Sanho introduces HyperDrive COLORSPACE UDMA photo backup drive

It has been some time since we've seen a new competitor in the photo backup realm, so it's with a great sigh of relief that we pass along word of Sanho's HyperDrive COLORSPACE UDMA photo backup device. The unit is capable of sucking down 2GB of data per minute and claims to be "the only storage device in the market that can decode and display true RAW images from any camera on its 3.2-inch (QVGA) color LCD screen." Furthermore, it orientates images automatically depending on how it's held, and the included data synchronization functionality enables the drive to sync information with another external HDD or your main rig. Oh, and it can understand 14 different types of memory card, so you're probably fine on that front. Check it out next month for between $339 (80GB) and $599 (500GB), depending on capacity.

[konshuss @ Sep 28th 2008 4:06PM]

sounds good for the pros, pointless for the shmoes.

[Valgas @ Sep 28th 2008 4:10PM]

Or a shmoe/erotic/nude model photographer living in South Beach Florida.

This thing is great

[Mike10010100 @ Sep 28th 2008 4:26PM]

I just had two ideas when seeing this cool piece of technology.

1. Could someone make a small linux-based device that plugs via usb or firewire into an external hard drive, and allows the user to plug in different memory cards? This would be much easier and more convenient than plugging the hard drive into a computer, and wouldn't be restricted by how many GB are on the device itself.

2. What about a dedicated upload device. Has a built-in 3G data card, which allows it to upload your pics to any website of your choosing. Since 3G might not be fast enough for a quick upload, it would download the info off of the cards onto a small 20 gig internal hard drive (or 16 gig flash), and then continuously upload (possibly to save battery life).

[billy bob thorton @ Sep 28th 2008 6:21PM]

this is the 3rd revision of this thing in the past 12 months. I was dumb enough to get one when it was still PATA, then a few months ago they released the SATA version, and now this one. And before that they had the PD70X (still faster than most drives one the market and the MOST reliable by far). It's downfall was a poor CF slot that led to bent pins in the field.

Anyone considering them you probably want to invest ($30) in a battery pack from Black and Decker because the expensive batteries they sell suck and the thing becomes unreliable after a few card dumps. The last time I went out in the field with this (colorspace) with the battery pack I had no issues at all.

[granny down east @ Sep 28th 2008 10:54PM]

@billy bob
Thnx for the heads up. I plan to pick one of these up for emergency services photos.
2 gb/ min looks good.

[billy bob thorton @ Sep 29th 2008 11:01AM]

@granny down east

also don't bet you can use this for client review in the field. The Colorspace model I got a few months ago (top of the line then) was pretty lame at displaying images and slow at that. But I was shooting 14bit raw images. JPGs I'm sure would load much faster. The quality of the display was (might still be poor). But I bought it for the visual confirmation that the images were backed up. The model I used claimed up to 20MB/s. In practice with the right settings you can expect on average 18 so they were not that far off. Bursts were even faster but don't count. So 40MB/s sounds really nice but I'm sure only the Sandisk IV cards can really keep up.

Given the short comings of their devices I still trust my business to them. I only carry 3 CF cards with me (1 for emergency use only) and the drives don't let me down. But you do need to be proactive. The drive must be formated before a gig. You can run into serious problems even if you deleted what was on the drive. It should be treated the same way as a CF/SD card.

I also took the screws out of mine and taped it shut so I could change the battery/drive in the field without a screwdriver. Don't know if they fixed this in the new version.

I recomend this over the new epson and any other competing drive.

[klew @ Sep 28th 2008 4:17PM]

Imagine if it was a Hypercolor DriveSpace, parts of the case would change color when it heats up

[phrogg @ Sep 28th 2008 6:01PM]

Or the HyperSpace ColorDrive, which has the hidden feature of allowing faster-than-light travel, and comes in an assortment of attractive colors?

[Information Central @ Sep 28th 2008 9:43PM]

Imagine if it WERE, not was

[Nzo @ Sep 28th 2008 4:21PM]

orients*

[alex @ Sep 28th 2008 4:28PM]

Actually, if you look that up in a dictionary, either orients or orientates is correct, though I prefer orients also.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/orientates

[jupiterthunder @ Sep 28th 2008 9:34PM]

thanks.

normally, i don't care about those little things, but orientates is just a dumb-sounding word.

[Information Central @ Sep 28th 2008 9:41PM]

"Orientates" is PLAIN WRONG. It is not a word. You can always find some horseshit "dictionary" to back up illiteracy at this point, but that doesn't make it right. And spare us the "language is a living, changing thing" crap too. Without rules, it isn't a language anymore.

