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I'm considering buying some sort of portable storage unit, and I'm wondering if anyone knows how robust they are. I'm surprised at how long the transfer times are from CF card to the drive - I've seen specs of 15-20 minutes for a full 1GB card. I'd thought transfer would only take a couple of minutes, so you'd do it by stopping somewhere, transferring, and then continuing, but with transfer times that long I'd probably just attach the card to the unit, chuck it in my camera bag or backpack, and continue walking/shooting/skydiving/dancing while the transfer happens - but would this be a good idea while the drive is writing? Does anyone have any experience with this? Or is just having a couple of big CF cards a better way to (I'm thinking ahead when I might be travelling for a few weeks and want more capacity than normal).

Frank

They're based on notebook hard drives - so it'll share its robustness or lack thereof with any hard disc based portable devices (eg. some high capacity MP3 players)

Frank I have been thinking about getting one of these as well. I had no idea of the transfer time. That seems huge. I know that there are some on this forum who have these storage units and hopefully one of them will be able to inform us of the actual time that it takes. FYI there is a shop just down the road from us in Hornsby (Sydney) and they have really good prices $265 for a 40 GIG storage unit
http://www.usbtech.com.au/product.php?productID=AU-XDR2

Mal,
thanks for the link. I had almost made up my mind to get one until I saw the transfer times (can't remember where I saw it, but the general impression I get from several review sites is that they ARE slow). There is a newer device called the Compact Drive PD7X which looks attractive - cheap, very quick and runs on rechargable AA batteries - but there are some reviews and comments on various sites that express concerns about its build quality and issues about voltage.
I've been looking at this site - prices appear to be very competitive and there's a bit of a range to choose from, but the transfer time has got me thinking again.

https://secure3.ozhosting.com/powermarket/pm_stores/PINStore/client/store.asp

Frank

Guys I have the Compact Drive, it takes about 3-4 mins to download a 2 gig card, relatively robust but as Onyx said it is a hard drive inside, I will walk when downloading but am still careful. I have read the voltage concerns and they haven't affected mine yet.

Much much cheaper than gigs of cards. The compact drive is basic with no screen.

Thanks Glenn, Once again this forum provides the answer!!!
I love this place, I am sure that it has saved me hundreds of dollars (not including Birddogs discounts)
Mind you lens lust has actually meant that I have spent a lot of my savings.......... !!!!!

I found this site useful for establishing the transfer speeds of these units (card to Hard drive and hardrive to computer) as well as battery life.
If you click on the * next to the results it takes you to the DP Review post that contains the test results.
Therefore results are not conducted by the same organisation or under the same test conditions but it is indicative

Ray


http://fhoude34.free.fr/PortableHD.htm

Hi Glen,

Just noticed your post re the PD7X.

The other issue is the alleged flimsy battery and card compartment covers.

Is yours showing any signs of fatigue?

I note the Co is supposedly releasing a new model to correct these issues but nothing has eventuated. Transfer speeds are a big +

Ray

Ray, no signs of fatigue yet, more just flimsy crap. The one on the card reader doesn't matter, is just to keep dust out but hasn't broken yet. If it went you could live without it. The battery cover holds the batteries in so is required, but doesn't get used as much so is holding up well. Definitely one of the quicker devices, I just continue shooting with another card so don't really notice the times, but usually am keen to get my 2 gb card back in camera "just in case".

Just a thought, I am going to Birddogs on saturday for the minimeet, if any of you guys want to see one in the flesh I can bring the PD7X. Let me know

Interesting stuff Glen. Maybe I'll reconsider this device - cheap and fast are tempting.
Frank

Glen wrote:Just a thought, I am going to Birddogs on saturday for the minimeet, if any of you guys want to see one in the flesh I can bring the PD7X. Let me know

I'd love to get to a minimeet, but my son's soccer takes priority on Saturday mornings (by order )- maybe on his next bye...

Whenever it suits Frank

The minimeets don't end until usually after lunch.. what... somewhere between 1-3... how long does soccer go for?

Frank, have you looked at one of these xdrive VP6210 ?

I will be getting one later on for a overseas trip.

http://www.archos.com/products/overview ... c3ob2jskk2

That's my baby, she's fairly robust. Except for the bloody CF door. Needs to be repaired under warranty. I've sat on the thing and the battery life is very very good. I'm talking a good day. Unlike some other drives I've used. Transfer times are very very quick. You're looking at < 5minutes for a 512mb CF.

