FS7: Back Up Solutions

Afterglow said:
Grab a second hand Mac Air - 2014-2015. 13" or even 11". There's a million of them out there (OWC has specials) and they're incredibly light, have USB 3, the battery keeps going for days and you can do basic editing on them in FCPX and Premiere by way of checking footage and outputting compiles. I often carry mine in my camera backpack on location.
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Yep. This is looking increasingly like my preferred option.
 
Liam Hall said:
Yes, I've looked at MacBook Air, my Producer has one. I might have to buy one, but berfore paying the Apple tax I thought I'd look at alternates.
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You can claw back some Apple Tax by befriending a student or teacher. Then download the Unidays App (this is for UK users) and you'll get 10% off Apple - then after you get the VAT back, it's not too bad. I've never paid full price for any of our Macs. I just use my son's student login.

I have the most recent 13" MBP from last year - the Air looked a bit obsolete in comparison and the screen resolution was definitely a plus on the MBP. New vs Used - you'll get f@cked at the drive through, whichever way you go - either on entry or exit!

Ben.
 
I've never thought about a Macbook Air till this thread and it sounds like a good idea to me. I have a 2013 MC Pro that still works well but its 15" and heavy to take places. I also bought an iPad about 2 years ago mainly for using to set up FS7's on multi cams using the wifi app , but i hardly ever use it . And for ordinary use I'm used to the MC Pro and and its software so the iPad has just been a a PITA. Maybe a nice little 11" air would be great for traveling as I could download footage and also do spreadsheets, check email etc. and access any info I want from my main computer just by bringing a thumb drive. Its a huge hassle to transfer info to the iPad .

How much difference will there be between getting a 2014 and a 2015 with the newer processor? Likewise 128RAM vs 256 SSD and 4 GB RAM vs 8 GB? I doubt I'll do any serious editing on it but I will want to look at stuff on Catalyst Browse. I guess it would be valuable to even be able access to Premiere.
 
I have an 11 inch air.. nice and small .. but the draw back is only 2 x USB ports.. so one for your reader and you can only down load to one drive.. unless you can daisy chain.. but thats not always possible and can be slow.. if its a quick shoot.. one drive to producer and back up at home no problem.. in the end I went back to 13 inch latest MBP.. 4 X USB-C.. it does weigh more but at the end of the day its just better.. as the battery is new/good.. I can easily down load a couple of 128GB cards to 3 drives at once with Hedge.. in about 20-25 mins.. per card..its a real time saver.. I have my own USB3 -USB-C cables so dont need the adaptors .. alot of drives come with C cables too now.. Sony please make a USB_C reader for SxS !!. and if the charger cable breaks .. only need to buy a USB_C cable.. not the whole damn charger..
 
I have 2 USB ports on my older MBPro and I use a USB3 hub with hedge. I put the card in one and the USB Hub in the other and run 2 drives at the same time with Hedge. Paul at Hedge advised me to do that and said it would be just as fast as having another port or using a thunderbolt hub. Never tried 3 drives. Its hard enough convincing most producers that they really should have 2.
Try it with your 11" . I can download 1 128G card to 2 drives often in 16 min depending on the drive. The hub needs AC power though.

Let me ask again advice for buying an older 2014 or 2015 11" macbook Air.
What's important:
4G vs 8G RAM?
128G vs 256G SSD
HD Graphics 4000 processor (2014) or 5000 (2015)

I've seen 2014 with 4 G RAM quite cheap ($300) but don't want to screw myself for a few hundred dollars.
But I also don't want to spend a lot just to have a little portable downloader.
 
LennyLevy said:
I have 2 USB ports on my older MBPro and I use a USB3 hub with hedge. I put the card in one and the USB Hub in the other and run 2 drives at the same time with Hedge. Paul at Hedge advised me to do that and said it would be just as fast as having another port or using a thunderbolt hub. Never tried 3 drives. Its hard enough convincing most producers that they really should have 2.
Try it with your 11" . I can download 1 128G card to 2 drives often in 16 min depending on the drive. The hub needs AC power though.

Let me ask again advice for buying an older 2014 or 2015 11" macbook Air.


What's important:
4G vs 8G RAM?
128G vs 256G SSD
HD Graphics 4000 processor (2014) or 5000 (2015)

I've seen 2014 with 4 G RAM quite cheap ($300) but don't want to screw myself for a few hundred dollars.
But I also don't want to spend a lot just to have a little portable downloader.
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Yeah Paul is a great guy.. talk about customer service !.. the AC needed for the Hub sort of put me off.. but yes thats a good way round it..the 3 drives seems to be the standard thing for nat geo/discovery type shoots.. they even have crazy rules about one drive cant be in the same building .. and the AP must have one in their room.. of course unworkable and I just end up with them all in my room..
 
At least they care about the drives. Most people I work with are happy to just do one drive and expect me hold on to their crap forever.
 
Has anyone tried the Lacie / DJI Copilot drive? I was at a trade show yesterday and it was looking like a decent option -- 2TB drive that doesn't require a computer to transfer from a data card -- can also be controlled from a tablet or phone. Built-in SD card slot, but also supposedly will transfer straight from a card reader (though didn't actually see it doing this.) I'm sure the built-in battery won't last forever, but it has external powering options as well. Plus has the ability to piggy-back another hard drive on it.
 
If all you need to do is copy files from card to an external harddrive, then why not buy a cheapie Chromebook? Not only are they very affordable (dirt cheap even!) but also they're very compact and have insanely good battery life.

For example this is only a couple of hundred bucks, and I can see from the pics it has a USB3.0 port on each side of the laptop, with up to 10hrs of battery life:

https://www.amazon.com/Chromebook-C202SA-YS02-Ruggedized-Resistant-Celeron/dp/B01DBGVB7K/

Ready for drops and spills with rugged construction with reinforced rubber guards, easy grip handles, and a spill resistant keyboard

Lightweight 2.65 pound body and rugged construction that can be dropped from 3.9 feet* so you can take it anywhere without disruption

11.6 inches HD 1366x768 Anti-Glare Display, with 180 degree hinge for easy viewing
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I'm ambidextrous - I switch between Mac and PC all day long. If you want a PC suggestion, you're looking at a Dell XPS 13. Smaller, lighter than the Macbook Pro - amazing screen and 2 USB 3 ports and one Thunderbolt, which for offload saves you a lot of dongle-pain. Not the cheapest solution though and I don't know if it saves you enough in terms of size.
 
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