Data Transfer from SD to SSD without a Laptop

[Apneagraph]

Hello everyone,

in the near future, I'll be going on a trip, and I still have a point on my to-do list to clarify, for which I haven't found a suitable solution yet.

 

I want to back up my taken photos and videos from the SD card to an SSD drive. I don't have a laptop, so I'd like to use my phone (iPhone 12 mini) for this purpose.

Ideally, without having to use the phone as an intermediate storage. I already tried using a dongle where I can dock my phone, SD card & SSD simultaneously, but it doesn't work, since I can't see the SSD. 

 

Do you have any ideas for this, or how do you handle it?

 

Kind regards

Edited February 6 by Apneagraph

[bghazzal]

I use a laptop so no direct experience but remember reading of an interesting phone-based workflow a few months back.

 

Here is a copy paste:

 

I have a pair of 64GB SanDisk Extreme Pro (300 MBs) cards in my GH5. Like all of us, I try not to video just anything whilst underwater, obviously, but still with my usual GH5 codec with a bitrate of 150 Mb/s I reach about 10-15 GB of data if the dive is good. Carrying even a small computer on a trip is a headache due to luggage restrictions. I do love new bits of tech, but.... the solution I've found is way cheaper than this lovely-looking Trainer.

I just put my camera in playback mode and connect it via USB-C cable to my 3-year old Samsung phone (A71). Both cards then show up in "My Files". I can then copy files to my phone, where I have a 256 GB micro SD card + internal storage. Once that's done, I "unmount" the USB connection, then connect a tiny Samsung 1TB SSD drive (80 euros, same as each of my SD cards), also via USB-C and transfer the camera files before deleting them from my phone (apart from any pictures I want to edit and share). The transfer rate seems to be just under 1GB per minute of footage. So for a full "64" GB card (in reality something like 59) the entire operation would take about two hours I think. However, if I just do it at the end of each diving day rather than waiting for a card to be full it's not a problem. On a liveaboard, it's basically the time to have a shower, dinner + a beer. I guess the transfer would be faster with a newer phone.

 

original source

 

[Barmaglot]

Do you have a Wetpixel account? If yes - https://wetpixel.com/forums/index.php?/topic/71473-backup-of-photovideo-files-without-a-computer/

 

If no, links from that thread:

 

https://www.newsshooter.com/2023/09/28/clouzen-tainer-all-in-one-portable-backup-storage-review/

https://www.clouzen.net/product

https://github.com/outdoorbits/little-backup-box

 

[CaolIla]

Hi in my opinion it's important to review the pictures during the trip. -> a tablet or laptop

 

I make allways a backup on th pc and every 2 or 3 days on one or 2 external SSD.

 

In my R5 I have 2 slot. --> one is a CF Express from 1 GB it's an other backup

 

 

[Davide DB]

39 minutes ago, Barmaglot said:

links from that thread:

 

https://www.newsshooter.com/2023/09/28/clouzen-tainer-all-in-one-portable-backup-storage-review/

https://www.clouzen.net/product

https://github.com/outdoorbits/little-backup-box

 

 

IIRC @RichN has fallen into compulsive shoppig and can give you feedback on how it works 🙂

On that thread I remember other members were using their  smartphone.
 

[Apneagraph]

@bghazzal thanks, for android I found working solutions, sadly not for apple iPhone.

 

@Barmaglot nah I don't have a account there, the mentioned solution is also kinda too expensive for my purpose 😄.

 

@CaolIla True that, I may could try my old old android tablet I have.

 

 

I just thought, that maybe some of you have experience doing it just by iPhone + Adapter "X".

[Robin.snapshots]

Workaround with what you have: copy files to phones internal storage first -> connect ssd and transfer -> delete from phone.  Not ideal and slow but if you make back-ups daily it is workable and doesn't require as much space. 

Note that not all ssd's work with the phone as some are a bit too power hungry, connecting power as well sometimes helps. 

 

I tend to carry my iPad Pro with me instead of a laptop on dive trips to save weight. On that I can connect an ssd and sd card at the same time and use them at reasonable speeds.  
 

Should you consider upgrading the phone, there is a major difference between the iPhone 15 and the Iphone 15 pro. The latter can do the same in terms of connecting ssds.

[bghazzal]

50 minutes ago, Apneagraph said:

@bghazzal thanks, for android I found working solutions, sadly not for apple iPhone.

 

I just thought, that maybe some of you have experience doing it just by iPhone + Adapter "X".

 

I see - might be tricky without transfering the files to the phone first.

Apple support has a workflow here where you connect the camera in reading mode to the iphone, transfer the files to the iphone, then transfer the files from the phone to the SSD (using the Photos app)

 

https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/iphone/iph480caa1f3/ios
 

Tricky not using the iphone as an intermediate storage, as you would need to get two drives connected recognized. Even the Android workflow i posted used the phone as intermediate storage (which is probably safer).

It would be easier if iphones had SD card slots (in which case you could try with an SD to micro SD adapter)...

