portable hard drives

[jeffinkansas]

Rather than purchase many CFII cards I am considering a "digital wallet" of sorts. Does anyone on this forum use Mindstor or another brand of a similar device? Are you happy with them? Any advice would be greatly apprieciated!

Jeff

[traumlandschaft]

Hey Jeff,

I am using a Jobo Gigastoxx with a 20 GB HD - and I am absolutely satisfied.

You can read out all cards - CF, MD, SM, MMC, SMC, Mstick, whatever - and the price was quite ok (about 300,- Euro in Germany). Ok, some might say it just has a usb Interface, but the important point for me is the card read-out time and not the time you need to pass the data to your pc-

Resume: I never leave the house without it anymore ;-)

Regards

traumlandschaft

[jeffinkansas]

thanks for the reply! But as I look for this product, I am beginning to think that they only sell it in germany!!!


Jeff

[Derek Byrne]

Jeff,
Take a look at www.powerinnumbers.com.au
Vasa and DHL give great service worldwide at the best prices I've seen.
Good hunting,
Derek

[twistedlemon]

There is this cool device called eFilm PicturePAD. You upload your pictures into it by inserting the cf card, microdrive, or use the adapter for the smart media cards. It comes in 20 and 30 gigs. It has an lcd display to view your pictures, don't know about raw, but none the less, cool device.

www.delkin.com

[jenbob]

I have been using a 20g Digital Wallet for 8 months and like it. My problem is that I am planning a 2 month trip by bicycle and will never be near a computer. 20g is not going to be big enough. There is quite a choice of storage tanks out there but only one (that I have found) is firewire enabled (Mindstor).

Isn't anyone using these out there?

thanks for everyone's opinions that have actually used any of these.
bob

[ali]

There is a current digital wallet that is popular in Japan now. It is called Tripper and it is a "USB 2.0" portable storage device with a CF interface. They don't have memory adapters, but there are adapters for all memory types from various vendors for the CF interface. It has no preview LCD but it does have a status LCD. The interface is English and the CD provides manuals in several languages, including English. It cost about $111US without a hard drive. My friend just got it and I gave him my old 20GB notebook hard drive (in exchange for something) and it works great. I want to post the User's Manual but it exceeds the posting limit. If you are serious about this product, I will email the User's Manual to you.

[Swampy]

Originally posted by ali
There is a current digital wallet that is popular in Japan now. It is called Tripper and it is a "USB 2.0" portable storage device with a CF interface.

Do they have a Firewire version as well? I'm all Firewire and USB 1.1 here and I don't want to spend the extra cash on a USB 2.0 interface yet.

[Wichita Wayne]

Every time I look at these things I think about how easy it is to use my laptop computer for the same task. It is a little more to lug around but you get so much more in function. I never saw one of these things that would let me read and post to this forum, but my laptop can. Heck, I can even use PhotoShop if I want to. I would recommend trying to find a good laptop (new or used, Apple or PC) at a reasonable price before you get one of these things. And by the way, my laptop is a Compaq with a 450 mH processor, 128 MB of RAM, and a TFT screen. It works just fine with digital pictures. We spent last October touring Ireland and the UK and the laptop worked great for downloading digital pictures. We also set up the laptop at the reception of a wedding we worked in Sligo, Ireland. We used ViewPrint Pro (software everybody should have) so that people could see the digital pictures that we took of the wedding. Everybody loved it. I couldn't live without my little laptop.

[jenbob]

Wayne, a laptop is great when you are travelling by car. But if you are on a bike pulling two kids for two months, a laptop would probably last a day and a half.

I take my laptop when I go on shoots, but I only use it to do a critical check on a few images. I use my Digital Wallet to download all my images from my camera. Heck, I don't even have enough room on my laptop to put a three day shoot on, much less a 2-month trip.

bob

[ali]

Sorry I went through the same thinking when I refused to spend money on USB2.0 devices because I invested heavily in 1394. Unfortunately, starting 2003 USB2.0 devices have surpassed those of 1394 and USB2.0 cards are now cheaper than 1394 cards because they are being mass produced.

1394 devices on my notebook PC requires external power, whereas USB1.1 and USB2.0 devices can feed off my notebook PC. A second cable to the USB1.1 port can be used for powering the USB2.0 PC card if you don't have native USB2.0 on the notebook PC.

