Photography News Issue 49

Photography News | Issue 49 | photographynews.co.uk

First tests

Accessories First tests We get our hands on the latest kit and share our first impressions – so you know whether or not to add it to your wish list

Reviews by Will Cheung and Kingsley Singleton

SamsungPortable SSDT52TB £759.49

Specs

Prices 2GB £759.49; 250GB £125.49; 500GB £192.49; 1TB £384.89 Availability 250GB, 500GB Alluring Blue; 1TB, 2TB, Deep Black In the box 2TB SSD, USB 3.1 Type-C to A cable, USB 3.1 Type-C to C cable Transfer speed Up to 540MB/s Interface USB Type C, 3.1 Gen 2, backwards compatible Security Samsung Portable SSD software compatible with Windows 7 or higher, Max OSX Mavericks, Yosemite, El Capitan and Sierra, Android 4.4 (KitKat) and higher Shock resistance From up to 2m (tested under controlled conditions) Operating temperature 0-60°C Operating humidity 65°C Dimensions 74x57.3x10.5mm Weight 51g Contact samsung.com/T5 The T5 is at home in a front pocket or a shirt/blouse pocket and as it weighs just 51g you don’t really notice it. Small is beautiful certainly rings true with the T5

Flash memory and solid state drives (SSD) are more reliable thanks to the lack of moving parts than conventional hard drives and they offer better performance than conventional hard drives too, with quicker read/write, data access and start-up times. Fact. Given the advantages you won’t be surprised that SSDs are significantly more expensive and don’t offer the large capacities of hard drives. If outright capacity at affordable prices is your need then traditional hard drives is the way to go, and that situation is unlikely to change for a little while. If you value speed and reliability, then the Samsung Portable SSD T5 could be for you. The range offers four capacities: 250GB, 500TB, 1TB and 2TB, starting at £125.49. The two smaller sizes are available in Alluring Blue, while the two bigger drives are sold in Deep Black only. These high spec SSDs have the added benefit of small size and I have been trying the 2TB version for the past month or so. As I get around a lot, I have my work in progress material on a Seagate 2TB drive and while this is portable and compact, put it

alongside the T5 and it looks huge. The T5 is literally half the size and a few millimetres slimmer too. While the Seagate drive is pocketable you know it’s there and it’s not so comfortable in the back trouser pocket. By comparison, the T5 is at home in a front pocket or a shirt/ blouse pocket and as it weighs just 51g you don’t really notice it. Small is beautiful certainly rings true with the T5. Performance-wise, the T5 was not a let-down either. Using the Black Magic Disk Speed Test app, write speedwas tested at 418.8MB/s and read speed at 425.5MB/s. To get the most from the T5 you need USB-C compatible hardware, but even using it on a typical USB3.0 connection I was getting 102MB/s, which is impressive. Speed is one thing, security is another. The provided software provides security, and it’s downloadable from Samsung’s website too should you format the drive. To sum up, Samsung’s Portable SSD T5 2TB is a lovely piece of kit. I used one as my work drive for a couple of weeks which meant it travelled around in my camera bag

or stuffed into a pocket when not connected up. It didn’t fail once, and the lightning fast write/read times were really useful. I appreciate the T5 even more now that I’m back with my old Seagate drive.

Verdict

Pros Tiny, reliability, speed, supplied cables with Velcro ties which is a nice touch Cons SSD prices are higher than traditional hard drives Stable, secure and safe data storage is very, very important. The Samsung T5 SSDs not only fulfil all those needs but do so in a really portable and compact package, making it perfect for on the move image creators. The 2TB version is by nomeans cheap but SSDs are more expensive than traditional hard drives anyway, and the T5’s blistering speedmakes it a worthwhile buy. If you don’t need the 2TB capacity, the 250GB version is a very attractive £125.49 and if you needmore capacity than that on the move, perhaps you should take a close look at your workflow.

Image To demonstrate just how petite the Samsung Portable SSD T5 is, here it is shown alongside a credit card and an SD card. It is also very slim, just 10.5mm, so perfect for slipping into the work bag – or your shirt pocket.