47 Days in Remote China...Storage Solutions?

[jjasc]

I'm heading on 1 and a half month trip to the remote parts of china (western sichuan, Tibet, xinjiang) and I'm trying to figure out how many memory cards I need.

I have a 5D Mark 2 (just ordered it...replaced my 5D). I'll be in some pretty remote areas -- some of the most remote in asia -- and access to power and computers may be pretty limited. There will be a few occations when I'll be actually trekking on camel, horse, or foot for days into the mountains or desserts.

I'm primary a landscape shooter though I'll be picking up a 85mm 1.2 (or maybe 135L...trying to decide which will be better for where I'm going) to work on travel portraits too.

I ordered six 16 GIG Kingston 133x cards yesterday and I have two 8 gig cards from before...about 112 GIGs total in memory cards.

For those of you who have gone on 1 to 2 month backpacking trips to exotic and remote locations, what do you think I'll need in terms of memory cards? With RAW I can probably take 3k - 4k photos with 112 GIGS, I estimate (could be off though?). That's definitely not enough -- even if I take 200 pictures a day (which is not that much really) that only covers less than half the trip.

I may be able to offload some of the pictures at an internet cafe somewhere and burn them to DVD, but I'm not very trusting of handing my cards to other people for backup.

I'm thinking of maybe picking up a cheap netbook or perhaps buying another 6 CF cards? I've also seen these Hyperdrive things, though for the price you pay, id rather get a tiny netbook.

Ben

[Jon]

Will you have access to AC power, or at least DC and an inverter, regularly during the trip? I get a couple of hundred frames (RAW) from my 5D2 onto an 8 GB card, and I agree, you'll need more storage of some kind. I use a netbook I upgraded to a 500 GB HDD as my portable storage, and carry an external HDD to make a second backup (actually, I carry 2 externals, and I don't delete the files off the cards until I KNOW I'll need to reuse them, just so I have backups of the backups). The netbook will also (with judicious choice of software) let you tag and geotag your photos so you don't find yourself wondering, once you get home, what that building was you photographed 4 days into the trip. But if power is going to be an issue, you'll probably need to go with the cards.

[lannes]

Don't forget the power side of things as well, I'd have at least 4 lp-e6's plus a couple of chargers (one as back-up) a replacement charger will be hard to find where you're going, if you've got a battery grip at least you can use AA's in an emergency. Are you taking a flash unit, then you'll also need batteries for these as well.

What about a sensor cleaner, as you're going to desolate and presumably dusty places while trekking. Something like an artic butterfly, some pre-moistened sensor swabs and a sensor loupe may save the day

If you run out of memory you could always shoot large jpeg, an 16gig card will give you about 1500 images.

[jjasc]

I'm trying to bus hop from remote village/town to town way up in Kham Tibet (also called western sichuan) and will be staying at guest houses/shoddy hotels. I'm going to assume these places will have power -- but I could be wrong in some cases. China has AC power but the voltage and plugs are all different -- I do have a plug end adapter. I believe Canon chargers can work with the voltage differences as I've taken my original 5D on a few of my other trips.

For the treks across the Xinjiang desserts and Himalayan mountains, I'm not going to have power though. I won't be doing any 1 week treks though, most likely 2-3 days at a time.

Right now I have 2 batteries. But your right, I probably need another 2 -- I don't feel "good" about just having two. A backup charger is another good idea. I don't know if I want to drop another 200 bucks on another 90+ gigs of flash though. I'm leaning towards the cheapy netbook.


My kit is this (completely revamped it this past month -- to the tune of about 5k USD):

3N1-10 Kata (very small, very portable camera backpack)
5D Mark 2
2 Batteries
six 133x 16 Gig Kingston CF
two 8 gig Kingston CF cards

17/40L
70-200MM L f/4.0
50 1.8 (I'm really seeing if I can replace the 50 1.8 with a 85mm 1.2 Mark 1 OR a 135mm L -- if I can afford it)

SinghRay Color Combo filter
SinghRay Vari-N-Duo filter
SinghRay Blue and Gold Polarizer
SinghRay 3 Stop Reverse Grad
Lee: 2,3 hard and soft grads
Cokin Z Filter Holder

Sensor Cleaner (Artic Butterfly) -- still need the liquid cleaner stuff that comes with the kit though, lost the bottle
Rocket Blower
Lense Pen

Gitzo 1541T + Markins Q3T with RRS PCL-1 Panning Clamp

All this fits (barely) in the Kata 3N1-10.

