Portable Storage - But my digital camera has no cards?

Posted on Saturday 13 March 2010

  • I have bought a benq digital camera http://global.benq.com/products/dsc/dc1300.htm , but this camera doesnt have any cards for storage purposes, its all internal. Meaning I have to download photos straight to a pc via a usb cable. I will be travelling overseas soon and I want to know if there are any portable storage devices where you can plug the usb cable from the digital camera straight to the device to download the photos. I am aware that that means the device would need to hold the software that my pc current holds. Is this possible? Worst come to worse I could buy a cheap laptop, but I would prefer something smaller for travelling. If not any good websites I could keep an eye on? Thanks


  • Hello. I could go on forever recommending laptops that run windows and look tiny... But at the end of the day, they cost a fortune and you can find these laptops yourself by going to your local computer store. The one thing you might not have in mind though is a solution often used in touchscreen kiosks and entertainment booths where space is an issue. This device is tiny and can be powered off a cigarette lighter. It's powerful enough to even run WinXP professional and has a TV output too for when there's no computer monitor. Have a look at: http://www.jadetec.co.uk/products/micropc/ Here's the solution I propose. Your camera has an autosync feature with the computer. All you need therefore is to boot the computer up, plug the camera in, wait for the pictures to download (give it a reasonable time of let's say 10 minutes) and unplug and shut down. We are currently doing this while taking shots in cars from a small cheap digital camera. You can even buy a small foldable keyboard from any computer store if you want to, such as this: http://shop.store.yahoo.com/laptopsforless/unps2folkeyp.html You don't need a mouse and if you really need a monitor, you can plug it into any TV set using the built-in tv-out card. The box is small and fits easily in any backpack. Hope this helps!


  • What you need is a usb memory stick (sometimes also called a "USB Flash Drive") . This is a rather small (in physical size) storage device that can be plugged into a usb port. Your should be able to transfer the photos to the memory stick then by using the transfer function of the camera. What I propose is that you see a local shop and try out if the camera s software will accept a memory stick (according to the description of you camera - it should !) Here are some examples of usb memory sticks: 1. USB memory sticks at usbkey.biz ( http://www.usbkey.biz/online.htm ) They offer small sticks beginning at 32 mb capacity for $ 13,90 up to 256 mb for $ 75. . The description says: "...is a compact, light and portable ingenious storage device. Just plug it into any USB port, it looks and functions just like another hard. No power supply or cables needed. You can run applications, view videos, or play MP3 files directly." ( http://www.usbkey.biz/online.htm ) 2. At ebay.com a search using the keywords "usb memory stick" yields more then 230 offers, including new sticks at low prices. An interesting one seems to be: ( http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3410684180&category=11161 ) $ at 12,49. The description says: "Here is a Great Mini storage drive that lets you take your data with you. It's quick, it's easy, and with 32MB of USB storage everyone will want one! Plug and play via USB port with 32MB of capacity that fits in your pocket! Product Specification: Portable 32mb USB Pen Drive Storage - 32MB Capacity - USB Interface, version 1.1 compliant - Read 700Kbytes/Sec Transfer rate - Write 350Kbytes/Sec Transfer rate - USB Bus Powered - LED - Hot Plug-n-Play Product Condition: New In Retail Box." 3. Another offer can be found at usb007.com: ( http://www.usb007.com/ ) "What if a device existed that was the size of a car key and could be plugged directly into any computer that has a USB port. And what if anything on that computer could be quickly copied to it, securely encrypted, password-protected and carried in the smallest of pockets to any other computer in the world? No installation or drivers required! No experience required and no moving parts! And what if this device only cost $17.98?" and another advantage here: "We ship by air using a secured form of shipping that requires your signature, ensuring that your USB007 will not get lost in the mail. Best of all, we do all this now for just $4.95 ea! $4.95 EA. FOR ANY DESTINATION WORLDWIDE!" I hope this solves your problem. Have a nice trip overseas and visit Germany ( :-) ). Search strategy used : ( ://www.google.de/search?sourceid=navclient&hl=de&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=usb+memory+stick ) Regards till-ga


  • I thank the researcher for their efforts on attempting to answer the question. But the clarification I recieved was based on assumptions that are in fact not true. My camera Benq DC1300, has software that I currently install on a pc to be able to download the photos to it. Can I install this software on a portable device of some sort, so I dont need the pc at all? Please re read the question too! Maybe I require someone with more knowledge in this particular area to answer this question for me. Thanks


  • Till, Thanks for the response, but I have already researched to this point on my own. The websites you linked, dont sell the sort of device I need. They are only standard usb reader types. I am looking for one that can handle the software on it, as explained in my question..if it does exist. The real answer I would prefer if you could find one, if it exists. Can you provide more information if possible? Thanks


  • 1. The description of your camera says: "Intelligent image downloads-so smart and so fast The BenQ Digital Camera 1300 uses a convenient USB interface to download images to your computer. Just connect it to your computer's USB port with a USB cable, and images stored on it are automatically downloaded into folders designated according to the date each photograph was taken." So what I think is that the camera s in-built software sends the photos to your pc. Instead of the pc you should connect the usb memory stick and then store the data on the stick. The stick will behave like a hard disk. 2. You said "The websites you linked, dont sell the sort of device I need. They are only standard usb reader types." On the websites I linked both card readers (that are used to read memory card into your pc without having to connect the camera to the pc) AND memory sticks are sold. 3. I don t think that buying a small laptop only for the data trasfer is a reasonable solution as the price of a laptop will exceed the price of a new digital camera with a memory card. till-ga


  • Thanks for the answer..I think thats the sort of thing I am looking for..I bit expensive but I will see if I can find a similar device a little bit cheaper.







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    smith @ March 13, 2010 edit
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