Want to sound like a dumb-ass? Say things like "orientates" or "where it's at". And enjoy your McJob, because nobody who speaks or writes like that will ever be hired at my company.

[Jeff P. @ Sep 28th 2008 11:04PM]

@Information Central: Let me see, should I listen to you, or should I trust the The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language? I think I'll stick to the "dictionary" and not trust your interpretation of it. "Orientates" is a valid word and not some far flung stretch of the English language. From the sound of things I wouldn't want to work at your "company" anyway, seeing as they seem to make rash employment decisions based on your flawed knowledge.

[Information Central @ Sep 28th 2008 11:35PM]

Dictionaries are published by for-profit firms, who gleefully point out how "modern" they are by incorporating trendy misuses of words. So they can "grow their business." So they can "transition" into our new era of glorifying stupidity.

And even if you argue that dictionaries reflect word USE, that's all the more reason to rail against word MISUSE. If you'd show a little backbone, you could help keep ignorant crap like this from being codified in reference books and used as a defense by lazy, illiterate whiners who'd sooner scrape for excuses than learn correct grammar.

And you haven't demonstrated any "flaw" in my knowledge, so yes, we'll continue to shut out candidates who would embarrass our firm in front of the public, clients, and other potential hires. We value people who can think for themselves, which you clearly don't.

[Jeff P. @ Sep 29th 2008 12:08AM]

@Information Central: You have issues that might actually require therapy. It's quite obvious that you don't run the "company" that you speak of. You don't have sufficient language skills to make it in business. You insist on making up your own information even if it flies in the face of fact. Now go ahead and tell me again that because I speak and compose with proper English that I'm not a "free thinker". I never get tired of that one.

[kuade @ Sep 29th 2008 12:30AM]

@nzo @Jeff P. Just ignore Information Central, some people think they are smarter than everyone else but really there life is meaningless. Just because some people are idiots doesn't mean they can't make it in life, look at the US Senate? Why is working at McDonalds such a bad thing anyway? At least those people are trying to contribute to society and not solely dependent on government taking care of them. Lets all stop getting on Engadget and just blasting people for no reason. Alex just looked up the word and explained it politey, we live in a civil society, can we keep it that way?

[Jeff P. @ Sep 29th 2008 2:13AM]

@Kuade: Yeah, I shouldn't get so worked up. Thanks for being the voice of reason. On an unrelated note: I noticed that Sanho just released a new photo backup device called the Colorspace UDMA! As a proffesional photographer I should really love this device but I find the price point to be too darn high. Knock a few bills off and I'd be interested.

[Jeff P. @ Sep 29th 2008 2:17AM]

God I HATE misspelling words, especially when it's part of my job title. It goes without saying (but I'll say it anyway) that it should be spelled "professional". Dang.

[kuade @ Sep 29th 2008 6:21AM]

@Jeff P. Ha! yeah, sorry I got a little sidetracked back there. My wife has a Sony SLR and she is always filling up her 4GB cards so a device like this might be nice for her. I will have to ask her, the price is a little high for 80GB but you always pay a price for convience. The question is, how much is a 64GB CF card or a 128 CF card? So why buy this device if there is an even more convient option? Not transfering pics at all!

[alex @ Sep 28th 2008 4:25PM]

Sanho? Is that Sanyo's slightly more promiscuous cousin?

[czs @ Sep 28th 2008 4:34PM]

Maybe I'm misreading this, but is this article implying that HyperDrive is a newcomer to the photo backup drive market? They've been around for a while and are pretty good products.

[thethirdmoose @ Sep 28th 2008 4:36PM]

So does this store the files, or just move them?

[Jinto.Lin @ Sep 28th 2008 5:50PM]

Both.

That's the beauty of it, you can transfer via a screen from one card to another, and from card to HD, and HD to card.

[Nick @ Sep 28th 2008 5:12PM]

Wow, This is awesome! I could use this. I have soo many photos and sometimes I need to bring them on the go. Good find!

[Jinto.Lin @ Sep 28th 2008 5:49PM]

Pricing seems kinda funny.
The 80GB model is 4.99 per GB, while the 500 GB is 1.20 per GB. At least someone who buys the 80GB could add a SATA (Hopefully that thing is SATA!) 250GB laptop harddrive for $80 or so.

[Cycomachead @ Sep 28th 2008 6:12PM]

The read link says 500GB SATA drive and mentions it's user upgradeable. This really doesn't look like a bad device based upon specs!

