Portable Storagge / Gmini

[petiot]

I just got a Gmini Archos 20 gig (A220) few days ago. I was thinking about buying some more CF cards, since i go in Corsica in one week, but i came to the conclusion that portable hardrive would be a much better (flexible) and cheaper solution. What would i do with 2 Gig of compact flash cards?

The Gmini is very very small, and you can directly plug a CF into it to download the images. It took 6 min 20 sec to download 340 meg of photo (RAW, TIFF and JPG) from a 512 Ridata card to the Gmini, and 25 sec (!!) from the Gmini to the computer (USB 2.0). For comparison, it took 10 min 30 sec to transfer the same data the CF card to the computer using a USB 1.0 sandisk card reader (and sensibly the same time to write from the computer to the card).

I think a one gig CF card plus the Gmini would be a combo that would suit most users. For people who need to empty the card in the middle of the action, it is another matter.

20 gig should keep most people happy too. one or two weeks holidays should not be a problem, and if you get spare space you can listen music too!! ;). Overall i think portalbe hard drive are the ultimate solution for on the move storage, and very versatile too when it can plays music and store data. I have not tried anything else (X-drive etc) but i can recommend the Gmini, it is good stuff.

Oh yes, i dropped it twice already (:( it is too small, it slleps between my fingers) and it seems to be robust enough to take more than this! i ll let you know if i manage to destroy it!! ;)

Dan

[steven]

You left out what I would say is the most important stat for these devices.

How much of the battery did your 340 meg transfer eat?

Those devices are not much good if you can't do 5 or 6 transfers on the same charge, or you would have to carry extra batteries or have access to AC power.

[petiot]

Hi Steven

Yes you are right this is a very important aspect of such devices. I know the Gmini is known to have a short battery life, as an mp3 player. As such, they give 7 hours of use (continous hard dive use).

From the test i ran and with a litle bit of maths: 6 hours of battery life (certainly more realistc than manufacturer data) gives 17485 Meg (17 gig), since it takes 7 minutes (6.30 in fact) to download 340 meg. If you consider that the hard drive works harder in writing mode etc, you cut that by 40-45 % and you get approximatively 10 gig of download from CF cards on one charge.

I would think that, as a photo wallet, you can easily fill 10 gigs on a charge. but that is my guess. I would certainly have camera battery problems before i get short of energy on the Gmini (i have 3 BP511 and a 10D which is 600 shots (optimistic) RAW (at 5 meg) per batteries = approximatively 10 gig for 3 batteries).

I ll let you all know if battery life was an issue after my holidays!

Hope this is a bit more helpfull Steven

Dan

[Yeager]

What kind of 1 GB card? Where did you get the little ditty?

[petiot]

Hi Yeager

I am not sure what you mean by "what kind of 1 Gig card". My idea was that a 1gig card is a good size to avoid having to empty your card too often. Which one you choose is up to you really.

I dont know what a Ditty is, but i got the Gmini from UK where i live (BTShop) but if you are in US this is not relevant.

Anyway, tell me what is a ditty!!?

[mjordan]

I have a 40 gig Image Tank G2 that I have been using for a year now. I also carry 4.5 gigs of CF cards as well. What I do is when I fill a card I'll slip the CF card into the Image Tank and start the download. I'll set it in my bag to download while I continue shooting with the next CF card. It shuts itself off after it finishes the download.

I then take the card and put it upside down in my 4 CF holder that I carry. If I need to re-use a Cf card I'll format it then, other wise I won't format them and I'll have the data in both places. I have used the Tank all day with more than 10 downloads from 1 gig and 512 meg cards and still had plenty of battery power left. I did carry the option AA battery holder that plugs into it just in case it ran out, but I've never used it. It also has a cigerrett power/charger attachment that I've never used. During one week of shooting I put 20 megs of raw files in it before I got home. I put about 8 megs of raw files in it this last weekend during a 3 day shoot.

I find the the Tank great for extra storage but I also like having extra CF cards. That way if I have some really really important pictures I can leave them on the CF card as well as dump them to the Tank.

Mike