Major issue is that it doesn't really look like it's possible to simultaneously connect two actual drives to one iphone...
 

Maybe a cheap working option would be to get a  dedicated Android phone just for that, or use that old Android tablet of yours.

 

Edited February 6 by bghazzal

[Robin.snapshots]

Will you be having a stable internet connection from time to time during the trip? 

 

Another option that has worked well for me is to use Lightroom mobile and have it sync the images on your phone. It will upload them and generate smart previews on your phone to save space.  The smart previews work very well to edit and review on the go.

 

Once you get home, Lightroom on the pc will download the full raw files with all the edits you made during the trip. This requires a subscription if you don't have it yet but it is possible to get that for 1 or 2 months only. 

Should you go this route, I would advise to bring extra SD cards to keep a copy so you never have to format/delete something from them during the trip.

[Apneagraph]

@Robin.snapshots Ye I tried that already, but somehow I can't see my SSD on my phone, may I buy the original Adapter for it and try again...

Ye WiFi shouldn't be a problem for the most.

 

@bghazzal Additionally to that I will try it with my old tablet, guess in the end, that could be the cheapest solution - if it works ofc.

 

Thanks for your feedback - sadly no magic mystery solution with pink painted USB cables fitting in orange painted SD/SSD Adapter 🤪

Edited February 6 by Apneagraph

[Gudge]

If you're travelling with an iPhone/iPad the Apple LIghtning to USB 3 Camera Adapter allows you to move files from your camera to your iPad/iPhone a number of ways:

1. If you use it unpowered and connect your camera to your phone it will automatically download your photos to the Photos app.  This has a few problems as you have no control over what folder they end up in and your device will try and upload them to the cloud.
2. If you power it up with a USB power adapter you have much more flexibility.  You can use USB peripherals with your iPad/iPhone.  Photos can be downloaded to your device using the Files app which allows you to put them in a folder of your choice and images won't automatically be uploaded to the cloud.

Option 2 is the way I use it:

• I either connect a card reader or my camera to download my photos onto my iPhone/iPad
• If I want to backup to a second location or don't want to leave the images on my iPhone/iPad I will then connect a USB storage device and copy/move the images on to that.  I've successfully used USB memory sticks, Samsung T7 portable SSD drives and WD My Passport drives for this purpose
• You can also review your images on either your iPhone/iPad or external storage device using the Files app.  

 

How fast is data transfer using this method?  The adapter itself has USB 3 speed but transfer will be slower if you use USB 2 devices.   I'm able to download a days shooting from my camera and then upload it again to my Samsung T7 (both of which have USB 3 connections) in about 10 minutes.  A lot that time is spent navigating to the relevant folders and selecting the files to be transferred, the actual transfer time is only a few minutes.  I did a test from my Samsung T7 to my iPhone 12 mini, it took about 1 minute to transfer 1.2GB of photos.

 

 

 

 

Edited February 6 by Gudge

[bghazzal]

51 minutes ago, Gudge said:

If you're travelling with an iPhone/iPad the Apple LIghtning to USB 3 Camera Adapter allows you to move files from your camera to your iPad/iPhone a number of ways:

1. If you use it unpowered and connect your camera to your phone it will automatically download your photos to the Photos app.

Option 2 is the way I use it:

• I either connect a card reader or my camera to download my photos onto my iPhone/iPad

A further issue is that Apneagraph is actually trying to do the transfer without downloading the files to the phone (Ideally, without having to use the phone as an intermediate storage )  which would mean simultaneously recognizing two peripherals, and doesn't seem to be possible on a phone in general.
One possible workaround would be using an SD to Micro-SD adapter as a card reader on a phone with a micro SD card slot, while connecting the SSD OTG, but iphones have never had SD cards slots.

 

Edited February 7 by bghazzal

[JS1221]

I have a File Hub travel router that does what you are looking for. It connects to an app on your phone (I have an iPhone) via a wifi connection the router creates. There is a slot for an SD card, a USB slot and a USB-C slot. You can just plug the SD card in and the SSD, then use the app to transfer the files. I used to use it before I started taking my laptop on trips. It's not super fast but it worked. 

[Apneagraph]

@JS1221 Which modell are you using?

[JS1221]

I have the AC750, which I got about 3 years ago. It’s available on Amazon.

[JS1221]

[scuba_jc]

Ok so first, full disclaimer, I work for Mylio as the head of customer success. With that out of the way, the Mylio Photos app can support an external hard drive for automatic replication of your files while traveling. I'll let others comment or you can look it up yourselves in our manual (manual.mylio.com), because I don't want to sound like an advertisement. But personally I often travel with just an iPad and a small SSD drive and get to fully review and cull all my RAW files and even do quick edits (to see if a photo is worth keeping). 

 

Mods if this is against rules please let me know.

Edited May 16 by scuba_jc

[TimG]

2 hours ago, scuba_jc said:

Mods if this is against rules please let me know.

 

Sounds fascinating! Thanks!