«

I know this question has been asked many times but these things change so
fast it is hard to keep track.

Which portable storage device has a good track record?

I would prefer to buy locally (Montreal, Canada) and so far I have found
these two:

Smartdisk Flashtrax ( http://www.smartdisk.com/index.asp )

Archos Gmini (
http://www.archos.com/products/overv...b2sj23cbfjk42j )

The smartdisk has a color screen and a 40Gb drive
The Gmini has a monochrome screen and a 20Gb drive

The Gmini is really small and less expensive but I am leaning towards the
Flashtrax because it has more features. I would like to get reassured as to
the reliability of any of these since my brother will be taking it to China
very soon and then I will take it on a trip to europe later this year.

any info would be appreciated

Jean

I've got a Tripper 40GB unit and I'm fairly happy with it. Excellent
performer. The only drawback is the battery isn't very strong.

>From: "jean" try-

>Which portable storage device has a good track record?

Has anyone on the NG used the Nixvue DA or DA Lite? Are there any sites
listing reliability data for these and other portable solutions?

I need something like this for a long wildnerness trip next fall where I can't
take a laptop and am lQQking at all options so I'll just piggyback on Jean's
thread.

Bill

Bill wrote:
>I need something like this for a long wildnerness trip next fall where I
>can't
>take a laptop and am lQQking at all options so I'll just piggyback on Jean's
>thread.

Some of these portable storage drives have a display, and they use a lot more
battery power. In a wilderness situation, that might be a problem. I opted for
a portable storage drive without display. Besides, I have a display on the
camera if I need one.

More than one year ago, I got the original Vosonics X-drive (version 1), and it
works fine for me, lightweight enough for backpacking, etc. That model has been
replaced by the version 2 and even 3 now, I believe.

---Bob Gross---

dy (Bill Hilton) writes:

> I need something like this for a long wildnerness trip next fall where I
> can't take a laptop and am lQQking at all options so I'll just piggyback
> on Jean's thread.

How long and what limitations on what you can take? Any space and weight
problems?

If it's an overland expedition with automobiles, give a look at
http://www.solarsense.com/

Louise and I use one of their 21 amp/hour batteries for a week of camping
at Burning Man, and it provides ample power for all sorts of recharging
needs. It comes with a solar panel which we use to keep it charged at home,
but we don't take the solar panel to Burning Man because of the playa
powder. If you take the solar panel, keeping it connected during days would
help to recharge the battery.

The battery has 12VDC and 110VAC output.

--
Philip Stripling | email to the replyto address is presumed
Legal Assistance on the Web | spam and read later. email to philip@
http://www.PhilipStripling.com/ | my domain is read daily.

>> dy (Bill Hilton) writes:
>>
>> I need something like this for a long wildnerness trip next fall where I
>> can't take a laptop and am lQQking at all options

>From: Phil Stripling
>
>How long and what limitations on what you can take? Any space and weight
>problems?

Some friends (including Dr. Roger Clark, who posts here often) and I have
chartered a plane and hired a guide and will be in the Alaska bush in Katmai NP
photographing brown bears at close range. We have moderate weight restrictions
since it's fly-in but we chartered an Otter so it's not THAT bad. Power isn't
a problem since we're taking a small generator to recharge digital camera
batteries.

If I had a small 3 lb laptop with say a 12" screen, like the Dell 300m, I'd
take it but the family laptop has a 15" screen, weighs about 10 lbs and belongs
mostly to my wife and I'm not sure I can keep it protected well enough during
the flights and in camp, where we'll likely have a bit of rain. Hard to
justify buying the 300m just for this trip, but being able to review images in
camp would be nice. The big laptop is what we take when we fly commercial or
drive but since I'll have a lot of heavy photo gear with me I won't be able to
protect the computer easily when we're in the bush plane.

I'll probably take six to eight 1 GB cards for my 1Ds and will be shooting only
RAW, so will need to save off some files a few times, plus I like to have two
copies as backup anyway. Something like the Nixvue or similar sounds about
right, 30 - 40 GB in a small, light footprint, but it has to be rugged enough
to get banged around and able to withstand high humidity due to the rains. I
wish it had longer battery life too, only 2-3 cards can get transferred per
charge if I understand the specs right.

Mainly it has to be very reliable.

Bill

"Ed E." <> wrote in message
news:...
> I've got a Tripper 40GB unit and I'm fairly happy with it.
Excellent
> performer. The only drawback is the battery isn't very strong.
>
>

Same here - I've got a 40GB Tripper and I am very happy with it. I
get plenty of transfers from my 256MB card before it needs recharging.

"Robertwgross" <> a écrit dans le message de
news:...
> Bill wrote:
> >I need something like this for a long wildnerness trip next fall where I
> >can't
> >take a laptop and am lQQking at all options so I'll just piggyback on
Jean's
> >thread.

