www.ultimatehandyman.co.uk

I have only just realised that modern memory sticks can hold thousands of photographs. Up until now I have been saving my photos to CD and, of course, they don't hold many.

Now I want to buy a memory stick but I don't know what capacity to get. Are the 64gb ones just as reliable as the 32gb (which seem more popular)? And, is there a particular make that is reliable?

Obviously, my photos are quite precious so I don't want to buy a memory stick that will be unreliable in the future.

Many thanks,

Tom

havent got a clue but they are cheap enough to back up on 2 sticks

Tom d'Angler I can only speak from a fair bit of personal experience, and that is that the capacity of the stick makes no difference to the reliability in practical terms. I would be inclined to stick with a 32gb card, purely as that would allow you to store approximately 9,500 images from an average 10mp point and shoot camera, which is already far more than I would entrust to any one device. They are no less stable when completely full.

It's worth looking for a faster read/write time if you're moving larger files around and particularly for video. In terms of branding I try to stick with Kingston/SanDisk, though frankly I've never had a problem with the cheapest of sticks either.

Memory is pretty cheap these days, so it's worth spreading your risk over several sticks and backing everything up for belt n braces.

thank you to both of you for those suggestions. I just ordered two SanDisk sticks from a reputable UK dealer on fleaBay.

Tom d'Angler wrote:thank you to both of you for those suggestions. I just ordered two SanDisk sticks from a reputable UK dealer on fleaBay.

Good price I hope ? they are regularly on offer at half price in the supermarkets..

My last one, is an Integral USB3 (16GB) and is that noticeable fast in the USB3 outlet on my pc compared to USB2 types.

Good price I hope ?

I think so. £11.99 each including delivery. It would cost me around a tenner to get to a supermarket from where I live.

I saw the same ones for sale on the Game website for £29.99 ... can you believe that?

Tom d'Angler wrote: I just ordered two SanDisk sticks from a reputable UK dealer on fleaBay.

Well, I'm a bit late now then.

I was in the same situation (looking for extra storage) and bought a 1Terabyte external hard drive (from E-buyer) - a freebie download programme backs up any changes I make to any picture folders on the desktop PC every day.

32gb is not a lot if you were to start shooting RAW.

Problem with archiving ANYTHING is getting it on a media that will offer some form of longevity - not so much in terms of the hardware but for the INTERFACE used to access it. CDROMs are fast becoming obsolete and all forms of 'cartridge' storage already has (I'm talking ZipDisks and suchlike).

Key drives seem a logical solution but the USB2 interface has already been passed by USB3 and portable HDD's are being replaced by SSDs.

If I was to use a 'key' it would have to be USB3 compatible. SSD otherwise.

Of course the 'modern' solution is to upload them to the cloud (net storage) which can be found in 10's of Gb's for free all over the place but the security issues surrounding them I suppose they aren't any worse than physically losing a key drive down a drain for example

Cloud storage could, though, be copied around the many different services on offer to give you some greater security of 'safety'. A distinct advantage of cloud storage means you can access the pictures from anywhere, on any device that can access the web - no chance of fogetting to carry it with you or the 'down-the-drain' scenario!

I'm sure BG will be along to big-up the cloud solution

Ain't nobody got time for computers

Some good points banded around, but a few more questions Tom, at least from me......

- What sort of quantity of pictures are you talking about here (100 CDs worth, one a year, 1GB, 20GB??)
- Do you wish to retain access to them easily, do you just archive and forget or do you look at them frequent/sometimes?
- How many computers / devices do you have (I have additional thoughts here, go with me on this one)
- What is your backup goal.....to free up space, keep them safe or ..... ??
- Why are idiots setting fireworks off tonight?
- Do you want the process automated or are you happy doing it yersen?

I reckon answering them would yield a better solution for you, at least from moi, otherwise what they said.

My rambling thoughts:

CD/DVD Storage

+ Cheap as chips for drives and media
+ Discs can be viewed on lots of devices (other computers, DVD players, etc)
- Easy to damage or lose
- Cheap discs can actually delaminate from the plastic!!!
- It's a hassle doing it

HDD

+ Big storage space (GB per ££)
+ drive easily moved around
+ can come with software to make it automatic / easier
+ Can be fast regardless of USB2/3/firewire/eSATA
- Drive can be lost or fail
- have to remember to connect and backup

USB sticks

+ Cheap and lots of storage (GB per ££ is good)
+ Simple
- Easy to lose
- Not automatic
- Hard to find pictures when lots of drives around

Cloud

+ Lots of services / plans / choices for storage
+ Redundancy - pictures are not just in one location, so 'safe'
+ Can be accessed and shared easily
+ Can be viewed on lots of devices
+ Backup easily automated
+ Can be added too via phone (if smart phone / app available)
- If not trusted company, you can lose all data if they go under/disappear/
- Large quantities of data can take ages to backup and restore when needed
- Can be cost prohibitive if backing up large amounts of data to one provider
- ??

BG

I have to ask, if you use cloud, what happens if the sun is shining?

someone-else wrote:I have to ask, if you use cloud, what happens if the sun is shining?

it means I'm bending over

Tom d'Angler wrote:

Good price I hope ?

I think so. £11.99 each including delivery. It would cost me around a tenner to get to a supermarket from where I live.

I've been looking for some too but can't find any that cheap...do you have an item number I could search for?

wrinx

wrinx wrote:........I've been looking for some too but can't find any that cheap...do you have an item number I could search for?

wrinx

This what you wanted?

- What sort of quantity of pictures are you talking about here (100 CDs worth, one a year, 1GB, 20GB??)
- Do you wish to retain access to them easily, do you just archive and forget or do you look at them frequent/sometimes?
- How many computers / devices do you have (I have additional thoughts here, go with me on this one)
- What is your backup goal.....to free up space, keep them safe or ..... ??
- Why are idiots setting fireworks off tonight?
- Do you want the process automated or are you happy doing it yersen?

I normally half half- to one- CDs worth each month, or sometimes three CDs in a month if I've taken lots of photos when on holiday for example.

I browse through them on my laptop ocassionally. Saving them to a memory stick will be a backup to be kept in my safe in case my laptop breaks.

I only have one laptop plus one iPhone which I sync with the laptop daily.

Backup goal is to keep them safe.

The same idiots that are related to the idiots around here!

I'm happy doing it myself. (As Mrs d'A knows very well )