Archos AV320 or Smartdisk Flashtrax ftx20 as portable image storage/ viewer

I am considering a portable hard drive based image storage and

viewing device, and am considering the Smartdisk Flashtrax Ftx-20,

and the more video orientated Archos AV320. Up until a couple of days

ago I was strongly leaning toward the flashtrax (the archos wasn't

even on my radar) because of it's strong photo oriented feature set-

namely it's support of proprietary RAW formats such as Nikon NEF

and its streamline one button Compact flash copy feature.

 

This week however, I had the opportunity to view a flashtrax up

close and personal, and wasn't impressed with it's display. It's

wasn't so much the pixelated quality of the display that bothered me

(which is well documented), it was the muddy color of the display

which lacked any semblance to the images I've been looking at on my

camera and computer display that really turned me off. To be fair I

didn't get a chance to fully explore display adjustment features that

I know are available on this product- but out of the box it was a big

turn off.

 

On the other hand, most of the reviews I've read about the Archos,

which I only recently heard about, seem to rave about it's display.

It also has quite a few gee whiz features- namely the ability to

digitize entire dvd movies onto a personal hard drive viewer and a

swiss army knife list of expansion modules. And the battery life

estimates for the Archos seem to higher- closer to 2-3 hours, as

oppose to 1-2 for the flashtrax. However it's photo viewing

capabilities appear to be rudimentary, but it does have ability to

zoom up to 3x(although mention of scrolling is not mentioned) and

has a slide show function. It doesn't however have the ability to

read RAW formats, only standard Jpeg and bitmap formats.

 

The thing is though, I don't really use the NEF format on my NIkon D1-

I usually use fine jpeg mode. And for $400 I want a display where my

images have the same color rendition (if not resoloution) as my

digital camera display - otherwise what good is it? Most of the

reviews of the Archos have focus on it's video capabilities. Is there

any one out ther using the Archos AV320 as a photo viewer? How is

it's copy from CF function? Do images load onto screen quickly

during manual forward/reverse viewing and automated slide viewing. I

really need some answer quickly- I going to be doing some shooting

where I won't have access to my computer at home to downloard, and

unfortunately I don't have a laptop, and can't afford to get one in

the near future. It looks I can get the Smartdisk for as cheap as

$355 including shipping, where as the Archos would cost $376 plus

additional $27 to purchase to requisite Compact Flash reader in order

to download my photos into the AV320.

 

Thank you for any insights you can give me

 

G. Wiley

Hi G, This is only my opinion but I personally wouldn't fork out the extra $$ for a backup device that displays the images. I don't even rely on my camera's LCD to determine exposure because it's notoriously unreliable. (I do use it to see if my focus is any good) Instead, I rely on the histogram. IMHO these are good devices to have on-hand when you're away from your PC so you can free up the space on your CF cards. Best wishes . . .

G.

 

Go over to the Nikon specific site on the photo.net forums. I just posted an evaluation of the FlashTrax there in response to someone else's comments. It's a bit long, and I hesitate to do it all over again here.

If can spring for a bit more--say about $800--consider a laptop:<P>

 

Averatec 3225HS Notebook

<ul>

<li>AMD Athlon XP-M 2000+ Processor

<li>512MB RAM

<li>40GB HDD

<li>Up to 64MB shared video memory

<li>DVD-ROM/CD-RW drive

<li>12.1" screen (1024x768)

<li>4.3lbs

<li>10.9" x 9.6" x <b>1.0"</b> height

<li>3 hours battery life

<li>3 x USB2 ports, 1 x Cardbus PCMCIA Type I or II slot

<li>Built-in 802.11b/g (54mbps) wireless adapter

<li>Integrated 10/100 ethernet adapter

</ul>

 

Price = $1,049, minus $250 in rebates = $799 at <a href="http://microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0172655"> MicroCenter.com</a href>.<p>

 

The advantages over a pure PSD for photographer needs are many--ability to download and burn to CD-ROM, view, slideshow, watch DVDs, convert RAW images, etc. The obvious cons are price and size.<p>

Having used digital wallets for some time now, I would summarize my recommendations

into a few suggestions:<p>

<ol>

<li>Avoid wallets that feature a playback screen. You will find that most of these take

anywhere from 15-30 seconds to play back a raw file and in the process drain your

precious battery supply. With RAW formats changing everytime Nikon releases a new

camera you also need excellent support of future file formats. I can assure you that none

of these sport a battery life as described on the packaging. A couple of 512Mb cards and

the battery is dead. That leads me into ...

<li>Get a device that takes an external portable battery pack (preferrably one that takes

AA batteries)

<li>Lastly, make sure that it has a copy verification process. When you stick a 512Mb or

1Gb card in, it will take more than 5 minutes to copy it onto the hard disk. When it is

done, it should power down automatically to preserve battery. Well, when you reach into

your bag in 10 minutes, how do you know if everything was copied or the device died in

mid-copy due to battery exhaustion? Without a copy verification process you won't know.

</ol>

I use a Nixvue storage device, although I would now recommend the rebranded Delkin

(same device) that has US based support (assuming that you are US based). I don't know if

the new Nixvue's have ditched that pathetic screen but at least they have #2 and #3.

THis is ONLY my opinion, you may have different requirements:

 

It is NOT necessary to have a device that plays VIDEO & mp3s (unless you want to spend the extra cash on it). You can get a Super Digibin (which is the fastest of them all) for less than $200 with a 15gb drive. Or you can put your own in it.

 

Storage devices now are coming up with lots of gimmigs which do NOTHING for the photographer. If all you want to do is put your card in it and download it at the fastest possible rate, the Super Digibin is the best.

Each of us marches to our own beat. I've had the Smartdisk Flashtrax for a couple of weeks now and I find it to be an indispensible tool. True, you don't need to be able to view your photos on a portable drive, but it sure is nice to have that option. I don't find the colors to be distorted in any way. And I find that it is useful to be able: a) to prove that the images have uploaded from the card, and b) explore the photos for their quality (as it is possible to zoom, move the picture about, etc.). Photos are easily viewed on a television with a simple connection, RAW file viewing is possible, and with the latest firmware (very easy to install), histogram data are available. I'm still learning about the many features of this unit, but so far, I'm nothing but pleased with my purchase.

G.

 

Short answer: check out the Archos av400 first.

 

Long answer: I have compared the video capabilities of the Archos 320, the RCA Lyra 2780, and my iPAQ pocket PC. The photo viewing quality of the Archos is by far better than the others. If you are attracted to the Archos because of its "wow" factor, like I am, then I suggest you look at the Archos av400 since the compactflash slot is built in and the battery is replaceable.

 

I too need a portable device to store a days' RAW CF pics, and I would like to review my pictures on the device, AND I would like to share the days' pics with others. However, I won't carry a laptop to do all that. There is a less-than-perfect alternative tho: If you have a palm or pocket PC, you could buy a storage device WITHOUT video and use your pocket PC with "pocketloupe" software (www.glasslantern.com) to check focus, exposure, and to share the pics without passing around your camera.

 

This is what i'm going to do until someone makes a stellar viewing screen with backup storage that will support RAW files. I'm looking for an 8 inch tablet PC with CF slot and will let you know if I find one with a decent viewing screen ).

 

Jim

I want to thank everyone for their responses. They caused to really reevaluate what I needed 20 gigs of portable storage space for- and the answer was I really wanted a device to act as a portfolio on the go, in addition to the more immediate and pressing need of off-loading images off a CF card during a shoot.

 

So I took a 2nd look at the less expensive units without color lcds and would have strongly considered them- but I didn't see any that at least offered the option of presenting a slideshow presentation onto a tv monitor. This is something the Flashtrax does offer and it offers removable batteries- which is something that I didn't see offered on many of the non color lcd storage units. I don't see myself using the lcd much on the Flashtrax in the field- most of situations where I would want to use a color lcd would be one where I would have ac power available. In the field I intend to primarily use the automated copy function, which doesn't require the use of the lcd- but still having extra backup batteries available for purchase is appealing.

 

James, like you I started really getting entralled with the potential of the Archos AV420's really great display, removable batteries, extended battery life (PC Magazine's test of it said the batteries were capable of 4 hour of service- considerably longer than anything else out there with color lcd). Almost $500 for a portable device is pretty decadent, but the screen and the battery life almost sold me on it. Heck the Nikon Coolwalker is going to cost $500 and it's probably going to the first Pro Photographer oriented device with a half way decent display. What cooled me off on the Archos wasn't the lack of raw format support ( I was actually willing to put up with that)- it was it's lack of an automated copy function. It didn't necessarily have to be one button click, it just needed to automatically create a new folder every time I downloaded a CF card. My old digital camera's software didn't create new folders when I downloaded, and now that I am using Nikon-vue for my D1 I can't bear the thought of creating my own folders- it's just tooo much!

 

So it looks like I'm going with the Flashtrax for $350- crappy display and all. And I think I'll send Archos an email explaining how they had me hook, line and sinker ready to plunk down $500 on their product and lost me cause it doesn't create automated folders.

 

Laziness wins out again!