External photo Storage - DPChallenge Forums

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

07/11/2004 02:50:07 PM · #1

So, I'm going to France for two weeks in September, I'm taking my camera and my 256/128mb memory cards.

I'm expecting to spend at least 5 days in the Chateaux region of the Loire valley so I know I'll be filling the cards repeatedly, so, either I buy a few large capacity cards or I get an external drive.

I'd love to take my laptop but its a work laptop and I don't think they'd be too happy about me taking it on holiday.

I've heard that I-pods can be used as external storage as well as an X-Drive (??), what can I use to store pictures without a computer?

My requirements:
1) I use a compact flash card and a smart media card. I don't mind using adaptors though, it doesn't have to have memory card slots built in.
2) Plenty of space, probably at least 5 gb would be nice
3) I'm not bothered about viewing the pics so a color screen is not necesary.
4) MP3 playing capabilities would be a bonus but not a necesity.
5) Small
6) As cheap as possible!!!!

GeneralE

Canon PowerShot S3 IS

07/11/2004 02:56:16 PM · #2

You have a choice of at least 8 brands right now. Try a forum search for "digital wallet" for member opinions; I think there may be some reviews at //dpreview.com and at //cnet.com

The Xdrive is popular because it has the card-readers built-in and you have a choice of hard drive sizes. But using one of these is definitely the way to go ... the only practical alternative I can think of is to go to a shop every day and have your cards burned to CDs -- probably ends up cheaper to buy the storage device :)

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

07/11/2004 03:08:11 PM · #3

ahhhh "digital wallet", I was trying to work out what to call them to do a search.

E-Bay has an X-drive with 30gb for Â£120, seems far to cheap, hmm ships from Hong Kong. Maybe I'll give this one a miss.

GeneralE

Canon PowerShot S3 IS

07/11/2004 03:18:46 PM · #4

I would buy from a dealer, with warranty. These are your negatives ... don't skimp a small amount of money for this. If it works, you'll eventually get way more than your money's worth out of it. Note that you can also use it later as a standard external drive for backups and stuff.

banmorn

Nikon D750

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 28-300mm f3.5-5.6G ED VR

07/11/2004 03:24:31 PM · #5

Good luck with the shop everyday and burn to CD. Even if you have the luck to find someplace that can handle your media, you are still up against their workflow. My recent experience in Ireland was OK until my last trip to a store that made transfers from smart media cards to CD. They did not have the ability to do XD cards. On the last trip they were able to store all the photos from 4 smart media on their hard drive but could not, after several tries, get the images to record on a CD. In desparation to clear of the cards I went to a KODAK kiosk and did them myself.... DO NOT DO THIS. You really do not have access to your original files when you make a KODAK picture CD....all it is a slide show. And it only puts up to 120 pictures on a CD. AVOID the KODAK Kiosk. I can get to the files through PSP8 and I can edit them for presentation but the EXIF is gone. Unless of course someone else knows away to get the information.
One of the other photographers on the tour got a device called Road Stor from Micro Solutions (Link) This was recommended to her by a newspaper photographer as he uses one. It allows you to cut out the middle man by burning your images directly to a CD from your CFmedia.

Message edited by author 2004-07-11 15:30:05.

nicoledb

Nikon D70s

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8G IF-ED

07/11/2004 03:28:16 PM · #6

Ipod can be used for external storage if you get a card reader attachment to it. Only drawback seems to be the speed, much slower than some of the other digital wallets out there.

bod

07/11/2004 03:38:37 PM · #7

I got the Archos Gmini on sale from the BT website - it's still reasonably priced there, with free delivery ...
//www.shop.bt.com/invt/q570051

20gb, CF slot and plays mp3s.

07/11/2004 03:44:23 PM · #8

I'm not too worried about speed, I don't intend to be using it on the go, more as an end of day thing to clear my cards for the next day.

I love the idea of the CD burning thingy, definately worth looking into.

07/11/2004 03:48:25 PM · #9

I have the X-Drive II with a 40gb drive that I purchased on eBay about 6 months ago for about $180. My 512mb and 256mb CF cards have 80 and 40 shot capacity, respectively, with my Canon 10d. I took over 300 shots on a trip last week, switching between the two cards and off-loading to the X-Drive. The X-Drive was worth the price.

-len

07/11/2004 03:54:24 PM · #10

(Just reread your message and you have a v2 drive!!)

Which X Drive do you use?

//www.card-media.co.uk/xsdrive.htm - 1

//www.card-media.co.uk/xsdrive+II.htm - 2

//www.card-media.co.uk/xsdrive+pro.htm - Pro

Or am I confused and they X drive is completely different to the XDrive........

So, my next question is this:

Can I buy a small portable item that will surf DPC for me, enter shots and repeatedly hit "update" over and over again without me haivng to use a computer?? :-)

Its a shame that more likely than not none of my pics will be viable for submission unless their happens to be a september free study......

Message edited by author 2004-07-11 15:55:24.

Pentax DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AF

07/11/2004 04:04:43 PM · #11

Originally posted by cbonsall:

Which X Drive do you use?

//www.card-media.co.uk/xsdrive+II.htm - 2

So, my next question is this:

Can I buy a small portable item that will surf DPC for me, enter shots and repeatedly hit "update" over and over again without me haivng to use a computer?? :-)

...The second link.

Answer to your next question: no...

faidoi

Pentax K10D

07/11/2004 04:08:50 PM · #12

Digimagic is another choice. It's not the best choice, because you have to carry around a lot of blank cd-rs but it something to think about especially because they are so cheap.

