best portable media viewer

[WiT8litZ]

hey,
i was wondering if you guys could gimme your opinion on the best portable medai device. i want to save photos onto it from cf card as well. i have looked at the digital foci piture porter elite, as well as epson p-4000. are there any others,and what do you think?
tx, W

[madferrit]

I bought a P2000 from a fellow POTN member a few weeks ago. I have to admit i absolutely love it. The screen is amazing, and its faster than i thought it would be. Uploading to the pc was a doddle too, and it transferred some 500 pic in about 4 mins :)

[Sledhed]

I also have a P-2000, it will show RAW files and the EXIF info. It will also show a histogram on a jpeg. Very nice unit.

[Loki1117]

I too have a P-2000 and concur with the comments above. Rather than printing out lilltle albums of pictures I put the albums on the P-2000 and only make big prints of the images I really love.

[neil_r]

There is now an exceptional piece of kit from JOBO. The Jobo Giga Vu Pro Evolution is aimed at the pro photographer and carrying a pro price but well worth checking out. (the dowload speed for cards is way faster than any other I have seen.) I have the 120 Gig on order.

Available in 40GB / 80GB & 120GB Sizes
• Extreme Bright Screen
(Jobo = 280 candela, Epson P4000 = 90 candela)
• VGA resolution 640x480
(Outgoing GVP was QVGA 320x240)
• Extreme download speed (2.5 minutes for a 1GB card)
• Highlight Detection
• No Pixel Display Limit (Displays any file size – Epson P4000 limits at 17.8 MP)
• Displays All RAW formats
• Decodes & Opens RAW files for Zooming to Pixel Level
• Dust Detection Facility
• Pictbridge Compatible
• USB OTG facility to Back up data to a Giga One for 2 level backup
• Cushioned Hard Drive
• Exif Data Editing (inc Keywords)

[dmwierz]

I use the HECK out of my P20000, and it's the greatest.

[coreypolis]

another extremely happy p-2000 owner. If I had to do it over, I'd look into the jobo, but the Epson is no slouch

[Eagle]

Laptop

[WiT8litZ]

Looks like the Epson is the clear winner. Anyone ever seen or use the Digital Foci Picture Porter Elite? I just wanna make sur that I checked out all options.
As for the Jobo, if its a bit more expensive chances are I won't be able to afford it. Student budget.

All the Epson people: should I get a P-2000 for cheaper or try to save up for the P-4000?

Some other Epson questions: I read somewhere that the filenames are restricted to 8 characters? Isnt that annoying? Also, can it record video in? The Digital Foci has this feature, seems quite handy!

[EOSAddict]

I have and love the Epson, buthave to say if buying from scratch now would seriously look at the Jobo evolution neil_r mentioned. Don't forget the P4000 too!

[Sledhed]

All the Epson people: should I get a P-2000 for cheaper or try to save up for the P-4000?

I think that's something you need to decide on your own based on your budget and shooting habits. To me the P-2000 was more than enough and right now there is a $50 mail in rebate on it.

[WiT8litZ]

I think that's something you need to decide on your own based on your budget and shooting habits. To me the P-2000 was more than enough and right now there is a $50 mail in rebate on it.

Okay, makes sense... I live in South Africa, and buying the thing here would be a total ripoff. So I plan on asking a friend to get it in the States for me. What would be a decent price to pay for either unit?

[Loki1117]

Also, can it record video in? The Digital Foci has this feature, seems quite handy!

What do you mean by "record in?" The P-2000 is a storage and play back device. It does not "record" anything except files. It will play many types of files including MP3 and MPEG-4 video. To get a complete list check the Epson site. It also has speakers on it, but you can plug headphones into it as well. There is a commercial that was played on local stations last Christmas which my hands are in and I recorded and digitized it and put it on my Epson and now show it to family and friends when I see them. :D

Yes, it does truncate file names down to 8 characters. The complete file name is there, it just doesn't show the entire name.

Hope that helps.