Be my guest

> Some of these portable storage drives have a display, and they use a lot
more
> battery power. In a wilderness situation, that might be a problem. I opted
for
> a portable storage drive without display. Besides, I have a display on the
> camera if I need one.
>
> More than one year ago, I got the original Vosonics X-drive (version 1),
and it
> works fine for me, lightweight enough for backpacking, etc. That model has
been
> replaced by the version 2 and even 3 now, I believe.
>

After looking a bit more, I found X-drives fairly cheap in Canada (US too).
You can buy them bare, with no HD and add one of your own for less than $200
(canadian$). A 40Gb laptop drive is less than $200 (canadian) so I would be
looking at less than $400 for a 40Gb unit, granted it would not have a fancy
color display but as you said, it would use less power. An added (if you
really want that sort of thing) benefit is the new X-drives can play MP3
altough the reports I have read don't give it high marks for sound quality.

Jean

PS The $400 or so I am going to save will go towards the purchase of a nice
lens (Canon 24-70 f2.8 L)

Be very careful of the X-Drive II. Mine is sitting in a drawer, never to be
used again. I bought it because they advertised USB2.

It's not.

When challenged, their tech support said it's not really Hi-speed USB2
(meaning really USB2), but was 'slightly' faster than USB1.1.

Immeasurably faster.

So slow as to be useless.

Tom
"jean" <look_for@my_email.org> wrote in message
news:9wEhc.181$...
>
> "Robertwgross" <> a écrit dans le message de
> news:...
> > Bill wrote:
> > >I need something like this for a long wildnerness trip next fall where
I
> > >can't
> > >take a laptop and am lQQking at all options so I'll just piggyback on
> Jean's
> > >thread.
>
> Be my guest
>
> > Some of these portable storage drives have a display, and they use a lot
> more
> > battery power. In a wilderness situation, that might be a problem. I
opted
> for
> > a portable storage drive without display. Besides, I have a display on
the
> > camera if I need one.
> >
> > More than one year ago, I got the original Vosonics X-drive (version 1),
> and it
> > works fine for me, lightweight enough for backpacking, etc. That model
has
> been
> > replaced by the version 2 and even 3 now, I believe.
> >
>
> After looking a bit more, I found X-drives fairly cheap in Canada (US
too).
> You can buy them bare, with no HD and add one of your own for less than
$200
> (canadian$). A 40Gb laptop drive is less than $200 (canadian) so I would
be
> looking at less than $400 for a 40Gb unit, granted it would not have a
fancy
> color display but as you said, it would use less power. An added (if you
> really want that sort of thing) benefit is the new X-drives can play MP3
> altough the reports I have read don't give it high marks for sound
quality.
>
> Jean
>
> PS The $400 or so I am going to save will go towards the purchase of a
nice
> lens (Canon 24-70 f2.8 L)
>
>

Darn, just when I had my mind made up... but before I had commited any cash


Oh well, back searching

thanks

Jean

"Tom Scales" <> a écrit dans le message de
news:k_GdnWvfjfy3vRrdRVn-...
> Be very careful of the X-Drive II. Mine is sitting in a drawer, never to
be
> used again. I bought it because they advertised USB2.
>
> It's not.
>
> When challenged, their tech support said it's not really Hi-speed USB2
> (meaning really USB2), but was 'slightly' faster than USB1.1.
>
> Immeasurably faster.
>
> So slow as to be useless.
>
> Tom
> "jean" <look_for@my_email.org> wrote in message
> news:9wEhc.181$...
> >
> > "Robertwgross" <> a écrit dans le message de
> > news:...
> > > Bill wrote:
> > > >I need something like this for a long wildnerness trip next fall
where
> I
> > > >can't
> > > >take a laptop and am lQQking at all options so I'll just piggyback on
> > Jean's
> > > >thread.
> >
> > Be my guest
> >
> > > Some of these portable storage drives have a display, and they use a
lot
> > more
> > > battery power. In a wilderness situation, that might be a problem. I
> opted
> > for
> > > a portable storage drive without display. Besides, I have a display on
> the
> > > camera if I need one.
> > >
> > > More than one year ago, I got the original Vosonics X-drive (version
1),
> > and it
> > > works fine for me, lightweight enough for backpacking, etc. That model
> has
> > been
> > > replaced by the version 2 and even 3 now, I believe.
> > >
> >
> > After looking a bit more, I found X-drives fairly cheap in Canada (US
> too).
> > You can buy them bare, with no HD and add one of your own for less than
> $200
> > (canadian$). A 40Gb laptop drive is less than $200 (canadian) so I
would
> be
> > looking at less than $400 for a 40Gb unit, granted it would not have a
> fancy
> > color display but as you said, it would use less power. An added (if
you
> > really want that sort of thing) benefit is the new X-drives can play MP3
> > altough the reports I have read don't give it high marks for sound
> quality.
> >
> > Jean
> >
> > PS The $400 or so I am going to save will go towards the purchase of a
> nice
> > lens (Canon 24-70 f2.8 L)
> >
> >
>
>