Review: IoSafe SoloPRO External Drive

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This is a review of the ioSafe Solo Pro by Paul D Smart.

IoSafe Solo 1 TB Fireproof and Waterproof External Hard Drive

As a photographer who has just purchased his first MacBook Pro, I wanted to find a drive I could use in conjunction with Apple?s Time Machine. (for those who don?t know, Time Machine, is the backup software that comes as part of the Apple Operating System).

I?ve looked at a number of solutions and one of those solutions is the 1TB IoSafe SoloPRO External Hard Drive.

The tagline for IoSafe is disaster proof hardware. A bold promise and the IoSafe SoloPRO External hard drive certainly looks like it could fit the bill.

When the drive arrived, I must admit that I was impressed by the build quality. The standard SATAII Hard Drive is enclosed in a waterproof packaging, which in turn is enclosed in fireproof material, all kept in a well put together steel case. The drive is VERY heavy, which lends to the aforementioned tagline nicely. The drive can be bolted to pretty much any solid surface using pre-drilled holes at the reverse of the unit. There is also a Kensington ? Lock Hole so it can be strapped to anything you see fit.

I came up with a slight hic-up when I plugged the drive into my MacBook Pro. It was not recognized. I then plugged it into my pc. Nothing. Another PC and still nothing. My heart sank!

We contacted IoSafe, whos technical support team responded very quickly.

They asked a plethora of questions to aid in not just sorting the problem but also diagnosing the cause of the ?dead drive?.

IoSafe arranged for the drive to be returned and a new drive to be sent out immediately via UPS.

The drive arrived quickly and was well packaged. I connected the USB 3.0 cable to the USB2.0 port of my MacBook Pro and within a few seconds the drive appeared on my desktop. The drive is shipped formatted for Windows, so when plugging in for the first time you are required to re-format the drive for use with the Mac. (If you?re a windows user, you?ll be good to go right out of the box).

The great thing about this drive (other than the water and fire proofing), is that it?s just an external hard drive. This means you can use your own choice of backup solution and software. Everything from dragging the files you want to keep onto the drive to using specialist backup software. There are no drivers to install or required software, so nothing to slow your machine down.

The case contains the drive, water and fire proofing, some snazzy blue lights that flicker showing the hard drives activity and fan! The fan is part of the FloSafe active cooling system. In short the fan allows cooling and the vents are designed to restrict airflow when the drive gets just too hot to handle! The fan is also rather quiet. If the drive is going to be left on constantly you can rest assured the fan will not get on your nerves.

IoSafe provides a three year warranty on the drive and one year of Data Recovery Service with a value of $2500. That?s a pretty high level of self confidence! If you do need to take them up on the warranty, IoSafe will take it on themselves to ship out a replacement drive and arrange collection of the defective unit all at their own cost.

The drive I have here, has just spent several hours in the company of IT Support Agency, The Digital Jedi (www.thedigitaljedi.co.uk), who have ran diagnostics on the hard drive over USB2.0 and USB3.0 who reported that drives read/write speed on USB2 were over 27mb per second with speeds of approx. 40mb per second over USB3. It was also reported that the drive was in very good health.

In conclusion, if you?re looking for a drive to keep on a desk (and not in your laptop bag), this is the ideal drive for you. Your data is not only safe and well protected against all the elements, it?s guaranteed thanks to the Data Recovery Service given by IoSafe.

The only downside from my point of view is the size. An obvious side effect from such strong protection but certainly not something that can be carried around with the owner.

You can read the full technical spec here, on the ioSafe website.

Get a price on the IoSafe Solo 1 TB Fireproof and Waterproof External Hard Drive at Amazon.

This review by Paul D Smart Please visit Paul’s website!

Post from: Digital Photography School

View the original article here

Review: IoSafe SoloPRO External Drive

This is a review of the ioSafe Solo Pro by Paul D Smart.

IoSafe Solo 1 TB Fireproof and Waterproof External Hard Drive

As a photographer who has just purchased his first MacBook Pro, I wanted to find a drive I could use in conjunction with Apple’s Time Machine. (for those who don’t know, Time Machine, is the backup software that comes as part of the Apple Operating System).

I’ve looked at a number of solutions and one of those solutions is the 1TB IoSafe SoloPRO External Hard Drive.

The tagline for IoSafe is disaster proof hardware. A bold promise and the IoSafe SoloPRO External hard drive certainly looks like it could fit the bill.

When the drive arrived, I must admit that I was impressed by the build quality. The standard SATAII Hard Drive is enclosed in a waterproof packaging, which in turn is enclosed in fireproof material, all kept in a well put together steel case. The drive is VERY heavy, which lends to the aforementioned tagline nicely. The drive can be bolted to pretty much any solid surface using pre-drilled holes at the reverse of the unit. There is also a Kensington ™ Lock Hole so it can be strapped to anything you see fit.

I came up with a slight hic-up when I plugged the drive into my MacBook Pro. It was not recognized. I then plugged it into my pc. Nothing. Another PC and still nothing. My heart sank!

We contacted IoSafe, whos technical support team responded very quickly.
They asked a plethora of questions to aid in not just sorting the problem but also diagnosing the cause of the “dead drive”.

IoSafe arranged for the drive to be returned and a new drive to be sent out immediately via UPS.

The drive arrived quickly and was well packaged. I connected the USB 3.0 cable to the USB2.0 port of my MacBook Pro and within a few seconds the drive appeared on my desktop. The drive is shipped formatted for Windows, so when plugging in for the first time you are required to re-format the drive for use with the Mac. (If you’re a windows user, you’ll be good to go right out of the box).

The great thing about this drive (other than the water and fire proofing), is that it’s just an external hard drive. This means you can use your own choice of backup solution and software. Everything from dragging the files you want to keep onto the drive to using specialist backup software. There are no drivers to install or required software, so nothing to slow your machine down.

The case contains the drive, water and fire proofing, some snazzy blue lights that flicker showing the hard drives activity and fan! The fan is part of the FloSafe active cooling system. In short the fan allows cooling and the vents are designed to restrict airflow when the drive gets just too hot to handle! The fan is also rather quiet. If the drive is going to be left on constantly you can rest assured the fan will not get on your nerves.

IoSafe provides a three year warranty on the drive and one year of Data Recovery Service with a value of $2500. That’s a pretty high level of self confidence! If you do need to take them up on the warranty, IoSafe will take it on themselves to ship out a replacement drive and arrange collection of the defective unit all at their own cost.

The drive I have here, has just spent several hours in the company of IT Support Agency, The Digital Jedi (www.thedigitaljedi.co.uk), who have ran diagnostics on the hard drive over USB2.0 and USB3.0 who reported that drives read/write speed on USB2 were over 27mb per second with speeds of approx. 40mb per second over USB3. It was also reported that the drive was in very good health.

In conclusion, if you’re looking for a drive to keep on a desk (and not in your laptop bag), this is the ideal drive for you. Your data is not only safe and well protected against all the elements, it’s guaranteed thanks to the Data Recovery Service given by IoSafe.

The only downside from my point of view is the size. An obvious side effect from such strong protection but certainly not something that can be carried around with the owner.

You can read the full technical spec here, on the ioSafe website.

Get a price on the IoSafe Solo 1 TB Fireproof and Waterproof External Hard Drive at Amazon.

This review by Paul D Smart Please visit Paul’s website!

View the original article here

Pentax K-5 Firmware 1.01

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Pentax has issued a firmware update for the Pentax K-5 dSLR camera. Version 1.01 increases the number of frames that can be captured in raw format when shooting in burst mode, from 8 to 20. The update also improves overall stability and general performance. The firmware update can be downloaded from the website below.

Website: Pentax K-5 Firmware Update 1.01

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Panasonic Lumix G2 Firmware 1.1

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Panasonic has released a firmware update for the Panasonic G2 compact system camera.

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BMW-Paris Photo Prize Winner Announced

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Under the theme ?Electric Vision?, the 7th edition of the BMW-Paris Photo Prize worth ?12,000, has been awarded to contemporary Hungarian artist G?bor ?sz.

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BMW-Paris Photo Prize Winner Announced

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Under the theme “Electric Vision”, the 7th edition of the BMW-Paris Photo Prize worth €12,000, has been awarded to contemporary Hungarian artist G?bor ?sz. Entitled “Permanent Daylight,” the winning work is part of a series he made in a caravan which he turned into a camera obscura and parked next to a cluster of agricultural greenhouses. The image was made over four successive nights during which the light emanating from these strange, almost unearthly structures slowly reacted with the photosensitive material.Said Michel Frizot, photography historian and member of the 2010 jury: “The originality of G?bor ?sz’s practice is unlike certain standards of today, owing to the fact that he works slowly and without pomposity. His image seems to us to be totally in tune with the theme “Electric vision.”

Website: Paris Photo

Press Release

G?BOR ?SZ, WINNER OF THE 2010 BMW – PARIS PHOTO PRIZE FOR CONTEMPORARY PHOTOGRAPHY

Under the theme “Electric Vision”, the 7th edition of the BMW-Paris Photo Prize worth €12,000, has been awarded to contemporary Hungarian artist G?bor ?sz who is represented by Loevenbruck Gallery in Paris.

