Just saw this about a joint Seagate DJI portable data storage drive.
Seagate Releases Its Fly Drive Specifically For Drones  http://www.storagereview.com/node/6321

200 dollars for a 2TB drive? No thanks

Depends on speed how quick the SD Card reader can transfer the (big size) 4K video files.
Currently available mobile drives with SD  card take hours for transfer and professional Foto backup solutions cost way more than 199$

fansbf0c2001 Posted at 2017-4-23 23:31
Depends on speed how quick the SD Card reader can transfer the (big size) 4K video files.
Currently available mobile drives with SD  card take hours for transfer and professional Foto backup solutions cost way more than 199$

Ok Q.. does the user still has to connect the drive to a laptop on the field for power, and to check that the files have been transferred from the card to the drive ?
if so whats advantage over existing pocket drives.....a micro SD slot on the drive ?, 2 months of Premier ?
it would be nice if it was a stand alone unit self powered, and a way to verify the transfer of data.

I think the article is wrong, its $119, not $199

airtakes Posted at 2017-4-24 03:31
Ok Q.. does the user still has to connect the drive to a laptop on the field for power, and to check that the files have been transferred from the card to the drive ?
if so whats advantage over existing pocket drives.....a micro SD slot on the drive ?, 2 months of Premier ?
it would be nice if it was a stand alone unit self powered, and a way to verify the transfer of data.

The articles I read say its a UHS-II card reader.  I think its going to be dependent of the card you use.  I think to have a mSD card reader attached to a drive (one less thing to carry in my bag), connected at USB3.1 speeds, I can see the value of just dumping the card contents right onto the drive without taking up all my space on my phone or small laptop.  I'm not familiar with Premier Pro, but to try it for two months free, plus the free month from Adobe, should give me a good length of time to try it out and see if its worth it.

userd1c4c643e7 Posted at 2017-4-24 07:28
I think the article is wrong, its $119, not $199

http://uk.pcmag.com/storage-devi ... e-themed-hard-drive     

airtakes Posted at 2017-4-24 03:31
Ok Q.. does the user still has to connect the drive to a laptop on the field for power, and to check that the files have been transferred from the card to the drive ?
if so whats advantage over existing pocket drives.....a micro SD slot on the drive ?, 2 months of Premier ?
it would be nice if it was a stand alone unit self powered, and a way to verify the transfer of data.

Definitely curious about this as well... if it doesn't need external power to transfer the files, take my money now! Now if you have to connect it to a power source, then.... maybe not.

If android, I got the 1tb asus travelair. I read ios has problems though.
It has a sd card slot and you transfer the files with your phone using bluetooth. Cheaper than buying a bunch of micro sd cards.

Reading the second article it seems to imply that you plug straight into the Mavic and download from there - using the Micro SD slot to transfer to your laptop ?

airtakes Posted at 2017-4-24 03:31
Ok Q.. does the user still has to connect the drive to a laptop on the field for power, and to check that the files have been transferred from the card to the drive ?
if so whats advantage over existing pocket drives.....a micro SD slot on the drive ?, 2 months of Premier ?
it would be nice if it was a stand alone unit self powered, and a way to verify the transfer of data.

I'm with you. They are purposefully making it unclear that this will only work if you have your laptop with you in the field, but if you read Seagate's own bullets carefully it is clear that this is the case.  What is the point of slightly ruggedized, small external drive if you have to bring your computer with you anyway?

http://www.seagate.com/about-sea ... ge-lands-pr-master/
MicroSD Card Slot
Managing multiple SD cards, readers and cables in the field is a pain. Thanks to an integrated hub that’s UHS-II-rated, you’ll be more effective in the field by being able to quickly drag and drop 4K files from your MicroSD card to Fly Drive or your computer.

They are basically making the case that this is a good replacement for an SD card reader in the field if you don't have an SD slot on your laptop already.  This feels a little bit like marketing whitewash rather than something that was designed for field work from the ground up.

FPVJunkie Posted at 2017-4-24 10:32
Definitely curious about this as well... if it doesn't need external power to transfer the files, take my money now! Now if you have to connect it to a power source, then.... maybe not.

I'm pretty sure you need your laptop based on Seagate's own website.  http://www.seagate.com/about-sea ... ge-lands-pr-master/  They view it as a replacement for an SD reader, which only seems useful if you have no room on your computer while you are in the field.

will wait and see how this things works. if need to bring a laptop and attach to this drive... make no sense.

ok seems like need a computer to transfer the files .. so no point to getting it.

http://www.wetalkuav.com/djiflydrive/

How Do You Transfer the Files?

Users will still need a computer to transfer files.

What a waste of time ! Just buy an SD card reader (if your laptop doesnt have one) and a spare external HDD....and save money..

The Seagate DJI Fly Drive is expected to be available this summer with an MSRP of $119.99. Seagate will be demonstrating this new technology at NAB in Las Vegas this week, Seagate booth SL4527 and DJI booth C2807.

IMHO, this product is more suited for commercial filming applications where hours of filming take place on location and lots of storage is required.  $119 is a hell of a lot cheaper than a pocket full of SD cards.  

KenTbk Posted at 2017-4-24 23:49
ok seems like need a computer to transfer the files .. so no point to getting it.

http://www.wetalkuav.com/djiflydrive/

Users will still need a computer to transfer files.

