Portable photo storage devices
As every digital photographer, I am comfronted to the problem of storing a large number of images on a long trip. As the cost per Mb of Compact Flash cards or Microdrive disk storage is still fairly high, the obvious solution is portable photo storage devices.
A number of these exist, in various sizes or features, but I could not find a place with the info on the most popular ones. Besides, the available models change frequently with new ones appearing regularly and others being phased out quickly.
The following tables are an attempt to synthesize the data I could find on this subject.
There are two main types of portable photo storage devices :
- pure storage devices : the cheapest ones, they do not have any image preview features and merely enable you to unload your cards on a mobile hard disk.
- portable media devices : more expensive, they have larger color screens allowing photo preview and sometimes have interesting additional features like TV output, remote control and MP3 or video playback.
Pure storage devices
Digital Foci Photo Safe
| Capacity | 40 to 120 Gb | |
| Connexion type | USB 2.0 (compatible USB1.1) | |
| Weight | 300g | |
| Cards accepted | CF I & II, MD, MMC, SD/HC, MS, MS PRO, xD (RS-MMC, miniSD, MS Duo, MS PRO Duo with adapter) | |
| Energy source | 3.6V 900mAh rechargeable Li-Ion battery | |
| Battery operating time | 90 min (non-stop photo backup) | |
| Features | 5400 RPM hard drive |
INOi Photo Hard Disk
| Capacity | 20 Gb | |
| Connexion type | USB 2.0 (compatible USB1.1) | |
| Weight | 145g | |
| Cards accepted | Compact Flash Type I & II SD/Mini SD MMC/RS-MMC MS/MS PRO/MS DUO/MS DUO PRO MicroDrive (External ACDC required) |
|
| Energy source | 600 mAh Li-Ion Ploymer Battery | |
| Battery operating time | 3GB of backup with fully charged battery | |
| Features | Smallest one on the market. |
Wolverine FlashPro
| Capacity | 40 to 120 Gb (2.5" hdd) | |
| Connexion type | USB 2.0 (compatible USB1.1) | |
| Weight | 300g | |
| Cards accepted | Compact Flash Type I/II (CF) Micro Drive Secure Digital (SD) Multi Media Card (MMC) Memory Stick (MS) and MS Pro XD Card Other type cards require an adapter (not included) |
|
| Energy source | Li-ion battery | |
| Battery operating time | Transfer up to 15GB (memory card dependent) of data or play up to 6 hours of music on a single charge | |
| Features | MP3 Player, FM radio, Microphone, back-lit display showing downloaded files, folders and status |
Transcend Portable Photobank
| Capacity | 20, 40 Gb | |
| Connexion type | USB 1.1 USB 2 (up to 480 Mb transfer rate) |
|
| Weight | 226g / 238g (20GB / 40GB) | |
| Cards accepted | Compactflash Card type I / type II (CF) IBM Microdrive Smartmedia Memory Stick and Memory Stick Pro Secure Digital MultiMediaCard |
|
| Energy source | Li-ion battery | |
| Battery operating time | 3 hours when at full charge | |
| Features | Black and white LCD display. No image preview |
Sony HDPS-M10
| Capacity | 40 Gb | |
| Connexion type | USB 2 | |
| Weight | 231g | |
| Cards accepted | Memory Stick®, Memory Stick PRO™, Memory Stick Duo™, Memory Stick PRO Duo™, CompactFlash® Type I and II and Microdrive media | |
| Energy source | Lithium Ion | |
| Battery operating time | 1 hour at full charge | |
| Features | One touch memory transfer. Photo diary software. No image preview. |
Jobo Giga Mini
| Capacity | 20, 40 Gb | |
| Connexion type | USB 2 | |
| Weight | 165g | |
| Cards accepted | Card Slots for CF I/II and microdrive, SD, MS, MS Pro, xD, MMC (all other card formats with adapter) | |
| Energy source | 5V polymer battery | |
| Battery operating time | 8 Gb data transfer | |
| Features | 1.8" hard disk and very small size, no image display, radio and dictaphone features, MP3 player |