UltraSlim portable USB2.0 hard drive housings are big sellers here in Taiwan because they don't need large power adapters and can be used on any computer with USB1.1/2.0.

There are also combo 1394/USB2.0 cards and housings now which I purchased for one of my desktop PCs.

[Wichita Wayne]

Originally posted by jenbob
Wayne, a laptop is great when you are travelling by car. But if you are on a bike pulling two kids for two months, a laptop would probably last a day and a half.

I take my laptop when I go on shoots, but I only use it to do a critical check on a few images. I use my Digital Wallet to download all my images from my camera. Heck, I don't even have enough room on my laptop to put a three day shoot on, much less a 2-month trip.

bob

In you case a digital wallet would probably be the smart choice, especially if it has a large hard disk for storage. Digital photography is finally getting some pretty good chioces so the photographer can make the best purchases for their particular situation. I do not have a one-size-fits-all mentality. Your personal photographic kit should be taylored to your personal situation and preferences. The only advise I would have is to test the digital wallet well before it becomes the only repository for your daily pictures. One of the good things about digital is the ease with which you can back-up your work. How many times have we been in a panic over a lost negative that represents the only source for a particular picture.

Good Touring!!!!!

[Swampy]

Originally posted by ali
Sorry I went through the same thinking when I refused to spend money on USB2.0 devices because I invested heavily in 1394. Unfortunately, starting 2003 USB2.0 devices have surpassed those of 1394 and USB2.0 cards are now cheaper than 1394 cards because they are being mass produced.

Guess I'll wait until this other device comes out then: http://oqo.com/

Small portable PC (fit in your pocket), up to 1ghz, Windows XP, touch screen, firewire, bluetooth, 802.11. Just for hiking (or biking) type trips where a laptop would be too bulky. From what I understand, the current hard drive can be replaced with a 60gb drive which should be enough space for most weekends. :)

I agree with Wayne. A laptop is the way to go, if you have the space.

[ali]

The Ogo is amazing. The article was written in April 2002. Maybe it is too expensive to manufacture or have too many problems because it's too small. Sony's new Clie looks larger than the Ogo. I think we have to wait a long time.

http://www.forbes.com/2002/04/29/0429tentech.html

[Swampy]

Originally posted by ali
The Ogo is amazing. The article was written in April 2002. Maybe it is too expensive to manufacture or have too many problems because it's too small. Sony's new Clie looks larger than the Ogo. I think we have to wait a long time.


I've been following the company for about a year waiting for the release of it. Summer of 2002, moved to November 2002 to December 2002 and now April 2003. Price is supposed to be around $1000US.

It shouldn't be all that expensive to produce. I know I can get a PC on a small board (4"x4") that has most of the things the OQO has for about 200 bucks and will take a processor up to a P4 1.5ghz. The technology these guys are using however is less expensive.

[ali]

-USB 2.0 interfaced external portable 2.5" HDD
-CF Type-II (need CF adapters for other memory types)
-Digital media player for MP3, JPEG, MPEG-I, VCD, SVCD, MPEG-II, MPEG 4 (simple profile), Motion JPEG files
-DOS-like file navigator to select play-back directory/ files
-S-Video, Composite Video, Stereo Audio output
-LCD screen and buttons built-in for easy operation
-OSD (On Screen Display) on TV with remote control
-JPEG player support Auto-scale, Zoom & Pan, Thumbnail display, Slide Show
-Music Slide Show, JPEG slide show with background MP3 music.
-Powered by USB 2.0 Bus power, AC/DC adapter or Battery Pack

-Price: Sorry don't know yet.

http://www.powerinnumbers.com.au/default.asp?mode=products&section=ddp

[ali]

-6 in 1
(Compactflash, IBM Microdrive, SmartMedia, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, Secure Digital, and MultiMediaCard. (xD memory cards require a CompactFlash adapter)

-USB 2.0

-LCD Panel
1. display working status (no picture preview).
2. File transfer status
3. Amount of battery power left
4. Main storage out of memory indicator

$115US (no HD), 20GB Fujitsu HD about $78US

free Carry Bag - large enough to carry all your memory cards.

http://www.powerinnumbers.com.au/default.asp?mode=products&section=xdrive2