Options for on the road storage of RAW files (Canon and Panasonic)

[Ian MacDonald]

I have noted the posts about netbooks, and the various opinions are echoed by some folks I have spoken to: basically not up to the tasks that many may wish. Have also heard many concerns about failures / reliability (much worse than "real" laptops.) For many years I have had an Epson P2000, and found it to be excellent for my needs, which are very basic: reasonably light weight and compact on the road storage, with at least a basic viewing capability. I have no interest in doing any image editing in the field. However, the (old) P2000 was / is quite slow, and while it can accept .cr2 RAW files, it cannot zoom into them for somewhat critical viewing. But now its major drawback for me is that it can't accept .rw2 RAW files from Panasonic's micro 4/3 cameras.   I thought therefore that, despite being rather pricey,  I would invest in a more modern (and higher capacity) Epson unit (P6000.) However, I was stunned to discover that even the new units do not accept .rw2 RAW files: the Epson web-site is quite clear on this point, so that option is out. So, my query: what are other folks doing "on the road" in wilderness areas other than lugging along a real laptop or taking a fistful of memory cards and hoping they don't get lost? 

[JimAscher]

Have you thought of trying to pick up a used (now discontinued) Sanho Hyperdrive Album.  Mine reads (and zooms in on) most RAW files.  I have posted elsewhere in this forum on this field backup device.

[Ian MacDonald]

Thanks Jim, no, after seeing your post about the discontinuance of the Sanho, I concluded that the option was no longer possible. However, since my earlier post, I have come across the Digital FOCI Picture Porter 35, (two capacities available - 250 GB and 500 GB.) The specs are pretty impressive, so I'm going to look into that unit.

[JimAscher]

Thanks Jim, no, after seeing your post about the discontinuance of the Sanho, I concluded that the option was no longer possible. However, since my earlier post, I have come across the Digital FOCI Picture Porter 35, (two capacities available - 250 GB and 500 GB.) The specs are pretty impressive, so I'm going to look into that unit.

Ian:  I took a look at it and it has, as you point out, pretty impressive specs.  Its screen is of course quite a bit smaller than the HyperDrive Album's (somewhat similar to that of the HyperDrive ColorSpaces still being offered).  I worry though that it might have too many bells-and-whistles -- far more than I would want to employ.  A speaker, mp3, etc!  An advantage of the ColorSpace UDMA is that you can buy the empty shell for about $225, then buy your own hard drive to put into it, at a possibly considerable saving.  I bought my 500-gig hard drive for my album for $50.  The one feature I like in the Picture Porter is that it can work with the tiff format, which my Album was never programmed to do.  Good luck.  Please post your final decision.  Regards, Jim

[Jonathan Ratzlaff]

My netbook has been to Italy and Turkey with no issues that I am aware of.  The advantage of a netbook or small notebook is flexibilty. 
To view images just install fast stone image viewer or some other photoviewer. It does not seem to have any issues with viewing raw files.
The other thing to look at is battery life.  Netbook 6+ hours, small notebook similar.