Transferring videos/photos to an external hard drive

[Millanrose13]

Hello,
I'm planning to bring an external hard drive to transfer my files while I'm on my trip to El Nido, Philippines. I have a WD Passport 2T, Mac Air and using Extreme Pro SD Card 128gb. Has anyone ran into any problems while transferring? How long does it usually take say for a couple 10 min videos to upload? What are your suggestions with the Mac Air - can it handle the 4K videos?
Thanks so much for you time!

 

[WheelzWorld]

Transfer depends of your resolution... Bigger it is, the longer it will take. (for a same lenght)

 

[WheelzWorld]

More secure way would be to put it first on your laptop, then copy to external hard drive. (to avoid corrupt files)

Unless you have a hard drive that accepts sd cards directly.

 

[Millanrose13]

More secure way would be to put it first on your laptop, then copy to external hard drive. (to avoid corrupt files)

Okay, I will consider that! Thanks

 

[KiterTodd]

@Millanrose13 this is similar to how I travel (MacAir, External hard drive). The Air is nice and small to travel with, but as you know the flash drive space is limited so you need an external HD or you'll fill things up quick.

First, make sure your mSD card reader is fast, and buy a spare. Some card readers (even new ones I've bought) will come up and tell you a big transfer will take an hour, then you take it out and use another one and it does it in 5 minutes (and tells you that in the estimate). So, test it home.

The Air can handle 4K files fine, but if you are doing movie editing on your trip, it may not play back smoothly due to the speed limitations of your hard drive connection. You can still edit (it'll be choppy) and when you export it'll be perfect. You can get around this by keeping everything on your hard drive, but then space becomes an issue. When FCPX works (if that is what you are using) it eats up a lot of space with the transition files it creates....it grows quite a bit. (Having said all that, when I get home I transfer everything to my MacBookPro and a faster hard drive for easier editing.)

I have been very happy with GDrives. They work great with Macs and are reliable. I use the ones that are bus powered so they work without needing an external power supply. GDrive makes some pretty big flash storage drives, but they are pricey. I have been using the HD based ones which are a lot cheaper. They make this G-Drive slim which pairs really nice with the Air. You may need a couple depending on the length of your trip and amount of footage you plan on collecting.

Safe travels. Look forward to seeing the footage!

 

[AlanTheBeast]

Hello,
I'm planning to bring an external hard drive to transfer my files while I'm on my trip to El Nido, Philippines. I have a WD Passport 2T, Mac Air and using Extreme Pro SD Card 128gb. Has anyone ran into any problems while transferring? How long does it usually take say for a couple 10 min videos to upload? What are your suggestions with the Mac Air - can it handle the 4K videos?
Thanks so much for you time!

What model (year) is the MBA? Does it have an SD slot? Then you can test it before you leave to get a feel for the timing. Writing to the external drive is another matter. I personally wouldn't sweat the times - stuff to do at the hotel (whatever) in the evening.

You could consider recording 2.7K/24 - looks nice and takes less room - and will not be as much of a challenge for the MBA.

I assume you're using an iPhone or iPad. Make sure you bring a cable to connect the iPhone/iPad to the MBA to get at the video cache and flight records too. Backup video and necessary to search if you have a loss or fly away.

 

[triumphrider]

When I travel I leave my laptop at home, less weight, but also more secure, especially overseas. I spent a month traveling through Indonesia, Australia and Singapore. I bought the Ravpower FileHub Plus ($39.99) on Amazon. All you do is plug your external hard drive in and insert your SD or micro SD card in using an adapter. You download the Ravpower app on your phone and transfer the files directly from the SD card to your external hard drive without needing a computer. You can view the videos/pics on your phone to verify everything works.
The Ravpower is small and lightweight, a lot easier to travel with then a laptop.

 

[Millanrose13]

@Millanrose13 this is similar to how I travel (MacAir, External hard drive). The Air is nice and small to travel with, but as you know the flash drive space is limited so you need an external HD or you'll fill things up quick.

First, make sure your mSD card reader is fast, and buy a spare. Some card readers (even new ones I've bought) will come up and tell you a big transfer will take an hour, then you take it out and use another one and it does it in 5 minutes (and tells you that in the estimate). So, test it home.

