Backing up files on multi-day rides

[CollingsB]

I’ll be going on a 10 day trip starting in August.
I have backed up files daily using a battery powered hard drive, then formatted the cards …stupid, idiotic mistake. GoPro doesn't allow you to set file numbers, so unknowingly I was writing over the previous days video every day. I lost everything but the last day of my 2022 NC500 trip.
Insert curse word here.
In 2023 I backed up my files daily to my ipad….I didn't lose any files, but GoPro file numbering system is so bizarre that it makes figuring out the order of the files difficult…and I’ve just discovered that DaVinci can’t find the files that I copied into the Photos app on my iMac.
Insert another curse word here..
So….
Whats the best way to back up files daily?
Is there a work-around that will let me set the start number for files on the GoPro?
Has anyone got a suggestion where on my iMac I can put the files so DaVinci can “see” the damn files?

 

[throttleup]

Yeah.... on multi-day trips I'll be riding the RT. Thus I have plenty of room for a laptop.

This means I can create a new folder for each day. However, I don't think the One X2s have the same file numbering problem.

On Resolve you should be able to navigate to whichever folder you want to in the Media page. That's a per-project thing, though. I don't immediately see a global "search these locations for footage" option.

(Edited for speeling)

 

[throttleup]

Hmmm, I just tried something out. In the Media page left side-bar you can right click on the background where the existing locations are listed and choose "Add location". This does seem to survive a project switch, but (and I haven't installed the very latest on my Mac M1) I cannot see how to remove it from the list afterwards.

 

[Slorida]

On trips where I am camping without easy access to mains electric, I have made sure to carry enough memory cards to use new ones each day, plus a few back up cards incase of failure, taking note of which are used and when.

On trips where I am in a hotel I'll take my editing laptop to download files overnight with a different folder for each day/camera/card.

For long trips I try to book a hotel or similar atleast every few days to make sure I can transfer files to the laptop.

I don't have a GoPro or an iMac though so there may be additional steps for them that I am unaware of.

 

[nophix]

Alienware R14 and some portable SSD's. They pack very small, and you can pop the setup up over dinner at the end of the day and do whatever you need. Also does some pretty good work editing on the go, so you could theoretically whip some stuff out and post it at the end of each day if you choose.

 

[Hippo-Drones]

Weird, when I take content off my GoPro to PC, it adds a new folder each day with the date on it. Might be because I am using GoPro Quick to take the files off the memory card though. If it doesn't do that, then as @throttleup has mentioned, create a new folder yourself for each day and drop the new footage into that.
Depending on how many cameras you are running and also how you record, it might be worth keeping the footage on the memory cards too and as @Slorida said, use a new memory card each day and label them up too, that way you have a backup from big trips with footage that can't be repeated.

 

[CalmBiker]

I copy the files directly off the GoPro card. The file naming is annoying so I use KDE's KRename on them, using the custom pattern, "GoPro_[$5-][$3-4]" so that they are in the right order. As for the multi-day thing, I would just get a handful of cards to be honest and swap them. I have a little credit card sized holder for 8 cards that I bought off eBay for a few pounds.

 

[R-Rated]

Since 2016 when I did Route 66 from end to end, I will either let GoPro make its own folder each day on a portable SSD or I will. There is a downside to letting GoPro make a folder. If the camera date is off because of a battery swap then GoPro will shove the new files in a default folder with a date from long ago.

For example, there is no way that I have been using this backup hard drive since 2014

Since you said you are using an iPad, does it have the ability to connect to a portable SSD drive? You could move from the camera or microSD over to the pad and then to the portable SSD while creating a new folder for each day.

Just an idea.

 

[CollingsB]

Since 2016 when I did Route 66 from end to end, I will either let GoPro make its own folder each day on a portable SSD or I will. There is a downside to letting GoPro make a folder. If the camera date is off because of a battery swap then GoPro will shove the new files in a default folder with a date from long ago.

For example, there is no way that I have been using this backup hard drive since 2014

View attachment 7248

Since you said you are using an iPad, does it have the ability to connect to a portable SSD drive? You could move from the camera or microSD over to the pad and then to the portable SSD while creating a new folder for each day.

Just an idea.

I can easily download the sd card onto the ipad or I can connect a portable ssd..

 

[R-Rated]

I can easily download the sd card onto the ipad or I can connect a portable ssd..

I would give a few test runs before the next big trip just to keep the gremlins at bay.

 

[Hippo-Drones]

I would give a few test runs before the next big trip just to keep the gremlins at bay.

100%

Yup, never change a process at the start of a big trip, change it way before so nothing important gets lost in the transition

 

[CollingsB]

Lots of great suggestions..Thankyou. I’ll be investigating KDE's KRename..
I am without a bike until early August - the riders portion of my seat is at Russell Cycle Products being turned into a Day-Long seat..in the meantime I’ll be buying a bunch more sd cards !

 

[Theodor]

I use 3 different devices, when on long trips - insta360, action camera and phone.
I carry my work laptop, because my boss sometimes needs my help with translating stuff to and from English, so it's a good excuse to bring it along. I also carry 1 external hard drive and some usb sticks.
I make at least 2 copies of everything, hence multiple storage devices.
First year I started doing dual copies, it already paid off, because the hard drive I was using, started acting up, when I got home and started copying stuff in to my file server.

edit: 2 of my cameras sometimes also create files that would cause overwriting, so I use folders named by dates, and in each of them, folders with camera names

 

[Drakhen99]

With the later generations of GoPro at least, the date and time stay set even during battery swaps. I just did a 4-day trip, and I just brought my cameras, batteries, and a USB hub to charge the batteries with. When I got home, the date/time stamps were enough to break everything out into folders for each day.

Not the best, but I want everything to be as simple as possible.

-John

 

[CalmBiker]

Lots of great suggestions..Thankyou. I’ll be investigating KDE's KRename..
I am without a bike until early August - the riders portion of my seat is at Russell Cycle Products being turned into a Day-Long seat..in the meantime I’ll be buying a bunch more sd cards !

I think KRename works really well but I'm not sure what platforms it's available for. There are similar utilities though and probably direct clones.