Born in 1962 and based in Amsterdam, G?bor ?sz is an important figure on the contemporary Hungarian art scene. Uncluttered in style, his work deals mainly with the observation and relationship between man and the space around him. He uses the camera obscura and the stenope as processes by which he records the surrounding space and the effects of light on photosensitive paper.

Entitled “Permanent Daylight,” (204) the winning work is part of a series he made in a caravan which he turned into a camera obscura and parked next to a cluster of agricultural greenhouses. The image was made over four successive nights during which the light emanating from these strange, almost unearthly structures slowly reacted with the photosensitive material.

Said Michel Frizot, photography historian and member of the 2010 jury: “The originality of G?bor ?sz’s practice is unlike certain standards of today, owing to the fact that he works slowly and without pomposity. His image seems to us to be totally in tune with the theme “Electric vision.” Inspired by BMW’s Concept ActiveE, the theme “Electric Vision” pays tribute to electricity as it shapes the technological future of our societies and transforms our vision of the world.

Carlo Van de Roer, 2010 BMW – Paris Photo Prize special mention

The jury also gave a special mention to Carlos Van de Roer, a photographer from New Zealand born in 1975 and represented by M+B Gallery (Los Angeles). In his work entitled “Miranda July, 2009” he tries to capture the aura of his model using an enhanced Polaroid camera.

The works of the 20 finalists, selected among 52 projects submitted by galleries participating in Paris Photo, are exhibited at the fair from 18th to 21st November 201.

Jury 2010: Presided by Philippe Dehennin, CEO of BMW, France ; Michel Frizot, photography historian (France), F.C. Gundlach, collector (Germany), Jean-Luc Monterosso, director of the Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris (France) , Joanna Mytkowska, curator and director of the MOMA Warsaw (Poland), Anders Petersen, photographer (Sweden)

Short-listed artists exhibited at Paris Photo:

Max Aguilera Hellweg ( Michael Hoppen Gallery, London) / Ortiz Aitor (Galeria Max Estrella, Madrid) / Peter Bialobrzeski (Laurence Miller Gallery, New York) / Jean-Christian Bourcart, (Vu’ La Galerie, Paris) / Sonja Braas (Tanit, Munich/Beirut) / Alejandro Chaskielberg (Yossi Milo Gallery, New York)/Michael Eastman, (Barry Friedman, New York ) / Krisztina Erdei (Lumen Gallery, Budapest) / Timur Gaynutdinov (Serge Plantureux, Paris) / Cig Harvey (Robert Klein Gallery, Boston) / Naoya Hatakeyama, (SAGE Paris) / Laura Kikauka (DNA, Berlin) / Shai Kremer (Robert Koch, San Francisco) /Irene Kung (Forma Galleria, Milan) / Simon Norfolk (Bonni Benrubi Gallery, New York ) / G?bor ?sz (Galerie Loevenbruck, Paris) / Simon Roberts (The Photographers Gallery, London) / Szymon Rogi?ski (Galeria Czarna, Warsaw) / Carlo Van de Roer ( M+B, Los Angeles) / Robert Voit (Robert Morat Gallery, Hamburg).

© G?bor ?sz, Permanent Daylight N°6, 12.1.2004 -16.1.2004, 2004
Courtesy Galerie Loevenbruck, Paris

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$100 Discount on Perfect Photo Suite: DPS Reader Offer

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Today I’m pleased to announce that our friends at OnOneSoftware are offering a special discount on their Perfect Photo Suite of products.

They’re offering $100 discount until 4 December if you use the DPS exclusive code of:

DPSPS

Perfect Photo Suite 5.5 comprises of 7 great tools for photographers that each will work as plugins for Photoshop, Lightroom or Aperture.

In addition to that 5 of the 7 also work as standalone applications without the above tools.

The 7 tools in the Suite (and the problems that they solve) are:

1. Resize images using Perfect Resize 7.


2. Remove unwanted backgrounds with Mask Pro 4.


3. Color correct photos with PhotoTune 3.


4. Put the focus where you want with FocalPoint 2.


5. Get the professional look with PhotoTools 2.6.


6. Add the perfect finishing touch with PhotoFrame 4.6.


7. Add layers to Lightroom & Aperture with Perfect Layers.

Get full details on what’s included and how it all works at Perfect Photo Suite.

Again – remember that to get the $100 discount you need to use the code of DPSPS in the shopping cart before 4 December.

Post from: Digital Photography School

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