Will PhotoMechanic ingest from HyperDrives

[TiggerGTO]

Hi,
I just got a Hyperdrive Space (http://www.hypershop.com/shop/) which is essentially a notebook disk with a card reader built around it and a USB port.  Each time you insert a card, it automatically transfers the card to the hard disk.  It creates a new directory in the root of the hard disk and then makes an exact copy of the memory card in that directory.  So, the images end up being nested one level deeper than normal.  I would like to know if PhotoMechanic will be able to ingest these multiple memory card images on the Hyperdrive.  As an example, the transfer function in Nikon View does not see the images on the Hyperdrive because they are not where it expects them to be.

Thanks,
Danny

[Kevin M. Cox]

Danny, I don't know for 100% but if the Hyperdrive shows up as a regular drive or disk on the computer then Ingesting should work fine. Photo Mechanic doesn't care about the file structure of the device, it'll search out and download any images it finds. You can also specify an individual folder for Ingest if you don't want to Ingest the entire device each time.

You also have the option on the Ingest dialog to have Photo Mechanic either preserve the directory structure it finds on the disk, or take all the photos it finds and mesh them into a single directory.

However, I'd suggest just downloading the demo and trying it yourself.
http://w.camerabits.com/pages/demoreg.cgi
Make sure to report back afterwards with the results so others will know for the future.

[TiggerGTO]

Yes, when you plug the HyperDrive into a USB port, it looks like a regular external disk drive.  So if you look at the root of a flash card from a Nikon, it will look something like this: DCIM\100ND200\_DSC5425.NEF.  If you look at the HyperDrive after it consumes this card, the directory will look something like this:  \SPACE000\DCIM\100ND200\etc. and \SPACE001\DCIM\100ND200\etc. for the second card it consumes.

I'll pull down the demo when I get a chance.  I was just hoping that somebody might already have first hand experience ingesting images from a HyperDrive with PM.

Thanks,
Danny

[Kirk Baker]

Yes, when you plug the HyperDrive into a USB port, it looks like a regular external disk drive.  So if you look at the root of a flash card from a Nikon, it will look something like this: DCIM\100ND200\_DSC5425.NEF.  If you look at the HyperDrive after it consumes this card, the directory will look something like this:  \SPACE000\DCIM\100ND200\etc. and \SPACE001\DCIM\100ND200\etc. for the second card it consumes.

I'll pull down the demo when I get a chance.  I was just hoping that somebody might already have first hand experience ingesting images from a HyperDrive with PM.

While I have no experience with that particular product, I am very certain that it will work in either of the two Ingest modes: entire disk, or folders.  In the case of the entire disk Ingest it will recursively scan the entire device so those SPACEXYZ folders will not cause a problem.  In the folder Ingest, you can pick a specific folder to start the Ingest from (so you don't have to scan the entire drive.)

It should work either way.

HTH,

-Kirk

[Josh_Hawkins]

Danny,

I've used a Hyperdrive 70x with PM for most of the last year.  I just got a space but haven't had a chance to use it yet.  With the PD70x, the easiest way for me to use it was to set it to download the entire disk, and check for what it had previously downloaded and maintain the file structure. 

I download the entire disk that way I make sure it checks all the folders and I don't screw up and forget one.  Takes a little bit longer but I'd rather be safe.

I have it check what it has already downloaded (incremental ingest) so that way only downloads whats been added since the last download.  I like to leave my data in as many places as possible in case of a hard drive crash.  In this case it's a little silly, yes, but it makes me happy.

I have it maintain the file structure becauase I don't want to end up with one folder being 20gb because I had a busy day.  That way it always keeps the folders at 1gb, which is my largest card size.  It adds more, and unnecessary depth, to the folder structure, but it's not a big deal. 

I also set it to open folders after ingest.  This way I'm ready to select as soon it's done downloading.

I'd be happy to offer any other experiences I've had if you need suggestions.  And personally, the combo works well, with the right settings.

Josh Hawkins

[TiggerGTO]

Thanks Kirk and Josh.  I bought the Hyperdrive mainly because I am going on a big photo trip this fall.  I don't know whether I will have a laptop that I can take with me.  I figured getting a Hyperdrive would be much cheaper than getting a whole stack of flash memory cards.  Although, the price for cards does keep coming down.  Anyways even if I have enough cards, I have the security of putting my data into more than one place before I can get home and download.

[frush]

I have the Hyperdrive HD80.   And Windows XP Pro is my systems's O/S.

The HyperDrive HD80 mounts on the Windows box like any other USB hard drive and has the following file structure:

K:.
├───CARD0000.UHS
│   └───DCIM
│       └───100NCD70
└───CARD0003.UHS
    └───DCIM
        └───100ND200

Photo Mechanic 4.4.3.3 does just fine ingesting the disk in DRIVE modes (everything!) or in Directory Mode.

It should be noted, that if you recycle a previously used laptop hard drive, without reformatting it, Photo Mechanic will not ingest files in DRIVE mode.  This is because it sees the Windows System Files in the root directory, and decides not to work with the drive.   The lesson here is, use the HD80 to re-format any previously used drive that you use.

--
Ray Frush