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NEWS / 55
Western Digital proves not all desktop hard drives have to be dull, flimsy plastic boxes. Its G-Drives look stylish, and are low and flat so you can stack multiples of them. These new Western Digital drives were actually the Professional range from sister company Sandisk. Now two separate companies, Sandisk sells SSDs while Western Digital focuses on hard drives. These are often the preference for desktop use, where their large- capacity options make them a popular choice. You still get pro-level reliability and build quality with the great value of spinning drives inside. The Western Digital G-Drive series comes in sizes from 4TB all the way up 26TB, and we tried the 24TB version. It uses a rugged chassis that fits neatly onto a desk, fitted with a 7200rpm Ultrastar enterprise-class hard drive. Using a 10Gbps USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 connection, the G-Drive delivers up to 280MB/s read and write speeds, making it fast enough for most needs. It’s not SSD fast, but for a spinning hard drive it’s among the best in its class. Our standard test of moving a 50GB folder of video files to and from a Thunderbolt 4-equipped Mac Studio took a little under three minutes. The adjustable LED light on the front panel is a thoughtful touch, with three brightness levels and a switched off mode to reduce distractions. It’s plug-and-play for Mac users, but can be reformatted for Windows 10 or later. The single USB-C jack means it can’t be daisy-chained to other peripherals, and USB-C is slower than Thunderbolt. With a single drive, it can’t function as a RAID in itself, but it can be set up
TESTED: WESTERN DIGITAL G-DRIVE 24TB Size meets class £695
westerndigital.com
TESTED: SIGMA 17-40MM F/1.8 DC ART
The Art of glass
with another drive as a mirror within a RAID array. For the size, it’s terrific value, speedy and – in our tests – a reliable desktop storage solution.
£779
sigmauk.com
You’ll fall head over heels for this superfast zoom to fit APS-C mirrorless cameras This is the lens that users of crop- sensor mirrorless cameras have been calling for – a mirrorless version of Sigma’s 18-35mm f/1.8 DSLR lens from 2013. Now the 17-40mm f/1.8 DC Art lens is here for crop-sensor mirrorless systems, with a slightly broader focal range and 30% less heft. The constant f/1.8 aperture elevates it above a typical f/2.8 zoom, enabling low-light shooting and rich background separation. It’s particularly sharp in the centre and midfield – even wide open – exhibiting fine detail, high contrast and minimal chromatic aberration thanks to the inclusion of SLD and aspherical elements in its construction. If you’re a pixel-peeper, then edge and corner performance wide open aren’t perfect and there’s some longitudinal chromatic aberration that can show in out-of-focus areas. But in practical use, these aren’t noticeable. For video use, the lens excels in suppressed focus breathing and smooth aperture control. And the stepless aperture ring – or control ring on Canon RF mount – allows fluid changes too. Autofocus, which is driven by the HLA linear motor, is rapid, near silent and impressively precise, even in dim lighting. Sigma’s use of an internal zoom mechanism keeps the lens length constant during use, reducing dust and moisture ingress. At just 535g, with a 67mm filter thread, the lens is travel friendly. Build quality is quite solid, with Thermally Stable Composite housing, dust and splash resistance, a
Verdict
Overall rating 8/10 Stylish and compact desktop hard drive with a large capacity, but a single drive means no RAID
Fast transfer TESTED: SANDISK PROFESSIONAL PRO-G40 SSD 1TB
water- and oil-repellent front coating, two assignable AFL buttons and an aperture lock switch to prevent accidental iris changes. The zoom range, covering an equivalent of approximately 25.5- 60mm on APS-C systems or 27.2- 64mm on Canon RF, delivers flexibility for portraits, environmental storytelling and event shooting without having to swap lenses. And, of course, you get the benefit of the fast f/1.8 aperture that’s great for low light or creative use of bokeh, lending a real three- dimensionality to your footage. Another useful feature is that the lens maintains a 28cm minimum focusing distance across the entire zoom range, so you can get in close for some cool effects – especially shot at f/1.8 – that other lenses can’t match. Sadly, there’s no built-in image stabilisation, but it has everything else and is a major leap forward.
£259 sandisk.com
The Sandisk Professional Pro-G40 SSD is one of the fastest, most robust portable drives currently available. In real-world testing on both a 2022 Apple Mac Studio (M1 Ultra) and 2023 Macbook Pro 16in (M3 Max), the G40 was rapid. Transferring a 50GB folder to the drive took just 51 seconds on the desktop machine and only 17 seconds on the laptop.
Verdict Overall rating 9/10 Incredibly fast and rugged portable SSD, but not the cheapest for the size in APFS for MacOS, but can easily be reformatted for Windows. At £259 for the 1TB version, it’s not the cheapest option, but is certainly worth it for the peace of mind. Larger capacities are 2TB at £330 and 4TB for £500. Designed to be durable, the drive is rated IP68 for water and dust resistance. It’s drop-tested to 3m and can withstand up to 4000lb of crushing force. We’ve used it for months and never had any issues. The drive can handle read speeds up to 3000MB/s and write speeds of 2500MB/s over Thunderbolt 3 or 4. On USB-C 3.2, you will still see 1050MB/s read and 1000MB/s write. The G40 comes pre-formatted
PLANE TO SEE The Sigma Art lens (above) is the perfect size to mount on a Sony A6300, and gives fantastic image quality,
Verdict
Overall rating 9/10 Another unique and very fast zoom from Sigma that APS-C users have been calling for
even shot wide open
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