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Dual Layer Slim External DVDRW Drive

A

aceman817

Senior member
Hey guys. I hope this is the right forum for this. I take a Sony laptop (VGN-S260) with me when I travel to transfer all my RAW files to from my digital SLR. I like to be able to archive them while I'm away, so I burn them to CD since the laptop does not have a DVDRW drive. Unfortunately, I need to take dozens of CDs with me. Instead, I would like to be able to burn the RAW files to DVD while I'm away. With an external burner, I could also use it on my main desktop PC which only has an old HP DVDRW drive that is not dual-layer and is somewhat slow. I think my best option would be to buy a slim DVDRW drive that is dual-layer. Any suggestions? I just purchased one from a local store but it is kind of big. Also, I know that there is no such thing as dual-layer rewritable discs as of now. Should I wait till these become available? I will probably use dual-layer discs to make DVD video slideshows and don't want to have to waste several discs in the process. Thanks in advance!
 
I have faced the same problem but not to your degree. I shoot 1000's of pics with my Canon 5D on extended trips, and frequently need to put them on DVDs for slideshows to be disseminated.

My laptop has a DVD burner, but not dual layer. Last year, a South American odyssey require a two DVD set.

So, I have added a dual layer external burner with Lightscribe. It could be smaller, but I just put it in my checked baggage. Last trip it worked perfectly. When I got home, I had 15 DVDs all ready to mail.

There are some good, slim candidates. LaCie had one, and there is this one from Asus:

DVD

You might also check with Sony to see if the drive in your VGN-S260 can be replaced with a dual layer DVD burner.
 
Thanks for the info, corkyg. I have a Nikon D200 and the RAW files are around 15MB each. I can only imagine how much larger your RAW files may be or that of a D2X or 1DS! Anyways, I'm sure the drive in my Sony can be replaced, but that will not help me on my main desktop PC where I do my video editing and would like to take advantage of a dual-layer drive. At this point, I think I need to decide if I will be purchasing a thin external dual layer DVDRW drive or holding out till DVDRWs become available in dual layer (if they do).
 
Good points, Aceman. I use RAW whenever publication might be involved. The 5D RAW images run around 20-23 MB. The JPGs run about 5-6 MB. I also have a 20D that I use for telephoto work - the 1.6X factor is nice with a 200mm.

I can see where a multi-purpose slim dual layer burner would be most useful. DVDRW dual layers may not happen if the HD-DVD and BluRay get reasonable.
 
Originally posted by: JToxic
Why not use an external hard drive?
Click to expand...

I do that as well - but for distribution of Photo DVDs to friends, and clients, you need a burner. The external HDDs are super for archiving images. I have a pair - each a duplicate of the other.

 
Originally posted by: Peter
I /think/ Samsung's current external slim drive is dual-layer capable.
Click to expand...

Good tip, Peter. And also LaCie - I look at it as a good example of an external slim, dual layer burner.

LaCie
 
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