The Air can handle 4K files fine, but if you are doing movie editing on your trip, it may not play back smoothly due to the speed limitations of your hard drive connection. You can still edit (it'll be choppy) and when you export it'll be perfect. You can get around this by keeping everything on your hard drive, but then space becomes an issue. When FCPX works (if that is what you are using) it eats up a lot of space with the transition files it creates....it grows quite a bit. (Having said all that, when I get home I transfer everything to my MacBookPro and a faster hard drive for easier editing.)

I have been very happy with GDrives. They work great with Macs and are reliable. I use the ones that are bus powered so they work without needing an external power supply. GDrive makes some pretty big flash storage drives, but they are pricey. I have been using the HD based ones which are a lot cheaper. They make this G-Drive slim which pairs really nice with the Air. You may need a couple depending on the length of your trip and amount of footage you plan on collecting.

Safe travels. Look forward to seeing the footage!

Thank you KiterTodd! I have the SanDisk Extreme Pro 128GB SDXC UHS-I Card (SDSDXXG-128G-GN4IN) which I've read that it is fast. I am not planning to edit any videos while I'm there (might not have time). I just want to make sure I transfer everything after each tours/trips of the day. I'll definitely look into the G-Drive. Thanks!

 

[Millanrose13]

What model (year) is the MBA? Does it have an SD slot? Then you can test it before you leave to get a feel for the timing. Writing to the external drive is another matter. I personally wouldn't sweat the times - stuff to do at the hotel (whatever) in the evening.

You could consider recording 2.7K/24 - looks nice and takes less room - and will not be as much of a challenge for the MBA.

I assume you're using an iPhone or iPad. Make sure you bring a cable to connect the iPhone/iPad to the MBA to get at the video cache and flight records too. Backup video and necessary to search if you have a loss or fly away.

Hi! Thanks for replying. I have the WD 1TB/2TB Black My Passport for Mac Portable External Hard Drive - USB 3.0 - WDBJBS0010BSL (I believe Year 2015) and do not have an SD slot in them so I'll need a computer to transfer. But considering to get one of those drives without the slot..however, I am leaving in 4 days and might not have enough time to test anything out.

How do I backup the cache and flight records?

 

[Millanrose13]

When I travel I leave my laptop at home, less weight, but also more secure, especially overseas. I spent a month traveling through Indonesia, Australia and Singapore. I bought the Ravpower FileHub Plus ($39.99) on Amazon. All you do is plug your external hard drive in and insert your SD or micro SD card in using an adapter. You download the Ravpower app on your phone and transfer the files directly from the SD card to your external hard drive without needing a computer. You can view the videos/pics on your phone to verify everything works.
The Ravpower is small and lightweight, a lot easier to travel with then a laptop.

Ahh... thanks for suggesting the Ravpower. I'm going to look into it with Amazon and hopefully it will get here on time before my trip!

 

[AlanTheBeast]

Hi! Thanks for replying. I have the WD 1TB/2TB Black My Passport for Mac Portable External Hard Drive - USB 3.0 - WDBJBS0010BSL (I believe Year 2015) and do not have an SD slot in them so I'll need a computer to transfer. But considering to get one of those drives without the slot..however, I am leaving in 4 days and might not have enough time to test anything out.

How do I backup the cache and flight records?

First off: what MBA do you have? Need that to answer the video question.

You need the cable between the iPhone/iPad and Mac, and iTunes to offload the cached data. I recommend you increase the cache size in the phone (GO App) to 4 GB to be sure you don't miss a thing.

 

[KiterTodd]

Thank you KiterTodd! I have the SanDisk Extreme Pro 128GB SDXC UHS-I Card (SDSDXXG-128G-GN4IN) which I've read that it is fast. I am not planning to edit any videos while I'm there (might not have time). I just want to make sure I transfer everything after each tours/trips of the day. I'll definitely look into the G-Drive. Thanks!

