Portable storage device for 20D raw format

[roleg]

I try to find cheap (around $ 200.00) 20 gb. I am not shure it is good for 20D? Please give me a hand. Thanks.

[jfred]

I picked up a vosonic 40 GB X-drive 2 from amazon uk for £129.. they do a 20GB version which is slightly cheaper. Its not as pretty as some units, but it works very well. Totally recommended.

(In the US you can pick up vosonic units from mydigitaldiscount.com - for example http://www.mydigitaldiscount.com/s.nl/sc.2/category.445/it.A/id.593/.f is a newer model than mine)

[Andy_T]

Roleg,

there are basically 2 types of mobile storage

1) 'Just download and transfer', e.g. Xdrive, Imagetank, ...
These can download whatever contents of your CF card, and transfer them to a PC later. No frills, no images to watch on the storage device, just download and transfer. As they will download whatever is on your CF card, Raw files are no problem at all. Should be possible to find one for 200$, as well (it's just a harddisk with a battery, a tiny LCD display or some LED lights and a card reader)

2) 'Download and watch' like Flashtrax, Nikon Coolwalker...
These have colour LCD's that allow you to watch your pictures. Of course, they are much more expensive, because they have the added LCD display. Definitely more expensive than $ 200, as these devices have a high 'cool factor' and the manufacturers make you pay dearly for that :rolleyes: .
If you want to get such a unit, then you have to check if it accepts the RAW files. Of course, you can download them and transfer them to your PC later, but you can most likely only watch the JPG files on the mobile device ... unless it is specifically designed to accept 20D RAW files.

Hope that helps.

Best regards,
Andy

[Tom Reid]

I have a FlashTrax. Works really well, holds not only Canon RAW files but also video clips, MP3's, Powerpoint Presentations if saved in jpeg format, text files, etc.. Almost a PIM!! Easy to use, watch the battery though. Unclip it when not in use and if the unit tells you the battery is 60% full find an outlet. I bought the car adapter so I can power it and charge the battery when shooting on the road.

I've heard good things about the Coolwalker but was told by a local dealer it will not display Canon files. Not sure about the imbedded jpeg in the RAW.

[digitalmono]

Take a look here. It's not around two hundred but, it's a great device. In my opinion, the best.
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/epsonp2000/

[bigrob]

Thanks for that link digitalmono. Read it & just ordered one from Amazon in the UK £294.

[lomond]

Thanks for that link digitalmono. Read it & just ordered one from Amazon in the UK £294.

That looks like a great price. Cost me £330 from Warehouse Express.
You'll love it, works well and has a great screen. Just be careful how you insert the CF card ( back to front ). :?

Roleg, I know it's above your price limit, but it's worth the difference, IMO.

[Mike Panic]

stick to an image tank type device - that has a screen to show files being transfered and thats it - you'll save money going that way instead of getting a file viewer as well

[ScottE]

Avoid devices that just transfer files, but don't have a screen to look at what you have saved.

I had an Image Tank and on one occasion I downloaded a full 1 gb CFcard. The little screen on the top indicated that the download had progressed and completed. I reformated the CF card for the next days shooting. When I got home, there was no trace of that one download on the Image Tank, even though the preceding and following downloads had been successful.

I have how acquired a FlashTrax with a screen that allows me to check that the download has been successful before I reformat the CF card in the camera. The Image Tank is only used for backup when I want to be sure (I hope) that I have two copies of my pictures before reformatting my CF cards.

I would also be cautious about having only 20 gb of storage if you are shooting RAW or CR2. I recently filled 4 gb's worth of cards in one day shooting crosscountry ski races. If I only had 20 gb of storage that could easily full in five days. That would not be sufficient for a long trip. That is the reason I purchased the 80 gb version of the FlashTrax.

[bigrob]

That looks like a great price. Cost me £330 from Warehouse Express.

Warehouse Express do have it in stock though. They wont price match. I rang around and they seem to be in short supply.

Amazon say it should ship "sometime" next week. Let's hope so. Either way for a £30 saving I'll wait.

