Epson P-2000

[DonSchap]

I have been wanting to be able to download my photos to a portable or pocket digital viewer, so that I can demostrate my efforts to prospective clients and colleagues. I wandered into Wolf Camera, today... to see what they had and the pickings aren't as wide as I had hope, but one of them was this EPSON Multimedia Viewer which can:

view, share and store photos, videos and music
has a large 3.8" LCD
a portable 40 GB hard drive
can download from leading digital camera memory cards with built-in slots
transfer files to and from your computer with a Hi-Speed USB 2.0 interface
connect to a TV or projector with an optional third party video cable

and also has a rechargeable Lithium Ion battery with AC adapter.

heck, it can do almost anything short of compute.

http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/consumer/consDetail.jsp?BV_UseBVCookie=yes&oid=49164278

Another that is due out soon, is the "Picture Porter Elite"

http://www.digitalfoci.com/picture_porter_elite.html

This bad boy has EITHER a 40G or an 80GB hard drive!

Anyone even looking at these? They are about $500 a pop! That's another lens worth... tough call. :eek:

[snap]

I have the P-2000. I bought it last November and use it much when I travel. I have the Canon Rebel XT, which has a fairly small LCD. The P-2000 gives a nice viewing screen. I also like the P-2000 because I shoot in RAW or large JPEGS, and my 1 gig memory card fills up fast. I can download all of my pics to the P-2000. My wife can download her pics from her small point and shoot, too. The P-2000 enables you to create multiple folders, so you can have different folders for different people or different days, etc. The P-2000 is sturdy and travels well. Would I buy it again? Yes.

[DonSchap]

your reply.

Not too many others have indicated using these devices. I suspect the rather lofty price tends to drive off many who would consider such a tool. It's still cheaper to carry a print book with you.

Let's see what happens to the price, in the next few months.

Thanks for the reply,

[aparmley]

your reply.

Not too many others have indicated using these devices. I suspect the rather lofty price tends to drive off many who would consider such a tool. It's still cheaper to carry a print book with you.

Let's see what happens to the price, in the next few months.

Thanks for the reply,

Ever since I read about the P-2000 a year and half ago it was $499.99. A year and a half ago 19" LCDs cost about the same, now you can pick up quality 19inch LCDs for less than $300. So my guess, the price isn't coming down anytime soon. . .

[One source I found listed the release date as " November, 2004"]

At any rate Don. I'd love to have one of these too but at that price I can buy enough CF memory so I'd never have to worry about running out. But, as you stated, having the ability to show your work to clients on the spot is a wonderful thing. . . I don't know if thats what I'd use to show my work though. . . Its quite limited. . . For the money, I have more pressing priorities though. . . And you should too, [cough] tamron 17-50 2.8 [cough]. . . :D

[cdifoto]

For 500 bucks you can get an entry level laptop and just run a slideshow if you want to present your work to a potential client. At least they get 14 or 15 inches to look at instead of 4.

[erichlund]

I have the P-2000. I bought it last November and use it much when I travel. I have the Canon Rebel XT, which has a fairly small LCD. The P-2000 gives a nice viewing screen. I also like the P-2000 because I shoot in RAW or large JPEGS, and my 1 gig memory card fills up fast. I can download all of my pics to the P-2000. My wife can download her pics from her small point and shoot, too. The P-2000 enables you to create multiple folders, so you can have different folders for different people or different days, etc. The P-2000 is sturdy and travels well. Would I buy it again? Yes.
Can you actually view your raw files, or only the jpgs? With my iPod, only jpgs are viewable. That was reasonable with the D70, but with the D200, raw+jpg just eats card space too fast.

[DonSchap]

These devices (EPSON P-2000 and P-4000) have a "grunch" of storage, and I am pretty clear that they will process RAW+JPG images for presentation based on the following promotional information.

