SmartDisk Flash Trax FTX80 80 GB MP3 Player and CF Recorder

by SmartDisk

Product Details

Product Manual [570kb PDF]

• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0000T71SA
• Item model number: 785134007483
• Average Customer Review: 2.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)

Product Description

FlashTrax is an innovative handheld device that allows you to expand the use of your digital camera and multimedia files. With simple controls and high-speed transfers, FlashTrax allows you to store, view, and play all sorts of media files, all in one palm-size, portable device. Why carry piles of flash media with you? When you’ve filled up your media card, just copy it to FlashTrax, erase it, and keep on shooting! When you’re done, just connect FlashTrax to your computer to view, print, or store your pictures. With its massive storage capacity, FlashTrax has more than enough space to take your entire MP3 collection with you on the road. The convenient MP3 control panel on the side makes it incredibly easy to listen to your music anywhere. Unlike other devices that require custom drivers or complex interface software, FlashTrax was designed to be as friendly with your computer as possible – just plug it in and use it like a USB 2.0 hard disk! You can even use your FlashTrax to transfer data between computers. With its large, vibrant screen, FlashTrax is great for previewing your digital images or sharing them with the world. Whether you’re spot-checking on the site of your latest photoshoot or sharing your photo album with Grandma, FlashTrax has everything you need. Watch videos with audio soundtrack – compatible with the video formats created by the “movie” mode of many digital still cameras AVI (MJPEG.AVI files). View pictures or videos on a TV monitor with included video cable and infrared remote control.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Middle of the road Photo storage device, June 23, 2005

By 

Luna Moon (Minneapolis, US) - See all my reviews

This review is from: SmartDisk Flash Trax FTX80 80 GB MP3 Player and CF Recorder (Electronics)

I've owned a Flashtrax (40GB), Epson P-2000 & eFilm Picture pad and would rate the Flashtrax in the middle of the pack, with the P-2000 in the lead at this point when it comes to digital photo storage.

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.

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!

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. I must give kudos to SmartDisk for great warranty support! 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 in raw format, you'll probably agree that Flashtraxs raw support is better than Epsons. Epson needs to add the capability to view histograms and zoom on raw files which I'm hoping they will do in a future software update that owners can download. Shooting in Raw+jpg does work around this but wastes memory space. Most the time I only check my histograms 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. Getting the Flashtrax or P-2000 is much cheaper than buying 40GB of compact flash cards and smaller and easier/faster to use in the field than a laptop. If you decide to go with the Flashtrax you'll be happy not to lug a laptop but learn to balance awkward devices in the field. If you need the capacity for 80GB the Flashtrax is your only option at this point. Nikon owners may look at the Coolwalker. Although I haven't owned one the P-2000s screen and flexibility to use with non-Nikon cameras (such as my Olympus point & shoot) gives it a big advantage over the Coolwalker in my mind. Plus on the p-2000 & Flashtrax you can view videos & listen to music too!

If you are an amateur you'll love the p-2000 since its a slick device to store/view thousands of photos, listen to music and watch quicktime movies on. I wouldn't get the Flashtrax since you don't need the 80GB file capacity to store thousands of jpgs or raw file features. The P-2000 is easier to use too.

The only problem is it's hard to find a p-2000 in stock due to demand or Epsons lack of production so if you are in a hurry, you may need to get a FlashTrax instead.

**

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars I was very disappointed in this unit., January 28, 2005

By 

Michael L. Baird "Author "Engineering You... (Morro Bay, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: SmartDisk Flash Trax FTX80 80 GB MP3 Player and CF Recorder (Electronics)

I was very disappointed in this unit. I was going to take it on two-week trip, where the eight of us could save all of our pictures, and review them in the hotel during the trip, and burn a DVD for all at the end, but after discovering the following deficiencies, I threw it in a drawer instead: (1) power brick and cables were almost as large and as heavy as the unit itself, (2) the unit took 5-7 seconds just to display the next picture - making quick review very frustrating, and (3) the video cable for displaying on a TV did not work, or just barely worked if one jiggled it and held it out 1/16th of an inch and applied pressure - either a defective or poorly designed cable/plug. I'd expect this from a $5 pair of cheap headphones, but this unit cost me almost 600 dollars.

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good allrounder, March 18, 2004

By 

"mvdm12" (Cape Town) - See all my reviews

This review is from: SmartDisk Flash Trax FTX80 80 GB MP3 Player and CF Recorder (Electronics)

I had the need for a product that could be used for: 1. playing MP3, 2. dumping photos 3.Viewing photos and 4. Portable data storage. Along with the Archos products this was the only device which can do it all. I selected this because I prefer the "gameboy" design since it protects the screen well. In fact, I was so impressed with the specs that I was prepared to pay about $170 shipping(to south africa) and run the risk of losing it since there is no support outside US/Europe at all. It all paid off(so far). Fortunately it arrived intact and I have had the device now for 3 problem free months.

It plays music with exceptional quality and photo dumping from all card formats are a breeze with the very flexible optional adapter. TV connection also works well. The video only supports Motion JPEG - MJPEG.AVI files. I have been able to look at .avi videos taken with a Canon camera successfully. However with a downloadeable translation tool from their web site, many other formats can be translated and it works. The translated video takes up a bit more space after translation. Since the device firmware can be upgraded, one hopes that they will come out with more video codecs. The only glitch i found is that the operating system can be very slow when you have large directories. With 80GB of dispace available, a directory can become too large very quickly. That requires a lot of organizing if you have lots of music to store. I also requested from the support people to confirm (before I ordered)whether I would be able to read a Memorystick Duo (with supplied adapter) but there was no satisfactory answer. Battery life is not great, about 3 hours when playing music only, but that should be expected for a device such as this. When only using it for dumping photos, it lasts for days.

A nice feature is that it can read .M3U playlists created on our PC and you can create playlists on the device itself.

An all in all impressive product which have given me countless hours of joy(so far) and I would recommend it for sure. In fact, I have not seen a device on the market yet for the price that can beat it.