Home > Consumer Reviews > Epson P-3000 40GB Multimedia Storage Drive, Viewer, and Audio-Video Player w/ 4-Inch LCD

This is my first experience with this sort of device. It does everything it says it will do, does it fast, and the resulting images are bright, sharp and clear. The navigation system is easy to figure out and very user friendly. The device comes with built-in slots for Compact Flash and SD memory cards. The instruction book says you can buy a 3rd party Compact Flash Card adapter which can then be plugged into the CF card slot so that other memory card types can be used. YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO THAT!!! If you already have a multi-card reader and a USB cord, just plug your reader in to the USB port, then scroll in the menu to "Read USB Device", and bingo, it happily looks at whatever card you have. So far, a very satisfactory purchase. I wish the 80 Gb model wasn't so expensive (I bought the 40). No where in advertising or instructions is any mention made of recharging the battery. It happens automatically whenever you plug in the AC adapter. Be aware, spare batteries are VERY PRICEY! So is this device, but it is worth it.

As an amature photographer, I have limited funds for equipment. I try to buy the best that I can afford. I wanted an Epson P5000, but settled on the P3000 which was more affordable. This has been one of my best purchases, it is versitle, easy to use and provides on the spot, in the field review that can't be equaled. As I was reviewing some photos at White Sands National Monument, several people stopped by to see them and all were impressed with the P3000. I'm sure you will get many more orders even if half of people buy it. Excellent product and I would like to add that Amazon is a user friendly place to shop.
Bob

I tried it for the first time the other day as a back up. I used a CF card from my Canon 20D - it downloaded 2GB of RAW files in less than 15 minutes and you can view the RAW files very quickly (it's quicker than Adobe Bridge loading!!). The transfer to my computer was very quick -- I had about a total of 4 GB of RAW and JPG and it took about 5 mn to download using the Epson program. I also backed up a SD card from my little point and shoot and it was very quick (2GB of JPG and video) - about 5 mn. I am very excited to use it in the future!!

I bought this drive for my wife who is a photographer. She was always worried about having enough camera cards with her on photo shoots, and if she was out of town, she couldn't review her work easily. With the Epson P-3000 however, she is able to download her photos daily, see them on a beautiful screen, and feel confident in erasing her camera cards. Plus she has transferred all her music onto the P-3000, and has a couple of movies as well that she can watch on the plane. This is a really great piece of equipment.

I also found that this product is more bulky than an iPod, but I don't believe that their purpose is the same. The P-300 can store thousands of music files, and it plays movies too. But I see its primary purpose as an easily transported and stored field back-up device for photographers. For this purpose the P-3000 is near perfect. If only I could have afforded the P-6000 at 80 GB. It uploads RAW filed swiftly after a day's shoot and provides another tier of security. The view screen is large and clear, making it makes it easier to view photos and delete those you don't want. Even the smallest notebook computers are large and bulky when compared to the P-300, so if you prefer to shoot without a laptop handy, this product is an excellent substitute.