G-Technology G-Drive ev ATC with Thunderbolt at a glance:
- Price: £180
- Website: www.g-technology.com
I regularly use portable hard drives for taking my images, videos and documents to and from work. However, the finish on them tends to get a little battered and the inevitable knocks my bag takes during the commute have made me realise I may do some damage to the hard disk drive.
There are a few rugged hard disk drives on the market, but G-Technology has come up with a particularly good solution. The G-Drive ev ATC is a hard drive fitted inside a waterproof and drop-proof rugged case. Out of the box, it has a 1TB disk that spins at a rate of 7,200rpm and is available in Thunderbolt or USB 3.0 versions. There’s no need to fiddle about with plugging in external cables, as it’s powered by the Thunderbolt or USB 3.0 connections, and the leads are built into the case and come with a protective rubber cap.
When in the case, the hard disk is rated as being able to withstand a 2m-drop on to a carpeted concrete floor and it can survive in up to 1ft (30cm) of water for up to 30 seconds – but, brilliantly, it floats, so this shouldn’t be too much of an issue. As an added bonus, the case provides pressure resistance and also prevents dust creeping in.
However, the really great part is that it’s compatible with the standard G-Drive ev and G-Drive ev SSD ranges so you can pop out the 1TB disk it comes with and insert another drive. This is useful if you already have a drive, or wish to use an SSD drive for even faster transfer speeds.
I’ve been using the drive for a month or so now – it’s travelled in my bag, been on planes and gone out shooting along with my laptop – and I can’t fault it at all. Obviously, I’ve knocked and kicked it about far more than I’d normally treat a hard disk drive, but it’s still working perfectly.
As for the transfer speed, I’ve been using it with the built-in Thunderbolt lead to store and edit video and as a scratch disk in Adobe Premiere. So far, it’s performed brilliantly all round.
If you’re a photographer or videographer who regularly carries a disk with you, or you sometimes find yourself editing in the field in a far-from-perfect environment, I highly recommend the G-Drive ev ATC with Thunderbolt.
SCORE: 5 out of 5
