Review of Epson P-4000

[Suhit Gupta]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1929403,00.asp?kc=PCRSS02129TX1K0000530' target='_blank'>http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1929403,00.asp?kc=PCRSS02129TX1K0000530</a><br /><br /></div><i>"The Epson P-4000 is the latest version of Epson's hard drive–based photo viewer/media player. Although the only truly significant change from the Epson P-2000 is a larger hard drive—the P-4000 holds 80GB of photos, video, and audio—we decided to take it for a test run and compare it with many of the other popular portable media players that have been released in the market since the P-2000 came out. Overall, the P-4000 is still the hands-down winner on screen quality (thanks to its ultragorgeous 3.8-inch LCD). If you're a professional photographer or enthusiast looking for a convenient way to offload and view your high-res images on the slickest-looking screen in the biz, this is an excellent choice."</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/epsonp4000.jpg" /><br /><br />I remember playing with an Epson P-2000 quite some time ago and I remember the one thing that stood out, and that was its clunky form factor. And it looks like that hasn't changed at all. While the hard drive has doubled in size, it looks like the battery life remains poor and the price is still outrageous. I don't quite know why Epson did not adjust things based on user feedback over the last couple of years.

[bdegroodt]

Not sure I'd call the price outrageous. I had the chance to buy a lot of competitive products to the P-2000 but I still chose it over a ton of other options. The screen was a huge factor for me, but I also noted a lot of reviews on the other products that just seemed to indicate they weren't well built. I've had zero problems with mine and I'd gladly pay the same price I paid then, now. It's a great device, especially if you're shooting a lot of "film" and need to display the work quickly after offloading.

I suppose it depends on your needs, but I've heard more than a few photographers promote their P-2000 as a device that's aided in many sales for them due to the resolution of the screen.

[fmantek]

I disagree with the assesment, also with the whole complete review. The P2000 &amp; P4000 are not generic MP3 players &amp; video players. The battery life, as an example, is bad for playback, but i can take more than 10 1GB CF cards and copy them into the device before recharging. That is a feat no other player can even dream off - at least none i tested, and i tested plenty.

This is a photo wallet with good review functionallity. It has build in CF &amp; SD slots, good capacity, excellent batterylife &amp; speed for what i need (take 1 1GB CF out of my camera, put a new one in, put the full one into the P4000 and start the copy, and the copy is done before the new 1GB card is full).

It does depend on your needs. The reviewer fails to look at the target market, and has the "ooohh.. another iPod, but man, that is ugly and big" attitude. Bad post. Especially the "user feedback". If you go to photographers forums, the feedback overall is "great device".

Frank