Transferring Photos Directly to an External Hard-Drive?

Hello all! This is my first post.

So, I am on my way to the Everglades for a bird photography trip in a few weeks. In the past, I have brought my laptop computer, along with my card reader and Canon 7D to transfer my photos.

I was wondering if there is a way to transfer my photography from my camera directly to an external hard-drive, so I don't need my computer.

Thanks so much for your help!

1 Response

There are a few options that might work for you. Firstly, you could just stock up on CF cards, which are relatively cheap these days, but if you're shooting a lot, that could be a lot of cards.

If you have an iPad, you can hook up your camera or card reader to it using a Lightning to USB adapter (or 30-Pin to USB adapter). There are also similar products for Android. They should all work with RAW and JPEG files.

If you plan on shooting more than a mobile tablet can hold, there are backup hard drives made specifically for memory cards. This "photo safe" (more in-depth details are on B&H) is basically a 500 GB hard drive with a built-in CF reader. It's more pricey than a normal external hard drive, but it's a pretty good option if you know you'll be shooting 100+ GBs of images.

Or, if you're used to the camera-to-computer method, you could just invest in a smaller laptop to take with you, so it's not so much of an inconvenience.

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