Epson P7000 Multimedia Storage Viewer Review

By Koko Brown, December 2009

The Epson P-7000 Multimedia Storage Viewer is one of those devices that I’ve always thought was a really cool gadget and have considered buying for a number of years, but i never actually got around to it. So when Warehouse Express asked me to review it, it was the perfect opportunity to try it out first hand!

Since moving to London I have done nothing but walk, walk and walk and the notion no longer fills me with dread so, storage viewer in hand, I decided to do some exploring and head to the local park. Camera – check, 50mm lens – check, 512MB memory card – check. Wait, just a measly 512MB? Well now that I’m armed with the Epson P-7000 that’s all I should need!

Design / Build Quality

The bones of the unit is basically a 160GB hard drive to be used for backing up memory cards when on location. This is great because you don’t need to take a laptop out to download to, saving both space and weight! You would need to carry 145, 1GB memory cards to fill the device to the brim, which I suppose puts it in perspective when you consider the cost of the unit!

For out and about street photography I use a small Crumpler bag, which just fits my Canon body with a lens, and a second lens at a push, so I was a bit worried I’d have to carry the P7000 separately but it actually sits nicely inside and isn’t too heavy. The unit is crafted from black metal and plastic and sits in your hand well with the look and feel of a quality bit of kit. It comes with a semi-padded soft case to protect it from scratches and scuffs and whilst being lightweight in the bag, it’s just that bit weighty in the hand to make you feel a bit smug that you’ve got such a good bit of kit.

I would liked to have seen some rubber down all sides of the unit or even just in the corners so that it’s more rugged in the field; I actually dropped it when I was transferring my images felt sick to my tummy when I heard it clatter on the ground. Thankfully it was okay and survived unscathed, but to be absolutely sure, I definitely think rubberised corners would be a bonus.

Having never used one of these devices before, I was pleased to see that the controls look similar to the back of a typical DSLR with the 4 circular buttons for easy navigation. A nifty little feature which I particularly like is the jog/scroll wheel which allows you to scroll through your backed up images really quickly.

Interaction

I found the menu system quite easy to use and somewhat foolproof; it didn’t take me long to learn how to scroll backward and forward, zoom etc, due to the fact the back isn’t loaded with buttons and dials! I did find myself touching the screen itself a few times, as it’s very reminiscent of a touch screen gadget… perhaps for the next one Epson? On the top of the unit there are 2 slots for CF cards and another for smaller SD and MMC cards. I’m using a CF card but any type of card can be used, with the help of an external adapter. There’s also a headphone port so that you can listen in private to any music or videos you have on the device. There are 2 USB slots, (one mini) on the side of the Epson P-7000, an a/v port to hook up to a TV and an AC adapter to power the unit and recharge the battery for use in the field.

The Epson P-7000 has a fantastic 4 inch LCD screen which is pin sharp and fantastically bright thanks to the fact it can display 16.7 million colours, giving greater colour gamut and almost equalling the Adobe RGB colour space – a hell of a lot more than most other storage viewers!

Images can be displayed full size or as thumbnails to scroll through easily using the scroll wheel. As with most DSLR’s you can also view the histogram to check highlights and shadows. If you’re feeling particularly lazy then you don’t have to do anything, you can set the device to play a slideshow of your backed up images and sit back and watch the device do all the hard work!

If you shoot in RAW you’ll be glad to know that the device supports the RAW file format. It of course shows JPEGs and can also play and organise MP3 files and video clips up to a maximum size of 2MB.

Backing up

Backing up your precious shots is easy and super quick as well. The Epson P-7000 Multimedia Storage Viewer will create its own folder for your shots, which you can also rename to something more meaningful depending on perhaps location, the date, subject etc. It took just under two minutes to download a SanDisk 512MB CF card of RAW files and around four minutes to download a Kingston 1GB CF card. Once the files have been backed up on the device, the memory card can be wiped on the camera and used to shoot more. I filled and emptied the card a few times on the one outing; I thought it would bother me keep stopping and starting to empty the card, but it’s actually not that much hassle and if it allows you to keep shooting then I’m prepared to take a few minutes out every so often.

When you get home, transferring the images to your PC or Mac is easy as 1, 2, 3. By simply connecting the USB cable, your computer should find the unit and prompt you for an action on what you want to do. The device has built in software, Link 2 that enables you to easily transfer files to and from the unit and your computer, or you can use Windows Explorer to browse the device and drag the files to your desktop or a folder that you have created. I would liked to have seen a fire wire port in addition to the USB port to make image transfers even faster but it’s not a huge deal. The device needs to be connected to AC power on transferring to prevent any data loss.

I spent some time playing about with the menus and transferring images to and from the unit. I transferred some MP3 files so that I could listen to music as I went along which was nice. Whilst you’re in transit you can review and delete images as well as using the rating system to select your favourite shots. I also used the rating system to select shots that I didn’t like, so for example, everything with one star I set to display so that I could delete them all in one go. However I would have liked to have a dedicated delete key rather than having to go into the menu and select delete for individual images, or rate images for the purpose of deleting.

It’s worth noting that the rating system, it doesn’t copy it over to your PC unless you use the dedicated Link 2 software, which I found out after spending some time rating a whole load of shots! I found the ability to rate shots quite effective, although when your out on location you may not always have time for this, but perhaps travelling back from a shoot, flying etc you may find you want to start organising your efforts to make things easier down the line!

You can also print directly from the Epson P7000 if you have a pictbridge compatible printer. It will produce individual prints or contact sheets, which is handy if you need to quickly reference one of your images, although editing is very limited on the unit.

The battery life was excellent and I think I only charged it twice in the weeks that I had it, the screen shuts off during file transfer to conserve this which is a neat idea and then beeps when its finished. You could get a good few weeks use out of just one charge!

Do you need it?

If you want an exceptional quality media viewer with a range of features then I think you’d struggle to find something to rival the Epson P-7000 Multimedia Storage Viewer. Having used it for a few weeks it’s hard to imagine not using it in the future. I was so used to taking a laptop with me for backup that it has been great not to have to carry one around.

At approximately £500 I’d have to really consider whether I could justify the cost in lieu of not lugging a laptop about, but there’s no doubt about it, it makes things so much easier in the field. I didn’t worry once about my images once they were safely downloaded!
There are of course cheaper alternatives, but none offer the superb LCD screen and colour gamut of the Epson P7000.

Ratings

Pros:

• 16.7 million colour display
• Large, pin sharp LCD screen
• Lighter and less bulkier than carrying a laptop
• Easy to navigate
• Exceptional battery life
• Internal picture rating system
• Dedicated software

Cons:

• Lack of fire wire port
• Crying out for a touch screen
• No rubber corners
• No dedicated delete key
• Pricey

Build Quality: 8/10 Could do with some rubber around the sides
Interaction: 8/10 Would like to see a dedicated delete key
Portability: 9/10 Fits snugly inside small camera bags
Value: 7/10 I’d recommend it for hardcore location photographers

Overall: