Customer Reviews

Epson P-5000 80GB Multimedia Storage Drive, Viewer, and Audio-Video Player w/ 4-Inch LCD

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I just received this yesterday, and it is better then I had hoped for. Bonuses include:

1) While there is no stated support for 4GB SDHC cards, they work without a hitch.

2) While there is no stated support for XViD encoded file, they also work perfectly.

As a photo backup and viewing device, it is a solid five stars. It imports the pictures quickly, it displays them beautifully and it allows me to see the Exif data on the device. The OS, while not very complex, is smart about where it keeps new pictures. I also appreciate that the hard drive is so large. I currently have about 30GB of digital images, and I now carry my entire library with me. Another backup location is always appreciated.

As a movie player it is also very good 4+ stars. Not as good as the current generation of Archos for example, but as a secondary function, it is more then acceptable. Pictures are clear and volume is loud enough that you can use it without headphones if you had to. With one exception, I didn't notice any jumping or skipping in the movies I tried out. It does have a few minuses as a movie player:

1) No support for AC3 audio.
2) Since the screen is 4 inches but 640x480, widescreen movies are smaller then they would be on a 4 inch 480x272. The flip side of this is that non-widescreen movies (ie TV shows) are bigger on the P5000.
3) Quicktime doesn't work very well at all. Lots of jumping and skipping. It might have been just the two I tried.

On the plus side, every AVI - whether Divx or XViD - worked like a charm. Every MP4 files I tried also worked.

I give this a solid five stars because in its primary function it is as good as it can be. For its secondary functions (movie and music player) it is still quite good.

Highly recommended.

I am a wedding and portrait photographer, and this has saved me from having to hire an assistant to upload images onto my laptop. This is so easy to use, especially in travel. I just pop in the card, keep shooting while it is uploading in the bag around my shoulder, and then later, i can click through the images and delete the ones i want to get rid of.
I did run into one problem when i was trying to create a thumbnail for a session i uploaded. It froze, and we had to use the reset button. But, other than that (which i didn't really need to do, just playing around), it is great! Worth every penny!

Be sure to verify that your CF card is compatible with the device. My Lexar 8gb 133x cards will not work with my P-4000. A Lexar 8gb 40x card does. The Epson company recognizes this limit if you ask but doesn't do it in the ads.

Otherwise it is a pretty good storage device.

I am amazed about the versatility and speed the new P-5000. Downloading a 6GB CF card took less time than my desk computer. The 4-inch screen is very sharp and great for movies and photos. I hooked it up to a portable Epson printer and quick printed test photos. The only draw back is the battery drain, be sure to keep a spare.

Just got this unit yesterday. It has an excellent 4 inch display. The unit reads Compact Flash cards and transfers images very fast. The ergonomics of it are also great and its very easy to use. Seems to work fine with Canon RAW files. Has Histogram display.

Normally, this item is first thought of as a backup device and portable slide show machine. But its the viewer part that drew me. This item lets me be free of prints to share images with my family and friends outside of a computer terminal. If there are particular favorites people like, I can make prints or enlargements after reviewing the all the images in the bright, hi-res viewer. Fantastic! And you cannot beat the small size for so many images.

This product met and exceed not only my expectations but the product as well. I no longer need to carry a laptop to download and view the photos. I purchased the large 80 GB model. No problems at all with the battery holding a charge. The viewer is bright and large. The only negative factor is that you can not rename the files. However, that is no problem as the unit adds a new folder for each compact flash card download. I would recommend this product without any hesitation!

I cannot tell you how many times I have been off with my camera, lots of batteries, and I think enough memory, and had to miss some great shots because my cards were full. Not any more. The other great thing is you can check out your shots, zoom in on them to be sure you captured it as well as the cameras' screen said you did, and then save them into a folder to later put onto your computer. No more having my computer filled with the not-so-hot pictures to try and find time to glean out the good ones and exit the bad ones. I do that well before the photo gets near the computer. I can rate them, move them, make a presentation with them, so I am far ahead of schedule by the time I reach my computer. I have a back up battery, but so far I have not had to use it.

I highly recommend this product for serious amateurs and professionals. I used a different product with no image display on a recent European trip, and while it functioned okay, having access to image file names only was a bit disconcerting. The Epson P-5000 changes everything! It is excellent in everything I need it to do, which is primarily to offload images from my Nikon SD cards and preview NEF thumbnails or zoom in to check details. The 80GB storage means I can shoot all day in NEF, offload the images and never be concerned about running out of room. I have a few 2GB cards, but keeping the Epson close by is a must for me now. The interface is extremely intuitive, the image reproduction is excellent, the speed is great, and the general feel from ergonomics to "fits in the bag" can't be beat. If you shoot raw and want to invest in something other than more and more memory cards, buy the 80GB Epson and an extra battery (always a wise decision). You won't be disappointed.

Got the item delivered and it wasn't operational.Sent it to Epson and they returned it in a timely manner with a new hard drive and mother board(makes me wonder why I didn't get a new unit instead).The unit now is what I expected it to be and will be glad to have it on my international trip next year.I purchased it cause I didn't want to carry a laptop with me and wanted a storage device for my images.I will have to get a couple of extra batteries as the battery life is not as long as I would like.It operates easy enough and the images look great on the 4" screen(hope in the next couple of years DSLRs will have this size screen).It will be a welcome addition to my camera bag and should make my photo life a little bit easier.Thanks Epson=)