[Canman99 @ Sep 28th 2008 5:50PM]

It seems nice, but man those prices are steep.

[Cycomachead @ Sep 28th 2008 6:08PM]

Not compared to the epson and jobo products. The 500GB price is more reasonable, but at least the intro price is cheaper. This is supposed to be faster, but has a smaller screen.

[Alan @ Sep 28th 2008 5:52PM]

Way too expensive! You could buy a netbook with a 160GB drive like the Aspire One for that same price.. and I'm pretty sure that could read any raw file you could throw at it - not to mention, you know, being a laptop and all...

[czs @ Sep 28th 2008 6:19PM]

Not the same to someone shooting out in the field. These are typically tougher than most laptops, and unless the netbooks read all those card formats and support UDMA, they'll be slower. You'll also get more transfers on a charge out of one of these and it's a lot easier to wedge in your camera bag to take with you. In fact some people will carry two of these types of devices to lower the chances of data loss. Try that with some netbooks.

I agree they're pricy when you compare them to different things, but it's not the same thing as replacing it with a netbook.

[Reece @ Sep 28th 2008 6:29PM]

But maybe not everyone wants to carry around one of those everywhere they go?

[Kax02 @ Sep 28th 2008 6:31PM]

Depends on the photographer, would I take a netbook into the desert or mountains with me for a backpack shoot? No. Would I take a small portable device to dump photos onto and just have a few high speed memory cards to save room for things I actually need? Yeah.

If I had outlets all over I would probably use a laptop, but if I'm traveling around I'm going to take the more portable device that isn't going to bog me down. If you've packed much at all for hiking you'll realize the importance of using your space wisely.

[Alan @ Sep 28th 2008 6:43PM]

I think the fact that the screen is larger, that they around 2 pounds, and can get 7 hours of battery life means that it would be the same as replacing one of these - especially for the cost. If it was around $100 cheaper maybe, then it would be easier to swallow. I find I can use a netbook for this purpose as well as use it for so much more.

UDMA card readers are not really that expensive or large, either.

I don't think you would carry a netbook around with you everywhere, but you would want to bring it with you for shoots where you think you'd fill up a larger card a few times over. The fact that you would have a large 8-10" screen to review your work would be invaluable.

It really depends on what type of shooting you do I guess... and how mobile you really need to be. Its just that if you need to be really mobile, I'd rather go with multiple memory cards.. the fact that these units' screens are not really that much greater than the current screen on my stock digital camera takes away from the usefulness of the device for me.

[Deadbeef @ Sep 29th 2008 3:00AM]

I've held one in my hands @Photokina.
Without the hard drive is was very light. Was built out of plastic, that to me as a photo-pro would be hard to take seriously. I own a PD-70x and that one is built to last.
The display, wich might be a nice feature to a beginner doesn't compete by far to the current display's used in any new camera. Very low resolution (you can count the pixels!) and the colors are washed out. Did a mention that de viewing angle affects the display quality?

My PD-70x has no feature for SDHD cards, and yes I've also bent a pin on the CF card slot in the field (wich I luckely could repair myself).

[billy bob thorton @ Sep 29th 2008 11:12AM]

yea I also take the PD70x with me just in case. I've dropped it on a tile bathroom floor from 4.5' and it worked fine. It's shock mounted and in a metal casing. The Colorspace is not shock mounted and plastic and for that reason, stays in my bag and not on my belt like the PD70x. It's slow as crap transferring to a computer (10-12MB/s) though which is why I upgraded. It's actually faster to take it apart, pull the drive, put it in a new usb enclosure, and transfer the files at 33MB/s than to wait.

[Information Central @ Sep 29th 2008 10:34PM]

"some people think they are smarter than everyone else but really there life is meaningless."

THERE life is meaningless? I think you just undermined your point there, buddy.

[rhumbaventi @ Sep 30th 2008 8:14AM]

- claims to be "the only storage device in the market that can decode and display true RAW images from any camera on its 3.2-inch (QVGA) color LCD screen."

Hmmm, but I wonder. Cause I have a Vosonic VP8860 device that also claims to be able to display RAW images (haha, but I don't use it for RAW images though).

[zorak81 @ Dec 15th 2008 6:57PM]

I've got a new ColorSpace UDMA recently but i can not connect it to my Macbook.
I connected it to make a test download and it doesn't really work.
there's no connection between the device and the laptop.

Any ideas on how to make it work?

Thanks in advance

adrian