Jason Kravitz
08-04-2004, 08:30 PM
<img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/kravitz_jul04_ft_small.jpg" /><br /><br /><b>Product Category:</b> Music Player, Image Viewer, Portable Storage<br /><b>Manufacturer:</b> <a href="http://www.smartdisk.com">SmartDisk</a><br /><b>Where to Buy:</b> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect?tag=jasondunn-20&path=tg/detail/-/B0000ZG0YA/qid%3D1089755659/sr%3D8-4">Amazon</a> [Affiliate]<br /><b>Price:</b> $699.99 USD MSRP (80 GB), $499.99 USD MSRP (40 GB), $399.99 USD MSRP (20 GB).<br /><b>Specifications:</b> 5.63"L X 3.62"H X 1.26"D. Weight 12 oz. USB 2.0 support for Windows and Macintosh.<br /><br /><b>Pros:</b><li>Portable 80GB, 40GB or 20GB Hard Drive with 3.5" Display;<br /><li>Image viewer software handles JPEG, TIFF and many camera RAW formats;<br /><li>Movie viewer displays AVI or MOV files at 320x240 (30fps) or 640x480 (10fps);<br /><li>MP3 player with speaker and headphone;<br /><li>High speed USB 2.0 computer interface and RCA cable to view photos on a television.<br /><b>Cons:</b><li>Yet another device for the mobile elite;<br /><li>LCD Viewer quality is decent but not adequate for evaluating a shot;<br /><li>AC Adapter is almost as big as the unit itself.<b>Summary:</b><br />Despite the cost of memory dropping daily, there are still times where photographers find themselves with a full card and a missed photo opportunity. SmartDisk seeks to alleviate this frustration with their FlashTrax portable storage device. FlashTrax lets you backup a Compact Flash card, play MP3's and view images and movies on a flip-up 3.5" LCD color viewer.<br /><br />Read on for the full review!<!><br /><PAGEBREAK><br /><span><b>Overview</b></span><br />FlashTrax is an image backup solution geared at digital photographers on the go. SmartDisk offers three varieties featuring 20,40 and 80 gigabyte hard drives providing plenty of space to chronicle any photo adventure. FlashTrax also features an MP3 music player and movie viewer. Transferring data between your Flashtrax and computer is as easy as connecting any high speed USB 2.0 device. <br /><br /><span><b>Command and Control</b></span><br />The FlashTrax screen flips up to reveal several navigational buttons. The button layout consists of Power On/Off, Zoom In/Out, Mode, Esc, Fn and a Directional Pad with an Enter button in the center. The Mode button toggles between the Image Viewer, File Explorer, Music Player and Setup Screen. Pressing Fn in most windows opens the contextual menu bar at the top of the screen. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/kravitz_jul04_ft_buttons.jpg" /><br /><i>Figure 1: Main Buttons.</i><br /><br />After taking a few minutes to get oriented with the buttons and interface it is fairly easy to get around. There is a Copy button on the front of the device which allows you to insert a card and dump the contents without having to look at the display. This is useful while taking pictures when you don't want to be slowed down clicking through menu screens. It may be helpful to have two Compact Flash cards so that you can continue shooting while copying files. It took me about nine minutes to copy a full 512mb compact flash card. <br /><br />The right side of the FlashTrax has play/pause, forward/back and volume buttons to control the movie and music players. There is also a hold tab which disables these buttons so they do not get pushed accidentally if the device is in your pocket or bag.<br /><br />The left side consists of the USB 2.0 plug, AC adapter and headphone inputs as well as an RCA style video connector to view images and movies on a television.<br /><br />The FlashTrax comes with a remote control with a button layout that mirrors the on board controls. <br /><br /><span><b>Exploring the Image Viewer</b></span><br />Both the image viewer and file explorer display folder and file names as well as file size. The layout should be familiar to Windows and Macintosh users. In the photo view, moving the cursor over an image file displays a thumbnail, time stamp, image height and width as well as the f-stop and shutter speed if the image contains the proper EXIF information. I found this to be a nice feature but was hoping they could squeeze a histogram in somewhere. <br /><br />The LCD viewer is crisp with decent color display. Most serious photographers will probably find it more beneficial to use the histogram in their camera to determine correct exposure and not rely on how the image looks on the FlashTrax. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/kravitz_jul04_ss_imageview.jpg" /><br /><i>Figure 2: The Image Viewer.</i><br /><br />More advanced options are located in the menus at the top of the screen. There is a slideshow mode which can be set to run manually or at several preset intervals from one to ten seconds. The file layout can be toggled from a detail view to a thumbnail view. <br /><br />Pressing enter on an image launches the full screen mode. The 4+ MB JPEG images from my camera take a few seconds to load. Smaller images load much quicker. Images can be rotated in the full screen view by pressing the Mode button. It is also possible to zoom in and out of the image and pan using the directional pad. The zoom is useful for examining whether a shot is in focus or looking at the smaller details of an image. Pressing enter while in full screen mode displays the EXIF information such as camera make and model, focal length and metering mode. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/kravitz_jul04_ss_exifdata.jpg" /><br /><i>Figure 3: Full Screen mode with EXIF info.</i><br /><br />Supported image formats are JPEG, GIF, BMP, TIFF and RAW from many digital cameras. Movie files in AVI and MOV format can be played full screen from the File Viewer. According to the manual movies will play at either 320x240 (30 frames per second) or 640x480 (10 frames per second) with audio. The built-in speaker is adequate although headphones are recommended.<br /><PAGEBREAK><br /><span><b>Music for the Masses</b></span><br />As a stand alone music player the FlashTrax is heavier and not as full featured as an iPod type device. It is a nice add-on feature and could be useful for listening to music while waiting in the trenches for the perfect photograph. Plus 20-80gb of storage should be enough to hold a vacations worth of digital photos and a couple of your favorite CD's.<br /><br />The interface is similar to other desktop media players. By default the music player will play every music file in the directory in alphabetical order. The player can also be configured to play tracks in random order or from a play list.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/kravitz_jul04_ss_musicplayer.jpg" /><br /><i>Figure 4: The Music Player.</i><br /><br /><span><b>Pick your Parameters</b></span><br />All the configuration settings are accessible through the Setup Screen. There are several photo parameters for zooming and panning as well as some music parameters for bass and treble control. It is also possible to format Compact Flash cards here although SmartDisk recommends formatting the cards in camera to get the best compatibility between camera and card. The unit comes with a Compact Flash reader but can read other card formats such as MMC/SD and Memory Stick with a $49.99 add-on 4 in 1 media converter.<br /><br />Updating the FlashTrax is simple. SmartDisk provides firmware updates on their website. Updates may include bug fixes as well as enhanced functionality such as new RAW file support. Many enhancements come from users, which is a good indication that SmartDisk is dedicated to pleasing their customer base. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/kravitz_jul04_ss_setup.jpg" /><br /><i>Figure 5: Setup Screen.</i><br /><br /><span><b>Conclusions</b></span><br />The FlashTrax incorporates a lot of features into one device. It can be extremely useful for those photo excursions where it is not practical to bring a laptop. The battery is supposed to last three hours at full usage and more if you are backing up cards without using the display. I took it out for a weekend trip and did not have to charge the battery until I returned although I have seen it drain when left inactive for a week or two in my camera bag so keeping it charged before an outing is advised. <br /><br />When connected to the computer with the USB cable, FlashTrax functions like an external hard drive and can be used to backup images or files. For those of you who own a laptop and an arsenal of gadgets, it may not make sense to purchase yet another device to lug around. For those who are looking to trade in a stack of compact flash cards for a simple to use, full featured photo backup solution on the go, the FlashTrax is a great contender.