Backing up your files is a necessary component of daily life in the 21st Century. The digital age has made it easier than ever to backup key documents and access files anywhere in the world. Complicating matters is that the marketing of backup devices and services has become convoluted creating a complex shopping nightmare. You also need to develop a long-term backup strategy, or you may store so much digital information that you begin to pay for services that would have been free if you had been more diligent in your initial backup setup.
QUICK SUMMARY
If you are traveling for a year, you’ll want to save your files, primarily photos, in three locations: the original SD card, an external hard drive or flash drive, and in the cloud. When you return home, you can dial back from three locations to two and scrap either the external hard drive or cloud service (likelier).
Since photos (and videos) will comprise the bulk of the data generated during your travels, the amount of storage backup you need is correlated with the quantity of photos taken. The three primary measuring sticks of data are megabytes (MB), gigabytes (GB), and terabytes (TB). 1,000MB = 1 GB. 1,000GB = 1 TB. I’ll keep the photo size to storage requirement math simple. 1 photo = 10MB (that’s rounding up from 5MB to 7MB for a standard, entry level camera). That means 1GB holds 100 photos, so a 16GB SD card holds 1,600 photos, a 32GB SD card, 3,200 photos, 64GB SD card, 6,400 photos—you understand the math. Technically the cards hold more photos, but I kept the math simple.
In 18 months of traveling I took nearly 12,000 photos. A 132GB SD card easily held all my photos. A 132GB flash / thumb drive easily served as a backup. 1TB holds 100,000 photos. A 1TB storage device is overkill—that’s a lifetime of photo backup storage, not a year of travel.
The travel storage and backup wild card is 4K video. One minute of 4K video consumes about 400MB of storage. A 64GB SD card will save about two-and-a-half hours of 4K video recordings. For many people two-and-a-half hours of video is a ton of video to shoot, a ton of video to review, a ton of video to edit, and a ton of video to upload. You should be fine with a second 64GB flash drive to backup your videos.
When you shop for backup and storage devices the consumer and professional / commercial products are in the same section. There are no carve outs to prevent you from purchasing a product that has more functionality than necessary.
TYPES OF BACKUP
Two pieces of information to know before reviewing backup options.
First, know that Facebook is not backup. Facebook is a photo sharing site, not a storage site. Facebook, and any other social website, including the website you created to share your travels, downsizes the photo file to load images faster and take up less space in their cloud. You need a better solution to backup your photos.
Second, know the delineation between backup and syncing. When syncing, the device or service acts as a mirror to the original record. With a syncing device, if you delete a photo saved to your laptop, it’s deleted in the cloud or external syncing device. Syncing has a great commercial use as a backup to a backup, however, with travel photos and videos, backup is your focus. When shopping, don’t accidentally grab the syncing device.
Backup types fall into two categories: products and services. The general tradeoffs are making a larger payment upfront (products) versus a continuing monthly subscription (services); tighter security and accessing a connected device (products) versus accessing data from the internet (services); and oops the device broke, now you are out of luck (products) versus it’s in the cloud, there’s no device to break (services). Here’s a quick breakdown:
If you are traveling for a year, you’ll want to save your files, primarily photos, in three locations: the original SD card, an external hard drive or flash drive, and in the cloud. When you return home, you can dial back from three locations to two and scrap either the external hard drive or cloud service (likelier).
Since photos (and videos) will comprise the bulk of the data generated during your travels, the amount of storage backup you need is correlated with the quantity of photos taken. The three primary measuring sticks of data are megabytes (MB), gigabytes (GB), and terabytes (TB). 1,000MB = 1 GB. 1,000GB = 1 TB. I’ll keep the photo size to storage requirement math simple. 1 photo = 10MB (that’s rounding up from 5MB to 7MB for a standard, entry level camera). That means 1GB holds 100 photos, so a 16GB SD card holds 1,600 photos, a 32GB SD card, 3,200 photos, 64GB SD card, 6,400 photos—you understand the math. Technically the cards hold more photos, but I kept the math simple.
In 18 months of traveling I took nearly 12,000 photos. A 132GB SD card easily held all my photos. A 132GB flash / thumb drive easily served as a backup. 1TB holds 100,000 photos. A 1TB storage device is overkill—that’s a lifetime of photo backup storage, not a year of travel.
The travel storage and backup wild card is 4K video. One minute of 4K video consumes about 400MB of storage. A 64GB SD card will save about two-and-a-half hours of 4K video recordings. For many people two-and-a-half hours of video is a ton of video to shoot, a ton of video to review, a ton of video to edit, and a ton of video to upload. You should be fine with a second 64GB flash drive to backup your videos.
When you shop for backup and storage devices the consumer and professional / commercial products are in the same section. There are no carve outs to prevent you from purchasing a product that has more functionality than necessary.
TYPES OF BACKUP
Two pieces of information to know before reviewing backup options.
First, know that Facebook is not backup. Facebook is a photo sharing site, not a storage site. Facebook, and any other social website, including the website you created to share your travels, downsizes the photo file to load images faster and take up less space in their cloud. You need a better solution to backup your photos.
Second, know the delineation between backup and syncing. When syncing, the device or service acts as a mirror to the original record. With a syncing device, if you delete a photo saved to your laptop, it’s deleted in the cloud or external syncing device. Syncing has a great commercial use as a backup to a backup, however, with travel photos and videos, backup is your focus. When shopping, don’t accidentally grab the syncing device.
Backup types fall into two categories: products and services. The general tradeoffs are making a larger payment upfront (products) versus a continuing monthly subscription (services); tighter security and accessing a connected device (products) versus accessing data from the internet (services); and oops the device broke, now you are out of luck (products) versus it’s in the cloud, there’s no device to break (services). Here’s a quick breakdown:
EXTERNAL HARD DRIVES
When evaluating external drive storage, the specifications are typically, the larger the device, the more storage, the quicker the processing/file transfer speed, the better value (on a cost per MB basis). A device smaller than your hand, has 2TB of storage and costs about $70. 4TB costs $110. 8TB costs $160. It’s tempting to think that the 8TB is a better value but there’s no reason to believe you need anything more than 2TB which is two lifetimes of photos. If you are going to pay up for a device, pay up for one with faster file transfer speeds.
A flash drive (also referred to as a thumb drive) is the best option for an around the world traveler. It’s small and will have more than the necessary backup storage space. 128GB costs $25. 256GB, $70. 512GB for $150.
Western Digital has a product called WD My Personal Cloud that allows you to backup and access documents wherever you have an internet connection. The term cloud is a bit misleading in that your data is on a device in your house, but you can access that data remotely, no different than changing your thermostat or checking your front door while you are away. The WD My Personal Cloud products range from 2TB for $140 to 8TB for $300. It’s a device that may make sense for a small business but not an around the world traveler. The higher price point should prevent you from accidentally purchasing this item.
Purchase external storage products at Best Buy or a similar brick and mortar store to ensure that what you are purchasing is what you are receiving. Amazon and other online stores have vendor control issues with these easy to ship, expensive items.
CLOUD FILE BACKUP
First, there’s no cloud. The cloud backup concept is the same external hard drive, although it’s sitting in a warehouse that you remotely access via the internet. Various companies provide cloud backup services and online document retention services, some of the more notable being Dropbox, Google Drive, and Microsoft OneDrive. If you are already in the Google/Android ecosystem, Google Drive will be a convenient option. Google provides 15 MB of free storage space (OneDrive offers 5GB of free storage, Dropbox 2GB) and you can directly save an email attachment from your Gmail account to Google Drive with the click of an icon. The downside with syncing all your files through Google is your passwords are all the same. Multifactor authentication provides an extra layer of security, however, it’s tough to multi-factor authenticate when you are traveling internationally and need a new telephone number for each new country.
With the cloud, you can share folder access so others can access information you uploaded to your cloud. This has a practical application when traveling as part of a group—if you want to share photos with your fellow travelers, it’s easier to upload the photos to Google Drive or Dropbox, and then grant the travelers access to that folder via their email addresses, rather than passing around an SD card.
The advantage of the cloud services is that the data can be accessed anywhere with an internet connection and it’s virtually indestructible. If your computer gets destroyed, you lose your phone, there’s a fire in your house, or a similar cataclysmic catastrophe, your data is safe from destruction in the cloud. Despite hacker concerns the cloud is the best option to store sensitive documents including photos of the front and back of your credit cards, key pages in your passport, and other types of information you would need to access in an emergency. It’s a smart place to store drafts of your adventures prior to posting a version on your website. These files do not take up much space, thus you should be able to utilize the initial free storage without worrying about incurring the ongoing monthly fees.
CLOUD PHOTO BACKUP
I use Flickr to backup my photos, which up until December 31, 2018 provided 1TB of free lifetime photo storage with limited and rudimentary photo editing. Starting in 2019 the storage becomes unlimited…at $49.99 per year. Free accounts are limited to 1,000 photos. Flickr did improve their photo editing software and I’m continuing to use their services for a year or two to see if the $49.99 price is reasonable.
Flickr may not make long-term financial sense, however, $49.99 for a year of backup while you travel is a good deal compared to the cloud service providers. You’ll have the peace of mind your photos won’t be lost if your camera is stolen and/or the flash drive breaks. When you return home, decide whether to continue with Flickr.
Flickr’s history brings a word of caution when evaluating cloud service providers and a company’s long-term viability. Flickr began life as a startup, was acquired by Yahoo, which had its struggles before it was acquired by Verizon, which then sold Flickr to SmugMug. With cloud services rapidly changing and increasing competition, be careful about making a long-term commitment with any single service provider. I also think that the pricing for cloud backup is a bit too high, however, with all the competition, prices should drop, and an ultimate winner declared. I’m waiting until the winners are identified before fully committing to a single company for cloud storage.
Whatever digital backup route you choose, the important action is to make backing up your files a habit. Backup should become part of your daily routine, the first thing you do in the morning or after you return to the hostel for the day, stop and upload your photos. If you are ever mugged, it’s easy to replace the camera, the photos on the SD card, not so much.
An SD card reader costs less than $10 and makes it easier to upload your photos rather than plugging your camera into your computer.
LIFE BACKUP
It’s good practice, whether you are traveling or not, to make a list of all your bank accounts, stock accounts, retirement accounts, credit card accounts, and whatever else that you’d want someone to review in a worst-case scenario where they may potentially act as a fiduciary on your behalf.
Research backup before you travel, make backup a behavioral pattern, and it will soon become second nature. Then focus on your trip and creating backup worthy photos and videos.
When evaluating external drive storage, the specifications are typically, the larger the device, the more storage, the quicker the processing/file transfer speed, the better value (on a cost per MB basis). A device smaller than your hand, has 2TB of storage and costs about $70. 4TB costs $110. 8TB costs $160. It’s tempting to think that the 8TB is a better value but there’s no reason to believe you need anything more than 2TB which is two lifetimes of photos. If you are going to pay up for a device, pay up for one with faster file transfer speeds.
A flash drive (also referred to as a thumb drive) is the best option for an around the world traveler. It’s small and will have more than the necessary backup storage space. 128GB costs $25. 256GB, $70. 512GB for $150.
Western Digital has a product called WD My Personal Cloud that allows you to backup and access documents wherever you have an internet connection. The term cloud is a bit misleading in that your data is on a device in your house, but you can access that data remotely, no different than changing your thermostat or checking your front door while you are away. The WD My Personal Cloud products range from 2TB for $140 to 8TB for $300. It’s a device that may make sense for a small business but not an around the world traveler. The higher price point should prevent you from accidentally purchasing this item.
Purchase external storage products at Best Buy or a similar brick and mortar store to ensure that what you are purchasing is what you are receiving. Amazon and other online stores have vendor control issues with these easy to ship, expensive items.
CLOUD FILE BACKUP
First, there’s no cloud. The cloud backup concept is the same external hard drive, although it’s sitting in a warehouse that you remotely access via the internet. Various companies provide cloud backup services and online document retention services, some of the more notable being Dropbox, Google Drive, and Microsoft OneDrive. If you are already in the Google/Android ecosystem, Google Drive will be a convenient option. Google provides 15 MB of free storage space (OneDrive offers 5GB of free storage, Dropbox 2GB) and you can directly save an email attachment from your Gmail account to Google Drive with the click of an icon. The downside with syncing all your files through Google is your passwords are all the same. Multifactor authentication provides an extra layer of security, however, it’s tough to multi-factor authenticate when you are traveling internationally and need a new telephone number for each new country.
With the cloud, you can share folder access so others can access information you uploaded to your cloud. This has a practical application when traveling as part of a group—if you want to share photos with your fellow travelers, it’s easier to upload the photos to Google Drive or Dropbox, and then grant the travelers access to that folder via their email addresses, rather than passing around an SD card.
The advantage of the cloud services is that the data can be accessed anywhere with an internet connection and it’s virtually indestructible. If your computer gets destroyed, you lose your phone, there’s a fire in your house, or a similar cataclysmic catastrophe, your data is safe from destruction in the cloud. Despite hacker concerns the cloud is the best option to store sensitive documents including photos of the front and back of your credit cards, key pages in your passport, and other types of information you would need to access in an emergency. It’s a smart place to store drafts of your adventures prior to posting a version on your website. These files do not take up much space, thus you should be able to utilize the initial free storage without worrying about incurring the ongoing monthly fees.
CLOUD PHOTO BACKUP
I use Flickr to backup my photos, which up until December 31, 2018 provided 1TB of free lifetime photo storage with limited and rudimentary photo editing. Starting in 2019 the storage becomes unlimited…at $49.99 per year. Free accounts are limited to 1,000 photos. Flickr did improve their photo editing software and I’m continuing to use their services for a year or two to see if the $49.99 price is reasonable.
Flickr may not make long-term financial sense, however, $49.99 for a year of backup while you travel is a good deal compared to the cloud service providers. You’ll have the peace of mind your photos won’t be lost if your camera is stolen and/or the flash drive breaks. When you return home, decide whether to continue with Flickr.
Flickr’s history brings a word of caution when evaluating cloud service providers and a company’s long-term viability. Flickr began life as a startup, was acquired by Yahoo, which had its struggles before it was acquired by Verizon, which then sold Flickr to SmugMug. With cloud services rapidly changing and increasing competition, be careful about making a long-term commitment with any single service provider. I also think that the pricing for cloud backup is a bit too high, however, with all the competition, prices should drop, and an ultimate winner declared. I’m waiting until the winners are identified before fully committing to a single company for cloud storage.
Whatever digital backup route you choose, the important action is to make backing up your files a habit. Backup should become part of your daily routine, the first thing you do in the morning or after you return to the hostel for the day, stop and upload your photos. If you are ever mugged, it’s easy to replace the camera, the photos on the SD card, not so much.
An SD card reader costs less than $10 and makes it easier to upload your photos rather than plugging your camera into your computer.
LIFE BACKUP
It’s good practice, whether you are traveling or not, to make a list of all your bank accounts, stock accounts, retirement accounts, credit card accounts, and whatever else that you’d want someone to review in a worst-case scenario where they may potentially act as a fiduciary on your behalf.
Research backup before you travel, make backup a behavioral pattern, and it will soon become second nature. Then focus on your trip and creating backup worthy photos and videos.