Epson p3000 vs Hyperdrive Colorspace

[JerryLevin]

Hi all.

I already own a pair of Epson p3000s. While I like how solid they are, and the ease of changing batteries in the field, there's just not enough storage space (especially when shooting 3 cameras) for some of the events we cover. This past weekend had us producing almost 70 gig of shots in one day (RAW + JPG, from 2 D2x's and a D3). Simply ran out of space on the two Epsons.

The price comparison between the two units says that the next unit should be a Hyperdrive.

We're only looking for reliable storage and ease of backup. Don't need a MP3 player or anything else.

Does anyone have a direct comparison to the most current Hyperdrive Colorspace? In particular, I'm hoping to find out
1. If the unit's any faster (reading cards, uploading to a computer)
2. If the unit is as frail as it looks (the Epson's are built pretty tough)
3. Is the battery really good for 120 gig of card reads (that's their claim)
4. Anyone use their "external" battery pack? Is this something you need to hold to the reader with rubber bands or the equivalent?

Thanks as always!

[David Barry]

Sorry that this is not a proper reply to your questions as I don't have an Epson 3000, though I do have an older Epson unit (2000?) that I was never very happy with.

However, I do have a Hyperdrive Colorspace (not the O with the bigger screen) and a Hyperdrive Space. While the Colorspace is much more plastic than the old Space it still seems pretty robust, and I am not worried carrying it around with me.

Backups seem to be pretty fast, but I normally download to Aperture and then put the card in the Colorspace and leave it backing up while using another card, so it isn't an issue. You can customize the backup to optimize the speed if you are so inclined.

Can't give an opinion on the battery life.

I have an external battery pack, and it has a short cable on it, so if you want to make a portable unit of the pair, then elastic bands or maybe some velcro would be a good idea.

Two points I can make from my experience. Hyperdrive customer service is terrific, so I wouldn't have any hesitation in recommending them. Secondly, you might want to enquire if the SATA versions are available yet. I bought mine a few weeks ago as I needed it for an assignment in Kuwait, and had to take a PATA one. The largest PATA drive I could get ( and probably the largest that will ever be made) is 250GB, whereas the newer SATA drives are already 320GB and there will be 500s soon. Changing the drive is easy, though they don't recommend making hundreds of changes, so I think that there is an advantage in the SATA for future expansion.

Hope that helps a bit.

David.

[Marc_Schoenholz]

I really like my Hyperdrive Color Space. I have owned this product since December and have been very satisfied with its performance.

The motivation for purchasing this product versus other more expensive alternatives centered on the expectations I had for the product. For me I was looking for a portable device to back-up images in the field.

I read the review of this product on Luminous Landscape, did additional research on the net, and then made my purchase.

Below is a link to the review.

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/accessories/hyperdrive.shtml

Regards,

Marc Schoenholz

[Ross Becker]

Hi Jerry
I bought a Colorspace in January to take to Antarctica, Patagonia, Spain & the UK. I just bought the case in the USA & the 250GB hard drive locally in NZ as not only was that the cheapest option but also they biggest drive they fitted was 160GB.

I use a Canon 1D3 with both CF & SD cards and save RAW on the 8GB CF & jpeg on the 8GB SD. I also had a G9 with a 2GB SD card. I backed up all 3 cards every night and the Colorspace did this very fast. Say 5 minutes for a big day.
It performed perfectly for the whole 9 weeks away and I charged the internal battery about 3 times.
As far as robustness is concerned, I think that it's fine. I wouldn't drop it on concrete but for normal use I see it plenty strong enough.
cheers
Ross