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05/19/2003 02:54:11 PM · #1 |
Here's the scenario... any suggestions?
A friend (also here on DPC-- Jubei Kibagami) has a portable hard drive, but the manufacturer is now defunct. He instead suggested a "X'S-Drive" //www.xs-drive.com , which looks to be a pretty slick option. I'm trying to find similar products to do a little comparison shopping, but haven't been able to dredge anything up.
I'm planning a brief family vacation to California this August, and would like to be able to take copious shots, then cull the poorer ones once I get home and can look at them on a real monitor, all without having to worry too much about space on my current media. So, rather than dropping a lot of $$$ on several new 128Mb cards (my camera accepts both SD/MMC and Memory Stick) that I may not be able to use if (or when :-) I upgrade cameras down the road, I thought the portable drive sounded like a slick deal.
Thoughts / suggestions??? |
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05/19/2003 02:57:56 PM · #2 |
the XS-drive is pretty good and is one of the cheapest options. I used it very successfully on a two week trip to Australia.
However, I really think it needs to be accompanied by some level of computer access, because if anything goes wrong with the drive, with a CF card or the copy process, it'll just blink a light at you. Not much you can do to diagnose the problem or fix things. With a PC it works as a cardreader/ external drive and was a perfect solution for my needs.
Other more fully featured options exist with an LCD display/ file manager/ previewer that might be more useful if you intend to use the drive stand alone.
The other advantage of the XSdrive is that you put your own harddrive in - if something goes wrong you can easily replace it. The other types of device you don't have that luxury. |
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05/19/2003 03:21:56 PM · #3 |
| Do a search for a digital wallet. Seems to be what you're looking for. Some examples are Nixvue and Mind@Works. Although I think Mind@Works might be the company you referred to as out of business, I seem to recall reading something about them closing. |
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05/19/2003 03:27:24 PM · #4 |
I have the //www.archos.com multimedia drive. I love it. Can do more then I need, but allows you to hook up to a TV and watch a slide show while you're still on vacation :-)
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05/19/2003 03:36:49 PM · #5 |
| You might also want to try the Delkin eFilm Picture Pad.. forgot to mention that one! |
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05/19/2003 03:45:06 PM · #6 |
Originally posted by crabappl3:
I have the //www.archos.com multimedia drive. I love it. Can do more then I need, but allows you to hook up to a TV and watch a slide show while you're still on vacation :-) |
I have one of these too -- it is very versatile, as it also works as a MP3 player/recorder, movie player, and 20GB backup drive.
I've had some problems though, getting it to reliably tranfer batches of images from the card to the hard drive using the Smart Media card reader attachment. |
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05/19/2003 04:41:53 PM · #7 |
We have the XS Drive VP2030 and have used it on a couple of trips now.
If you're going to buy an XS Drive either consider the XS Drive II (which also has an LCD display, though that's not my reason) or make sure that the latest firmware has already been downloaded to the original XS Drive.
Or, just learn how to work around the problem.
With the original firmware the XS Drive cannot cope with downloading images from CF cards which have had individual images deleted from them when in the camera. (Apparently it's a fragmentation thing).
(With new firmware or with the XD Drive II this problem is eradicated).
However, once you're aware of the problem it's simply a case of NOT deleting any images you take on-camera. This is no big deal because the XS Drive is small enough to fit into a pretty small camera case meaning you can just empty the card when it's full and worry about deleting crappy images later.
I can check later which model we use but it very snugly holds the XS Drive and a Minolta Dimage 7i. It's a Lowepro Nova Micro - not sure which size.
Message edited by author 2003-05-19 16:42:10.
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05/19/2003 06:51:36 PM · #8 |
Article in the new Outdoor Photographer Mag. //outdoorphotographer.com/content/2003/june/gadgetbag.html
Bunch of these gadgets.
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05/20/2003 10:25:10 AM · #9 |
Thanks to everyone for the information... It seems like these products aren't really publicized well, IMO, although they appear to be an ideal solution for trips, vacations, and the like.
As for my decision, while the color LCD display is kinda' nice, I'm not sure that's a feature I can't live without-- especially for the $200 difference between the X'S-drive and the Nixvue or Archos products. The other point is that I use SD and Memory Stick media... Archos and Nixvue apparently require an adapter to use the CF port on the product-- another additional expense.
I've found a couple of online places where I can buy a new 30Gb X'S II (with the monochrome LCD interface) for just under $200. The bare unit (without hard drive) is about $100. I may check around to see if I can scrounge an old 2.5" laptop drive somewhere, and take it from there... |
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