47 Days in Remote China...Storage Solutions?

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 …UseBVCookie=yes​&oid=-8175
http://www.belkin.com …process?Product​_Id=400738

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.

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.

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.

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.

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...

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

jjasc wrote in post #9816818
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.

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/j​urgentreue/sertar&page​=all