[bohdank]

If no access to power for the entire time, then you are basically stuck using memory cards. Let's be honest, you may shoot 200/day but, out of those, you could probably trash 1/2 of them on the first round.

You're going to need more than a couple of batteries for the camera.

If you will have access to occasional but regular power then a netbook would be a great place to offload the cards.

[lannes]

Might be safe to take the 5D as a back up body.
Don't think you need the 135L, unless you want to shoot wide open at f/2.0, otherwise your 70-200 more than covers it.
A monopod may be a good and cheaper substitute to the 135L and allow you to shoot at slower shutter speeds using the 70-200.

[keitaro]

Have you considered using an Epson P series photo view or something of that sort to store your photos, while in the remote regions?

I would bring a small power bar to maximize the power outlets in your hotels or guest houses. Therefore you can charge multiple devices at once. Something like the Belkin Mini Surge protector would be useful to charge batteries, power notebooks, and charge a cellphone all at once.

http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/ProductCategory.jsp?BV_UseBVCookie=yes&oid=-8175
http://www.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Product_Id=400738

[Tim Snow]

I would also suggest the 5d as a backup. Also, look into the Brunton solar chargers if your are really concerned about power. You can strap one of their foldable models to your pack while you trek during the day, so the battery will charge as you are on the move.

[jjasc]

Weight is a HUGE deal for me here. I've got a massive backpacking backpack and i'll have the Kata bag with all my photo gear stored. I won't have the space for additional camera bodies, etc -- unfortunately.

[SoaringUSAEagle]

I'd take 6 or 8 LP-E6 batteries... what is the weather like?? If it gets real cold and your gear is out in the elements, the batteries may drain faster than normal. What an experience you'll have - enjoy.

[bohdank]

Batteries do not drain faster in the cold... the amount of power they deliver is lowered. Take the same batteries back indoors and when they warm up, they work, again.

[jjasc]

In the Tibet regions, I suspect it will be cold. I'll be there around summer (mid may in that part), so only night times will likely be "cold."

It's clear that I'm way short on batteries. Any cheaper solution - i.e. recommended 3rd party batteries? I have two name brand ones, but I don't mind buying 3rd parties for half the price...

[troutfisher]

Well I will probably get shot down in flames, called stupid or whatever.If I were going backpacking in remote china for 47 days I would note take all that gear ( at least not without a porter to carry it and extensive insurance)
A new fuji HS10 a netbook a load of SD cards and a bucket of AA batteries

[bohdank]

In the Tibet regions, I suspect it will be cold. I'll be there around summer (mid may in that part), so only night times will likely be "cold."

It's clear that I'm way short on batteries. Any cheaper solution - i.e. recommended 3rd party batteries? I have two name brand ones, but I don't mind buying 3rd parties for half the price...

I have a pair of Canon and a pair of Phottix batteries. Keep in mind that the Phottix ones cannot be charged in the Canon charger but the Canon ones can be charged in the Phottix charger. They are also much less than 1/2 the price of the Canon ones.

[yogestee]

Ben,,,,My wife and I drove from Chengdu to a town called Sertar in far western Sichuan province, with the project she was working with in late September 2007.. This area is bordered by Sichuan, Qinghai and Tibet..One thing is for sure you'll get some magic images,,the landscape is gobsmacking beautiful.. The further west you head the sparser and flatter the landscape becomes.. Huge blue skies,,take a polarising filter..

The larger towns and villages have electricity so you won't have any problems powering your gear.. You'll need a local electricity adapter..

It is a gradual climb up onto the Tibetan Plateaux from around a town called Barkham (the Han Chinese call it Marikone (sp?)).. Here you are about 2,500 metres above sea level.. Sertar is around 4,500 metres.. Altitude sickness can be a problem from about 3,000 metres so take it easy and allow your body to acclimatise.. We took an anti altitude sickness drug call Demoxin (sp?) which works well but makes your extremities like fingers and toes tingle..

This area is mainly inhabited by Tibetans and Tibetan subgroups like the Gyarong which are the most eastern of the Tibetan subgroups,,interesting cultures.. The further west you head the fewer people you'll see.. As you move west you'll get into the real Tibetan culture.. Keep a look out for the Champa Tibetans.. These are the ones with the long plats with red and black ribbons, make great subjects.. Most of the populations are in the river valleys.. You'll see a gradual change in the buildings as you move from one Tibetan subgroup to the next..

