iPod photo vs MicroDrive with Laptop HELP

[MadMesh]

Hows it going everyone, again im faced with anyother equiptment decesion =)

Im looking for storage options. Im currently using my IBM Thinkpad T40 and TWO 1 gig San Disk Ultra II CF cards. (I have a PCMCIA CF Card reader in the laptop) Im downloading while im shooting with the other one.

I was going to buy a 4 or 6 Gig micro Drive and stop carrying around the laptop since its heavy and expencive... (Id have a total of 6-8 gigs or storage) And no way of clearning the cards untill i got home. (and i do like to shoot a lot) Always in RAW+M

A friend recomended an option is NOT getting the micro drive, and just getting an iPod photo 20 or 30 gig, and using that with TWO SanDisk Ultra II cards to do what im doing with the laptop.

Then i dont need to carry around an expencive lappy, and id have a small portable storage with a lot of space.

Any comments or sudgestions?

Ive also heard the regular iPod tranfer speeds SUCK! does the iPod Photo also transfer slow.. ive heard 40 min for a 1 gig CF transfer with a normal iPod...

[wilflee]

The T series Thinkpads are heavy indeed. Check out the X24 ThinkPad. It can be had very cheap on the used market and it has a built-in CF slot. Plus, the smaller screen consumes less power than the larger 14" screen on the T40. So, you can get about 3 - 4 hours out of the battery.

As for iPod, the battery in the iPod doesn't have enough juice to copy 2 gigs of pictures from CF card (since it has to power the CF card while copying). You will only have enough juice to copy 1 CF card. So, an external power supply is needed.

[Az2Africa]

Epson P2000

[robertwgross]

Wrong forum section.

---Bob Gross---

[FlyingPete]

I ahve just been through this excercise, far better bang for buck on the portable storage unit vs the convience of the MD.

In the end I went with a PSU. The Epson P2000 seems to be the best out there with a nice big preview screen etc, but it doesn't come cheap. For half the price you can get one that doesn't do image preview, and most are MP3 players, not to the standard of an iPod, but an iPod doesn't nativly have card readers.

Here is a review I posted on what I just got, I had an older version of this for three years, it was good intially but didn't do well with modern high capacity cards (too slow), the new one deals with this fine (until 8GB cards become standard!):
X'S Drive VP3320 Review (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=84694&goto=newpost)

[Loaded]

i have no problems with my hitachi MD at 4gig. I have yet to see a problem with it. Id do MD first. Actually i have NEVER seen a MD problem at all and have only heard stories.. if anybody can point me to a user that has had problems with the MD please direct me to it. I would be interested in reading about it

[FlyingPete]

i have no problems with my hitachi MD at 4gig. I have yet to see a problem with it. Id do MD first. Actually i have NEVER seen a MD problem at all and have only heard stories.. if anybody can point me to a user that has had problems with the MD please direct me to it. I would be interested in reading about it

I have also put foward this challenge, and got nothing back. It all sounds like hearsay.

[Digital Prophet]

You know I just can't say this enough: The IPod Photo was never meant to be and should not be used as a PSD. That is it. Hands down. I have one. I love it and use it every day. But I use it for it's intended purpose: an MP3 player than can also show medium resolution images.

Does the IPod Photo have good points? Lord yes! It is my entire catalog in a package smaller than my wallet clipped to my belt. It lines out to TV's. It has a fair display. It is an AWESOME MP3 player. It is easy to use. It is just plain old fashioned convienent.

But by no means does it outshine or even come close to the PSD capabilities of other products. It's hard drive is medium to high consumption. That limits battery life. It doesn't have a built in card reader. There is one one moderately acceptable card reader for the product. It can't zoom. It has display with visible pixels. And the reason for all this is that the is the "photo" function is a add on. It is a freebie that was possible with a minimum of work. It transformed the most prolific MP3 player on the market into a cross market tool. That's all.

I have the 60 gig version, which I was amazed to learn is no longer for sale. And I do love it. But when it comes to being in the field I leave my IPod at home and pick up my P2000. Now that is tool is the exact opposite of the IPod Photo. Built in card slots. Low consumption 40 gig hard drive. A screen that makes my TV screen look like crap. There is not one visible pixel in a display that isn't just sharp it is rich with color. And it is fast. Gobs faster than the IPod could ever hope to be. It can zoom, pan and also line out to a TV.

But is it perfect? Nope. If it was I wouldn't own a IPod Photo also. It isn't nearly as convienent. It isn't as portable via the utility belt. It doesn't play MP3's nearly as well b/c it's interface just isn't designed for it. Oh it does a "good" job. But the IPod does it great.

