Customer Reviews

Epson P-2000 Multimedia Storage Drive, Viewer, and Audio/Video Player (B31B174011)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Last summer I bought a Canon Digital Rebel and broke it in on vacation in Florida. Foolishly, I thought a single 512 CF card would suffice. I wound up conserving my shots and deleting more than a few in order to make room for more. Granted, the larger 6.3 megapixel camera created larger files, but I still was woefully prepared. I spent too much vacation time fretting over how many pictures were left and weighing that against the number of days left in my vacation. Not anymore!
This summer, when I travel, I'll be toting the Epson P-2000 to go along with the upgraged Canon 20D. Even with the boost in megapixels, I'll not worry about a single shot. I can fill the 512 CF card and then download all the images (including the raw format for the 20D) onto the Epson P-2000, erase the images from the card, reload and then keep shooting.
I have a 60GB Ipod, but I bought that for the music. I was originally considering storing unprocessed pictures on the Ipod this summer in order to free up space on my CF card. However, the more I read reviews on the two Belkin products that can accomplish this task, the more I realized that this was going to be a frustrating, time consuming, and battery-draining endeavor. The main reason I began to search for a media storage device was the numerous consumer reviews I'd read about the Belkin product that complained about the excessive time spent downloading onto the Ipod. Not only would it take over twenty minutes, but it would seriously drain the battery. I considered this transition from CF card to Ipod needing to be accomplished in the Magic Kingdom and realized that this was the stuff nightmares were made of! Not only that, but then I would be needing a charge for the Ipod! Not good! The purpose of this was to make cleaning off a card convenient!
After searching through several products, I came upon several reviews of the Epson P-2000. It has several glowing reviews and, now that I have one, I understand why. Albiet a bit pricey, this is a solid unit that really delivers!
The 40GB is more than ample to handle pictures taken with my 20D using either RAW format or the Large/Fine files. The download from a regular 512 Sandisk (not WA or 80x) is very fast! Really!
The machine is quite intuitive to use. The controls are straightforward. The screen produces some outstanding images with superb color, clarity, and detail. The zoom feature on the Epson is also stunning. You really won't believe your eyes until you load some images onto the unit and view them for yourself.
This product allows you to clear you CF cards AND see the images you took. I like that advantage over the idea of carrying the data on an Ipod without the ability to see the pictures.
I didn't buy this product expecting it to be a great MP3 player. From what I understand, it performs well as an MP3 player, but I doubt it will touch the quality of sound from the Ipod. The unit does come with some sample pictures and a sample video. As of yet, I haven't transfered any video to the P-2000, but the sample video was incredible! The screen is large enough and the speakers produce ample volume that I would consider copying a DVD into AVI format and load it onto the machine.
If your primary consideration for a media storage device is for pictures, this is your unit. Although it does a lot more than just handle pictures, there are other units that are probably better suited for other purposes. For instance, the 100GB Archos would be my choice for a device to store DVDs on. The Ipod is the one to beat for quality music. Similarly, the Epson P-2000 is the king of the hill when it comes to allowing you to view pictures in brilliant, amazing color on the ample 3.8" LCD screen. The 40GB is also quite sufficient for storing a huge number of high-quality pictures from your CF card.

I can't imagine going on a shoot or traveling without one of these!
It works just like you'd expect it to, very easily, you drop in your CF or SD (it supports both) and you can download and create an album in a matter of seconds/minutes depending on card and file sizes.

The only thing that really irks me is the time it takes to cache the images, you have to cycle through the entire album once for it to do so, and that can take forever if we're talking about a 1GB card. It takes about a second to cycle through each image (jpeg format from my 8mp digital slr) If it were a touch faster, it would be rockin'.

I also dislike how finiky the unit is regarding movie files. It claims to be able to play AVIs, but it wont play the avis' that run on my computer, but it will take the ones from my compact camera. Okay...! Not a big deal for me since I'm using this for purely on the go storage in lui of lugging a laptop around, but still, they could've made this easier.

The case that comes with the P2000 is okay... Lookswise, it's kinda silly looking. It has a pull tab on it. As for protecting the case, I mean, it's slightly padded, but I would've liked to see a case included that you could store the P2000 in while using it. The one that is included is soft foamy material. The sell cases on ebay specifically made for the P-2000 that are made of leather, and they store memory cards, all while holding the unit. I'd reccomend picking one of those up instead of the included case.

The design is REALLY sleek and nice. Images look simply beautiful on the big screen. It really looks similar to a Sony PSP, people get mixed up and ask me all the time what game I'm playing.

The battery life is GREAT, I've only recharged the battery once, and I read in Popular Photography that you can transfer up to 13 cards before having to make a new charge.

The few annoyances I mentioned above are not even worth mentioning once you have the unit in your hands, it is worth the cost and the time it takes to cache the images!