I also have the Compact Drive PD7X, which is very very robust. However I don't like the battery life, switch positions or the interface.

Kipper, do any of the local dealers stock the Archos drive?

I have the X Drive with 40 gig. No screen, nothing flashy.

It is not fast transferring from card to disk (which is a 5400 prm HD), but it is fast enough. If you have two 1 gig cards, that gives you almost 400 shots in NEF. I would be surprised if you would take more than that without resting for ten minutes!

The device is fairly robust, don't know about skydiving etc while transferring, but walking would be no problem at all.

It is great little device, it was cheap ($250ish), it works well and easily, and it has also been handy as a portable drive to take stuff to another computer.

Pirostitch, yes quite a few places in AU stock them.

http://www.techbuy.com.au/products/4341 ... corder.asp
http://www.expansys.com.au

They're all pretty expensive, that's why I got mine overseas and saved myself about $400.

kipper wrote:I also have the Compact Drive PD7X, which is very very robust. However I don't like the battery life, switch positions or the interface.

Kipper,
the AV400 looks good but I don't want to spend that much (and don't really need a viewing screen). What's the battery life problem with the PD7X - too short? And how does it work as a recharger?

Frank

Frank, I found the battery life short when charged through the device. When I used a top quality remote charger battery life went up markedly. If you check the link on the fhode comparison site, he has purchased one himself and quotes 35-38GB from one charge. Depending on your shooting style and file size, probably enough for one day

Glen wrote: Depending on your shooting style and file size, probably enough for one day

plenty for now, but what about when 1 buy my new 200 megapixel camera with RAW files about 200MB each??

Frankenstein wrote:... I'm surprised at how long the transfer times are from CF card to the drive - I've seen specs of 15-20 minutes for a full 1GB card. I'd thought transfer would only take a couple of minutes...Frank

G'day Frank,
I got the PD7x, about $270 delivered, dumps at least 4-6Gb of cards with the el cheapo batteries that came with it, so I assume more with good ones... Takes a smidge over 3 mins to dump a full 1Gb card, pretty quick... Re: robustness, I think the drives are laptop drives and I would have thought they'd be fairly robust, I just carry mine around in the bottom bag part of the backpack and I usually just dump the bag when I get anywhere I want to take shots, haven't had any worries yet, really handy when you go away where there's no power etc and 4-6Gb is a lot of shots...

Cheers,
Mudder

thanks to everyone who answered - the info is very helpful, and I'm now a bit more inclined to try out the PD7X.
Frank

I've got a X Drive II with 30Gb.
Very slow to transfer files, but generally fine if you have two cards to interchange. I haven't had a problem whilst transferring on the go.
For some reason, mine has stopped transferring data from cards.
It still works as a portable USB connected drive or multiformat card reader & my data on the drive is still accessible, but for it's intended use as a CF dump & backup, it's useless to me.
I'm looking at replacing it if I can't reinstall the firmware.
I'll probably throw the hard drive into something like the PD7X.

Joolz

Just to throw a spanner in the works I just googled PD7X and got this

http://www.compactdrive.us/

Worrying thought Embi

and here's the response from the manufacturer. Sounds like the lawyers will get rich

Now i feel a little better...so how much is one of those units??

embi,

http://www.jaldigital.com.au/catalog/pr ... cts_id=247

Even better

http://www.dvdirect.com.au/catalogue/ca ... roduct3547

$176 which includes GST the link above does have a bonus car charger but it doesnt include GST.

Thanks Stubbsy, I feel better now.

embi wrote:Even better

http://www.dvdirect.com.au/catalogue/ca ... roduct3547

$176 which includes GST the link above does have a bonus car charger but it doesnt include GST.

but this one is for the enclosure only - no HDD

This is the best price I've found

https://secure3.ozhosting.com/powermark ... /store.asp

120.00+GST. No HDD

Regards

Ray

Those contemplating buying a compact drive might like to wait to mid May when new model is released.

See details here

http://www.igadget.com.au/catalog/compa ... p-399.html

Ray

thanks for this Jenno - this new model hopefully addresses the voltage concerns expressed by others on another review site.

Frank

I just bought one of these off eBay for my trip to Europe on the 18th.

http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie ... %3AIT&rd=1

I will receive sometime this week. I will let you all know how it goes.