Apacer Image Tank G2

The concept is great - portable image storage in a fairly rugged package. The industry is one step behind in truly reliable image storage. What is needed is a portable mirrored disk array so that one can trust it as a primary copy source for your CF cards. It seems so simple an idea yet no one is manufacturing it. An opportunity for someone?

The G2 is relatively light and portable without a lot of extra's to worry about. Though it does not have a LCD photo display, I find this to be just fine. I use my camera's LCD to preview anyway and only want a quick way of copying flash cards to disk. Copying from CF to the internal 20gb hard disk is a one-button operation which I appreciate. Well, thats about all the positive stuff I have to say about this product.

The unit is not exactly mil-spec manufactured and it shows in many areas. To start with, the CF card slot is ill fitting and often I have to play with inserting the CF card into correctly wasting time while on a shoot. Next, the control buttons on the face have this rubberized surface that you really have to mash in order to get the button to work. I swear I'm going to break it everytime. Forget using it with gloves for you outdoor photographers and those with fingernails will find it uncomfortable if not impossible to use. Next is the battery life. Well, actually my battery completely died within three months of light use and the only way I can use the unit is with the AC/DC adapter plugged into a wall socket or in my car's lighter plug. Considering that the new battery would only last through one 1-gig card download anyway, I guess that pretty much says it all. Twice, I've had to hard reset the unit due to lock up, and twice it suggested that I run disk diagnostics on it. Both times the diagnostics came back clean but it left me wondering just how reliable the unit is. In fact I don't trust it for any of my important photo session anymore and only use it as a backup device.

Which leads me to the problem of customer support - NONE. Go on-line (Jobo.com) and you will find no addresses or information to order a new battery or upgrade the hard disk. A real risk for a $350 investment.