SmartDisk FotoChute
| Capacity | 40 Gb | |
| Connexion type | USB 2.0 Port or USB 1.1 Port | |
| Weight | 151g | |
| Cards accepted | Direct camera connection | |
| Energy source | Lithium Ion | |
| Battery operating time | Not specified. | |
| Features | Direct camera or PC connection, 1" Oled for display |
Portable media devices
Nikon Coolwalker MSV-01
| Capacity | 30 Gb | |
| Connexion type | USB 2 high speed | |
| Weight | 350g | |
| Cards accepted | Compact Flash Type I/II Microdrive supported Other media via CF adapter. |
|
| Energy source | Lithium Polymer battery | |
| Battery operating time | 1.5 hours | |
| Features | 2.5" TFT Screen, audio/video (NTSC, PAL) output, IR remote control, PictBridge support, Nikon Camera RAW files playback |
Transcend Digital Photo Album
| Capacity | 20 Gb | |
| Connexion type | USB 2 (up to 480 Mb transfer rate) | |
| Weight | 231g | |
| Cards accepted | Compact Flash Card Type I/II, MicroDrive, SmartMedia , MultiMediaCard(MMC) , SecureDigital(SD) , MemoryStick, MemoryStick PRO, MemoryStick Duo(with Adapter), MemoryStick PRO Duo(with Adapter), miniSD (with Adapter)and RS-MMC(with Adapter) | |
| Energy source | Lithium battery | |
| Battery operating time | 4-5 hours | |
| Features | Image preview on a 2.5" screen. Voice memo. TV output (pal/ntsc). Mp3 and Mpeg reader. |
Epson P3000
| Capacity | 40 Gb | |
| Connexion type | USB 2 | |
| Weight | 500g | |
| Cards accepted | CompactFlash Type I/Type II and IBM® Microdrive® (3.3 V) Secure Digital and MultiMediaCard™ Memory Stick, ® xD Picture Card, ™ and SmartMedia™ supported with optional, third-party CF™ adapter, sold separately | |
| Energy source | Li-Ion battery, 3.7 V | |
| Battery operating time | Not specified | |
| Features | 4" Photo Fine Ultra LCD, formats:JPEG; RAW (from select DSLR cameras), MP3 and video reader, |
SmartDisk FlashTrax
| Capacity | 40 Gb | |
| Connexion type | USB 2 (1.1 compatible) | |
| Weight | 340g | |
| Cards accepted | CompactFlash and SD memory cards. MS/SM/MMC/XD supported via CF adaptor | |
| Energy source | Li-ion battery | |
| Battery operating time | 2 hours (watching photos) | |
| Features | 3.5" foldable LCD screen, image display with pan/zoom/scroll, MP3 playback, video (MPEG) playback. Can read RAW data |
Wolverine MVP
| Capacity | 60 Gb, 100 Gb, 120 Gb | |
| Connexion type | USB 2.0 (compatible USB 1.1) | |
| Weight | 282g | |
| Cards accepted | Compact Flash (CF), MicroDrive (MD), Secure Digital (SD), Multimedia Card (MMC), Memory Stick (MS), MS Pro, Smart Media (SM), XD using included SM memory card slot |
|
| Energy source | Lithium-Ion battery | |
| Battery operating time | 8 hours (listening music) 3.5 hours (reading video) |
|
| Features | 2.5" brilliant color LCD screen, image preview, video and audio line out, voice recorder, MP3, AVI and MOV player, can read RAW data. |
Jobo Giga Vu Pro Evolution
| Capacity | 40, 80 or 120 Gb | |
| Connexion type | USB 2.0 | |
| Weight | 420g | |
| Cards accepted | CompactFlash (CF) cards, Type I/II and Microdrives. Other media (SmartMedia, Memory Stick, SD, MMC, xD) supported through optional adapter, (sold an optional accessory). |
|
| Energy source | Lithium-Ion battery | |
| Battery operating time | 8 hours (listening music) 3.5 hours (reading video) |
|
| Features | 3.7 inch high quality color LCD screen, shows photo EXIF data, built in loudspeaker, high quality digital video output, elaborate copy functions, can read RAW format, MP3 reader, Video playback, |
Minds@Work that made the Mindstor and Digital Wallet product ranges is no longer in operation.
The Delkin eFilm PicturePad has been discontinued.
Generated on 15th of May 2008 by Exhibit Engine
