Epson's P-7000 Multimedia Storage Viewer for photogs reviewed, cuddled

We hear quite a bit about these storage / viewing devices for photogs, so how 'bout a proper review in the run-up to the big Photokina show now just days away? If nothing else, PhotographyBlog's review of the Epson P-7000 describes how an $800 device can replace a laptop for serious, in-the-field photography. While recommending a second battery for heavy shooters, the easy to use P-7000 with that "stellar" 4-inch LTPS LCD comes away with high marks (4.5 of 5 stars) dressed in the opinion that it "far exceeds any other similar device" used by the reviewer. Now hit that read link for the full review.

[Darth Lord @ Sep 11th 2008 7:58AM]

Epson wasted money doing research and product development on this thing. A niche product that won't generate enough sales to recoup the investment. Come to think of it, I don't know anyone that owns an Epson product, do they still make printers?

[Matt @ Sep 11th 2008 8:28AM]

Epson is the industry leader for large format photographic printers used by studios and independent professionals. This product is for field photographers who can't bring laptops with them and need to dump their CF cards. Imagine a fashion photographer with a Hassleblad shooting models in central park all day. He might take a thousand+ pictures and only 200 or so will fit on one card. He can't just use 5 cards and download them later at the studio because if he misses a shot or there is a file error on one of the cards it is an expensive tragedy. They need this product to review and download the images to make sure they didn't miss any shots and all the files are good. It is a niche product for sure but will be purchased by every studio and photographer on the planet. Hope that kinda explains its use. It's expensive because they have little or no competition and businesses/professionals will buy it irregardless of price.

http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/jsp/ProImaging/ProImagingHome.do?BV_UseBVCookie=yes

[Jay Evans @ Sep 11th 2008 9:01AM]

"Imagine a fashion photographer with a Hassleblad shooting models in central park all day"

That would be an interesting trick since it's doesn't support the Hassleblad raw format files. We use assistants and laptops, not little toys.

[invincible @ Sep 11th 2008 9:16AM]

Epson scanners are right up there too - great for cheapskates like me who can't afford a medium format dedicated film scanner.

@Matt: A field photographer using a Hasselblad or any other studio camera is just someone who has (or is employed by a company that has) way too many dollars and not enough sense. Sure, you could set up a studio in the park but that's another story - you might as well tether the camera to a laptop and get way more functionality. And hire some assistants as mentioned above...

[iomatic @ Sep 11th 2008 3:35PM]

@invincible: Clearly you've never shot Hasselblad/Phase One. But seriously, it can be overkill for certain situations, in others, quite appropriate.

This seems like a better deal all around.

[Muhammad-Oli @ Sep 11th 2008 7:40AM]

Hang on... For serious?

[billy bob thorton @ Sep 13th 2008 1:18AM]

overpriced junk just like the older versions. any serious pro out there looking at portable drives should try a hyperdrive. there are a few important reasons:

you can replace the hard drive in the field in a matter of minutes in the event of drive failure
transfer speed is still faster than the epson and offers many different options for verification
long battery life (compared to others)

the epson does have better image quality but I could care less about that.

No portable drive can replace a laptop unless all you are doing is copying files.

[j_g_puff @ Sep 11th 2008 7:44AM]

$800? The size of a large PDA? Enough buttons to perplex an Apple user?

They may as well just stick a lens on it and make it a camera.

[Dunc @ Sep 11th 2008 8:35AM]

I looked at this a few years ago, and came to the conclusion that the cheaper Jobo Gigavu pro evolution was a better deal.

[isayx3 @ Sep 11th 2008 11:19AM]

$800 and still lower res than a Cowon A3.

[Randy Gentry @ Sep 11th 2008 11:44AM]

I had a previous version that was short lived because Epson stopped updating the unit to support raw formats from newer cameras. Hopefully they will stay on top of things this time and update the new units to support evolving cameras. If the camera manufacturers would just start using DNG or stick to a standard raw format this would not be a problem.

[alanvalek.com @ Sep 11th 2008 12:05PM]

Waaay too overpriced. Wait for these to hit the shelves and get a discounted P-5000 instead.

[Jeffro @ Sep 11th 2008 1:09PM]

A 4 inch screen and all, Wow! My 4 year old PocketPC has a 4 inch screen as well as as CF and an SD slot. With Resco Photo Viewer software on it, I can zoom in or out, white & color balance, view histograms, cut, crop rotate, lighten, darken, sharpen, do slide shows with editable transitions, add sound and on and on. In fact, I've actually used it for professional photography. I friend of mine was hired to shoot photos of a band in Philadelphia, PA. We looked at the photos and could do real time adjustment of some of the camera settings as concert venues can be tricky with all the lights, fast movement, etc. More importantly we were able to show the artists during the break and after the show. How cool is that. With a wireless BT mouse and keyboard it was better than using anything else. So...why would I want to use this?

[Cassini @ Sep 13th 2008 4:29AM]

Oh, you mean one of those four-year old Pocket PC's with an integrated 160GB HDD?

[zandolee @ Sep 11th 2008 6:25PM]

http://www.hyperdrive.com/HyperDrive-COLORSPACE-O-500GB-p/hdcso-500.htm much better/affordable device.

[billy bob thorton @ Sep 13th 2008 1:29AM]

I bought the original hyperdrive and loved it until I started shooting on CF cards, now I have the new colorspace and love it as well. Just remember to update the firmware. early versions have issues of turning off due to low battery without notifying you. The old version always did. you either got a happy face or a sad face. I miss the simpler times.

But I suppose visual confirmation is very valuable now that I use it. I shoot around 3K frames per job and can't imagine not having this on my belt. They are very reliable and fast.

a recommended accessory is the black and decker battery pack. it's under $30 on amazon and will provide power all day long.

[Chris Taylor @ Sep 12th 2008 2:20AM]

Will it play Divx/Xvid files thats all I want to know. I WANT ONE if it can. AC3 support would be a nice bonus.

NOTHING beats a nice screen. Thats why I have the Zen Vision. that 640x480 screen is just so nice.