portable drive to use in the field

[Nancy Bell]

I would like to buy a portable drive to download my images while still out in the field and I am confused by all the details. I would like a 320GB or 500 GB capacity. I would like a fast download rate and of course, that it support RAW files. I need to be able to use it any where in the world (110/60 & 220/50 power). At home I have a PC with Windows XP and a laptop with Windows 7. Please advise on how I can sort through all that is available. Also please recommend and/or tell me what you use. Thank you!

[Doug Brown]

I am awaiting delivery of a Hyperdrive Album as I type this. I used to use an Epson P-5000 but outgrew its capacity. The Epson P-7000, with a 160 GB hard drive costs $800. I bought a Hyperdrive Album with a 500 GB hard drive for $380.

[Axel Hildebrandt]

I am awaiting delivery of a Hyperdrive Album as I type this. I used to use an Epson P-5000 but outgrew its capacity. The Epson P-7000, with a 160 GB hard drive costs $800. I bought a Hyperdrive Album with a 500 GB hard drive for $380.

Please keep us posted how you like it.

[Roger Clark]

Another option is a netbook (under $400) and USB hard drives. (640 GByte drives are out in the 2.5-inch laptop size, and 1 Terabyte in 2.5-inch but thicker size). I have one and it is fine, growth is new USB drive. I also have an epson p5000. Watch out for raw file support at full resolution. The P5000 uses embeded jpeg which on some camera is only half resolution--makes it hard to check critical focus.

Roger

[vufndr]

I'd go with the colorspace Album -$299 for the case and pop in a $80 500gb HD yourself as it's very easy to do.

Download speed is quite good at 20-30mb/s with udma cards, nice user interface with recovery functions built in, incremental card backup so you can backup at the end of each day and keep your images on the card. Battery life is pretty good and the unit will fit on your belt vs a netbook which is impractical in the field and generally has much smaller HD capacity and battery life.

I have a P5000 epson and find my Album screen to be just as nice as the Epson.

[Doug Brown]

I'm glad you like yours. I haven't seen a good review on the internet yet. How is the build quality compared to the P-5000?

[Roger Clark]

a netbook which is impractical in the field and generally has much smaller HD capacity and battery life.

Yeah, I have a power hungry netbook with only 7 hours of battery life with a 160 GB internal drive and 10-inch led backlit screen. It worked fine on the Serengeti, backing up to local hard drive and external 500 GB usb drives.

Yes, 7-hours just isn't long enough and 160 GB isn't enough capacity. How about 14 hours, 320 GB local hard drive in 1.27 Kg:
http://usa.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=IGLKH3VUoGlp8KE1

Personally, my backup strategy when on a trip:

1) Carry enough cards to never erase a card (I took 120 GB in CF cards on my last trip to the Serengeti).
2) back up cards to at least 2 hard drives. (I did 3 external drives on the Serengeti and another on the local hard drive).

Any one device can fail at any time. Multiple backups will save the day.

Murphy's law says if only only have one copy, the device will fail; if you have several, none will fail. ;)

(Murphy is my dog.);)

Roger

[Myer Bornstein]

I use the LaCie Rugged All-Terrain, 320 GB Pocket Hard Drive with Hi-Speed USB 2.0 Interface, for Macintosh & Windows. Bought it from Adorama $80.00 works fine for overflow storage. I did upgrade my laptop to a 280 Gig HD Held all my photos from 3 weeks in Florida

[Markus Jais]

Please keep us posted how you like it.

I would also be interested in your opinion as I consider buying such an item myself.
I currently have a pd7x but I don't like it that much and it only has 80GB (my CF cards already have 96GB!)

all the best,

Markus

[Doug Brown]

When leading workshops, it's nice to have an image viewer in the field that is easy to carry around. That way I can take a fairly critical look at workshop participants' images. I like the form factor of the Hyperdrive Album/ Epson in that regard.

Good advice on redundant backup. I bring a laptop and backup HD too.

It can get pretty expensive nowadays to bring enough cards to never have to erase any. My Costa Rica workshop has 12 or so days of photography; with today's high MP cameras, it's easy to use a 16 GB card per day.

[Glenn Forbes]

Roger's reply seems complete to me. I use a 'Seagate 320Gig USB 2.0 Free Agent' and the hard drive of my laptop. the USB drive is powered by the laptop, so no additional A/C power needs. Keeping the hard drive in a safe place away from the laptop, sun and water is also a essential.
Glenn

[Roger Clark]

When leading workshops, it's nice to have an image viewer in the field that is easy to carry around. That way I can take a fairly critical look at workshop participants' images. I like the form factor of the Hyperdrive Album/ Epson in that regard.

Doug,
Yes, I also have an epson P5000. The problem is on raw files it only used the embedded raw and on many cameras that is half resolution. That makes it difficult to check critical focus. Perhaps the newer ones do better?
But I never liked the small screen on devices like the P5000 (although it was better than the previous model, which I also have). I like the larger screen of the netbooks for checking images when on the road. But I really want a netbook with an LCD native resolution of 768x1024 or larger. Without the larger screen on the display device, I feel that the camera LCDs have gotten goof enough to check an image.

It can get pretty expensive nowadays to bring enough cards to never have to erase any. My Costa Rica workshop has 12 or so days of photography; with today's high MP cameras, it's easy to use a 16 GB card per day.

That's less than 200GB, which is pretty cheap these days. I just checked online and 300X UDMA lexar cards (45 mb/sec) are going for $300 per pair, so less than $2000 for 6 cards (192 GB). Back in 2006 I contacted B&H for a price on ten 4gb cards (fast for the time) and got a good deal of around $1600 and then took about 75 GB to Africa in January 2007. So it's a lot cheaper now. And the cards last for years (basically until you upgrade--I still use some of those 4 GB cards).

At Ndutu, Tanzania last year, there was a guy with a 600 mm, staying there for 6 weeks, with no computer and no backup devices. He edited in camera and felt he had enough cards for the trip. That's not me, but I guess it worked. It's one way to travel lighter.;)

Roger

[vufndr]

I'm glad you like yours. I haven't seen a good review on the internet yet. How is the build quality compared to the P-5000?

Build quality is not as nice as the P5000. The unit definitely has a plastic feel to it vs the more metal/solid feel of the epson. But hey, for the price it can't be beat.

Yeah, I have a power hungry netbook with only 7 hours of battery life with a 160 GB internal drive and 10-inch led backlit screen. It worked fine on the Serengeti, backing up to local hard drive and external 500 GB usb drives.
Roger

Of course netbooks are a viable option and in many instances a better option if you what to view/geotag/cull your images back at your hotel room. I travel with a 13" macbook pro and 2 500gb HD's when space allows and it works great.

That's great you get 7 hours on yours, my experience with netbooks was that download times were very slow and battery life was not that great but that was on a older toshiba.

I think the Album type device gives you the option of traveling very light on those trips where space is at a premium and you don't want to haul the laptop/netbook with associated power cords, card readers, and external HD's with you. It's also a great way to carry all your images on your belt or in a pocket for security reasons when traveling.

[Steve Zamek]

I am awaiting delivery of a Hyperdrive Album as I type this. I used to use an Epson P-5000 but outgrew its capacity. The Epson P-7000, with a 160 GB hard drive costs $800. I bought a Hyperdrive Album with a 500 GB hard drive for $380.

My netbook just died, so am considering the Hyberdrive Album. I'm not seeing much in the way of reviews of this item, however. Anyone here have any experience with this device?