Personal storage device
Encyclopedia
A portable storage device (PSD) is a small hard drive designed to hold any kind of digital data. This is slightly different from a portable media player
, which stores and plays music
and movies.
Some are fixed size hard drives of 256GB, 320GB, etc. Newer units are expandable using 2.5" laptop hard drives, allowing for an unlimited storage capacity, which is useful for video and images.
When travelling, a portable storage device may be a useful alternative to backing up or purging memory card
s if a computer is unavailable for downloading.
s (RAW
data), transferred from a digital camera
.
Many PSDs will connect directly to a camera and copy the images, or they may provide a slot for a memory card to plug in, with or without a card reader
device. Some early models allow the user to review the images on a colour screen, but at the top end of the market.
Portable media player
A portable media player or digital audio player, is a consumer electronics device that is capable of storing and playing digital media such as audio, images, video, documents, etc. the data is typically stored on a hard drive, microdrive, or flash memory. In contrast, analog portable audio...
, which stores and plays music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
and movies.
Some are fixed size hard drives of 256GB, 320GB, etc. Newer units are expandable using 2.5" laptop hard drives, allowing for an unlimited storage capacity, which is useful for video and images.
When travelling, a portable storage device may be a useful alternative to backing up or purging memory card
Memory card
A memory card or flash card is an electronic flash memory data storage device used for storing digital information. They are commonly used in many electronic devices, including digital cameras, mobile phones, laptop computers, MP3 players, and video game consoles...
s if a computer is unavailable for downloading.
Photography
One type of data that may be stored is digital photographPhotograph
A photograph is an image created by light falling on a light-sensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic imager such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are created using a camera, which uses a lens to focus the scene's visible wavelengths of light into a reproduction of...
s (RAW
RAW image format
A camera raw image file contains minimally processed data from the image sensor of either a digital camera, image scanner, or motion picture film scanner. Raw files are so named because they are not yet processed and therefore are not ready to be printed or edited with a bitmap graphics editor...
data), transferred from a digital camera
Digital camera
A digital camera is a camera that takes video or still photographs, or both, digitally by recording images via an electronic image sensor. It is the main device used in the field of digital photography...
.
Many PSDs will connect directly to a camera and copy the images, or they may provide a slot for a memory card to plug in, with or without a card reader
Card reader
A card reader is a data input device that reads data from a card-shaped storage medium. Historically, paper or cardboard punched cards were used throughout the first several decades of the computer industry to store information and programs for computer system, and were read by punched card readers...
device. Some early models allow the user to review the images on a colour screen, but at the top end of the market.
See also
- computer storageComputer storageComputer data storage, often called storage or memory, refers to computer components and recording media that retain digital data. Data storage is one of the core functions and fundamental components of computers....
- Mass Storage Digital ClassMSDCThe MSDC option in digital cameras stands for Mass Storage Device Class. It is one of the many subclasses of the USB computer peripheral connection protocol....
(MSDC)