I have spent a bit of time looking at Photo storage devices such as the Espon P2000 & P3000 and some products made by Wolverine then I had what I call a "Brain Fart" and started investigating the IPOD Video models capabilities. You can get a 80 GB IPOD for about $323.00 near me and purchase a 30.00 USB Camera adapter. The IPOD will store both JPEGS and RAW files although it can only display the JPEGS. But considering the now Obsolete Epson P2000 (40 GB Capability) is selling for $279.00 at Ritz after a $50.00 rebate and the P3000 is almost $500.00 the IPOD may not be a bad idea. Obviously the Epsons have a larger screen 3.8 & 4.0" respectively but is it worth the extra money, plus the IPOD is also great for music and video. Just thought I would offer this potential option to those of you considering a Photo Storage Device, the IPOD also fits nicely in your pocket. - Jeff
Jason, your comment is appreciated, my son has the 30GB Ipod Video and says to download a photo takes forever. I may have found the perfect fit, I went to the Wolverine site (link below) and they have a new storage device with a 3.6" screen called the ESP it is available in numerous hard drive configuration but the 80 GB version is less than the IPOD and it has a 7 in 1 card reader built in. One reviewer stated it's download time for pics at 2/3 of a second per photo (pretty darned fast). Check out the link http://www.wolverinedata.com/- Jeff
Yeah the Ipod transfer rate is brutally slow. I know Nikon made a unit a while back even read NEF files, but Wolverine is a good one too, have heard alot of positive feedback on it.
I used a Sanho Hyperdrive HD80 with a 100MB drive on our 2 month vacation to Fiji, Australia & New Zealand. I used two 2GB Sandisk Extreme III cards and a 4GB Lexar Professional 133X CF card in my D200 & uploaded the .jpg & NEF files to the Hyperdrive at night. I think I had to charge the batteries (Sanyo 2700 ma-hr) only once throughtout the trip & stored about 4500 pictures (9000 files) using about 70GB of space. I was able to review the .jpg photos from the Hyperdrive at public computers in the various hotels & email selected photos to family & friends. I wouldn't travel without it... Pete
That Wolverine looks like a nice unit. I'd like to know how the interface compares with the Epson P2000/3000/4000/5000
I have a couple of NixVue units I got a few years ago, one 20GB and one 40 GB. I got the first NixVue from B&H but apparently they quit carrying the line. The 2nd came from Adorama. I picked up a P-2000 recently because the NixVue transfer rate is just too slow. They worked fine back in the days of the 512MB cards for a D1X (10 minutes for a full card), but as the cards got bigger they were just too slow. I have used these extensively when I'm out in the boonies all day shooting birds and such. I have never lost a single image using these - all take the NEF files. I did quite a bit of research around the web before getting the Epson about a year ago. Seems like one weakness they all have is battery power. Even with the best I've found, the battery gives out after only about 25-35% of the drive is full. Not such a problem if you're near a plug-in or a car cigarette lighter, but a real bummer in the field. Finally I rigged portable power packs for each using rechargeable AA's. That works fine and is the best couple of dollars I've ever invested. Maybe some of the newer ones have incorporated a Li-Ion battery, I just don't know.
I use the same unit too but under a different name. The PD70x. Super fast transfer. The Epsons pale in comparison. The only downside is like the Hyperdrive it does not have it's own LCD screen. No frills / no fust portable storage device.
Jeff, just to benchmark the devices you are interested in. The fastest CF Reader on a Notebook manages to transfer data at 30sec/GB. Transfer speed is also a topic for battery life/consumption - the slower, the more batteries you need :-(. The iPod is reported to take 45min / GB .... regards, Andy
I mostly use a Pocket PC, with both CF and SD slots. Simply insert the CF card from the camaera and copy over to a SD card. Takes about 15 minutes to copy a 1GB card, but as its either in the hotel (mains power) or in the car (12V adaptor) then its not a problem. I'm using 1GB CF's and 4GB SD's. Good thing about the PPC is that I can load up my calendar with travel details, contacts with email addresses and wi-fi hotspots, and still have space for software to calculate DOF's, sunrise and sunsets.
I have the Epson 2000. Love it, its some of the best bucks I have ever spent on a photo product. I dump my cards to it and edit down as I have time. I will buy the new one this year. It`s cool to run a slide show on the tv for people. If I get rained out during the day and stop to get a bite and a cup of coffee I ask if I can show some pix on their tv. By the time I leave I have made a few new friends and often have a new farm or ranch that I can shoot on. I have a power converter for the truck so if I am using the truck to shoot out of I edit while I am shooting.
If you select an Epson storage device, choose the newer 3000 or 5000 model. They have enormously faster transfer from card to disk. The older 2000 and 4000 are relatively slow. I have a 2000. My SanDisk Extreme III 2GB cards take up to 15 minutes or more to transfer from card to disk.
I also read somewhere that the 2000/4000 models couldn't handle cards larger than 2GB, but I'm not sure of that. Something to look into though for anyone considering getting an older model.
I have the Epson P-2000, which I bought a year and a half ago prior to a trip, and I agree that it is really a bit too slow. I have only used mine a couple of times and was not happy with the fact that it changed my file naming system, too, when I transferred the images from it to my computer. I think if I were looking for a new device, I'd go with the Hyperdrive, as I've heard a lot of good things about that.
I'm reading this thread with interest because I've looked at several devices but could never decide which one I wanted to get. The Epsons look cool but the prices are not attainable in my case. Anybody have anything to say about the FlashTrax XT?? It seems to me this product hasn't gotten some good reviews..ie a bit slow, yes I realize it's not the "newest" thing on the market. FlashTrax has been around for a few years. Right now a friend loaned me his Hyperdrive HD80, the 1st generation kind. I haven't quite figured out how to make it work, LOL. No manual went with it, except for a PDF file my computer recently lost for me. I guess the bottom line is a LCD screen would be nice, fast transfer capability, enough to handle a 2GB card. I know the Epsons fit in the category easily but there must be others out there that are equally good as Epson's P viewers but without the high cost. Laura
Hi Connie. The Epson devices do not change the file names. There must be some other piece of software that is transferring the images to your computer and changing the names in the process. I use the Bridge script "Import from Camera" to ingest all my image files, and it changes the names because I tell it to. If you browse the Epson device itself, you will see the file names are exactly as the camera wrote them. The entire card is transferred intact to the Epson storage device. How the images gets from the storage device to the computer is entirely in the hands of the user.
Thanks, Walter! I may have done something unintentionally, then, when I was using the device for the first time....I remember at the time I was surprised but tired after a long day of activity and didn't really take the time to figure things out. That was a year and a half ago and since then I haven't really used the device all that much. I need to pull it out and tinker with it a bit; no point in having it just sitting in the cupboard!
The Wolverine look very impressive indeed..but I've hever heard of it before. In the past two or three years many storage/viewers have come and gone; mostly gone. I sure would like to not have to carry around that MacBook Pro. Those drives, laptops, chargers and powerpacks sure add up! Rich
On that trip I mentioned, I also had my Powerbook -- really wanted to be sure I didn't lose any images! LOL! But, yes, a small device like those under discussion here is definitely a lot lighter and easier to transport on a long trip -- especially when flying -- than a laptop and all its accompanying paraphernalia.
