lukas_kisiel Posted June 25, 2005 Share Posted June 25, 2005 I'd like to share what I think are design issues with Wolverine FlashPac drives. I thought I'll share here and see if anybody can suggest a better storage device. I am not posting this message on other forums because I am interested to hear feedback only from wedding photographers. The drive works fine but the following 3 issues make it useless for weddings (or any other serious professional use!): 1 - CRITICAL - There is no way to check the status of last copy operation after the device goes into standby mode. After a flash card gets copied to the hard drive the LCD screen shows confirmation message "Copy OK" or "Copy Error" but the message stays on for about 1-2 minutes. After that period of time the divice goes into standby mode with LCD off. If you offload a card and come back say in 30 minutes you have no way of knowing if there were any errors during card copy... Doh! 2 - During copy operation the screen only shows how many files have been copied so far. There is no way of knowing how much time left or how many files are left to copy... Is it that hard to implement something that will tell us the transfer status in % completed? 3 - LCD display is not backlit. How many times did you need to work in low light situations? Just bring a flash light, right? Are there any better devices out there at around $200-250 that have better features? I am planning to use 2 of them as storage units during weddings and other long photo shoots. Thanks! Pawel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lukas_kisiel Posted June 25, 2005 Author Share Posted June 25, 2005 I think I found an answer. This might be Nikon Coolwalker. They go for $280 now but... I can view my Nikon RAW files, zoom in and check histograms. I don't care about playback but looks like it's one of the ways to check if the transfer went ok. Now if I keep my Wolverine and add the Coolwalker it should be a pretty safe alternative to carrying with me a gazillion of flash cards or a laptop. :) Is there anybody out there successfully using other sub-$250 range storage devices at weddings/photo shoots where loosing data is not an option? I am interested only in basic harddrive models, without playback LCDs, but with status confirmation messages of the last transfer operation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank_skomial Posted June 25, 2005 Share Posted June 25, 2005 I have Wolverine 40 GB version. Works great. I never checked for the copy status, since it always does the job, if left undisturbed, and there is fully charged battery or used on AC. I used it abou 50 times so far, with all transfers OK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
watermelon Posted June 25, 2005 Share Posted June 25, 2005 Innopluss phototainer. Like Nikon's but with more features and for lower price - very well built and stylish with a flip-screen. Epsons P2000 is even better but pricier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wedding-photography-denver Posted June 25, 2005 Share Posted June 25, 2005 I use a flashtrax for backup on the fly. It has a great screen and reads the RAW data, so you can see if it copied all your files. Downside = $400 ish for a 40gig version. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fotografz Posted June 25, 2005 Share Posted June 25, 2005 Aren't you folks afraid of a failure with one of those? Are they segmented, like a Imacon Image Bank for example, to avoid catastrophic loss? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricM Posted June 26, 2005 Share Posted June 26, 2005 "Aren't you folks afraid of a failure with one of those?" no kidding. you guys are braver than me. i've heard horror stories about all the film getting stolen, but how would you explain losing the images due to a cheap storage device? buy more cards, please? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wedding-photography-denver Posted June 26, 2005 Share Posted June 26, 2005 Not sure about everyone, but I have some 30gigs of CF and now have 2gigs of SD. I use the flashtrax as a further insurance. I never delete any cards until all images have transfered to my HD in the office (usually that eve). If any one uses these devices as the only means to keep their images and reformats the cards on the fly, then,... well, lets just say that I hope not. They are only a backup device to my mind. Its cheaper than another 1Ds2 or 1D2 for that matter :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lukas_kisiel Posted June 27, 2005 Author Share Posted June 27, 2005 Thank you all for your suggestions and ideas. This helps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rds801 Posted July 6, 2005 Share Posted July 6, 2005 I just bought a Wolverine 40GB FlashPac drive 2 days ago. I also picked up a 1GB CF Card.(Another poster mention to buy more cards :-)) I would be afraid to delete my cards even after backing up on the Wolverine. I will be taking the drive for a test spin today. I used it a little at home and it seems to work great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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