If you are going in summer the weather will be quite warm during the day but can get cool during the night..

Check some pics here ----> http://www.pbase.com/jurgentreue/sertar&page=all

[golf88]

if you plan on staying in hostels at all then there's a good chance that there's a computer. i backpacked last year through 8 provinces/20 cities in china in just over a month and it wasn't that hard to get computer access (i don't know about tibet though). definitely recommend bringing a slim portable HDD for those times that you can offload your pics. it won't take up too much weight and can definitely be a lifesaver as a backup.

watch out for some of the third-party batts. i bought some from the suntek store on ebay and surprisingly they don't fit properly in my battery grip... it's just a hair bigger than the original lp-e6 so trying to get them out is ridiculously difficult. the first time i actually had to use pliers...

[The Ran]

If you plan on going the netbook route I have something that will interest you. I recently bought a Toshiba NB200 from Carphonewarehouse for £250. It has a 250GB HDD so that means you can fill up all your cards twice and transfer them to the netbook and then fill up the cards once more, effectively tripling your overall storage. Compare that with the price of just doubling your storage with cards and it seems like a pretty good deal. It comes with a 9 cell (I think) battery that'll last you 9 hours if not more if you turn brightness down, decrease the time it takes to turn off the drive and screen and go into sleep mode, etc., then another battery shouldn't cost much more. It also has a nifty feature where it senses movement and stops the drive spinning and parks the read/write head to avoid damage to the HDD. You also have an SD slot so you could pick up a cheap SD card and chuck that in there for a bit more storage.

[RPCrowe]

My kit is this (completely revamped it this past month -- to the tune of about 5k USD):

3N1-10 Kata (very small, very portable camera backpack)
5D Mark 2
2 Batteries
six 133x 16 Gig Kingston CF
two 8 gig Kingston CF cards

17/40L
70-200MM L f/4.0
50 1.8 (I'm really seeing if I can replace the 50 1.8 with a 85mm 1.2 Mark 1 OR a 135mm L -- if I can afford it)

SinghRay Color Combo filter
SinghRay Vari-N-Duo filter
SinghRay Blue and Gold Polarizer
SinghRay 3 Stop Reverse Grad
Lee: 2,3 hard and soft grads
Cokin Z Filter Holder

Sensor Cleaner (Artic Butterfly) -- still need the liquid cleaner stuff that comes with the kit though, lost the bottle
Rocket Blower
Lense Pen

Gitzo 1541T + Markins Q3T with RRS PCL-1 Panning Clamp

All this fits (barely) in the Kata 3N1-10.

From your gear list, it appears that you are taking only a 5DII camera. I would not consider a trip of this magnitude with just one body... On a two week trip to Alaska's Kenai Peninsula during the Summer of 2008; I fell on a slippery slope and creamed my 40D on the first day. If it were not for my 30D, I would have lugged a lot of lenses and accessories to Alaska without any opportunity to use them.

Even a humble 350D would work as a second body if push came to shove. A used XT is pretty inexpensive and the camera is quite light in weight.

[jjasc]

@troutfisher
I'm looking into insurance options -- but up here in Canada, there do not seem to be very many options for me to insure my entire setup. I'm keenly aware that I'm lugging around 7k worth of stuff...

@yogestee
Thanks for the advice. That specific town is on my agenda actually. Really excited about Western Sichuan. Any specific recommendations on locales in Western Sichuan that are specifically photogenic (I know most of the area is)?

@golf88
I'm sure some of the places have internet. Some of the more remote places in sichuan and xinjiang probably won't. I'm looking into some decent 3rd party batteries that will fit in the canon charger.

@The Ran
Thanks, I'll look into that model. At this point, anything with 200+ gigs is good, as long as it's cheap. I've really spent an arm and leg on my camera stuff this month. I'm hoping I can get a netbook for 250-300 bucks.

@RPCrowe
yea, I do see the need of a backup body. My brother n law has an old XTi, but he's out of town. I don't like the idea of lugging around two bodies though -- it's painful carrying too much weight around one a 47 day trip. If I had a spare one, I'd take it. Don't think I can afford one now though, since i've seriously blown my budget on revamping up my camera gear. I had decent gear before (feilsol 3441S, acratech ballheads, etc), but I swapped it all for top stuff.

Thanks for all the advice guys! Anyone thing I should sell my 70-200mm f/4 and add a bit extra and pick up a used 85mm 1.2 or 135L? I think the 17-40mm for landscapes and the 85 1.2mm 1.2 (or 135mm..can't decide) for travel portraits would be the perfect combo.

[kauffman v36]

IMO,

dump the 50 1.8, dump the 70-200 f4, and id stick to a polarizer, and ND, and maaaybeee a GND, i know the Vari-n-duo is like an all in one or something like that.

why not pick up a 70-200 2.8 and just take it with the 17-40, 2 lens deal. idk about the two body deal, i understand everyones point but thats also more weigh on your back and you dont have a photo assistant to help you carry stuff. stick to the mark 2. i would personally take a small film rangefinder since it occupies very little space and weight.

i dont see the need for a 135L or 85L, you dont need 3 lenses. i hike alot and at first i wanted to take everything, you HAVE to cut the fat off your setup when trecking long distances. dont take 12 batteries so that theyll last the entire trip, there will be electricity somewhere, guarenteed, this is 2010. 5/6 batteries with grip is my suggestion, and AA tray, id personally make due with 4 batteries. CF cards take up less space and weight than netbook, and are a lot harder to break. also wont be stolen. sensor cleaning, i understand the worry but just be careful and use common sense when switching out lenses. if something does happen dont shoot at f/22 into a blue sky, lol.

i guess im playing devils advocate but ive learned to carry as little as possible on my adventures, and those are local into the everglades. ive even not taken a tripod and just used tree stumps, rocks, etc for support for landscape shots. every ounce makes a difference.

last but not least, this is not a joke, if you are not in optimum physical shape start working out, cardio, back exercises, and leg workouts. it will make a world of difference. and also the obvious, very very very comfortable shoes with plenty of support.

[C_Riv]

I've been living in India for few months, and I bought a 135L right before coming. I have used my 70-200 f/4 maybe twice since being here. The 135L is my go to lens for Tele-use. I also shoot mainly portraits on the fly, and at f/2-2.8 a lot. (lots of example on my blog, check the sig)
Not saying you should buy the 135l, but its pretty much awesome. Just gotta figure out whats right for you.

[SillyGuy]

how do those solar chargers work? are they any good?

[jjasc]

I'm very tempted to sell the 70-200mm f/4 and get the 135L. I could keep the 50 1.8, the 17-40mm (which is my bread and butter, as I'm a landscape shooter primary) and get those nice bokeh travel portraits too.

Letting go of the flexibility of the 70-200 range is a bit painful though, but I can still slap on the 135L for some landscapes.

[yogestee]

@yogestee
Thanks for the advice. That specific town is on my agenda actually. Really excited about Western Sichuan. Any specific recommendations on locales in Western Sichuan that are specifically photogenic (I know most of the area is)?



Not a problem..

The entire Garze Prefecture is probably one of the most interesting places in the Tibetan Automous Region..Up until 2001 it had the highest percentage of Buddhist clergy in China.. Sertar was a schooling centre for monks.. This made the Han Chinese nervous.. In 2001 the Han Chinese went in and raised Sertar to the ground, burning monastries and expelling monks.. Sertar has been rebuilt and is really quite modern,, it even has a set traffic lights in the centre of town.. The Garze Prefecture is around 90% Tibetan out of a population of around 1 million..

In early 2007 the Chinese Govt granted the Prefecture 100,000USD for infrastructure improvements which ended up in the pockets of the Chinese officials.. During a meeting a couple of Tibetans walked in and shot nine officials..

What I'm saying is that this area of Sichuan is politically very sensitive.. You will be watched!! In your tour group there will be a Chineses Govt cadre keeping an eye on things.. BTW,,there is a monastry about 10 klms out of Sertar which is out of bounds to foreigners,,get caught you will be expelled or worse.. I believe there is an American woman who is still in gaol in China somewhere for being found on the grounds,,could be a urban myth..

Now onto equipment... Travel light.. To me it seems some repliers have never travelled in remote areas, especially high altitude..

