Wolverine PicPac 160GB - ANYBODY USE?

[CATinHAWAII]

Costco has this item, the Wolverine PicPac 160GB Portable
Digital Pictures & Data Storage,,, for $189.99...

Digital camera always filling up? Need a way to secure your pictures on the go?

Be prepared to buy and manage a lot of memory cards or just get the PicPac. With one memory card, you can copy thousands and thousands of photos through the PicPac's 11-in-1 Memory Card Reader. It's a battery powered storage unit, so no laptop needed to store off your photos.

Specifications:
Capacity: 160GB
Stores approx. 50,000 High Resolution Pictures
Status Display Screen (LCD) - (no picture preview)
Computer Interface: PC & Mac compatible; High speed USB2.0 (compatible w/USB1.1)
Power Source: Rechargeable battery and 100V-240V AC-DC external power adapter
System Compatibility: Windows: ME, 2000, XP, Vista; Mac: OS 10.x and above; Linux: 2.4x and above
Included Accessories: AC/DC Universal 100-240V auto switch power adapter, User Manual, USB Cable, CD, Carry Pouch
Dimension: 4.7" x 3.1" x 0.9"
Weight: 8 oz.
Warranty: 1-year limited warranty
Built-in Memory Card Slots for:
Compact Flash (CF), MicroDrive (MD), Sony Memory Stick (MS), Sony MS Pro, Sony MS Duo, Sony MS Pro Duo, Secure Digital (SD), Secure Digital High Capacity (SDHC), Multimedia Card (MMC), Micro SD, XD Card

my question is this,,, how many of you have ever used this, and how does it work for you? ive heard of these devices before, but i think they were all in the $500-$1000 range... is it convenient? easy? fast to semi fast? if it does, then i wont have to drag my laptop with me on vacation...

thanks in advance for your help!

 

[H2Ockey]

That looks very promising and the price is decent. For me I normally do drag my laptop around and to be honest can't see the need for this personally, BUT on my last vacation (a safari in South Africa) I did meet a dutch couple who were at least semi-professional. Since we were both shooting Nikons and I was brand new to the DSLR thing I tried picking her braiin on all kinds of aspects of photography and what not. I was carrying two HDMA 4 gig cards and a 133x 1 gig for back up and downloading to my laptop daily. She thought that was ok but they didn't own a laptop and amongst the ~$30,000 (my guestimation) of camera equipment they carried I suppose they didn't have room for computer stuff as well. Well she was using 1 gig HDMA cards like they were rolls of film. Pull it out write date/location on the card and insert another. Not sure how many cards she went through but in the three days we were together I took ~10 gigs worth, and they were on the front end of a 3 week trip. For the size and price this sounds ideal, at least as a secondary back up with all those cards.

 

[tip]

I haven't used the Wolverine, but I've used a similar device - the Photobank by SmartDisk. It's very similar - copy images from cards to the unit, and then copy from the unit to your computer. .... And yes, it does save the bulk of bringing a laptop with you.

I brought the Photobank with me recently to Hong Kong; however, I did bring a small Eee PC to verify that the images copied over. Quite manageable and easy.

 

[CATinHAWAII]

does anybody know if one can use these
backup devices (wolverine and others)
to back up video from a video cam such as the
flip video... it uses a usb connector....

just wondering...

 

[jake-g]

Looks pretty cool to me. FYI Adorama has it 20$ cheaper with free shipping.

 

[CATinHAWAII]

Looks pretty cool to me. FYI Adorama has it 20$ cheaper with free shipping.

thanks! ill look over there,,, sometimes they have
user comments on the products too...

 

[CATinHAWAII]

I haven't used the Wolverine, but I've used a similar device - the Photobank by SmartDisk. It's very similar - copy images from cards to the unit, and then copy from the unit to your computer. .... And yes, it does save the bulk of bringing a laptop with you.

I brought the Photobank with me recently to Hong Kong; however, I did bring a small Eee PC to verify that the images copied over. Quite manageable and easy.

can you move images from your computer to the Photobank ?

 

[tip]

can you move images from your computer to the Photobank ?

When it's hooked up to your computer, it's basically a USB drive, so you can use it as external storage. So it's not just image files, it's any file you need to work with.

 

[CATinHAWAII]

When it's hooked up to your computer, it's basically a USB drive, so you can use it as external storage. So it's not just image files, it's any file you need to work with.

ok, so if i get a cheap video camera for the kids (like the flip video mineo)
that doesnt have the ability to store more than an hours worth of video, perhaps i could use the smartdisk or wolverine as a hard drive without a computer, and just download it to my computer when i get home...
the flip video has a usb port, but only internal memory.....

 

[tip]

ok, so if i get a cheap video camera for the kids (like the flip video mineo)
that doesnt have the ability to store more than an hours worth of video, perhaps i could use the smartdisk or wolverine as a hard drive without a computer, and just download it to my computer when i get home...
the flip video has a usb port, but only internal memory.....

I can't speak for the Wolverine, but for the SmartDisk you can. You insert a media card (SD, MMC, CF, etc.) and simply push the "Copy" button.

The contents of the card are simply copied (no matter what the content is) to a newly created folder called "Card 01" (if this folder exists, then it will create "Card 02" (or 03 or 04 or whatever next is available).

The SmartDisk (and presumably the Wolverine) also has a rechargeable battery. Just make sure it's freshly charged before you head out.

 

[jampat]

Look at hyperdrive. They aren't much more expensive, take AA batteries and are fast and reliable. 1 gig/min, 80 gigs/set of batteries. I bought one 3 years ago and it works perfectly everytime.

 

[CATinHAWAII]

Look at hyperdrive. They aren't much more expensive, take AA batteries and are fast and reliable. 1 gig/min, 80 gigs/set of batteries. I bought one 3 years ago and it works perfectly everytime.

ok, but if i have like a FLIP video, which does not have cards, and
you have to download to computer via USB, do you think that it can
download from the FLIP video directly to hyperdrive/wolverine/smartdisk???

via the USB port...

 

[tip]

ok, but if i have like a FLIP video, which does not have cards, and
you have to download to computer via USB, do you think that it can
download from the FLIP video directly to hyperdrive/wolverine/smartdisk???

via the USB port...

No, not with the SmartDisk, and probably not with the HyperDrive or Wolverine.

 

[jampat]

That doesn't work with hyperdrive either. Hyperdrive only copies cards. A USB to USB connection does exist that doesn't require a computer, but I have heard that it is slow enough that it is useless.

 

[CATinHAWAII]

That doesn't work with hyperdrive either. Hyperdrive only copies cards. A USB to USB connection does exist that doesn't require a computer, but I have heard that it is slow enough that it is useless.

ok, thanks! no sense getting the flip videos for the kids
for when we go on vacation, then, unless i want to drag around
the computer too...

unless i get the small 13 inch macbook,, smaller and lighter,,,
oh well, things to think about...