But in the end the P2000 is a PSD that can also play MP3's (and movies for that matter) whereas the IPod Photo is a MP3 player that also show images. If you look at it in this light then the choice is easy. But it is also depending on the application. Which job do you NEED this appliance to do flawlessly and which would it be NICE for it to do also? If you DEMAND fantastic MP3 easeof us and sound quality, then IPod is your tool. If you DEMAND a PSD that is easy to use, fast and dependable then something like the P2000 is your tool. Both of these items are at the top of thier respective markets. Did you catch that? MarketS. Plural. They aren't the same.

It's like buying a Honda Civic to drive 10% of the time on the freeway and 90% hauling manure around a farm. Or getting a F350 turbo charged dually to do the exact opposite. Get the right tool for the right job. Do that and you can't be unhappy about dropping a whole gaggle of benjamins on the counter to get a package that is smaller than your kindergarten lunchbox.

As for the MD all I can say is that I don't like the idea of a moving drive disc. But then again I shoot alot of large dangerous animals so sometimes I am on the run soon after the click. My understanding is that vibration and impact can interefere with the write process. Now it is true, that is a fear based on technical possibility. But I do know a Nikon shooter that hates microdrives b/c you have to constantly "half press the damn shutter button of that damn drive spins down to save power and for safety reasons and then I miss my damn shot b/c I have to have it spin up." His words not mine. But it makes sense.

Ok, that's my 3 cents.

- Digital Prophet -

[NickC]

This has been discussed many times before. However, in this particular thread nobody has mentioned that the iPod itself does not transfer photos from any sort of memory card. You have to buy a third-party device which adds more bulk to your kit and one more item to provide power to.

[FlyingPete]

As for the MD all I can say is that I don't like the idea of a moving drive disc. But then again I shoot alot of large dangerous animals so sometimes I am on the run soon after the click. My understanding is that vibration and impact can interefere with the write process. Now it is true, that is a fear based on technical possibility. But I do know a Nikon shooter that hates microdrives b/c you have to constantly "half press the damn shutter button of that damn drive spins down to save power and for safety reasons and then I miss my damn shot b/c I have to have it spin up." His words not mine. But it makes sense.


Good points about the iPod!

Vibration is an issue with MD's, it is not the king of vibration you will get from running away from animals - the spec is just under 1G or random vibration between 5 -500hz or 200G shock, and those are operating specifications, non operating is greater still.

As for the spin up on the Nikon, that is what buffer should deal with, never had that probelm on the D60 with 1GB microdrive I used for a while. Sounds more like a dodgy Noink than a MD issue.

[MadMesh]

keep in mind people use iPods and other music devises like that, even the Creative whatever its called, all use internal MD drives, and people ru nand jog with them all the time... Food for tought. Its the same drive made bby hitachi, just OEM...

[Digital Prophet]

This has been discussed many times before. However, in this particular thread nobody has mentioned that the iPod itself does not transfer photos from any sort of memory card. You have to buy a third-party device which adds more bulk to your kit and one more item to provide power to.

Actually I said that.

keep in mind people use iPods and other music devises like that, even the Creative whatever its called, all use internal MD drives, and people ru nand jog with them all the time... Food for tought. Its the same drive made bby hitachi, just OEM...

Actually I have opened my IPod Photo and it does not use a microdrive. It uses a standard laptop harddrive. Small, but not micro by any means. Now I do know that there are a number of MP3 players such as the Creative Zen (I think) that do in fact use IBM Microdrives.

And that is good info about the vibration specification. Personally I had no idea. Ya live, ya learn.

- Digital Prophet -

[FlyingPete]

Actually I said that.



Actually I have opened my IPod Photo and it does not use a microdrive. It uses a standard laptop harddrive. Small, but not micro by any means. Now I do know that there are a number of MP3 players such as the Creative Zen (I think) that do in fact use IBM Microdrives.

And that is good info about the vibration specification. Personally I had no idea. Ya live, ya learn.

- Digital Prophet -

Stnadard iPod does not use a MD, but a 1.5inch drive, the iPod mini does indeed use a MD though.

[Halliday]

I own a Sony Hi-MD minidisc player that might work out as a PSD. It can use 1gig discs, has no photo display, but can hold anything (photos, files, mp3s...) Now you will need a battery powered bridge to run the card reader to the player/recorder, but that's not a huge bit of kit. You could probally have it transferring while in your camera bag and you're off shooting.

It costs alot less than an ipod too. Mine was $160 and the 1gig discs are $6.

[NickC]

Actually I said that.

Oops, yes you did. I did scan your post and my 51-year-old-trifocal-eyes didn't catch it. My apologies.