@Millanrose13 , you are missing one point. If your Air does not have an SD card reader slot (mine does not) you will be plugging some USB device in to read your uSD card. Even if you have an SD slot, you'll be plugging in one of those little converters to carry your micro card in an SD slot. You have to make sure each of those things is fast as well. If they are faulty or were designed for a slower USB standard, the transfer times will be lethargic. The one that came with your new Extreme card is likely perfect.

So, this is independent of the speed of the card. Usually, the card has to have a very fast write speed for the camera to record 4K. The card speed is less of a driver for computer access.

Good luck, safe travels!

 

[WheelzWorld]

Actually a good HD for travel may be the Toshiba Canvio AeroCast Wireless Portable Hard Drive (1TB)

I forgot I had it... (but glad I did that geeky purchase back then). It's super convenient to use without a computer and edit via app's editor or else). Just didn't test speed... (but it has sd+msd slots and seems advised for photographers & else)

If anyone want more feedback on it, let me know

 

[WheelzWorld]

Anyway better get a second sd card if you are in a hurry (even if not) you can copy while you go to sleep or else... There is always a time your laptop will stay still...

 

[Millanrose13]

Okay, thanks everyone for your inputs.
After reading some reviews, I'm debating getting the Ravpower FileHub or the Toshiba Cabvio AeroCast. I have the external hard drive that is formatted exFAT so it could be read by both the Mac and Windows. Will it be compatible to work with the Ravpower? How about the Toshiba working with my Mac Air? These were the cons I've been reading. Thanks so much!

 

[Millanrose13]

When I travel I leave my laptop at home, less weight, but also more secure, especially overseas. I spent a month traveling through Indonesia, Australia and Singapore. I bought the Ravpower FileHub Plus ($39.99) on Amazon. All you do is plug your external hard drive in and insert your SD or micro SD card in using an adapter. You download the Ravpower app on your phone and transfer the files directly from the SD card to your external hard drive without needing a computer. You can view the videos/pics on your phone to verify everything works.
The Ravpower is small and lightweight, a lot easier to travel with then a laptop.

I'm really considering ordering this. What type of external hard-drive do you use and what computer do you use to view them? During my trip, I'll more than likely transfer some footages to my iPhone to do some social media postings as well.

Then at home, I would like to plug my external hard drive (formatted to exFAT) to view on my Mac Air.

Looks like I won't be needing my Mac Air after all [emoji1360]

 

[WheelzWorld]

Okay, thanks everyone for your inputs.
After reading some reviews, I'm debating getting the Ravpower FileHub or the Toshiba Cabvio AeroCast. I have the external hard drive that is formatted exFAT so it could be read by both the Mac and Windows. Will it be compatible to work with the Ravpower? How about the Toshiba working with my Mac Air? These were the cons I've been reading. Thanks so much!

Didn't test much the AeroCast (but it works on Mac as well and is great on phones also) if you have any specifical question, shoot.

 

[Millanrose13]

Didn't test much the AeroCast (but it works on Mac as well and is great on phones also) if you have any specifical question, shoot.

Thanks! You said I can view the images/video with an App on my iPhone? Am I able to copy some to my phone and maybe do a bit of social media posting while traveling?

 

[Golfnut]

I have been having an issue deciding how to format my hard disk, particularly as I am also an Apple guy. A lot will depend on where and how you want to playback your finished videos. Many TV's won't recognize Mac OS extended formatted drives. Some want them not to be journaled. You can "unjournal" them inside the disk utility software. You can't use FAT as it has a 4gig file size limit. EXFAT overcomes that but is not recognized by all display devices. I settled on NTFS as it is pretty universal but be aware that Apple devices won't write to NTFS without a plugin called Paragon. It is $19.95 unless you use a Seagate drive in which case it's free. Works like a charm. I just don't want you to go to all of this trouble only to find you can't playback your videos from the drive you used.

 

[Flawless]

It's possible, though can be spotty, to write to NTFS on macOS after Snow Leopard. How to enable NTFS Write on macOS Sierra - Techsviewer

Paragon software, as you pointed out, is a lot better at it (it entirely automates the process).

Start with exFAT, if that doesn't work on any of your devices try setting up NTFS yourself (link above), and if you're going to use more drives then get Paragon (maybe get a Seagate drive and get it free).