Epson P-2000 Multimedia Storage Viewer features summary

3.8-inch VGA (640x480) high definition Photo Fine display
High definition of 212 ppi
40GB hard disk drive
Photo playback
Movie playback (motion J-PEG and MPEG4 at 30FPS@VGA)
Music playback (MP3 and ACC)
A/V out enables it to be connected to a TV
On board mono speaker
CompactFlash and SD memory cards directly supported. MS/SM/MMC/XD supported via CF adaptor
RAW data support as native (thumbnail of RAW files is displayed)
Supports RAW files from Nikon, Canon and the new Epson R-D1 rangefinder digital camera. USB 2.0 High speed for PC/Mac connection
Up to three hours battery life
USB DIRECT-PRINT

SO... in effect, a wedding photographer or any photographer, for that matter, could instantly demonstrate the depth of their work, on the fly, to a prospective or already earned clients. That strikes me as a fiscally prudent move to improve your "business" and a legiment business expense.

Onward and upward... :D

[cdifoto]

I'd rather show them a 15 inch laptop screen so they don't have to squint and strain their eyeballs.

[aparmley]

I'd rather show them a 15 inch laptop screen so they don't have to squint and strain their eyeballs.

ditto. . .

[DonSchap]

Unlike the P-2000, the 15" laptop does not quite fit as easily into the front pocket of my pants or camera vest. Believe me I have tried to cram these things into tight places, but to no avail.

When you are running around with a decent-sized camera bag, most folks aren't looking to add a laptop, also. Also, many laptops or notebooks don't handle the broad range of media that the P2000 does, without having to add an USB multimedia device of somekind.

Personally, I see the P-2000 as a convenience device only, when you are out and about (not lugging your laptop everywhere)... that will allow quick data transfers and will hook up to a plain old television, for presentation, when necessary.

Let's take a moment and a review just such an encounter:

Camera-person (aka photographer) ::: "Excuse me... do you have a television we could use for a minute?" :)

Client ::: "Uh, sure... right over here... my nice, new 32"-HDTV... that we bought specifically to watch our daughter's wedding video on." :confused:

Camera-person (aka photographer)::: "Thank you." and C-p proceeds to attach a single interconnecting wire from P-2000 device to VIDEO IN jack of the customer provided 32" television. He then tunes into 'VIDEO INPUT' selection and begins reviewing the pictures.

Client ::: "My God! This is marvelous work! Are... are you available?" :eek:

Camera-person (aka photographer) ::: "I sure am! Here... just sign this flexible contractual agreement and pony up the $??? retainer fee." :)

Client ::: "No problem, pal. That last guy we talked to made me look at his smudgy 15" laptop screen... what a bummer that was. It seemed clumsy and awkward. That handheld you have there seem so much nicer... mind if I get the missus?" :)

Camera-person (aka photographer) ::: "No problem... I've got some excellent battery life with this device... unlike most laptops. Take your time." The C-p knowingly winks ;) , nothing he has got the business... because cutting edge technology has come to his rescue, once again! :p

[cdifoto]

Unlike the P-2000, the 15" laptop does not quite fit as easily into the front pocket of my pants or camera vest. Believe me I have tried to cram these things into tight places, but to no avail.

When you are running around with a decent-sized camera bag, most folks aren't looking to add a laptop, also. Also, many laptops or notebooks don't handle the broad range of media that the P2000 does, without having to add an USB multimedia device of somekind.

Personally, I see the P-2000 as a convenience device only, when you are out and about (not luugging your laptop everywhere)... that will allow quick data transfers and will hook up to a plain old television, for presentation, when necessary.

Let's take a moment and a review just such an encounter:

Camera-person (aka photographer) ::: "Excuse me... do you have a television we could use for a minute?" :)

Client ::: "Uh, sure... right over here... my nice, new 32-HDTV... that we bought specifically to watch our daughter's wedding video on." :confused:

Camera-person (aka photographer)::: "Thank you." and C-p proceeds to attach a single interconnecting wire from P-2000 device to VIDEO IN jack of the customer provided 32" television. He then tunes into 'VIDEO INPUT' selection and begins reviewing the pictures.

Client ::: "My God! This is marvelous work! Are... are you available?" :eek:

Camera-person (aka photographer) ::: "I sure am! Here... just sign this flexible contractual agreement and pony up the $??? retainer fee." :)

Client ::: "No problem, pal. That last guy we talked to made me look at his smudgy 15" laptop screen... what a bummer that was. It seemed clumsy and awkward. That handheld you have there seem so much nicer... mind if I get the missus?" :)

Camera-person (aka photographer) ::: "No problem... I've got some excellent battery life with this device... unlike most laptops. Take your time." The C-p knowingly winks ;) , nothing he has got the business... because cutting edge technology has come to his rescue, once again! :p


Let's see here.

How often are you already gonna be in a client's home? Probably not often. If you are, chances are you knew you were gonna be there. It wouldn't be a chance encounter sudden thing. It'd be an appointment. Either drop some sample shots on a memory card and slap it in your camera and use the A/V output there on your client's HDTV, or...wait...maybe....you can hook your LAPTOP to the TV! Hey imagine that. If I'm serious about presenting my photos, I'm not going to have some dinky little imagetank to do it from. I'll have a laptop. I can fully control the way the photos are presented. Heck I can put 'em in an MS PowerPoint Presentation or some such thing. A laptop added to my bag would be nothing compared to the 17lbs of cameras and lenses I'm already accustomed to carrying.

Now let's assume this is a chance encounter. Maybe you were out shooting somewhere and someone decided they might want to see your work. Ok. You have the Epson. What are you gonna hook it to out there in the middle of nowhere? Are you gonna make a big deal of it and trapse around looking for a TV to hook it to? How professional would it be to drag your potential clients around? Not very. Now let's say you have the laptop. Ok. Now. You're out in the middle of nowhere. No TVs around, or at least not conveniently available. Ok no problem. I have a 15 inch screen. It's not ideal but hey it works. We're out here and nobody had to get dragged around anywhere to look at these pics. Plus, if they're just nosy and not really seriously interested, I didn't pack up my equipment and stop shooting to go find a TV somewhere and hook my Epson up for nothing.

And that laptop can be used for much more than just image viewing which is pretty much all that P2000 is going to be used for besides regular storage. It's just not versatile enough for the price. Maybe at $200 it'd be a viable alternative for the reasons you mentioned. But not when I can get a laptop that does a helluva lot more.

And if a photographer things cutting edge technology is REALLY coming to the rescue...he's quite sad.

[snap]

Frankly, I would rather have a laptop. But, when I travel for four or five weeks out of the U.S., I like to travel light. More memory cards are certainly an option, but for the price of five memory cards, I can have the P-2000, and the viewing feature. The P-2000 reads both RAW and JPEG. It accommodates two standard sizes of memory cards. I can also download from the P-2000 to a memory card, so I can share pictures on the fly. I don't do professional photography, so I don't have clients. For me, the P-2000 is simply a nice and fun convenience.

[DonSchap]

Obviously, the P-2000 is an early and preliminary attempt to offer some kind of "inbetween" method to cope with all the different media that is being used, out there, in the big, bad world. There are several manufacturers pursuing this technology and to ignore it just (IMO) seems arrogant.

What the heck... I was just throwing some levity into the conversation by suggesting it could be "simply" used by a clever individual to quickly demonstrate some work, be it a wedding shoot, anniversary party or complex divorce action, where that married couple split up, photograph their stuff and eventually sell that really great 32" HD-TV. :rolleyes:

Look... my original contention was:

11224

Do I pop for the ~$400 - $500 dollars, for one of these cutting edge 40GB storage/presentation devices, weighing a mere 16oz (1-lb. w/battery).... or go buy an 8-lb. laptop and lug it along with me? (Oops... I already have a decent laptop... and I really hate lugging it. Guess I'm just left with knowing whether I want to use this at all?)

Perhaps having all the cutting edge stuff is kind of a drag... in my own defense, I've always been a techophile... enjoying the wide range of way-out and wacky stuff that comes out. Too many toys as a kid, I suppose, but then... that's life.

I know a lot of people rebuff these expansions, but these kids are nuts for it. This particular "toy" does more than just show pictures. I submit the following link to provide a bit of background for your inspection.

http://www.epson.com/cmc_upload/0/000/051/004/P2000_InfoSheet.pdf

Thanks for your consideration and taking a peek at it. :D

[cwphoto]

You could always have both.:o

P-2000 just clips on the belt. Something a laptop can't do. Plus a laptop is just a thief-magnet - I'm always paranoid it's gonna get knocked-off from the car.