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I have just returned from a two week trip using these two PSDs.

Why two, you ask? Well, I am paranoid about backups. I didn't want to keep all my eggs in the one basket, so I have two PSDs and backup to both.

Compact Drive PD70x with Toshiba 40GB HDD

This I bought as two separate items (PD70x from Techrific and HDD from local PC shop). It is powered by 2500mA AAs, and is running the latest firmware.

Using it is quite easy. Mine has been flashed to the latest firmware and I always copied with the new data verification function. I think this does drain battery life and also slows down transfer speed a lot. Not sure if I will bother to use it all the time.

Pros:
- Data verification
- Multiple format memory cards
- Runs off AAs and includes charger (I tested this a few times)
- Can review folder contents

Cons:
- Heavy-ish and a little big
- Won't show card size properly if > 2GB

Digimate II USB with Hitatchi 40GB HDD

This was bought for $210 from local PC shop. At the price I couldn't not get it - so cheap. The Digimate is very simply - put in a card and copy. No verification, no checking past copies. It does have a very simple screen that keeps you informed of copy progress. It has an inbuilt Li-ion battery that seems to have fair battery life.

Pros:
- Lighter and smaller than PD70x
- Easy to read operating panel
- Easy to use

Cons:
- Cannot review folders
- No verification
- Does not show data size correctly for cards >1 GB (but copies them okay)

All in all I am quite happy with these two purchases. They complement each other very well (different designs, different HDDs) and I was at ease using them as my only backup of photos.

If you are a on really tight budget, the Digimate II USB may be worth a look at.

Gidday DionM,

I also purchased a Digimate II but from Ebay ( from OzAB http://stores.ebay.com.au/OzAuctionBroker_W0QQssPageNameZviQ3asibQ3astoreviewQQtZkm ). It ended up costing $75 delivered with no HDD. I currently have a 12GB HDD in the machine as it was spare sitting on my desk at work and won't be used again in a laptop.

I have also used the X-Drive ( borrowed from Geoff, thanks mate ) while on holidays before I purchased the Digimate II. I don't know if this unit has the AA battery function as I didn't want to play too much with someone else's expensive equipment too much. I also don't think it had the verification option, but I could be wrong. I did find the review folder contents to be a fantastic feature. I could scroll through to make sure all the images had been copied over. I wish the Digimate II had this option.

The only issue I have had with the Digimate is the good wife managed to bend one of the card reader pins over. The compact flash port is very shallow and doesn't give a lot of time to line up the card to the pins. The 2 middle pins and one on each end are longer than the others. Looking at a card reader holder from JCar their version has a lot longer bed to line up the card.

A mate was able to straighten out the pin again without breaking it off. Have used it since, being very careful how to put the card in and all is working fine.

P.S. The wife was very sorry about bending the pin, but not enough to allow me to buy another lens. Maybe I'll let he play with the Digimate again

Bought a Nixvue on Ebay last night $123 20gb, only usb1. It will do the job for what I need.

I'll post a report when I've used it.


Tony