Epson P5000 80GB 20,000 track MP3 Media Player

If you never hold a media player, then you would be very surprised with the Epson P-5000. It''s large and very sharp, colourful screen really captures every passers-by. There are many similar products on the market and when I really studied my needs, the Epson is the only choice. As a freelance photographer and a very keen travel photographer too, I used to carry my 15inch Powerbook everywhere I go. It was very heavy and inconvenient by any standard. Therefore, a Media Player/Photo-bank was really what I needed. I bought a very cheap 60GB HD-based Photo bank from HK for around £50 which to my eyes, not sufficient to my use, first, it drained battery together with unstable USB connections and no photo preview feature really let me down. I wouldn''t say that the Epson is a perfect Media Player for its size and speed but as a professional Photo-bank, it''s by far the best on the planet!!! All the ''wish-list'' from any photographer could easily be filled by this genius product. It''s ability to back up thousands of RAW photos and to playback on screen are the true bonus and god-send to any enthusiasts and professionals who shoot RAW a lot. Even for normal photographers, the P-5000 wouldn''t disappoint with its colourful and well saturated screen. It''s button layout and operating system is fool-proof too. If you are used to an iPod, you are certainly family with its logic. The battery also stands up to it''s reputation too. I have backed up 5 or 6 4Gb cards and viewed hundred of photos without depleting the who cell!. However, it''s not perfect. Like I mentioned before, if you are looking for a true media player (to watch movies or photo albums with friends... etc), you should look else where. Probably better buying Zen or even the new iPod Touch. But Epson is able to play MP3, WMV files alike and virtually all video files (except RMVP or any Real Media files). Also, it''s graphic engines seem to be a bit slow in decoding the video and you will always get ''out-of-sync'' video and voice layers (or in other words, words come out a half a second to a second quicker than the graphics). But this is extreme if you have a video file that''s over 800 Mb. Normal small video file (under 600Mb for better result) is fine. Overal, Epson produces the best quality Photo-Bank and an average Media Player. It''s built is also second to none. An absolute joy to use. Now I don''t have to carry my 15in laptop and instead, carry this small machine with an extra lens in my backpack. (so... back to the same weight!) Enjoy if you are buying one and you are a ''true'' photographer!