Epson P-5000

Hi everyone,

While out shooting, I usually have several GB worth of CF cards, and if on a longer trip, I have my laptop with me (Macbook, soon to be a Macbook Pro). Usually, this is enough to store any images until I get back to base and can cull them back, sort them out, etc. CF cards are cheap these days, but they will get cheaper into the future, and I have more than I need at this time, so I don't really want to buy more of them, even though they are probably the safest place to keep your files until backing them up at home.

Recently, I started reading "The DAM Book" by Peter Krogh, and it occurred to me that the addition of another "in the field" backup might not be such a bad idea! (And I'm only a few pages into it ). The Epson would also make a great storage and viewing device when I don't want to have my laptop with me, but expect to shoot more than my CF cards will allow. So, with all that in mind...

Do you use one? How is the battery life? Especially interested in transfer speeds and how many GB of images I can expect to safely move to the Epson before the battery is flat (or too weak to be relied upon to transfer another card). How do you find it in the field? Easy to use? Does it need constant supervision, or can you trust it to transfer files without checking? Will an error message pop-up if the transfer does not go smoothly? How about if the battery is weak??? All this stuff is something that I'd like to know before I consider spending the cash (and it's a fair bit of cash) on something like this. PLEASE NOTE: I am not interested in a storage device without image display. I am really only interested in the Epson, unless there is another brand that makes the same thing, only better.

Thanks in advance!

Dude, I played with the p-2000 that a friend owns and the next day I ordered the p-3000. The difference between the p-3000 and p-5000 is the size of the hdd. The one thing you need to have in mind is the formats it reads. They do not support TIFF, RAW and JPG from most cameras are supported. I played with the p-2000 for a couple hours and the batter was still aOK. I am not sure how long it lasts. The p-2000 was a bit slow for my taste but this friend said that he played with the 3000 model and it as much faster. I'll just wait and see when it arrives.

Peace.

Do a search for p3000. There are "hacks" that you can do to increase your HDD which I'm planning to do with my P3000. It just simply rocks!

In terms of battery life, I bought a spare on ebay and external wall/cigarette charger for 20 bucks. So it's no issue. From what I know you can essentially offload a good 40+ gigs before getting an indication that you should charge your battery. I haven't really offloaded 40+ gig in one sitting so the battery life is perfect for me.

https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=354751 (How to Hack 40 gigs+)

Also check Canons M80 which use BP511(a) batteries so if you have one of the DSLRs that use BP511(a) batteries then you can share batteries.

I have an Epson P2000 and have used it on holliday and have been very happy with it. I don't know what happens if a copy fails because I have never experienced any problems. I have never really measured how long the battery last. When I have used it I have had power easily available so I usually just used the poweradaptor.

Oh and yeah speed is the only thing I can say anything negative about otherwise it is all positive.

The Epsons support raws from Canon up to and including 1D MK III raws. (I have viewed 1D MKIII cr2 files on my Epson P2000)

I carry two back up units so that I have two copies of my CF cards before I reformat them in the camera.

One is a Vosonic VP8390 that has a display to view photos or it can be used to display them on a TV. I ordered that from Eastgear in Singapore, but you can get a similar Wolverine with an LED rather than OLED screen from US sources such as B&H.

The other is a Hyperdrive Space that just dowloads cards and stores the data, but does not actually display it. This offers very fast downloads from cards or to the computer. This can be purchased directly from the US distributor or from retail outlets such as B&H. I got mine from Adorama when it was on sale.

I have had storage devices fail. That is the reason I always want to have two copies. The Epsons are good units, but there are other alternatives that are not quite as expensive.

ScottE wrote in post #3708556
The Epsons are good units, but there are other alternatives that are not quite as expensive.

However, few have the capability OP requests

tommykjensen wrote in post #3708566
However, few have the capability OP requests

The Vosonic has image display, but I am suggesting carrying a second unit to provide back up.

Both the units I mentioned have 120 GB hard drives and have 160 GB drives available, which is more than the Epsons. Both have very long battery life, especially the Hyperdrive which does not have to power a colour LED display. Both have battery life indications. Both warn if there was a problem with a download. The Hyperdrive also confirms that the previous down load was successful next time you insert a CF card, but that is not very useful if you have already reformated the card. (You could check before reformating.) Both have various levels of verification to compare the downloaded file to the original as the download proceeds, although this slows the download process.

Both have several different download speeds so you can match the speed to the speed of your card. I believe that they will automatically switch to a slower speed if the card cannot keep up, but one of them may require confirmation before doing this. I watch the screen during a the first download of a new card to spot if there are any problems that need user intervention. The "Hyper" speed on the Hyperdrive is very fast, faster than the fastest speed on the Vosonic, and is only recommended for fast cards like the Sandisk Extreme III or IV.

Apparently the OP is from Australia, so my reference to US sources may not be useful to him.

I'm actually thinking of getting another one..specifically the Hyperdrives for additional backup.

hey rudi, as with my reply on your dpreview and FM, i say go for a p3000 with a 120gb

I'm quite stoked about the P3000, such a great unit.

I got mine from www.digitalcamerawareh​ouse.com.au. It was a little more expensive then importing, but its Aus warranty and Aus plugs

I also ended up ordering 3 extra batteries and an external charger from gadget infinity and can't be happier. It beats having to carray a laptop everywhere.

There's certain things i wouldn't mind it having, but we can't have everything

I can get the Epson P-5000 for $839, hardly worth the effort, since I'd have to buy another 2.5" HDD... P-300 for $667 plus another $113 for the drive makes it a total of $780. I'm not going to bother cracking it open for $60...

Fair enough, your call, but for its not really that hard, it'll take 20 minutes of your time to take apart, and 20 minutes to backup/restore an image, for 780, you'll get an extra 40gb from the P5000

There's no warranty seals at all on the Epson.

And another lens if you really wanted to! lol

I use the old "tried-and-true" Epson P-2000. Had it since it first came out. Not fast if that is what matters to you, but totally reliable.

Image quality as played back, is very good. Clients can make decisions from it.

I've loaded up to 12Gb on battery alone and done a lot of reviewing without losing power.

A steady, reliable tool. If you need a fast loading "Super Chimping" tool, then something else is for you.

I am still waiting for my unit to arrive, I was wondering, as I read somewhere that you can't view media while on charge? Is this true? Thx.

mR_CaESaR, thank you once again, I upgraded a friends p-2000 thanx to you, it works like a charm.

I forgot to update this post, the rumors that you can't view the media while on charge is false. I think the 359,- was well spent $$$ and
after the update, it is worth 500-600 (p-5000 tag).

The p-3000 = $359 at buy.com after rebates and not 667.

Rudi wrote in post #3712958
I can get the Epson P-5000 for $839, hardly worth the effort, since I'd have to buy another 2.5" HDD... P-300 for $667 plus another $113 for the drive makes it a total of $780. I'm not going to bother cracking it open for $60...