LaCie 500GB Rugged portable hard drive

I'm thinking of getting this external hd.

Does anyone have nay PROS/CONS with regards to this device?

Thanks!

Lacie doesn't have a particularly good reputation.

Sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeit....

What are the other recommendations?
Or, what do other people use?

At this time, I use smartdisk drives 100GB which work fine.

> Lacie doesn't have a particularly good reputation.

On most drive models I'd agree with you, but here he's talking about the portable, bus-powered Rugged drives. I've actually had a good experience with those, as has Shane Ross, if I remember correctly. At least, they are no better or worse than any other portable drives, and the Lacie Ruggeds' construction is more robust than SmartDisk, Iomega, and even the G-Tech Minis.

However, I wouldn't recommend using these drives for heavy editing. They're good if you have offline-quality footage on a plane or a train (eg. DV), but these drives heat up quite a bit and often have a slower spin speed. Plus they're more susceptible to failure, loss of communication, and dropped frames, because they're bus-powered. If you're looking to build a desktop editing system, I'd suggest full-sized drives with a fan and their own power source. OWC's FireWire drives are very compact, quite light, and stackable.


www.derekmok.com

Yeah I am not a fan of LaCie Desktop drives but have used the Ruggeds extensively and they perform pretty well.

Don't rely on them for hours of extended editing as they heat up considerably and this is when you get issues.

If you can cool them or simply just not edit for hours on end then they should be fine. One client regularly sends a set of 5 Ruggeds full of footage via the post from the UK to Australia and back.



For instant answers to more than one hundred common FCP questions, check out the LAFCPUG FAQ Wiki here : [www.lafcpug.org]

I vote NO on LaCie. Do a forum search. CalDigit is my choice. They also have a "rugged bus-powered mini":

[www.caldigit.com]

Stay away from LaCie IMHO.

When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

The Rugged's are the only LaCie's I have had good experience with. But I also really like the G-Drive mini. That is my laptop workhorse at the moment.


www.shanerosseditor.com

Listen to THE EDIT BAY Podcast on iTunes
[itunes.apple.com]

We're using two Lacie Ruggeds to ship RED/P2 footage back and forth across Canada (Fed-Ex to Manitoba-Ontario-Quebec). Don't use them for editing except a 4 hour train ride where I had ProRes versions of RED files that I used to cut a five minute demo. Drive got too hot after about 4 hours but it was enough to get the job done.
Would never base a project on using the Rugged alone though. Perfect for Photo or Web editing I would say.
I've used the G-Drive Minis. They get pretty hot quickly as well.

ak
Sleeplings, AWAKE!

Yep...no fans in those puppies.

When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

I use these only as DATA TRANSPORT drives. I think of them as FedEx envelopes. I own five of them, but wouldn't trust them with anything that wasn't already on a raid. I have to erase/reformat often due to slowing/directory corruption. Slightly more reliable than other Lacie products (I have sent many of those back for replacement and repair) but Ben is right - the HEAT is astonishing - even when it's not being accessed - if it's plugged in and drawing power - it gets hot enough to broil a three-pound Maine lobster.