Originally posted by Russell-Evans If you are only copying your files to the portable hard drive and then reusing the card, you lose a level of protection. Why? Because spinning magnetic hard drives are less robust than solid state. If you don't agree, there probably isn't anything I can say that will convince you, but please answer the simple question; why do most military forces around the world only use solid state hard drives for the really important stuff? Maybe this is even a better argument, from shoulder height drop your SD card on a concrete floor, now do the same with your hard drive without flinching. I bet you couldn't drop your hard drive on a carpeted surface from that height without flinching!
Russell, the problem with a spinning hd is clealy there. But most of the time it won't. During the card copying process, you need to be a bit careful, otherwise current hds are very, very robust, especially the 2.5-inch variety, which is quite shock-proof now.
And you MAY loose data, in fact all of them, if you let a memory card fall onto concrete floor. They are very lightweight, so the force is not exorbitantly, but if they took an unlucky plunge… The manufacturers warn explicitly off falls.
Originally posted by Russell-Evans My thinking is, if you have enough cards to keep a copy of the files on the cards as well as on the portable hard drive, then the portable hard drive is probably not going to provide enough protection to warrant the added cost. Most people, myself included, looked at the portable hard drives as a money saving feature, as in buying less SD cards. Unfortunately it appears that it still makes economic sense in some markets like Sweden.
Data storage and security is very much a personal choice. I always opt for the highest practical level and that means, to use the portable storage always, to backup cards. When travelling I will often have a Macbook back in the hotel room and then make a second backup in the evening. After that I can format my cards.
I have had faulty cards and had to invest quite some time to recover images on these cards. With the Hyperdrive this is all done automatically and that gives me some reassurance.
Originally posted by Russell-Evans As to Raw support, you are correct they all copy the files regardless, but if you don't have access to a computer, then maybe having the portable hard drive have enough support to display your photos on a hotel room TV is important to some people?
I don't know, it is not important for me. In the end, one could easily connect the camera to the tv, if one is keen on a slide show... There are now quite a few portable devices on the market with nice screens and RAW support, which you can use for reviewing - a notebook would be better but most of those only support CRW and NEF. I am not sure, but I think the Hyperdrives Space and Space O are the only ones supporting even the latest PEFs.
Originally posted by Russell-Evans I think the Hyperdrive also has a geo-coding feature. It would be nice if you are only shooting raw for this to also work. I thought about shooting RAW+ just to have the jpegs needed to work with the
ATP Photo Finder. In the end, I just thought the added storage, the transferring the data from the jpeg to raw files once on the computer, and then deleting the jpeg files was more work than just using a tracking GPS and geocoding the raw files in one step.
As far as I know, the Hyperdrive has no geocoding option. But I confess, I haven't read through the manul completely, as I only use it for storage.
Originally posted by Russell-Evans I'm sorry my original post was written in the ignorance of the cost in Sweden. If I had of known the cost would be so high, I wouldn't have posted. I suppose buying from an on line US vendor like B&H or Adorama would be just as expensive once the shipping and taxes kick in?
It is basically the same anywhere in Europe, because you have to add VAT and import duties. That varies from country to country and Sweden is worse, because their import duties are exorbitant. (Quite like Norway or Iceland.) For most EU countries the situation with the weak USD and the strong Euro is quite good currently, as this will compensate easily for the import duties and VAT. I just bought the 32mm Limited from Canada and it turned out to be 200 Euros cheaper, than buying domestically, even after all the payments...
regards
Ben