[stepheno]

In the Equipment Reviews section.

[Dave]

That looks just the kind of gadget that Rob would buy

[stepheno]

I could fancyone myself but I'll wait and see what Canon's M series is like.

[Steve]

Originally Posted by stepheno

I'll wait and see what Canon's M series is like.

Me too

[Sonsey]

Originally Posted by stepheno

I'll wait and see what Canon's M series is like.

Originally Posted by Steve

Me too

Me three

[Rob Barron]

Me four... oh wait, too late, I've already got one :o)

I am sure the Canon one will be superb. Must admit I considered the M3 (think that's the one) as to maybe waiting for it but it is 30Gb instead of the 40Gbs on the P2000 and that is worth having for me. I couldn't afford to go for the P4000 as I don't really need quite that level just yet. If I do, maybe I'll sell this one and grab the M8 :o)

The screen is to be seen to be believed though, if the Canon's is as good as this, it will be superb.

Cheers,
Rob

[dod]

Was so tempted to go for the epson model but decided to save some dosh and go for the flashtrax instead. The screen on it is rubbish compared to the epson, but at least it gives me the storage I need and can confirm the shots are there.

[Rob Barron]

Originally Posted by dod

Was so tempted to go for the epson model but decided to save some dosh and go for the flashtrax instead. The screen on it is rubbish compared to the epson, but at least it gives me the storage I need and can confirm the shots are there.

I know what you mean and I don't blame you Dod. It all depends on what your needs are I guess.

In my case, i did actually buy a Flashtrax first. However, it was faulty straight out of the box even though it was brand new. I sent it back and got another one. This worked but had an intermittent fault with the menu screens which sometimes went off and did their own thing instead of what i was asking it to do. I was so fed up with it by now that i sent it back and got a refund.

When I was in the USA, I decided to have a look at the Epson p2000 because I had seen a review that praised it highly. I tried it out in a shop with my own photos and frankly my jaw hit the floor when I saw them on screen. It has double the resolution of the Flashtrax and the colours are just incredible.

BTW, something I didn't mention in my review as I was focusing only on its use for photographers: it works superbly as a video player for things you download from the web. I have downloaded the BBC Breakfast News video which is available free every morning. It looks absolutely fine, a bit jaggy due to the compression but very watchable. It plays MP4 as well as the obvious MP3s and things.

Dod, have you had any issues with opening RAW photos on your flashtrax? Mine would open without a problem but were desperately slow. The Epson is no sprinter when opening large files but it certainly beats the flashtrax I had. Just wondered if this is normal or I just got unlucky.

Cheers,
Rob

[dod]

Originally Posted by Rob Barron

Dod, have you had any issues with opening RAW photos on your flashtrax? Mine would open without a problem but were desperately slow. The Epson is no sprinter when opening large files but it certainly beats the flashtrax I had. Just wondered if this is normal or I just got unlucky.

Cheers,
Rob

No issues with RAW from the 1D MkII, but it's quite unusual for me to shoot RAW, most of the time it's max quality jpeg. Even they're pretty slow though.

Talking about menus, the P-2000 kicks the flashtrax all over the place again. If I remember you get thumbnails of shots? The flashtrax just gives a list of filenames which is a bit inconvenient sometimes.

Looking back, I think the flashtrax was a false economy. Whilst it's great for storage on the go, it's no P-2000 and if buying again I'd more than likely opt for the epson, despite the higher price. Having said that it does a great job of doing what I bought it for so maybe it's just a case of P-2000 envy .

The flashtrax can do all the music and video stuff as well (I believe it also has a built in FM tuner???) but they're features I haven't used, and doubt I ever will, so couldn't comment on how well it performs.