Portable photo storage devices
Disc burners
All of these portable CD burners have built-in slots for camera memory cards and don't need to be attached to a computer to work, although you can use them that way too. They burn images directly from your camera media to a CD-R or CD-RW. If you print without a computer at home, you can use these to archive your image files while remaining PC-free. Most companies periodically upgrade their firmware to support new file types and features, so check with the vendor's Web site to make sure you have the latest version before taking one of these on a trip.
| Description | Pros and cons | Performance and specs |
Alera Technologies Digital Photo Copy Cruiser
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Pros: Solidly built; simple operation; doubles as USB card reader; multisession burning; spans CDs for recording large-capacity memory cards
Cons: Difficulty reading CompactFlash card FAT; limited control-panel information; no video out or DVD playback; no battery power |
Burn time: N/A (see note on how we test below)
Weight and size: 1 pound, 15.4 ounces; 6 by 8 by 1.5 inches
Interfaces: USB 2.0 and headphone jack
Supported camera media: CompactFlash Types I and II; SmartMedia; Microdrive; Memory Stick; Memory Stick Pro; SD/MMC
Display: Status LCD
Power supply: Included AC adapter; optional cigarette-lighter adapter available |
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Apacer Disc Steno CP200
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Pros: Fairly compact design; battery powered; DVD and audio CD playback; spans CDs for recording from a high-capacity card; multisession burning
Cons: No image display on device |
Burn time: 12 minutes, 15 seconds (secure mode); 5 minutes, 54 seconds (fast mode) (see note on how we test below)
Battery life: N/A (see note on how we test below)
Weight and size: 1 pound, 9 ounces; 6 by 7 by 1.25 inches
Interfaces: USB 2.0; RCA video out; headphone jack
Supported camera media: CompactFlash Types I and II; SmartMedia; Memory Stick; Memory Stick Pro; SD/MMC
Display: Status LCD; JPEG photo and MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 video output to NTSC or PAL TV with photo rotate, zoom, and slide-show functions
Power supply: Included AC adapter; interchangeable and rechargeable 1,800mAh lithium-ion battery |
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Kanguru FC-RW portable flash-card burner
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Pros: Compact design; audio CD playback; multisession burning; works as a USB card reader
Cons: Bulky; no image display on device or output to TV; doesn't span CDs for recording more than 700MB from one card; no battery power; top-loading lid hard to open; limited information on status LCD; no DVD playback |
Burn time: 7 minutes, 35 seconds (see note on how we test below)
Weight and size: 1 pound, 13.1 ounces; 8 by 6 by 1.75 inches
Interfaces: USB 2.0; headphone jack
Supported camera media: CompactFlash Types I and II, SmartMedia, Microdrive, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, SD/MMC
Display: Status LCD
Power supply: Included AC adapter |
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Micro Solutions RoadStor
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Pros: Compact design; battery powered; DVD and audio CD playback; S-Video for output to TV; spans CDs for recording from a high-capacity card; multisession burning; comes with well-made travel case
Cons: Slow burning; no image display on device; doesn't record well with generic CD-Rs; volume control for headphones via remote only |
Burn time: 26 minutes, 42 seconds (see note on how we test below)
Battery life: TKTK (see note on how we test below)
Weight and size: 1 pound, 9.3 ounces; 1.4 by 5.4 by 7 inches
Interfaces: USB 2.0; RCA and S-Video out; headphone jack
Supported camera media: SmartMedia, SD/MMC, Memory Stick, CompactFlash Types I and II, MicroDrive, xD-Picture Card with optional adapter
Display: Status LCD; JPEG photo and MPEG video output to NTSC or PAL TV with photo rotate, zoom, and slide-show functions
Power supply: Included AC adapter; interchangeable and rechargeable 2,200mAh lithium-ion battery |
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Nixvue Vizor
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Pros: Image and thumbnail index display on LCD; menu-driven controls; audio CD playback; displays TIFFs and some RAW files; spans CDs for recording from a high-capacity card; multisession burning; file-transfer verification
Cons: No battery power; no power switch; slow menu navigation and display; no DVD playback; remote control costs extra |
Burn time: 7 minutes, 35 seconds (see note on how we test below)
Weight and size: 1 pound, 6.6 ounces; 5 by 6.75 by 2.125 inches
Interfaces: USB 2.0; RCA video out; headphone jack
Supported camera media: SD/MMC, Memory Stick, CompactFlash Types I and II, SmartMedia and xD-Picture Card with optional adapters
Display: Monochrome LCD; optional 2.5-inch color LCD; JPEG, TIFF, BMP, and selected RAW photo and MPEG video output to NTSC or PAL TV with photo rotate, zoom, pan, slide-show, and EXIF display functions
Power supply: Included AC adapter; optional cigarette-lighter adapter available |
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Burn time: In our burn-time test, we record 486MB of data, which includes 76 image files of various types and sizes, from a 512MB SanDisk Ultra CompactFlash card to a CD-R.
Battery life: In our battery-life test, we fully charge the device's included battery, then run our burn-time test (above) repeatedly until the battery dies. If the device has an LCD, we allow it to leave the screen on or automatically shut it off during downloads, according to its default functioning. Please note that viewing images on an LCD between downloads will result in shorter battery life.
Battery life: In our battery-life test, we fully charge the device's included battery, then run our burn-time test (above) repeatedly until the battery dies. If the device has an LCD, we allow it to leave the screen on or automatically shut it off during downloads, according to its default functioning. Please note that viewing images on an LCD between downloads will result in shorter battery life.