Not exactly.  As I read the specs, files can be transferred from SD to disk in the field with the built-in SD card reader.  Later all the files can be transferred to PC or cloud  or wherever.

Think this is more a solution for the real professionals.
Just saw this review/commercial from https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcM_6ay33BNpChknCrMCgig on a similar WD product



His tip backup backup backup backup.
So i think i just invest in lots of SD cards.

If the laptop is just required for powering the drive, and the drive has some inbuilt functionality to backup fromthe SD when inserted, you can just use the mavic Battery adapter thingymawotsit and power it directly from a spare (or depleted - 20%left) battery ... Y'know, that one accessory that no one really uses

I have tried to reply but DJI blocked my reply,. probably because I mentioned competing product to their "partner" Seagate.

Try again, edited down: I would also recommend the WD - I have one and the SD card slot is reasonably quick at backup. I have not measured it but it is noticeably quicker than the original WD (which I also have for photography).

Griffith Posted at 2017-4-25 10:56
Users will still need a computer to transfer files.

Not exactly.  As I read the specs, files can be transferred from SD to disk in the field with the built-in SD card reader.  Later all the files can be transferred to PC or cloud  or wherever.

we will see

This thing is cheaper and you can transfer all data from SD Card directly in a field without phone or PC.

b0n3 Posted at 2017-4-27 22:06
This thing is cheaper and you can transfer all data from SD Card directly in a field without phone or PC.

Definitely moving in the right direction.

b0n3 Posted at 2017-4-27 22:06
This thing is cheaper and you can transfer all data from SD Card directly in a field without phone or PC.

This will be the most efficient one.

airtakes Posted at 2017-4-24 03:31
Ok Q.. does the user still has to connect the drive to a laptop on the field for power, and to check that the files have been transferred from the card to the drive ?
if so whats advantage over existing pocket drives.....a micro SD slot on the drive ?, 2 months of Premier ?
it would be nice if it was a stand alone unit self powered, and a way to verify the transfer of data.

If you're on a day long commercial shoot in the field, you don;t need to carry a pocket full of SD cards.

FPVJunkie Posted at 2017-4-24 10:32
Definitely curious about this as well... if it doesn't need external power to transfer the files, take my money now! Now if you have to connect it to a power source, then.... maybe not.

In the field, connect the  disk  to a spare Mavic battery. I sometimes charge my cell and RC this way.  

KenTbk Posted at 2017-4-27 19:09
we will see

I believe I saw where the WD drive has built-in WIFI.

I am very new to drones, but not new to consumer technology in general.  Some things in the drone world have me scratching my head.  

For example, why would you buy the DJI accessory that allows you to charge your phone from a precious Mavic battery that costs $90, versus just buying a little USB battery that does the same thing, is more compact, and is cheaper?  

As far as this disk drive goes, I see some advantage to having the card reader built into the drive, but very little.  A very good card reader can be had for a few dollars, and most laptops seem to have a card reader built in.  If you're toting your laptop instead of a couple extra tiny cards, you've conceded that you aren't worried about minimalism at that point.  

I'm sure that there's someone out there that has been waiting for this exact product to come out, but I don't know who or why.

Back around the turn of the millennium, Iomega (of Zip Drive fame) released the Clik! Drive.  It was a device that had two ends.  On one end, you would insert Clik! disks, and on the other end you would insert Compact Flash media (it's a thing, look it up, kids.)  You would push a button, and the drive would transfer all the pictures from the CF to the Clik! disk, which at the time could hold more than the CF.  This was supposed to be a solution for photographers not wanting to invest a lot of money into CF cards, but the cost of flash media plummeted, and the Clik! never took off.  

Basically, we were all hoping this drive would be the modern equivalent of that.

Griffith Posted at 2017-5-2 05:23
If you're on a day long commercial shoot in the field, you don;t need to carry a pocket full of SD cards.

If you care about your footage you will only use a drive like this (or better, the WD one) for backup and you will never overwrite the microSD card until you have got back to base and verified the footage is in your editing / arc hiving systems.

Flash memory is cheap and much much lighter than hard disks. I would happily carry ten of them around without erasing in the field.
[Edited quote as forum "replied" to the wrong post]

Mcflying Posted at 2017-4-25 12:44
Think this is more a solution for the real professionals.
Just saw this review/commercial from Philip Bloom on a similar WD product

Wow, that is a cheesey video. Cool product though.  Do you have some? If so, I have some questions.

Is it just intended to get your files back home or is there some way you can put this into a RAID array or something so that you don't lose your videos if it fails. It seems like if you are always taking it on the road the lifespan may not be awesome.

Griffith Posted at 2017-5-2 05:26
I believe I saw where the WD drive has built-in WIFI.

I do have the 3Tb Wireless Pro, and it has both 2.4GHz and 5GHz WiFi; works surprisingly well, as you can browse media on the drive using the WD Cloud iOS app and even use it as a WiFi pass-through for internet connection.

Only disappointment I have is I can't send photos directly from my camera to the drive (as I can from camera to my NAS), but that could be due to the Panasonic in-built software rather than the drive.

You do need a microSD to SD adapter for the Mavic's microSD card though.

Saegate is very expensive for the capcity and possibilities