Starting Out
On a recent trip to Thailand and Cambodia, I used an Archos Gmini 220 and Apacer Disc Steno CP-200 while shooting 100% digital. Over 10 days we (my fiancée and I) went to Angkor Wat in Cambodia then to Thailand where we spent time in Krabi, Prachuapkhirikhan and finally Bangkok.

Angkor Wat, Cambodia

Any tourist guide will tell you that now is the worst time to go because of the weather and it was certainly very hot and humid the whole time we were there. But it was made manageable with a wide-brimmed hat, sunscreen and plenty of fluids. We had a fantastic trip and we brought home some great photos and experiences.

Choosing My Gadgets - Why Not a Laptop?
Initially, bringing along my Dell laptop seemed like the obvious choice until I realized how heavy it was to carry around and how much space it took up (despite using the excellent Lightware Digital Backpack). Initially I began looking into smaller laptops, but decided I wanted to have a second backup option so that my photos were backed up in two places at all times. Having two laptops was obviously not a consideration, and a second laptop would most likely sit in the corner and collect dust after the trip. A portable backup device, on the other hand, might have some real use on future trips and photo shoots. So I decided that rather than buying a new, smaller (and more expensive) laptop, I'd look into another way of backing up and storing my images.

Angkor Wat, Cambodia

My Choices
After spending a considerable amount of time looking at various portable hard drive devices (and reading many opinions about them on various messageboards), I decided that a combination of a CD-based backup device and a hard disk-based backup device would do a pretty good job in protecting my images. Along those lines, I decided on the Apacer Disc Steno CP-200, since it supported disk spanning (i.e. I could copy most of a 1GB compact flash card to one CD and the rest to the next CD) and seemed to have a decent battery life. Secondly, I chose the Archos Gmini 220, which I think is a fantastic, overlooked mp3 player/photo wallet etc. I looked seriously at the iPod/Belkin Media Reader (since I already own an iPod), but few people had anything good to say about it given the slow transfer times and how little data can be transferred before the iPod's battery runs out.

The Apacer Disc Steno CP-200, about $260.	The Archos Gmini 220, about $300. It came with a little rubber/plastic cover over the screen which I decided to just leave on as protection (hence the weird glare you see in this picture).
Here's a little size comparison between my laptop and the Archos and Apacer. The Apacer is about 2/3 the thickness of the laptop. The weight of the two backup devices, plus the case of blank CD-Rs, is about 1/3 to 1/2 the weight of the laptop.
Just for kicks, here's a size comparison between the Archos and the 10GB iPod. You can see that the Archos is smaller. The Archos is a bit thicker though.

Using the Apacer Disc Steno CP-200
Honestly, there's not a lot to say about the Apacer, it works as advertised. When I copied 1GB cards, it would write the first disk and then ask me to insert the 2nd disk and be on its way. I ended up burning about 14 disks total and charged the Apacer once about halfway through the trip. As a quick workflow note, I should have brought white printable CDs instead of Mitsui Gold CDs, since it's easier to write on the former with a marker.

In Fast Burn Mode from a 512MB Lexar 32x Compact Flash card, the burn took just over 5 minutes, while in Secure Burn Mode (where the CP200 verifies that the data has been copied) it took 8 minutes, 45 seconds. Given the time difference, I always used the Fast Burn. I burned a new CD for each card, though the manual seems to suggest you can use multiple cards on the same CD, until the CD is full. I imagine that we'll eventually see a DVD version of the Apacer though I'd be wary of having thousands of images on a single disk.

Angkor Wat, Cambodia

The Archos Gmini 220 - First Impressions
I'll say outright that I'm very happy with how the Gmini worked. It's small and works well as an mp3 player (a nice review comparing it to the iPod here) as well as a photo backup device. It also feels built reasonably well - the side edges are rubber, which makes it easy to grip and presumably more shock-absorbent.

Angkor Wat, Cambodia

The Gmini I got had a sticker on the product manual that said "Special Offer, Photo Wallet & Recording Plug-ins Preloaded." In reading about it, I learned these plug-ins may cost money at some point but were loaded free for the time being. I'm not sure how happy I'd be about having to pay more just to load some software to activate features that were already available on the Gmini.

