External storage

[pete schofield]

OK here is the problem. I would like some way of storing while away from home (holiday etc).

I could buy extra CF cards and they are quite cheap, but I wondered if one of the large storage devices would be better.
Something like the Image Tank, the cheapest of these devices I have found with a quick search is a 20gb @ £149.

I estimate I would need about 6/7 128mb cf cards for a 2 week holiday and these would cost approx £180.

Now here is the rub I am also in the market for a external hard drive working of the USB.

Does any one have any knowledge of the Image Tank or similar devices and can one use them as an external drive from the computer i.e. can I save files to it from the computer (it would be used mainly for backup of files and images)?

I hope the above makes sense.

Regards

pete

[Steve G]

Hi Pete,
Have you thought about the Apacer CD steno > its a portable CD writer that reads compactflash & writes the images to a disc.
Ok so its not a hard drive but if you shoot digital SLR it allows raw file storage immediately suitable for archiving. If interested Andy Rouse has a review of this on the Warehouse Express (http://www.warehouseexpress.com/) website.
Cheers,
Steve

[pete schofield]

Thanks for the tip steve, but as I said above I am trying to combine the 2 and have external storage in the field + extra HDD at home.

Pete

[Raydes]

Hi Pete,

I will go for the external drive from the following manufacturer.
http://www.xs-drive.com/xsdrive2/
I have been looking a lot but found this the best thing considering price and speed USB2.0 and versatile use!
There are a lot more on the market but I don't need the extra gadgets like nice LCD screen- possibility to use it as a viewer for T.V. etc etc.
If u like i will mail you all the links from many manufacturers of this kind devices.

[pauco]

Hi Pete.
have you thought of a laptop-new-or-secondhand would solve
a lot of your problems and give you plenty of space.
bert.

[tarves57]

Pete,
If you have Windows 2000 Pro, don't get the XS Drive. It has caused me no end of trouble! i.e. it works beautifully out in the field but everytime I put it in the USB port of my computer, the computer reboots.....aaarrrrgh!

(Maybe the XS Drive II works okay though, being a newer model)

After two days of struggling, uninstalling and reinstalling, I now have everything working again, but I want to finish copying my Mum's slides to CD before I attempt to re-introduce the XS Drive.

If anyone has a fix for it, I would be very glad to hear about it!

Susan

[Raydes]

Hi Susan,

Did you contact the manufacturer about your issue.
Maybe they have a solution for this or an update of software?
You use the Xs drive 2030?

Thanks if I find something for it I will let you know

[pete schofield]

Hi all
Many thanks for all your suggestions.

Bert: I have a laptop but would rather not take it on holiday.

Susan: I have win xp home so I believe this should be ok.

Now back to ny original question can anyone tell me if I can use an XS drive or something similar simply as a external HDD.

I would also besides storing/downloading from a CF card use it as a backup for all existing files and drive image?

Any help appreciated.

Pete

[digi-birder]

An external drive would work exactly like an internal extra hard drive, in that you would be able copy to and from it with your main hard drive.

I'm not sure of any particular make being better than another, as it's not something I've wanted to do myself, but if it's USB you should be able to use it to download your photos while on holiday as long as it has the correct USB connection to plug the card reader or camera into.

[pete schofield]

Hi Diane
The unit I am looking at is generally known as an Image Tank this is also a brand name.

They are principally used to download from a memory card in the field.

This enables one not to have to stock up on memory cards or carry a laptop whilst away from the main computer for any length of time i.e. holidays.

I also need another spare HDD for backups of the 2 computers used in this household, and wondered if I could use an Image Tank to fulfill both needs.

I am pretty sure looking at it logically that an Image Tank would do the job but would have liked to know if someone has already done the same before I laid out the cash.

Pete

[digi-birder]

Hi Pete,

I'm not at all familiar with the Image Tank, so I just ran a search on Google and found the following page, which you may find helpful.

http://www.dp-now.com/Features/Peripheral_reviews/perif5/perif5.html

It does mention something about its use as an external hard drive.

[pete schofield]

Thanks Diane thats answered one question now all I need to do is get up off the floor did you see the price of these things.

I will shop around and see if there are cheaper alternatives, or just grab a handfull of 128mb cf cards and buy a normal ext HDD (40gb £110).

Thanks again for the info

Pete

[tarves57]

Hi Pete,

Just to say that I have had the first real day of going out with my camera (EOS 10D on "fine" setting). I came across a field of cows and sheep (very photogenic.....8-)) and took quite a few photos. I was just about to get on my bike and go home when I noticed a butterfly on a nearby tree. I then realised there were LOTS of butterflies sitting there. That's when i started taking as many photos as possible from all sorts of angles and variations.

Suddenly, the camera would not take any more photos because I had run out of disc space. Darn! I had to get back to my Mum's quickly to "empty" my 2 cards (128MB each) into my XS Drive and come back. I didn't think I would need it with me, but this once in a lifetime chance to capture the butterflies just goes to show that there's always something turns up that you might need that extra space for!

They were all Red Admirals by the way, dead common but very beautiful. I'll post a photo once I get them sorted.
Susan

[pete schofield]

Hi Susan begs the question how much memory is enough!

look forward to your piccies

Pete

[Raydes]

Hello Pete,

I dont know if it's still usefull to tell but,
I bought and use now an X's DriveII and it works fine for me as well as backup for all files as in the field for picture's
Next step for me try to get decent pictures :)

If u still can use more info about it let me know.

Regards,
Raymond

[tarves57]

Funny thing about the XS Drive, I took it out in the cafe after a shoot to empty my cards while I was waiting for my coffee and I got a few funny looks as the sequence of flashing lights started. It looked like I had just been given my mission impossible and it was about to self-destruct..... 3:-)

[Raydes]

I feel sorry for you to hear this.

I hope you still have warranty.
Did you sent it in for repair? and did you had more problems with it?
Anyway i dont have much time to take many pictures right now and bought it to have a backup on holiday.

Regards Raymond

[tarves57]

Hi Raymond,

Don't worry, I got the XS Drive installed eventually. (Don't ask me how, it just suddenly worked!), and since then it has been great. I'm very glad I bought it. Granted, it doesn't have a viewer, but that's not really necessary.

I don't have much time to take photos either, but I try to get out at least once at the weekend. I have started shooting photos in raw mode, which means that I need a lot of storage space and the XS drive has proven ideal.

Susan

[tarves57]

Or perhaps you have not seen the TV series "Mission Impossible"?
At the beginning of every programme, the hero gets a small tape recorder with his "impossible mission instructions" and when he has heard it, it says "this message will self-destruct in 30 seconds"....... it has the same flashing lights as the XS Drive and I thought it was a rather funny comparison.....:king:

Susan

[Raydes]

Thanks Susan to put me at ease :)

I initially had also some problems with th XSdrive but after cleaning up my OS Win Xp it works fine.
I just had to many photo editors on it and also my Firewall got in the way.
I still have to go a long way in digiscoping and use al my free time available (searching on the net and slow learning PS)
And when there's light at the right moment I will be out shooting pix.

I hope the digiscoping will be a Mission Possible for me ;)

P.s. sorry I didn't get the joke right away Humor is sometimes ruin by the lack of language knowledge :)

Regards Raymond