One of the useful tools that I have used over the years has to be the Nexto Portable Hard Drive. I first got one when some fellow photographers ordered a few and I decided to throw-in for one. It was a great decision and I feel that I must share because in the world of portable hard drives, this Korean-made one stands out.

Why it stands out to me is mostly because of the design. The original one featured a card reader on the side, the fast upgraded version featured a CF card slot and a one-touch “dumping” system, as I call it. In just over a few minutes, you can dump an entire 8 gb full of raw files. If you shoot jpg, it is blazingly fast. Why this is useful is that typically, I only have a few cards on me and if I need to back them up and dump them, I have the ability to do so with out plugging into a computer or waiting to get back home.

The current models have either just the case which features all of their technology including a preview screen but minus the hard drive for about 286,000 won. You can also get 500 gb and 750gb models for about 352,000 won for the 500gb and 379,500 won for the 750 gb. All in all I have put these devices through hell and back and have never had a problem with them. The main thing to check and it should come with it, is the battery. This is an external battery that plugs in and should be included in the pack. This battery lasts for a long time and should you ever need to replace them there are only around 21,000 won.

What I like about these hard drives is that you do not need to format them for whatever computer system that you are using. This is particularly handy here in Korea when you maybe switching between Mac and windows. The other interesting thing is that when you dump your cards it organizes them according to the date. This is useful when you are trying to organize your originals. It allows you to keep accurate file structure which you can later adjust to your like and workflow.

All and all, if you are looking for a hard drive that you can take with you on those long shoots where you are using up memory like a mad man and want it backed up on the go, this is for you. If you want to be able to dump a card easily without taking up space on your computer, this is the one for you.

 

** I don’t get any money for these reviews, but when I find a product that works well and I use a lot, I will tell you about it. However, if the Nexto people would like to give me another hard drive… I would be happy to accept **