100 gigs of portable storage!

This looks like a great little unit for backing up and viewing photos, as well as packing along all your MP3s (and even a few movies!). Anybody own one yet?

Archos AV500 100GB

No RAW support.

Coincidentally, I was hunting for one yesterday but also realised it doesn't support RAW files. In this case, it would be more worth it to get a device without the ability to display pictures altogether and save a couple hundred bucks.

Agree with Mattdiver, I don't feel the need to be able to view files, just need the storage, and want it to be (1) very reliable, and (2) reasonable price per GB.

I was just in Hong Kong and picked up two LaCie 100 GB USB/fire wire hard drives for

HK$2300 (US$300) each, less a 15% discount, so about $250, which seemed reasonable. Each is a bit wider and longer than a pack of cigarettes, but not as thick. The 80 GB version (same form factor) was HK$1800 ($230, so $195). The laptop is 80 GB. If I fill all of that up, I still have 40 GB on my fat iPod I can use (after dumping all the music) if I had to.

Frogfish

Just for comparison's sake, the Epson P-4000 (80GB) that does support RAW files and has a superb screen goes for $700. For that price, you can have 2 x LaCie 100Gb and 1 x Lacie 80Gb, and $5 change for coffee

You may also consider the CompactDrive PD70X.

We bought a unit and, although it does not have a viewing screen, you can dump a 1Gig card on the hard drive in a couple of minutes.

Not the perfect tool but it uses inexpensive 3.5" drives and works with AA batteries.

We have used it a few times so far and it works fine. Seems there is a US distributor now.

We also own a Gmini 220 from Archos and are quite happy with it.

Found the URL of the US retailer for the PD70X, a.k.a. Hyperdrive HD80:

http://hyperdrive.com/shop/index.php

No link to me at all.

Michel

I can appreciate all too well the cost angle, but I must admit I feel much more secure when I have downloaded to my Epson P2000 and can actually SEE my RAW file pics. I know they are there, safe, warm and well.........

Everytime I look at these devices, I can't help but observe that for an additional $200-$300 I could get a laptop that only weighs about the same, can burn dvd's and works with external hard-disk drives.

Same as a laptop? Hmmmm......one fits in the palm of my hand.....not the other.

But its the size and even more weight of lugging a laptop around. The check-in staff are already looking at me askance as I stagger, nonchalantly, up to the counter with a Pelican roller box (18kgs) and a Tamrac camera rucksack (14kgs). Oh, and my dive bag too (31kgs). The Epson has to be the lightest bit of my gear!

I to love to have a Epson P-4000

becauce I have a old laptop thats is imposible to work with photos. In this case is good to have a device that can save andd show the photos

btw.. is Epson P-4000 working with Nikons NEF files?

The other altenativ is to buy a bigger & faster laptop like Ibook...

Lambis

Santa brought me an Epson P-4000 early , and I've been tinkering with it for a few days now. I kept reading that the screen was "amazing, unbelievably sharp, stunningly clear," and other such descriptors, and I have to say they're all true. The screen is simply amazing. It's not quite as big as a 3x5 inch photo (it's actually 2 1/4 x 3 inches), but effectively serves the same purpose as if you were looking through a stack of little (e.g., 3x5) prints.

I also really like the slide show function. I copied some photos over from my computer, and rather than have to thumb through them to show people, I just hit slide show with 3 sec. intervals and the "fade" transition, and people can sit and "look through" a bunch of my photos in style! B)

The only drawbacks I see are:

1. you can't use the zoom feature with RAW files, so I'll need to shoot RAW + Med. JPG if I want to be able to zoom in to check focus, etc.

2. the only option for "video out" (to show photos on a TV) is simple composite (RCA jack), not S-video. It does output in either (you can switch back and forth) NTSC or PAL, however, which is nice.

All in all, a spendy little gadget, but VERY cool for storing and viewing photos!

Note: the P-2000 has the same screen, but in addition to its smaller 40gb HD (vs. 80gb on the P-4000), it has less capabilities, e.g., won't handle as big a files, etc. (a Google search will give you details).

I usually bring my laptop along on a trip and also a Nexto CF card reader/harddrive.

http://printerboyweb.net/reviews/NEXTOCF/index.php

I usually download my CF card to the Nexto unit first as it is amazingly fast (less than 10 minutes for a full Kingston 4GB card) then transfer from it to my laptop. It actually takes less time to do the two steps than download directly to my laptop using USB2 CF card reader! This way I also have all of my photos backup on 2 separate HDs and for a very paranoid mind, I can backup everything on my laptop to DVDs at my leisure