Advantages to P-2000
- Menus & Buttons are visual, intuitive and easy to use. Browsing thumbnails display quickly.
- The display is large, sharp, bright and perfect for viewing photos
- Quick downloads
- Memory cards slot design makes it easy to load & remove cards with press of button. Accepts both SD & Compact Flash cards without an adapter.
- Comes with protective case, hand strap & display stand
- Battery is well protected - stored inside device with a door covering it
- Easy handling, no clumsy screen to unfold

Disadvantages to P-2000
- Can't Zoom or do slide shows with raw files If you shoot .nef +jpg, you can still zoom, create slide shows and it will auto rotate the jpg for you. Although you can't rotate raw files I didn't find it an issue since it's easy to turn the device sideways and that way it uses the whole large screen for a larger display anyway.
- No Histogram display on raw files (again if you shoot with a raw+jpg you can view the histogram on the jpg)
- Hard to find one in stock to buy!

Advantages to Flashtrax
- One button download don't need to open cover to start download process
- Better raw file support, can rotate & zoom raw files & view histogram
- Offers a 80GB option

Disadvantages of Flashtrax
- Doesn't come with protective case
- Hinged screen seems vulnerable to breakage if you bend it back too far
- Menus & filelists are hard to navigate - buttons awkward
- Need to move rubber piece to insert memory card each time
- Compared to p-2000 the screen display is poor and protective plastic is flimsy
- Battery snaps on end near hinge and can pop out if you press buttons on side accidentally.
- slow download speeds
- Awkward to hold & balance because you have to unfold the screen. Folding screen also makes hard to adjust screens angle of view if there is a glare.

Prior to buying the P-2000 I owned a Flashtrax & an eFilm PicturePad which I use to download raw digital photos. One day the eFilm stopped reading memory cards, but the other functions worked. Although it was under warranty the eFilm stopped making them and couldn't fix it so bought a Flashtrax to replace it.

I liked the Flashtrax a lot better than the picturePad since it's display, battery life and menus were much better than the efilm. When my husband dropped the FlashTrax on a grassy area, the screen cracked even though it was folded at the time. It still worked fine, the display was just cracked. So don't assume that the folding screen will protect the screen from breaking. SmartDisk replaced the screen but a few weeks ago my photo equipment was stolen so I was back on the market for a portable storage device. After reading a review of the p-2000 I decided to give it a try. (On the p-2000 the glass/plastic on the p-2000 screen & body seems much more solid than the FlashTrax so I think it would withstand rough play a little better even though it doesn't fold.)

Now that I've worked with the P-2000, I wouldn't buy another Flashtrax. The P-2000 downloads from memory cards much faster, and the screen display is bright, sharp and large enough (3.8") to get a detailed view of photos. The menu's are more intuitive due to the more visual nature of the menus and the buttons easier to use. The slide show feature also automatically will create transitions to make the show look polished without any effort. There's no folding and unfolding screens to view making it's easier to hold and adjust the screen to get a direct view without glare.

Bottom Line:
If you are a professional or enthusiast who shoots raw, you'll probably agree that Epson could to improve the raw file support. They need to add the capability to view histograms and zoom on raw files which I'm hoping Epson will do in a future software update that I'll be able to download easily. Shooting a small jpg does work around this but wastes memory space. Most the time I only check my histograpms while I'm shooting to see if I need to adjust settings so this isn't a deal breaker for me. You'll still love the P-2000 for it's great display and ease of use. It's much cheaper than buying 40GB of compact flash cards and smaller and easier/faster to use in the field than a laptop.

If you are an amateur you'll love the p-2000 since its a slick device to store/view thousands of photos, listen to jpegs and watch quicktime movies on.

Definately worth the wait if you can't find one right away to buy.

Epson if you are listening... you have a good product can't you increase production, improve raw file support and come out with a 80GB option?

I've been a professional photographer for about 20 years, but I did have a hiatus in that span in which photography fell by the wayside. I've gotten back into the craft and for the most part, I have kissed film goodbye - and I would have bet my left arm that would never happen. I just bought a new digital outfit to begin my new venture into the photo biz and asked an acquaintance who is a freelance photographer and who is sent on assignment by such publications as Time & Life. He recommended the P-2000 when I asked his opinion on the best device out there to use in the field to clear out CF cards and after getting to handle one in person, I agreed with him and bought mine 2 weeks ago.

The image quality is STUNNING. There is no other way to put it. Colors are crisp & sharp on the moderate-sized display and the controls are iPod-ishly intuitive and easy to operate.

There are some things I believe should be done to make the next incarnation a 5-star achiever:

1.) This puppy really needs to have a firewire port. Say what you will about USB 2.0 - on a Mac, Firewire is simply faster. I have a USB 2.0 port on my iMac, but this thinig is too freakin' slow in importing images via USB to the computer. This is a device for professionals - I'd say can the SD slot in favor of a firewire port!

2.) The charging port is on the opposite side of where the lanyard attaches. ... so, if you want this to charge while in its protective case, you have to turn the lanyard in the case and have it charging in an awkward position.