[WiT8litZ]

What do you mean by "record in?" The P-2000 is a storage and play back device. It does not "record" anything except files. It will play many types of files including MP3 and MPEG-4 video. To get a complete list check the Epson site. It also has speakers on it, but you can plug headphones into it as well. There is a commercial that was played on local stations last Christmas which my hands are in and I recorded and digitized it and put it on my Epson and now show it to family and friends when I see them. :D

Yes, it does truncate file names down to 8 characters. The complete file name is there, it just doesn't show the entire name.

Hope that helps.

Okay, the file size question is solved.

Here's a quote from the Digital Foci Picture Porter Elite website:


Voice/Video Recorder
With built-in microphone and recording capability, you can use Picture Porter Elite as a voice recorder to record lectures, interviews, or conferences. Picture Porter Elite also records videos straight from TV or any other video source with a scheduled recording function. Using high-compression MPEG-4 encoding, Picture Porter Elite keeps the file sizes small for easy sharing while maintaining a high level of picture and sound quality.

Was just wondering if the Epson has the same function? I havent checked the website thoroughly though, but will get chance soon to do so.

[Michaelmjc]

Epson rocks my socks!

[Loki1117]

No, the p-2000 does not have that capability. When I purchased my Epson, the main competion were these devices that had flip up screens and they just didn't seem to have the clarity and resolution that the Epson had. looking at the website for the device you are considering would lead me to believe that another manufacturer has come up with a device to really compete with the epson and at a similar price. I would suggest that if the opportunity is there to hold both and see them side by side, but the Digital Foci looks like a great little unit.

[PostShawn]

Looks like the Epson is the clear winner. Anyone ever seen or use the Digital Foci Picture Porter Elite? I just wanna make sur that I checked out all options.


I have the Digital Foci Media Buddy unit. It's pretty good for being the cheap one from them. I would probably still go with the Epson unit over them because it's a much more recognizable company but if it was much cheaper to do the Digital Foci I would personally save to give it a shot.

[ungx0013]

If you like updated gadgets, you should wait a little longer because Epson just released the P-3000 (40 gigs) and P-5000 (80 gigs)at Photokina. Also you might want to look in to Canon's new portable media player, which similar but made with by Canon with their EOS looks, M30 (30 gigs) and M80 (80 gigs). One draw back is that the Canon is only on version 1 while Epson is on version 3.

[neil_r]

If you like updated gadgets, you should wait a little longer because Epson just released the P-3000 (40 gigs) and P-5000 (80 gigs)at Photokina. Also you might want to look in to Canon's new portable media player, which similar but made with by Canon with their EOS looks, M30 (30 gigs) and M80 (80 gigs). One draw back is that the Canon is only on version 1 while Epson is on version 3.


Dont forget the Jobo offering

[MazerRakhm]

Dont forget the Jobo offering

Do you have one?

I just saw it for the first time, and it sounds pretty sweet.

[Longwatcher]

Also don't forget to look at Wolverine/Vosonic units they have a lot of features at a slightly lower price and sometimes slightly faster card to device speed then comparable Epson. Not to mention higher capacities available.

[neil_r]

Do you have one?

I just saw it for the first time, and it sounds pretty sweet.


I have a 129 gb on order, but have used both the Jobo and the epson. The Jobo transfer speeds make the choice a no brainier

http://www.jobo.com/jobo_digital/giga_vu_pro_evolution/gb/

[Jon, The Elder]

Stick with a known maker and unit - I shoot for a living and 20 gig is a hell of a lot of photos for anyone.
Unless your trying to beat the next wave of bigger-better-faster, get a good functional device and use it for years. (P-2000) for me since it came out.

[txduggan]

Chiming in with a slightly different viewpoint...

First, I own and use an Epson P-2000 because I *wanted* a storage device with a display to use on field shoots until I get my portable viewing/printing/sales rig together.

Second, if you don't need the viewing capability, save yourself some money and get yourself a standalone external hard drive.

As others have said, it depends on what you need it for.

I LOVE my P-2000 and would recommend it (and the subsequent newer models) if it's features are what you're looking for.

Best,

Tom D