Epson P-7000 160GB Multimedia Storage Drive, Photo Viewer and Audio-Video Player with 4-Inch LCD Review
Portable video storage devices generally fall into two categories: very basic & very feature rich. Selecting the right device for you depends on how you intend to use the device. Feature rich devices such as the Epson P-7000 support viewing JPEGs, RAW images, and even standard definition video. The basic devices, such as the MoFoto, are little more than a hard disk with a memory card reader on it. If you just want a really big hard drive to store your videos, then the basic devices are a good fit for you. If you want to watch your videos or view photos, then a basic device won’t work for you.
Epson’s P-7000 Multimedia Storage Device is primarily designed for photographers, but it does feature video playback of standard definition video. As a photographer’s tool the Epson really shines with it’s 4″ LCD screen which is bigger than almost any SLR screen out there. For professional wedding photographers it may make showing your clients photos easier than looking at the back of an SLR. A simple slideshow can be created by tagging some photos and playing back the slideshow. It supports zooming and panning so that you can examine the finer details of your photos. These features can be a drain on the battery, so if you are using the screen for long periods of time, you should have the device plugged in or have an extra battery handy.
The P-7000 was first introduced in 2007, and its 160GB hard drive puts it well behind the 500GB devices currently available. At $745 USD, the Epson P-7000 costs $4.60 per GB, which is not that much cheaper than the flash memory cards it is designed to replace. While the P-7000 can store high definition video, this device can not play high definition video on its screen, which kind of renders the screen useless for HD videographers.
If 160GB is enough storage for your needs, and you can accept a larger sized device, you might consider getting a netbook PC. A netbook is a miniturized laptop computer which could act as a portable video storage device, but also give you the benefits of running Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 or other PC software that is in your normal workflow. The netbooks aren’t generally powerful enough to do any video editing (especially AVCHD), but you could watch the raw video.
Overall, if your primary use of the device is photography, you have a standard definition flash camcorder, and you have some cash burning a hole in your pocket then this might be a good fit. If you want a screen, and are willing to carry a larger device, then a netbook is the best choice for you. If a screen is not important, and you are looking to use this device to primarily store high definition video from a flash memory camcorder, then consider the basic portable video storage devices like MoFoto.
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