Angkor Wat, Cambodia

The OS of the Archos is well-responsive and easy to use. Copying CF cards over just takes 3 quick button pushes, and playing MP3s is just as easy. It's simple to navigate the file system on the Gmini - not dissimilar to a Windows Explorer interface. Clicking on an mp3 file will begin playing the mp3, and clicking on a picture will immediately display the grayscale preview. The interface certainly doesn't even approach the quality/usability of the iPod but it works well for what it does. I did note a slight pause if you press a button after not doing so for a while, probably due to the hard drive spinning up.

Bangkok, Thailand

I turned off the blue backlight for my entire trip to save batteries, though the battery life seemed good overall. I charged the Gmini once on the trip at about day 5 and never had any problems. I shot about 10 gigs of images and also used the mp3 player on the plane to and from Thailand and Cambodia. Having the ability to play mp3s is one of the major advantages this player has over many of the other hard drive-based photo wallets on the market (notable exceptions being the Visonic X-Drive and the SmartDisk Flashtrax, both of which look interesting as well).

Gripes

Here's the image browser with the blue backlight on. Scrolling through the images is very fast, but the image quality is weak.

The screen on the Gmini is mediocre - it gives a grayscale low-res version of the image. This may be enough to ensure that the image copied correctly, but you certainly can't check focus or exposure with it. A color screen would be nice (as well as a Histogram and EXIF tag viewer), though I imagine this would take up significantly more battery power.

20 gigs is decent, but I'd like to have more space than this for longer trips or large photo shoots. The manual does mention a Gmini 240 that has a 40 gig drive which will presumably be out soon.

The transfer time from CF cards is unremarkable - it took 8 minutes to copy a 512MB Lexar 32Mx Compact Flash card. It'd be great to have transfer speeds comparable to the Delkin 32-bit reader.

The Compact Flash slot has a rubber covering which feels a little flimsy and is quite hard to open. A nice latched door would be a welcome addition.

In the Field & Workflow
Cambodia and Thailand are very hot, humid and dusty in March/April. I kept the Gmini 220 with me in my camera bag at all times and it got bumped around, dusty and subject to full days of hot weather and humidity.

Backing up images on a motorized tuk-tuk as we rode over bumpy roads was no problem.

One day I backed up my images as we rode over bumpy paved and dirt roads on the way between temples of Angkor Wat. I never had a problem with the Gmini the entire time - it held up admirably.

Most days, I backed up all the images I shot at night in our guesthouse. Each card would be backed up to CD and to the Gmini. The devices would be in different places during the day, with the Gmini in my bag, and the Apacer and media in a locked suitcase in our room (usually in a closet or otherwise tucked away). This ensured that I always had at least one copy of the photos on me.

I used electrical converters to charge both devices, though I only needed to do this once about midway through the trip - and even then each device was at about half charge.

Equipment
I used a Canon EOS-10D (and brought along a Digital Rebel as a backup). On most days, I'd carry a Domke F5-XB with an Op-Tech strap. In it would be the Gmini 220, a Canon 17-35mm, Canon 24mm/1.4, Canon 50mm/1.4 and a Sigma 14mm (with one of these lenses on the camera) and an assortment of flash cards. I also had a Tamrac lens case attached to my belt that held a Canon 70-200mm. If this was work rather than vacation, I'd probably bring along a 24mm-70mm and a flash as well.

In Conclusion
I think having at least two backup devices is a necessity when shooting digitally. I could deal with losing my camera/lenses (they're insured), but losing all my photos from the trip would be devastating. Having the data on a static media (CD-Rs) seems more secure though it means keeping track of all the CDs. The hard drive option is easier and more convenient but seems more prone to failure - at least in anecdotal experience. The combination of these two devices isn't a perfect solution, but it worked for me and my photos on this trip.

4/9/04 Update - To answer a common question I've been receiving - Canon RAW (.CRW) files can be copied over to the Gmini (and Apacer) but not displayed.

Comments are appreciated and can be directed to steve@stephenvoss.com.

All Photos and Words Copyright © 2004 Stephen Voss
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