Portable storage dilemma!!

[Sikario]

I'm going on holiday next Friday (18th) and I need a device to store the thousands of pictures I am planning on taking. I had hoped to order a Compactdrive PD70X tonight but I just emailed Onestop-Digital and they said I would be lucky if get it before Friday as delivery takes around 8 days. :roll:

I cannot afford an Epson P2000, plus I don't want to spend that much money anyway, I only need the storage device for the holiday. I will sell it afterwards.

I don't care about viewing the photos on screen, I just want a quick, reliable way to back-up my compact flash cards. 20Gb would be more than enough, I have considered going the ipod route since I want to buy an MP3 player anyway, but it apparently takes foever to transfer the images and runs the battery down to nothing. Has anyone used an iaudio X5 for this task, how does it compare?

Any more ideas? Please!! :)

[PEACHMAN]

image tank right now on Ebay , a buy now version 30 gb for $125 US....I've been looking for a week and this unit seems to be what I want and looks like it would fit your needs as well...they are a case that has some sort of firm wear and the storage is a 2.5 " hard drive (inside)...have a lot of uses...

[Sikario]

I'm in the UK mate, although ironically the US is my holiday destination. D'oh! :)

I had a look around the net, and discovered both the Vosonic VP6210 and the Vosonic VP6230 £229 and £199 respectively). They sound like good buys, and can display RAW files too. Has anyone had any experience with these two devices, what are the typical transfer speed and battery life stats? Can I have it connected to the mains while I transfer my files?

Thanks.

[RossW]

I've pointed to this thread for similar questions: http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=108010

In it, I recommended the FotoChute 20Gig USB storage drive. If you're coming to the US you can probably find it somewhat easily. I purchased one for US$159 after rebate at Office Depot, a large chain of office-supply stores. Where will you be on holiday? Locals may have recommendations for where to look for something similar. Perhaps you can even order something online now, and have it waiting your arrival?

[Sikario]

I figured though that I'd need to buy it from the UK in order to format it, or connect it to my PC first? Or do I not have to do that? If that's the case then I could, like you suggested order it online just before I leave.

I'll be staying in Florida BTW, we go every year... for our Christmas tan. 8)

[RossW]

I know with the FotoChute it's ready to go as soon as the batteries charge. I'm assuming there are no issues with connecting to a UK PC... when it's a PC "client" it gets power from the PC's USB connection. When connected to a camera or a card reader it is the "server" and uses it's own battery power. Obviously, if you purchase it in the USA you'll have to consider the difference in mains voltage and frequency when back home. That thread I referred to had some other good ideas, such as taking your memory cards to a camera shop (or even a drugstore) with a photo kiosk and burning the files to CD-ROM, taking a laptop along, etc.

Enjoy your trip (and your tan)!

[etaf]

heres a range of devices
http://fhoude34.free.fr/PortableHD.htm

[erding]

Re: PDX70 - I bought mine direct from www.eastgear.com (http://www.eastgear.com) took 3 days & there is no need to connect up to a pc pc

Tom

[PEACHMAN]

I'm in the UK mate, although ironically the US is my holiday destination. D'oh! :)

I had a look around the net, and discovered both the Vosonic VP6210 and the Vosonic VP6230 £229 and £199 respectively). They sound like good buys, and can display RAW files too. Has anyone had any experience with these two devices, what are the typical transfer speed and battery life stats? Can I have it connected to the mains while I transfer my files?

Thanks.Well, where are you going in the US ?? Maybe buy one when you get here,,,some fun shopping...The image tank would be something like 73 pounds sterling, or one that I have also been looking at thru Tristate camera is The Nikon(sorry for mentioning theat name on this forum) cool walker...with viewing screen and 30 gig drive space for around 145 pounds sterling...let me know if there is anything I could do to help you pick up one here if it saves you a bundle!

[kram]

PD70X works great. I've been pretty happy with it. But I dont know their shipping times as I went to their local outlet and picked it up.

[tim]

Just take less photos, and delete the bad ones as you go. That's what I do. Oh, plus I bought a whole bunch of cards, which I trust WAY more than PSDs.

[Sikario]

Thanks for all the responses, I feel much better knowing I have the option to buy from the US.

kram - Do you know of any big stores that would sell it, Staples for example?

tim - :lol: I couldn't survive only taking a few photos, plus 20gb worth of CF cards may cost a bit.

[Mastineo]

I use the Vosonic VP6210 and am very happy with it, the most Ive done is transfer 5 1GB cards to it then download them to the PC and it still showed half full on the battery scale.
It also came with a car charger.
HTH
John

[Sikario]

What is Eastgear's reputation like? If I were to order the PD70X from them the day before I left (Thursday) would I recieve it on Monday? Because If it's late then I'm a bit stuck.

PEACHMAN - I'm staying in Davenport, Florida. It's my parent's house.

Mastineo - How much did you pay for the VP6210 if you don't mind me asking? I found it for £209.

[PEACHMAN]

PEACHMAN - I'm staying in Davenport, Florida. It's my parent's house.


A bit away for me to be able to help you out! Have a good vacation and safe trip!

[Mastineo]

Hi
Cant remember exactly how much I paid but at the time the best deal I could find was at http://www.warehouseexpress.com/
I bought the 80Gb model.
John

[razyl]

Hi all,

I've been researching a PSD for some time to take overseas for 5 weeks and often without a power source.

The 70X looks great for quick storage and minimal worry about batteries. But the idea of viewing photos and playing some music definitely appeals. This means going for something else with more bells and whistles but my concern then isnt so much price (although that's a big factor) but more the download speed and battery life of what's available.

Can anyone advise on the VP6230 for transfer speed (will be a CF ultra II 1GB card) and battery life? I like the look of this unit, so if it transfers quickly and with minimal battery use I'll get it.

For the record, other devices I've looked at:

-Epson P2000: looks awesome but too expensive for me and from what I can read it might have a slow transfer rate.
-Epson P4000: now with 80GB but even more expensive!
-iPod 60GB: I tried this today with my Canon 350D and a full 1GB CF card and after 10mins had only downloaded ~85 photos from 435....which means the full 1GB would take approx 45-50mins. Chewed the battery a fair bit too!
-iRiver 40GB: didnt get to try this one but uses same sort of hookup as the iPod so I'm guessing a simiarly poor speed

Thanks,

Darryn

http://www.completefit.com.au

[kram]

Sikario, I'm pretty sure the PD70X is not sold in any retail outlets yet - like a Staples or an Office depot. Advantage of a place like HK is that the local distributor is somewhere nearby and so I picked it up directly from them.

I have just started seeing these units in a few electronic shops here. Whereas, the P2000 has been around in many shops since its launch. I'm sure you will get a similar prouct if you walked into a Staples/OD/Compusa.

[etaf]

-iRiver 40GB: didnt get to try this one but uses same sort of hookup as the iPod so I'm guessing a simiarly poor speed

My mate has the iriver, I thought it was USB2 - he has a 1gb card - I'll see if he used it on holiday - I'm not sure he has used it for serious transfers of data in the end.......

[Sikario]

Well, last night I ordered the 40gb PD70X from Eastgear, I'm just hoping it arrives on Monday, I bought a 2gb CF card to see me through the weekend. I'm leaving for the airport in 20 minutes so thanks a lot for the help! :)

[kram]

Sikario, 2GB is a good amount of storage to start off with. If you dont get hold of your PD70X, there are lots of outlets that will let you burn your CF card into CDs. Guessing many photo shops may do it for you for a fee - they do it here, never tried it when I was in the US.