Media Player/Card Reader Opinions?

[smc1377]

So after trying out the Lensbaby 2.0 with the macro kit for a week, I really just can't justify the price of ownership. With taxes and all, the set cost my wife $195 USD. So it's time to return it and look for something else.

Here comes the part where I need suggestions/reviews. I have been thinking about getting a portable storage unit that I can offload pictures onto while out in the field. It used to be that there were only a few options available, but more and more companies are coming out with media players with CF slots to offload pics.

The unit I'm seriously leaning towards buying is the Creative Zen Vision W (http://www.creative.com/products/product.asp?category=210&subcategory=211&product=15752).

You can simply slip your CF card into the reader and download all the pics onto the media player. Plus, the media player will read just about every movie format out there, play mp3's, FM Radio, etc. Seems to be a nice all in one device.

Of course no retailers carry this item so it's strictly an online-only purchase, which makes me nervous cause I like to try out my toys before buying them, hence this thread. Has anyone had any experience with this particular model or anything similar to this? And if so, what's your thoughts?

BTW, ZipZoomFly.com (http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=380177&prodlist=pricegrabber) has the cheapest price online that I could find the 30GB model for a somewhat cheap $275 USD shipped.

[AZ4Runner]

smc1377,

Back in July I was looking for options on equipment I could take on travel with me. I was heading to Canada and needed something portable (more so than my laptop and all of its power cables, mice, etc). I was looking for something like a portable hard drive with card reader so I wouldn't need the laptop.

I found several options. Nikon used to make a device with a card reader in it. Epson makes several, as does Wolverine and Olympus.

Here's a link to what B&H Video offers:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=breadCrumb&A=search&Q=&ci=3369


I ended up going with the Wolverine 100GB device. It plays videos, mp3's, and displays every format of images I've ever tried. Additionally, I can use it like any other hard drive should I need to. The built-in card reader was nice since I had several different media types with me while I was in Canada (not to mention my wife's p-&-s is SD where my primary is CF).

The Wolverine has paid for itself as far as I'm concerned. I currently only have 2 flash cards and usually shoot in RAW format. It doesn't take long to fill one before I have to swap it out and shoot on the other. The wolverine allows me to keep swapping back and forth with a data dump to the wolverine in the middle. Unlike my American Express card, I definitely don't leave home without my Wolverine.

[robwilliams]

I've heard many good things about Epson's P-2000

Reviews (http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/accessories/P-2000.shtml)

[smc1377]

Hmm, I'm glad I asked. I've never heard of the Wolverine brand, but hearing your review counts for a ton. One of the concerns I had with the Creative Zen that I posted above was its ability (or inability) to download raw files from the card onto the drive. I would assume that it would just copy everything, regardless of format, onto the drive, but assumptions are dangerous and I haven't been able to get any good answers from anyone, Creative nor online retailers.

Though I do love the large screen of the Creative Zen (4.3" widescreen) vs the Wolverine's 2.5", the Wolverine does support many more formats other than CF (though you can buy accessories with the Zen to do so) and I do have P&S cameras that use SD cards. But then it's not a necessity in that I have like 3GB worth of SD cards already and I hardly use those cameras.

I'll have to think about this some more. Thanks for the suggestions!!

[Seltzer]

depending on your requirements for price, card reader and size and such (I think I'd personally go with the older Wolverine with the 2.5" screen). The new Wolverine ESP systems had a 3.6" screen and seemed to have a better layout and larger HD than the Zen W system but it was about $30 more for the extra card slots and the 80gb drive vs the 60gb Zen W. I'm not sure about the battery life on the Zen W but the Wolverine seemed to have good specs here. IMHO Epson was a bit too proud of their system but that may just be me.
Thanks for all of the info on this! I had been avoiding a media player as my job just doesn't afford me to have time to listen to headphones but some of these are rather tempting and will be more so when the price point comes down a bit.

[AZ4Runner]

When I procured my Wolverine, I wasn't really so concerned with screen size as I was storage capacity and the ability to read multiple media cards.

Yes, the Epson and Creative have bigger screens. It wasn't my requirement. Yes, the Ipod does a better job with music. It was an added bonus that I'll probably never use.

In the end it came down to the Wolverine met my requirements, and was almost half the price of the similarly sized Epson model I was looking at.

[smc1377]

If I was just looking for storage, I would definitely go with one of the Wolverines, hands down.

But I was thinking about doubling (or maybe more appropriate, tripling) the purpose of the purchase to accommodate some of the other "wants" in my life. Those wants being an mp3 player, a portable video player (not so much for movies, but so that I can watch things I record on my DVR away from home). Another nice thing is that I work at a desk all day and we are allowed to listen to headphones, but I'm a Public Radio/Sports Radio type of guy so a radio would be an added bonus. I also stream Sirius Satellite radio online and broadcast it via an fm modulator at work, so that's another reason for the fm.

So when combining all those, I think I might be looking at just the Creative Zen Vision W. I did download the User's Manual from Creative and it does say that it'll download whatever that's on the memory card onto the device; however, it can only view jpegs which is a negative. Seems like both the Epson and the Wolverine can copy and view RAW images.

Oh well, from the outset I was really looking for a media player that can store images, which this one does. I think I'll get the Creative unless someone chimes in and has something horrible to say about it. I can't find any good reviews on it at all.

Thanks!!

[smc1377]

Just in case others were reading this thread with interest in buying one, I came across a very affordable option while I was searching for information about Adobe Bridge.

I came across this article that talks about a device that'll practically read all types of memory cards and back them up to a hard drive.

http://www.aguntherphotography.com/reviews/digital_partner_image_tank.html

The review mentioned that they found it on eBay, so I went to eBay and did a search for "Digital Partners" and found out that you can buy a brand new 40GB storage option for about $70 USD shipped to the US. For comparison, the 40GB Wolverine from BHPhoto is $150 USD.

But for those who already have notebook hard drives sitting around, you can also just buy the shell for about $30-40 USD and use your own hard drive.