Will be handy to have the MPEGs and MP3s on as well.

[lomond]

Will be handy to have the MPEGs and MP3s on as well.

Sadly it won't play MPEG 1 or 2, but will play MPEG 4.

[EricKonieczny]

I did the same research for a portable storage device for my 20D and Sony 717 and just got the Arcos 717 in the mail yesterday.

I love it. I know it doesn't display the RAW files, but you can USE the JPG+RAW in order to get to view the image.Or you can just transfer the RAW files and see the image names inthe File browser.

You can also use it for MP3, AVI, and other formats. Good Battery life.

http://www.archos.com/img/products/290x230/gmini400.jpg


Really cheap here. I ordered it here and got mine in 4 days.

http://buyeretail.com/product.asp?i=ARCGMINI400

Archos site: http://www.archos.com/products/overview/gmini_400.html

[Moses]

I was also looking for portable storage and ran across the RoadStor DVD burner. It doesn't have onboard viewing but can be connected to a TV to view. It doesn't look like it supports RAW though.


The medium of DVDs are limitless though and are available just about any place.

It will also play your DVD movies.

http://www.micro-solutions.com/products/datasheets/lit-401020.asp

[Mike Panic]

dont know if this is on the market yet: http://www.iphotoforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=13167

here is a few more and some info on what people bought: http://www.iphotoforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=13194

personally - ive owned an image tank g2 for close to 2 years - battery isnt the best on it and i paid around $350 shipped w/ a 40gig drive... but it transfers a 1gig card in 6 minutes flat and is usb2.0

[roleg]

That looks like a great price. Cost me £330 from Warehouse Express.
You'll love it, works well and has a great screen. Just be careful how you insert the CF card ( back to front ). :?

Roleg, I know it's above your price limit, but it's worth the difference, IMO.



Thank you all! It is help. I will try some units. Thanks again.

[roleg]

Thanks for that link digitalmono. Read it & just ordered one from Amazon in the UK £294.

Why you like Epson 2000? Does it works with 20D row?

[kiwimichael]

Hi,

Another aspect to take into account is the performance of the battery. I have a Vosonic X's Drive (VP-2060). On a cold day the battery is good for about 3-4 x 1GB card. On a hot day it is better.
Will be upgrading to the Epson p200 as it has better battery performance and it is removable so I can keep a spare. Also it allows me to check that the transfer has completed.

Cheers
Michael

[Huckaback Photo]

Hi all
Recently visitted the Focus on Imaging show here in UK.
and on the Flash trax stand had an interesting conversation with smartdisk sales manager Allan Currier. a new product is just being launched this month and is called a
"PHOTOCHUTE" how this works its conected to our camera via the usb cable and downloads the files straight into the 20gb storage device, they actually had a preproduction one on there stand and was indeed very small.
I use the the photo tainer / flashtrax and find it brilliant with the exeption of battery power it is a known issue apparently and they are currently developing a better battery as these can be interchanged freely should make flash trax even better.

just found the link to this new device take a look. also if you had one of these real small pocketable dig cameras with built in memory this new device would be great, (the camera that springs to mind is made by Minox looks like old leica and has 4 megapix but only 32 mb built in storage) about the size of credit card..

http://www.smartdisk.com/Press%20Releases/PR2005/FotoChuteAnnouncement.asp

Cheers
Martin (huckaback photo)
http://www.pbase.com/huckaback_photo

[bigrob]

Why you like Epson 2000? Does it works with 20D raw?

Yes it supports the 20D.

[Ken Fong]

I used to use a dedicated unit like an x-drive, but switched to an iPod (20GB) with Belkin adapter, that way, I don't have to bring so many things with me. I have the 1st generation iPod, so the battery life is very short (8 hours). I haven't looked into these new photo iPods, but they are probably outside of your $200 limit.

[roleg]

Oh,oh I just order SmartDisk FlashTrax 30GB External Compact Flash Storage Drive (Refurbished) for $199.00. I understood it is risky, but I did.........very good price.....:oops: