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 It has happened again. One of my workshop attendees traveled across the US, settled into the classroom portion of my workshop, to discover that the portable hard drive with all her photographs on it had failed. FAILED! Mistake two was made as she had not “gotten around” to backing it up. I could relate. I have had a few hard drive failures in my photography career as well so I could relate to her feeling of despair. In plain english……It Sucks!
I have just found a new product by SanDisk called the Extreme Portable USB 3.1 Type-C External SSD. It is a compact, pocket-sized drive much like a flash drive but on steroids. It is ready for immediate plug-and-play use and is compatible with both Windows and Mac. No special drivers are needed and it does not need to be reformatted. Private files can be password protected if desired. Included with the device is a USB Type-C to Type-C cable and a USB Type-C to Type-A adapter. I was attracted to this for a couple of reasons. The drive is small and compact making it easy to travel with. With a high-speed storage capacity of up to 1TB for high‐res photos, videos, and sound files, the SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD is well-suited for all your creative pursuits or general file storage, making it perfect for photo trips. The devise is also available in a 2T drive. With read speeds of up to 550 MB/s, the SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD lets you offload files very quickly. Extreme Portable USB 3.1 Type-C External SSD is a hardy and durable drive, and not sensitive to movement, dropping, and general field usage, like a portable hard drive. With an IP55 rating, it also stands up to rain, splashes, spills and dust. The durability of the SanDisk Extreme® Portable SSD makes it perfect for all your creative photography pursuits. Here is the technical information regarding the Extreme Portable USB 3.1 Type-C External SSD: Designed for saving and editing high-resolution photos and videos, the 1TB Extreme Portable USB 3.1 Type-C External SSD from SanDisk provides users with up to 1TB of storage for their creative content work, as well as a 10 Gb/s USB 3.1 Type-C interface, which is also known as USB 3.1 Gen 2 and delivers read speeds of up to 550 MB/s. Additionally, this SSD is IP-55 rated and features resistance against water, dust, and shock. It can withstand a water flow of up to 30 kPA for 3 minutes, 1500 g of shock, and 5 gRMS of vibration @ 10-2000 Hz. It can also withstand drops of up to 6.5' on a concrete floor and temperature extremes, with operating temperatures ranging from 32 to 113°F and storage temperatures ranging from -4 to 158°F. Compact and pocket-sized, SanDisk has pre-formatted this SSD as exFAT, meaning it is ready for immediate plug-and-play use with both Windows 10, 8.1 and 7, plus macOS High Sierra, Sierra, and El Capitan without the need for any special drivers or reformatting. Thanks to SanDisk SecureAccess 128-bit AES encryption, private files can be password-protected. Included is a USB Type-C to Type-C cable and a USB Type-C to Type-A adapter. Protection is provided by a limited 3-year warranty. I have purchased two of these SSD drives. One will be used for back-up. There is also a cute case that can be purchased separately to hold the drive and the cords into and has a lanyard to attach it directly to my camera bag. My primary use has been positive. The file transfers are fast and I loved that there was no set-up required. I am looking forward to taking it on my future boat trip around the Bahama Islands (yes boat, water, etc) and a fall trip to the Canadian Rocky Mountains. If you are looking for reliable photo storage I would consider the SanDisk Extreme Portable USB 3.1 Type-C External SSD for yourself. You can find them at my favorite Photo store and supplier Hunt’s Photo & Video www.huntsphotoandvideo.com. They will ship directly to your door. |