3.) They seriously need to come out w/ an external battery charger. I do not see the point of buying a separate battery if there is no charger other than the unit itself.

4.) The delay between clicking on a thumbnail and/or zoominig in is WAY TOO LONG. Sometimes, it's zooms in fast, and other times it feels like an ice age is going to pass you by while you wait.

5.) It is way too picky on video formats. The example/demo video that came w/ the unit is a .mov Quicktime file - but I have quicktime files that play fine on my Mac that won't play on this thing. Granted, I will primarily be using this as a professional companion in photoshoots, not as a video player - but you get the idea.

6.) Where you put in the CF card, it needs to be labled more clearly on the orientation so you don't jam it in backwards.

7.) When the disk is full and you want to import the photos into iPhoto - it takes FOREVER. I have imported photos from external hard drives, CDs and DVDs before, but this is the slowest EVER. I shot a wedding rehearsal and the wedding itself - well over 2000 photos in about 14 hours of activities over 2 days. I got home and hooked this puppy up at 4pm and started importing photos. I went about my day, took a nap and about a few minutes to midnight, went to look at the photos and they were STILL importing! Only about 75% had been imported. I don't know if this is a 2000 rpm drive or if it's a USB 1.0 or what its shortcomings are in the speed dept., but yikes, it takes way too stinking long!

Despite its shortcomings, it is a fast downloader from CF to the drive while in the field. Not as fast as I'd like, but decent. I used this device yesterday during a photoshoot in which I took bridal portraits for about 3 hours. I imported over 700 photos and the bride viewed many of them, zooming in on several - and half the battery life remains. This device pays for itself in just saving the cost of larger capacity CF cards over time. Thus far, I am very pleased with this purchase.

This is a nice portable viewer but do not buy it to use to copy photos from your memory cards in the field, it is not reliable enough for that. I stored over 13 gigs of photos on it during a recent trip and two folders of over 300 photos "disappeared". I could not view or download the photos. I thought they were lost or corrupted, but I was able to recover them using the $200 OnTrack Easy Recovery Program. Although it was the only way I would have recovered my photos, Epson later told me not to use it. I also had problems with the battery not charging within the first week and even problems running the unit on AC power. All this happened in the first month I had the unit, but Epson would not refund or replace the unit. I sent it to them for warranty service and it came back quickly with no explanation of what they did. I have no confidence I can save photos to this unit as backup, which is the reason I bought it. If you are willing to spend this much on a portable viewer, it is excellent, but if you want a reliable tool to backup photos on the go, DON'T BUY THE EPSON P-2000 or P-4000, stick with a laptop.

I really liked my P-2000. However, in the last 2 weeks I have had to change my mind. I got the blue screen of death with the icon that said press reset. No luck. So, I tried to get it fixed and found out to put in a new drive and download the software it would cost $435.00. I looked around on the internet and ended up at Epson and was gob smacked. One should know that any of the "photo viewers" from Epson can not be reformated, defraged, have the software downloaded again or have the drive replaced. It takes a "special drive". My point is this company is selling a computer device that cost several hundred dollars and is is a THROW AWAY product. If you like to waste your money go ahead but if your want value for your dollar run, run like the wind.

Does an excelent job and has a lot of versitility, but is heavy and slow to load the pictures each time you try to initially view them. (This pertains to the pictures that are already in a folder on the p-2000. I would have expected these to be faster to view then pictures being downloaded.) Once you've been through the "slide show" once, the images load quicker the second time. Had no proplems uploading and downloading from my computer. No problems downloading directly from my camera's card. Overall I am quite happy with my purchase. Screen gives a very good image. Very clear and crisp. Worked great while we were traveling. I used it to unload my camera card so I didn't have to bring extra cards.

Pros:
- Field backup of your photos
- Nice display
- Easy to understand and use (compared to, say, your camera)

Cons which, if corrected, would put it in the 5 star:
- Slow to load from CF to internal HDD
- No external battery charger
- Cannot zoom in on camera RAW files
- Price $200 less (might as well dream)

4 stars. Worth owning.

this item was worth the money, it was delivered on time for my trip to Grenada.
easy to used and backup your stuff on.
thanks guy

Reviews to save pictures on trips is on the wrong tract. Buy this device to display pictures. You can buy Compact Flash 32 GB for $80. You can buy Secure Digital High Capacity 32 GB for $35. The top reviewer bought this "storage device" to continue using his 512 MB compact Flash! For $80 he could have multiplied his storage by 64x and never needed this "storage device". I take all of my pictures in raw & jpeg with a Canon 5D full frame camera, 12.8 mpxl. Using a 32 GB CF, I get 1,400 pictures. I carry 2-32 GB CF cards for a total of 4,200 pictures on very long back pack trips. The total cost for these cards is $240. So - don't buy this "storage device" to save money - buy it so you can show pictures to friends w/o taking your laptop with you.