[MyPix]

I'm looking at getting myself a portable storage/viewer device to upload my pix to while in Australia next month, i will be out there for a month and dont want to take my laptop,

the alternative is one of the new generation devices with a small viewscreen on and a large hard drive inside,
as i want to take all my pix in NEF format,
i have a 2.2gig microdrive, a 512 ultra II CF card and 3x 64meg CF cards, but want to be able to have seperate storage incase the worse happens and i loose all the pix on any of the cards,

the choices are the Nicon Coolwalker , 30 gig with a 2.5" screen, and full compatability with my D70, these can cost anything from £250 to £399

or possible a Smartdisc Flashtrax 40 gig, these have a 3.5" screen and cost £199 to £250 ,a little less than the Nikon , but there is a possablility i cant store the NEF files to the HD on it, tho its fully compatable with Jpeg's etc,

anyone got a device like this, and what are your opinions?
any other recomendations???
am looking to spend a maximum of £300 on one

cheerz

MyPix


addendum

just been to the smartdisk website and the unit is fully compatable with all RAW formats including NEF, it literally takes a fullcopy of the CF/microdrive card and saves it to its own HD, it will also display all RAW images on its screen,
looking like the favourite atm

[Steve]

I have not used any of the devices that you have listed as I usually take my laptop with me for any trips where I am going to need to off load images while away from home. I personally like to be able to view, edit and delete pictures while I am away and the devices you list won’t allow that.

I would however, presume that all the devices will be compatible with the Nikon NEF format though, as they simply store whatever your card does and transfer is done automatically by their built in card reader. The format should not be an issue therefore, but to be sure I would email or ring the manufacturer of whichever you decide on.

If you are not going to be doing any editing while away, do you really need to have kind of screen? If you can trust the device to have copied the images without you being able to see them than you could save quite a lot of money by not having a screen, plus the device will also be smaller, lighter and more portable. Excess baggage charges these days are steep!! :?

Not much help there sorry..

[silkstone]

To add to what Steve has said, the Flashtrax should be able to store the NEF files, but may not display them (??).

I'm facing the same decision at the moment, because I'll shortly be flying somewhere and don't want to take a laptop as well as everything else. I'm coming to the conclusion that the no-screen storage devices are probably handier and cheaper than the Flashtrax, although obviously you can't view the images. But... if a portable store costs £300, that would buy four 1GB Sandisk Ultra II CF cards. Depending on what format you use, those cards would hold over a thousand shots. Would that be enough, especially since you can review and delete the no-hopers with the camera? Also, solid state CF is likely to be more robust than a portable hard-drive unit. The idea of back-up doesn't apply if you are re-using the card after downloading the image to the storage device.

[MyPix]

I personally like to be able to view, edit and delete pictures while I am away and the devices you list won’t allow that.

both units will allow you to view, edit and delete picture on the CF/microdrive

the Flashtrax should be able to store the NEF files, but may not display them (??).

and both units will display the NEF files, and the flashtrax can display RAW format images from selected camera models from Canon (.CRW), FujiFilm (.RAF), Minolta (.MRW + .THM), Nikon (.NEF), Olympus (.ORF) and Pentax (.PEF). FlashTrax displays RAW files using the JPEG image embedded in most RAW files

i do however agree that i dont necesarily need the abitlity to view the images on the storage device, tho this does somehow seem a little pointless,
i coud buy quite a few mem cards instead of one of these units, but again, its a case of swaping round cards all the time, and not knowing what is where and on what,

i am erring on the side of a device with a viewscreen and with 30 gig HD i think,

MyPix

[silkstone]

I've seen a couple of announcements for new portable storage devices recently - http://www.photographyblog.com/index...per_x_usb_otg/

There's also an article of the new Viewsonic gadget on the same site - a replacement for the XS Drive - but that seems a little expensive at £200 for 20GB.

[MyPix]

hmm,
that looks like it might be what i'm after,
would go for the 80gig for the price,

cheerz silky 8)

MyPix

[Steve]

Originally Posted by MyPix

hmm,
that looks like it might be what i'm after,
would go for the 80gig for the price,

cheerz silky 8)

MyPix

We expect a full review for the site on your return :wink: No excuses now!! :lol:

[MyPix]

Originally Posted by Steve

We expect a full review for the site on your return :wink: No excuses now!! :lol:

its not the review youll have to worry about,
its the thousands of pix i will post that will kill the bandwidth , lol

MyPix :wink: