Portable Storage Devices . . .

[gahspidy]

I'm interested in getting a portable storage device as it makes alot of sense to me to be able to immediately back up my cards while on a shoot. I use mulitple cards and so my wish is not to free up space on used cards, but to back up the entire shoot so that I have the images on two seperate devices for added protection against losing files to card corruption, etc.
Having one of these units with a large screen would be a big plus I think as it it would be nice to be able to view the images on something larger than the cameras screen. Some also allow you to view the histogram and EXIF info as well.
I have looked at a few that are on PhotographyReviews review section and this one from Jobo looks to be what I would want. A couple other ones that look promising to me are the Epson 3000 and the Wolverine unit If anyone has more info about them or even better yet, experience with any of them I would like to hear about it.
http://www.amazon.com/Wolverine-ESP-..._tdp_sv_edpp_i
http://www.amazon.com/Epson-P-3000-M..._tdp_sv_edpp_i

[drg]

Gary,

I was a fan of these when they first appeared, but have since decided that a notebook is a far better device. It gives me a large screen, a much bigger drive for storage, and even a third option of a DVD(CD-R if you prefer) for backup.

An early JOBO I used, the battery life just was not up to the demands I was making of it, and I still had to transfer the files at the end of the day to be able to use the backup unit again.

Since I always carry a notebook (Toshiba usually at this time) and have external USB drives of 300GB that I can just plug in as needed, these just don't meet my needs.

One other issue that I've had one experience with is file recovery. If you get a glitch while writing some of these units wind up with a bad track that the built in software has trouble resolving. I never lost any thing that I know, but I did have a unit that took several hours to unload to the PC.

Will look forward to knowing your experience and what you decide to use for your portable backup.

[gahspidy]

Drg, thanks for your in depth and well informed response as always. I cannot argue that a laptop is not the best thing for this purpose, but I am just not crazy about having to travel with so much gear to begin with. The laptop is almost like taking a child along as you have to be very careful with it and want to know that it's by your side at all times . . .strange perspective on it, yes I know. (pleasantly strange perspectives)
I think these portable devices have come a long way since the older Jobo that you may have had. There were some very bad reviews on some of the older Jobo units and some great reviews on some of the newer models it seemed.
I'll think about this a bit and whatever route I do go I'll share my views and write a review of the unti as well.
thanks, drg.

[fx101]

Gary, I would try a Hyperdrive. I bought one recently and although the screen isn't fantastic (it's good enough for basic previewing), the portability and ease of backing up a card while you shoot with another one is unsurpassed. I have the 80GB model which is more than enough for me.

[gahspidy]

Gary, I would try a Hyperdrive. I bought one recently and although the screen isn't fantastic (it's good enough for basic previewing), the portability and ease of backing up a card while you shoot with another one is unsurpassed. I have the 80GB model which is more than enough for me.

Thanks for your time to respond to this. I have been considering the Epson 3000 and a wolverine model, both of which have large, high resolution screens and good enough capacity. Lots of other features as well and great reviews from others. Since you and Paul (SmartWombat) both are using the Hyperdrive unit, I will take a much closer look into this one as well.
thanks again

[fx101]

Thanks for your time to respond to this. I have been considering the Epson 3000 and a wolverine model, both of which have large, high resolution screens and good enough capacity. Lots of other features as well and great reviews from others. Since you and Paul (SmartWombat) both are using the Hyperdrive unit, I will take a much closer look into this one as well.
thanks again

I just took a look at the Epson 3000 and I must say that the screen looks amazing. I would consider buying one just because the screen will easily trump the hyperdrive's. My only concern is that considering that a smaller screen already drains my D200's battery easily, I can only imagine that a 4 inch screen AND a spinning hard-disc inside will only drain the battery faster. It's also nice that it lets you preview Adobe RGB color-spaced images because usually it's only after PS colour space modification and conversion that I can properly view adobe spaced images on a screen. I'm not so sure about the wolverine unit. It has more features; however, seeing that it is not a dedicated photo unit, the radio and other things might get in the way of lightning fast backup in the field. I started shooting weddings recently, and I can toss a hyperdrive in the bag to start backing up in less than 10 seconds (and it takes three minutes to back-up) while I switch cards. I'm afraid that the more menu-like ESP/Wolverine unit would be slower to operate. If you want the screen, I say go for the epson. If you want some more features, go for the wolverine. If you want speed and a screen for basic (not great) previewing then go for a hyperdrive. If you don't care at all about previews get a sanho HD80 because that thing is savagely fast and skips all the "goodies" in exchange for speed and simplicity.