I think it's viable because if you happen to have a couple people with digital cameras on a trip you can burn everybody's pictures thus also saving them memory space. The ability to multi session is key factor to a purchase like this.

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8

07/11/2004 04:26:12 PM · #13

Also see this thread (the first entry has a list of other devices).

tomlewis1980

Canon EOS-10D

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II

07/11/2004 05:05:30 PM · #14

Originally posted by cbonsall:

//www.card-media.co.uk/xsdrive+II.htm - 2

I have a 20gb X-Drive II, after moderate use the USB port on the side of the X-Drive dropped off. At the time I had about 3gb of photos on the drive that I wouldnâ��t normally have been able to get at, fortunately a friend lent me his XD and I was able to swap the harddrives to get my photos. In short I wouldn't trust another one.

pcody

Canon PowerShot G6

07/11/2004 05:18:49 PM · #15

Len. I just looked at newegg and they have the vs2060 for cheap. They also have one that has a mp3 player. All the info says is it has a 2.5 hhd included but doesn't give the capacity.
One of the reviews said they got some files corrupted because the battery ran down while downloading. Have you had this problem? Sounds like the person left it unattended during the download. Is there any way to verify the number of pictures stored? Any other quirks that you have noticed?

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8

07/11/2004 08:22:27 PM · #16

Originally posted by pcody:

Pat, I believe the X-Drive with the mp3 player is the X-Drive Pro (vs. II). Before you order I'd suggest you verify the capacity of the drive. You can get 20mb, 30mb, up to 60 or 80mb.

Regarding the transfer of files from the CF card to the drive, it typically takes 12-15 minutes to transfer a full card, so it's not fast. I haven't had the X-Drive battery run down completely during a transfer, so can't help you there. However, there is a battery level indicator - 4 bars. I never let it get lower than 2 bars before recharging. Also, the unit shuts off automatically after about 2 minutes of inactivity.

Other than checking the folders on the drive while it's plugged into a USB port on your PC, there's no way to tell the number of pictures stored.

Finally, here's a link to a homebrew external battery pack that you could build for cheap - and more than double the battery capacity of the unit: X-Drive battery pack (can be used with the VP-2060)

Message edited by author 2004-07-11 20:23:24.

pcody

Canon PowerShot G6

07/11/2004 08:45:15 PM · #17

WHen you say inactivity, that means it's considered active during the transfer? Sorry. I'm dense and want to make sure. Just ordered it and even if it's only 20g, it's cheaper than buying more cards. Panic. They are gigs, right?

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 17-35mm f/2.8D IF-ED

07/12/2004 09:28:21 PM · #18

Originally posted by pcody:

Yes, it doesn't shut down during a transfer, - unless, of course, the battery runs out. ;-)

Since you already ordered it, this may be a moot point, but... check dpreview.com. There are several threads discussing the x-drive.

Flash

Nikon D700

07/12/2004 09:58:18 PM · #19

I use a Wolverine SixPac 20Gb portable data storage unit. Runs on rechargeable batteries and is smaller than a P&S camera. Has direct insertion slots for the following interfaces.....
Compact Flash card type I type II (CF)
Smart Media Card (SM)
Memory Stick (MS)
Secure Digital Card (SD)
MultiMedia Card (MMC)
IBM MicroDrive

Uploads direct to my hard drive via a USB cable when I get home.

text

08/29/2004 03:50:34 AM · #20

A new horse on the race card:
fast portable storage?

And an up and comer:
Transcend's Digital Album press release
40G version for sale in Taiwan (about USD 330)

teknon42

Sony DSC-F828

08/29/2004 04:17:59 AM · #21

The Belking card reader for iPod is $80 last i checked. Do the archos--I use a gmini120 and love it. the way i look at it: you can spend a few hunderd bucks for a 1GB storage card or $230 for a 20GB storage card that plays music too. You choose :o)

08/29/2004 04:22:38 AM · #22

Here's what looks like a modified Tripper (Tripper Next) that has better card to PSD transfer speeds and an external battery pack (sold as an option). Cost is about USD 360 for 40G version.

Also, here's a great list of PSDs. Scroll down to find the new, fast one from my last post (the CompactDrive PD6F/PD7x) - screaming speeds there. Tripper/Super DigiBin/Image Tank G2 are all a distant second (but still fast).

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM

08/29/2004 04:58:58 AM · #23

And another (translated page: DC Partner - not listed in the page of PSDs from my previous post). This one may be faster than most others, though probably not as fast as the CompactDrive PDs.

KevinRiggs

Canon EOS-1Ds

09/09/2004 11:00:29 PM · #24

I just purchased the new X-Drive (also known as the X's-Drive) model 3310 from NewEgg.com (//www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=55-602-102&depa=0) for $109 USD. I then purchased a Fujitsu 60gb 2.5" 9.5mm hard drive from eCost.com (//www.ecost.com/ecost/shop/detail.asp?dpno=157131) for $125 USD. With shipping and tax (who knew they had a facility in Memphis and that it'd cost me tax) the total for both items was still less than the price of the 40gb listed for on either NewEgg or eCost (I also searched Froogle.com and Buy.com). It took me just a little while to pop the hard drive into a laptop and partition the hard drive but after it was partitioned I slid it into the X-Drive and formatted it. It works great both for Sony MemorySticks and Lexar or SanDisk CF cards (that's the only media I had on hand to test it). It's pretty fast and the USB 2.0 connection to the hard drive is sweet. I pull the images off the media onto the storage unit and then transferring them to the hard drive is a fast process once I get back.

Just thought I'd share my experience and the links to the equipment I selected for anyone else in the same market.

Kev

bmatt17

Canon EOS-600D/T3i Rebel