You are at high altitude and even a brisk walk will make you tired.. I'd honestly lose the laptop,,you won't need it.. Take a backup body and a minimum of lenses.. Any lens will get you outstanding shots here,,this area is so stunning.. Hang onto your 70-200mm and definitely take the 17-40mm.. This probably all the lenses you'll need.. Spare batteries, chargers, polarising filters are a must.. I wouldn't even worry about storage devices,,take heaps of CF cards..

Clothing.. This will be most of your weight.. You need to pack both light and heavy clothing even in summer.. The days can get hot but night cold..

[hyt]

No offense but I think you're certifiably nuts for going on a trip like that, with all that gear, without packing a spare body. It's the most fragile part of your kit, with the most moving parts and circuitry, and therefore the most things that could go wrong. Were it me I would at least take an older digi Rebel with a BP that will take AAs, and gladly lose the heavy zoom as a tradeoff for the redundancy if weight is a concern.

[themadman]

I know you have said you don't want to take a spare body, but what if at some point during the trip your 5D2 goes down? what are you gonna do for the rest of the trip? Call it off? Go home early? If I went on a trip like that I would take two bodies at a minimum. Anyways, it is up to you of course, thats just my opinion.

[lannes]

Get a Canon S90 as a back up, smaller and lighter than the DSLR option.

Check out the image quality
http://www.kenrockwell.com/canon/s90.htm
http://kenrockwell.com/trips/2010-01-nyc/

[kauffman v36]

^^^ great suggestion, i just dont see a second DSLR body being a good idea when trying to travel light. s90 seems like the perfect oh **** camera

[jjasc]

Remember guys, I'll be hiking/traveling in very high altitude areas -- some of the Tibetian towns are like 4200 meters (13,700 feet). At one point, I'll be something like 5100 meters above sea level (16,700+ feet). To put that into perspective, Mount Everest is 8800 meters...


High altitude traveling is TIRING. A 25 second run in these altitudes is seriously feels like you did a 8 minute trying-to-break-a-world-record sprint. Every single pound you carry is a very very big deal here.


I agree it's a risk not carrying a backup body. Maybe one of the high quality point and shoots as suggested is a good compromise. If I had an old XTi or XT, I guess I could pack it in my big backpack. But I'd certainly not lug it around in my photo backpack (Kata 3N1-10) when actually hiking.

@yogestee
Thanks for the advice what to pack to Sichuan!

[SimD]

Just chiming in.

Take out one shirt or pair of shorts and throw in a spare body and/or a decent P&S. No point in spending $200-300 on memory cards when you realize that you don't have a camera to use them with.

Stick with the least amount of lenses. You WILL be tired, so tired in fact that you won't even feel like changing lenses. Two lenses max, really. 17-40 obviously in your case, and take maybe the 50mm or as you said, either an 85 or 135. Instead of the 85L, get the 85 1.8. It's 90% of the 85L with like 20% of the weight and price. I wouldn't take the 70-200. Sure you lose versatility, but like I said, you WILL be tired. Travel light. So I say 50 1.8 or 85 1.8.

Next, if you go the netbook route, budget in at least one external hard drive (ideally two). CF cards don't have moving parts, meaning they are less prone to failures. If you plan on only saving the photos on the netbook without backing up, I'd say ditch the idea and just get more CF cards.

And for batteries, get maybe 2 more Canon batteries, or for the price I'd even go and pick up 4 3rd-party batteries (check this forum, there should be plenty of reviews). Don't forget to get a couple of batteries for that backup (really, don't leave without a second body).

Just my $cdn 0.02...

[yogestee]

Stick with the least amount of lenses. You WILL be tired, so tired in fact that you won't even feel like changing lenses.


Sim,,let's not scare he Bejesus out of jjasc..

If you adjust gradually to high altitude it's not a big problem.. I'll give you an example.. If you fly in from sea level to over 3,000 metres it will hit you like a ton of bricks but if you climb to that altitude gradually it's not too bad..

We drove from Chengdu which is around 500 metres above sea level.. It took two days to reach Sertar which is about 4,500 metres above sea level.. It was a gradual climb and by the time we got there our bodies had adjusted.. An over night stop was at Barkham at 2,500 metres,, no problem there at all..Sure you get tired more quickly but general everyday activity like walking wasn't a problem.. I only felt it when I had to climb four stories to our hotel room..

If you smoke cut down and limit your alcohol intake..

BTW,, the altitude sickness medication is called Diamox..