[gahspidy]

I just took a look at the Epson 3000 and I must say that the screen looks amazing. I would consider buying one just because the screen will easily trump the hyperdrive's. My only concern is that considering that a smaller screen already drains my D200's battery easily, I can only imagine that a 4 inch screen AND a spinning hard-disc inside will only drain the battery faster. It's also nice that it lets you preview Adobe RGB color-spaced images because usually it's only after PS colour space modification and conversion that I can properly view adobe spaced images on a screen. I'm not so sure about the wolverine unit. It has more features; however, seeing that it is not a dedicated photo unit, the radio and other things might get in the way of lightning fast backup in the field. I started shooting weddings recently, and I can toss a hyperdrive in the bag to start backing up in less than 10 seconds (and it takes three minutes to back-up) while I switch cards. I'm afraid that the more menu-like ESP/Wolverine unit would be slower to operate. If you want the screen, I say go for the epson. If you want some more features, go for the wolverine. If you want speed and a screen for basic (not great) previewing then go for a hyperdrive. If you don't care at all about previews get a sanho HD80 because that thing is savagely fast and skips all the "goodies" in exchange for speed and simplicity.

Yeah, I'm leaning towards the Epson 3000 right now because of the high res screen (640x480)! the ability to zoom in on RAW files as you would on the cameras screen and the Adobe color space support. It is one of the bulkier units around, but then again how could it not be with a large screen and good battery life. Still alot more portable than a laptop.
It may not be as fast backing up files, but I would already be shooting with a fresh card while the unit is backing up the previous one.

[gahspidy]

Well, I went ahead and ordered the Epson P 3000 directly from their site. It came with a 50.00 rebate so it was fairly reasoable for what this is. I was sold on the screen, the ability to preview and zoom in on RAW files, and the support of Adobe RGB color space.
I will write a review and post an update of my feelings on the unit.

[techies]

Hey, I also use a laptop for my storage because it allows for the larger screen and more storage capacity, but some times an external HDD is the only way to go. If you work in a rather large studio, I would use long cables for data transfers. ntcdistributing.com has some nice cables for cameras that can be customized for length. The quality of the cables are excellent for a reasonable price. Just a suggestion or something to help you along the way.

[dumpy]

Hey, I also use a laptop for my storage because it allows for the larger screen and more storage capacity, but some times an external HDD is the only way to go. If you work in a rather large studio, I would use long cables for data transfers. ntcdistributing.com has some nice cables for cameras that can be customized for length. The quality of the cables are excellent for a reasonable price. Just a suggestion or something to help you along the way.

How would longer cables help when dumping from a card to a hard drive? Stupid spammers...

[dumpy]

Drg, thanks for your in depth and well informed response as always. I cannot argue that a laptop is not the best thing for this purpose, but I am just not crazy about having to travel with so much gear to begin with. The laptop is almost like taking a child along as you have to be very careful with it and want to know that it's by your side at all times . .

http://eeepc.asus.com/global/product.htm

Small
Cheap (they start around $300)
probably pretty durable (Flash hard drive)

The only problem is that you would still need an external HD as their storage is pretty limited, but I could see one of these and one the ruggedized Lacie drives being a pretty sweet set up

[gahspidy]

http://eeepc.asus.com/global/product.htm

Small
Cheap (they start around $300)
probably pretty durable (Flash hard drive)

The only problem is that you would still need an external HD as their storage is pretty limited, but I could see one of these and one the ruggedized Lacie drives being a pretty sweet set up

Thanks for the heads up on those laptops. I'm still feeling that they are not portable enough for my intended use, which is really just backing up my files on the spot and viewing them when I get back to my room or later in the evening. No editing or anything else needed.
I got the Epson P-3000 and it is everything I wanted and more. 40 GB is ample back up storage, the backing up is quick. The screen looks fantastic and great resolution as well as the unit practically can fit in my shirt pocket. Battery life so far has been excellent.

Also, if your going to get one of those AND a Lacie backup drive to have around you may just as well get a large full size laptop.