CompactDrive PD70x

Unfortunately, being a relatively bulky product and no longer supported makes it a problem for the owners still wishing to make it go further. One of the major hurdles is that the firmware is essentially gone since the various companies using it have disappeared from the radar.

It was first replaced with the HyperDrive HD80 (apparently, the same electronic content under a slightly different mechanical design). But it did not last very long. However, they both share the same firmware (according to all that I read in all these years – I owned a CompactDrive only up to when I broke it in my bag).

So, here I offer the firmware for these two dramatically good portable hard drives in hope to help its owners.

• CompactDrive PD70x – firmware v2.1
• HyperDrive HD80 – firmware v2.1
• HyperDrive HD80 – firmware v2.2 (I’m told this one is the latest and is working on both devices)

The newest firmware resolves compatibility issues with certain Lexar CF cards; Fixes bug in usage of fragmented non-contiguous hard disk space (requires reformatting of hard drive); But, it is still unclear if this solves all the 2GB/4GB card problems.

The new firmware increases the battery charge time (to better compatibility with most recent large capacity batteries).

Of course, as you can expect, I make no guarantee that this is working but it’s more than worth the effort.

Nota Bene: If the company now holding the rights to these two designs are willing to contact me, I’ll be pleased. And we can immediately agree to replace my local storage of these firmware files with the more official ones. I’m not intending to break any copyright, just bringing support to some poor chaps with the files I could finally collect from other people using the PD70x and the HD80.

photo credit: Photo Extremist

How old is your last backup?

Check our articles about the photographer’s backup.

1. Local backup options (External hard disk drive)
2. Local backup options (Optical discs (CD/DVD), RAID drives). Interim conclusion is “No local storage“
3. Online backup options (Photo web sites, Friend-to-Friend)
4. Online backup options (Specialized online backup and online sharing web sites, web storage options, software for online storage) and conclusions

photo © 2010 Keith Ramsey | more info (via: Wylio)

But everything changed now. Mozy decided to remove the unlimited option and to go for a tiered services.

• 50 GB for $5.99 per month (includes backup for 1 computer)
• 125 GB for $9.99 per month (includes backup for up to 3 computers)

Knowing that hard disk drives nowadays go for about 100€ for 2 TB, I have to remove completely this advice.

If I previously listed the best on-line backup tools, I would like to add another option which recently popped up. TrendMicro, the famous provider of antivirus software, has recently presented SafeSync.

Once again, this is unlimited online space for a very reasonable cost (£44.99 or 44.99€ per year).

I did not try it (yet). But when my Mozy backup plan goes down, I will not renew it, and it is quite probable that I will both promote and use SafeSync.

photo © 2009 Sam Catchesides | more info (via: Wylio)

We may have believed that CompactFlash was nearly dead as a format for flash memory cards. This is not true yet, since SanDisk Corporation, Sony Corporation and Nikon Corporation just announced they started the development of the next generation of Compact-Flash memory cards able to hold up to 4 TB (4096 giga-bytes) and delivering 500 MB/sec of data transfer.

This is clearly aimed at the high-end cameras for video storage.

Press Release

November 30, 2010 — SanDisk Corporation, Sony Corporation and Nikon Corporation today announced the joint development of a set of specifications that address the future requirements of professional photography and video markets. The three companies proposed the specifications to the CompactFlash® Association (CFA)*, the international standards organization, with the intent to standardize the format.

Professional photography and High Definition (HD) video applications require a new generation of memory cards capable of processing significantly larger files. To address the imaging industry’s future speed and capacity demands, SanDisk, Sony and Nikon proposed a new card specification whose performance and storage capabilities surpass those of existing memory cards. Once accepted, the new format will enable exciting new possibilities in the professional imaging and video markets.

The proposed specifications achieve data transfer rates of up to 500 megabytes per second (MB/sec)** (theoretical maximum interface speed) using the highly versatile PCI Express*** interface. The increased speeds will enable imaging and video applications that could not be accomplished using the current CompactFlash specification’s Parallel ATA (PATA)**** interface. CF6.0, released in November 2010, offers maximum performance of up to 167MB/sec.

The new specifications’ faster speeds enable continuous burst shooting of massive RAW images. The enhanced performance also allows users to quickly transfer storage-intensive high-resolution photos and videos from the card to a computer. The specifications combine high-speed data transfer with low power consumption via a power scaling system to extend battery life.

In addition to industry-leading performance capabilities, the new memory card specifications also meet the future capacity and durability requirements of professional imaging applications. The proposed new specifications has the potential to extend theoretical maximum capacities beyond 2 terabytes (TB)*****, making it especially useful for high resolution images and HD video applications. Similar in size to a CompactFlash® card, the new specifications’ access control function and highly durable form factor produce a combination of physical ruggedness and reliability that is indispensable for professional usage models.

“This ultra high-speed media format will enable further evolution of hardware and imaging applications, and widen the memory card options available to CompactFlash users such as professional photographers,” said Mr. Shigeto Kanda, Canon, and chairman of the board, CFA. “This next generation format is expected to be widely adapted to various products, including those other than high-end DSLRs.”

“The ultra high-speed media, which will be realized by this new card format, will expand the capability of digital SLR cameras and other professional digital imaging equipment,” said Mr. Kazuyuki Kazami, operating officer, vice president and general manager, development headquarters, imaging company, Nikon Corporation.

This is all wrong: CD and DVD are optical devices whose shelf life has nothing to do with the century some would believe is the credible target. Even in the best storage conditions.

You don’t believe me? The French Laboratoire national de métrologie et d’essais (LNE) just presented to the French Académie des Sciences a very detailed report about this issue. They worked on the recordable optical media and their conclusion is strong:

The storage or the the short-term backup do not bring any significant question, but building decade-long or century-long archives this way is an altogether different issue, understanding that these digital media have no more than a lifetime of 5 or 10 years.

Then:

If this problem is correctly handled in some specialized public organizations, it is widely ignored by the public and most of the institutions or enterprises. A large quantity of personal, medical, scientific, technical, administrative data is thus in really endangered.

So you still doubt it? Your photos are still on a DVD?

See also: Backup solutions for the photographers.

IrfanView v4.27

The excellent images handling software program, IrfanView, has just been upgraded to version 4.27.

• Command line options to handle images with scripts (actions) or filters.
• Addition of a border or a frame.
• Addition of new filters and file formats.
• The screen copies options now allow to handle larger objects like a full web page (auto-scroll is included).

Even better, it stays free.

• Flickr
• Picasa
• Photobucket

They do not conclude which one is better, merely provide a view about the differences.

Good reading.

• SyncBack (Windows, Basic: Free/Pro: $50)
• Windows Home Server (Windows, $99)
• Acronis True Image Home (Windows, $50)
• Time Machine (Mac, Free)
• Rsync (Windows/Mac/Linux, Free)

This list is not perfect, but the explanations make a good complement.

HyperDrive Album

For the last few years, I have been strongly recommending the Sanho disk-based photo viewers and portable memory, to empty your Flash cards into a big portable disk drive. Visibly, they have a very powerful technology which leads to features like:

• Extremely fast copying from card to hard disk drive
• Superb autonomy
• Compatibility with many card formats

Now, Sanho is launching a new product (or product series), the HyperDrive Album, and it boasts pretty nice and precise cons:

• 2GB per minute downloading, with full data verification
• 640GB configuration for $599.00 (or 160GB for $349.00 and any other intermediates)
• 4.8-inch display (800 x 480 resolution)
• 200GB of transfers between battery charges
• Compatibility with the new SDXC card format (and all other common ones)

Go and buy it at HyperShop.com.

Hyperdrive Album