I was thinking about a portable hard drive that is relatively small, would have at least 20GB on it but more would be great, and has a built in compact flash reader. A nice display screen is not necessary as it will just be used in the field to store photos so I don't have to run out of cards, and it needs to be relatively rugged. Google=no help. Any suggestions?

Epson P4000. Read Michaels review on the P2000.

Epson P2000 Review

I've also used a Delkin device... ok but battery life isn't as good as the P4000.

Kelly

If you don't need a screen preview check out http://hyperdrive.com/shop/index.php

I'm a big fan. Very fast, very economical (you can buy without the HD - but drives are so cheap now I think 20gig is false economy) - and it takes AA batteries (2500ma nimh set included) with a really long life - reports are consistently in the neighbourhood of 50 - 80 gig on a one charge.

Note: The HyperDrive is also known as the CompactDrive - not sure which model the HyperDrive is though - the PD70X is the CompactDrive to choose though.

Also recommended by a number of people is the NextoCF, which might be worth investigating (also other useful reviews on that site).

Of the colour screen ones - the Epson P4000 is currently the standout.

HOWEVER - remember that putting all your images on one HD is rather like placing all your eggs in one basket. Just like eggs, HDs are fragile.

I'd consider a standalone DVD burner and/or additional backup.

I know about the Epsons but I figure I'm also spending money on a screen that I don't need. Amazing screen though.

Thank's a ton for the references...just what I was looking for Adrian and Gray.

Another vote for the PD70X.

I've got a 40GB drive in mine but you can install just about any notebook drive. The PD70X is extraordinarily fast (i.e. just over a minute to download a 1GB CF card), absolutely reliable, and it has excellent battery life.

Sure, you can't preview pictures, rename or edit files etc, but what it does it does very well indeed ...and it's about one-third the price of the Epson device.

Yea, and I'm just looking for a temporary, quick holding device until I'm done shooting...Dragging a laptop around isn't always practical, although it's the images final destination before being archived.

Thanks Tim,

Looks like a very practical device. I'd consider getting a separate 2.5" HDD to dramatically increase storage for longer trips. I see 120Gb 2.5" drives from Newegg.com for $185. A pair of these plus the hyperdrive casing (@ $149) would give a very compact 240Gb at a little over $500. That's enough for a good photo trip. No screen though...

Thanks again,

Andrew

I should also mention that they include a small screwdriver to add the hard-drive if you DIY

http://www.smartdisk.com/eWeb/smartdiskus/...liteporthdd.asp

I saw these little pocket hardrives (usb) used on an overseas trip and was impressed.
I now have three 80gb drives

I purchased my last one at Best Buy USA for $129 (80gb) I believe they have larger capacity drives now available.

Check around, the site I listed above is rather pricey.

Pocket Drive is another one but a 120 gb drive is about $400 us

Larry,

How is the battery life on those units?

Kelly

Kelly, the Firelite isn't a standalone device - it uses bus power on your laptop. The only way you could use one of these without a computer is to use a USB-OTG Bridge - but you still need to power it somehow... It does have an AC adapter, but then you'd still need to plug it in.

Basically there are two types of device called Portable Hard Disks - one class is a fully standalone device with a battery, and usually a memory card slot (like the CompactDrive/NextoCF/EpsonP4000/etc) - the other are what I'd call External Hard Disks - no battery, no card slot - no use without a laptop really.

Have a read of my FAQ, it's intended for a travel forum - but you might find it useful too:
FAQ: On The Road: Storing Digital Images

Doh, I should have paid attention. I have external drives as backups for my PC. I use the P4000 for onsite backup and am looking for another device for redundancy while travelling. Not sure I want another P4000.

Thanks for the link.

I think a buddy of mine is talking me into getting a P-2000...

Remeber, that with any 2.5 inch drive made for desktop/laptop computers, you need no battery to run it. it will run on teh power fromt eh USB or Firewire port. This means you can buy a housing for a 2.5 inch drive for 30 dollars and snap the drive into it. So you're looking at about 225.00 US for 160 GBs of space, which includes the external case:
http://www.mwave.com/mwave/ViewProducts.hm...s+%2D+2%2E5+HDD

This type of drive is only useful for having redundant backups while out in the field at the end of the day. Of course running from the USB power is nice not to have to drag more cables with you.

Most want something in the field to clip to their belt or other convenient access to quickly backup memory cards during the day of shooting.

Kelly

I see what you mean--there is no way to get the images from the camera to the drive unless you have a computer that recognizes the drive, with the software to do the download. Right? So waht you are talking about is a device that understands cards and automatically dumps the card? That's pretty cool if so.

in a word...yes.

does it automatically transfer though or do you have to actually tell it to?

Did you happen to see the Wiesel X2?
It got 80GB, reads all major cards, uses normal AA bateries (yes please!!) and comes in a Pelicase.
Insert your card and turn it on: it creates a new folder and puts all your data in it.
I just love it!!!

Apparently the WieselX2 is the European branding of the CompactDrive PD70X. Or so I read here

So, based on that remark(Swiss user) the Wiesel X2 = PD70X.

Furthermore, based on comparing their respective manuals I could also add that PD70X = HD80, as I think had been already mentioned in this or another thread.

PD70X main site: http://www.compactdrive.com/, there you can find also links to European on line distributors.

HD80 site: http://www.hyperdrive.com/shop/index.php very appealing to international customers because of their free shipping promotion.

francofit,

This is really interesting. I wonder how many European distributers ther are that we are not aware of, and have equal or better products/pricing/service? That would be interesting. Or, do Europeans shop the US market online more than they do their own?

I have just returned from a month shooting in Namibia using a Nexto CF. All I can say is that this device is truely excellent - highly recommended.

I bought the 100GB version with extended battery for GBP220. I charged it up before I left, and copied my CF cards over to it every day at the end of shooting. It is extremely fast, copying a 2GB card in about 3 mins. The battery is also very long lasting. By the end of the trip I had copied 65GB without recharging, and the battery life indicator had just dropped to 1/3rd. You could probably get over 80GB on a single charge in real life conditions.

The only disadvantage is it doesn't take AAs, but with battery life like this, who needs AAs?

Julian