Digital Foci Unidade de Armazenamento de Dados Independente de 120Gb Photo Safe

Comments about Digital Foci Photo Safe 120GB Stand-Alone Data Storage Unit:

I bought the Photo Safe because I was tired of taking my laptop on vacation with me. We go sailing in the Virgin Islands every year, and up until this year, I was always the one who brought a laptop for everyone to dump their digital camera pictures onto.

This year, I'll be bringing my Digital Foci 120GB Photo Safe! I have both a Canon digital SLR and a Sony point & shoot (for underwater photography and videos). Others traveling with me have various other digital cameras. All of the memory cards work great with the Photo Safe. Transfering photos is easy and about as fast as copying them to my laptop.

Here are a few notes about the Photo Safe that aren't usually covered in the short descriptions:

The first thing was very important to me -- The Photo Safe backs up ALL files on the memory card. Photos, videos, folders, and files are all copied over. One similar product I looked into only copied photos, and would not copy videos or other files.

The other thing that usually isn't covered is erasing files on the card. When you make a backup, the files remain on the card unless to choose to delete them. Of course, you could also delete them in your camera. I am glad it doesn't automatically erase the card, because sometimes I want to get the pictures from a friend's card and hand it back to them with their pictures still on it.

Also, you can copy files from any non-CF card to a CF card. I have yet to find a use for this function, but it is there if someone needs it.

You can set up partitions on the Photo Safe's hard drive. If there are multiple partitions, it allows you to choose which one to copy to. I don't use this function, but I see how it could be useful for keeping things more organized.

Finally, the Photo Safe is a full-function external hard drive. It is fully powered by the USB port, so no power supply is necessary. It will also charge the internal battery when plugged into a USB port.

If I could change one thing about the Photo Safe, it would be to finish it in a rubbery coating for better grip.

Comments about Digital Foci Photo Safe 120GB Stand-Alone Data Storage Unit:

Excellent piece of equipment. We've used it forinternational travel in Asia and Africa. The device isrugged enough to withstand extreme temperature and even afew drops on the ground. The battery worked fine for us,although the meter for the battery level is a bit quirky, itseems to drop to the lowest bar after one 2 gig card,although will continue to work for at least another 4 gigs. Its very is easy to use, almost idiot proof and relativelyquick to download. It also didn't have any problem with thedrive being read by any other computers world wide (PC'sthat is). Highly recommended. I'm buying two more for my next trip!

Expertise: Professional

Problems Encountered: The drive comes with a case, which is nice, but it would bemore ideal if the card slots had covers, we find we have todust them often to make sure the slots stay dirt free. Ifyou keep it in the case and don't take it out in duststorms, you should be fine.

Comments about Digital Foci Photo Safe 120GB Stand-Alone Data Storage Unit:

I bought this drive with some hesitation, I am a pro wedding photographer out of Vegas and just got my new Nikon D2xs and found that even with stacks of cards that i was still short of memory. But when I got the drive in I found that it was beyond easy to get started with. It makes it so easy with only an on/off button and a enter button. The only complaint that I have is that the battery life is not the greatest. But I just bought 2 extra batteries and it seems to get the job done. I highly recommended this item. If you are just needing to clear a card and reuse it this is the item for you. It also erases the card and writes to # folders so that you can even double back up the same card and not overwrite any files.

Expertise: Professional

Problems Encountered: None Yet

Items I Recommend: 2 Extra Batteries