seen.
For all you strobers, the E-3 also includes an impressive-sounding flash system. It includes a built-in wireless flash controller that can support three flash groups of four channels each. Maximum X-sync speed is 1/250 second and there's a super FP (focal plane) mode which enables sync speed up to 1/8,000 sec.
New Olympus Four Thirds lenses
(Credit: Olympus America)
Without lens announcements trailing it like a caboose, a new dSLR camera announcement just wouldn't be the same. Four with the Zuiko Digital ED brand follow the E-3:
- f2.8-4.0 12mm-60mm SWD (Supersonic Wave Drive)
24mm-120mm-equivalent; $999.99; available November 2007 - f2.8-3.5 50mm-200mm SWD
100mm-400mm-equivalent; $1,199.99; available December 2007 - f2.0 14-35mm SWD
28mm-70mm-equivalent; $2,299.99; available Q1 2008 - 2x Teleconverter EC-20
$479.99; available December 2007
Olympus hasn't indicated whether or not it's planning to sell a kit version of the E-3. If so, it certainly won't include any of these rather pricey optics.
I don't know for certain, but I doubt there are hordes of E-1 owners who've tenaciously spurned all dSLR suitors while waiting for Olympus to release a new pro model. Then again, for those who invested in the Four Thirds lenses, the E-3 is likely a momentous release. Once we've got one in for evaluation, we'll let you know if it was worth the wait--or too little, too late.
On Sale Now: $1,199.95 - $1,399.99
View the latest prices for Olympus E-3 (body only)
