Nikon MSV-01 Coolwalker - Portable Storage Device

I have a number of Arctic trips coming up 2005-06, trips where taking the notebook is simply not a wise choice (and I'm one who drags it nearly everywhere). So I've been looking at portable card reader / storage devices and I have to admit, finding one that I can ~trust~ is a whole lot easier said then done. In that search, I've tried the Nikon Coolwalker (who came up with that name) MSV-01. At first, I was really quite disappointed in the MSV-01 because it didn't work. It was DOA! Thanks goodness, that initial problem has been readily solved with the new firmware 1.2 (released 01.13.05 and can be downloaded from Nikon USA Digital Database.

There are three basic factors I'm looking for in this unit, image display, battery power and reliability. The first “other brand” I tested was a miserable experience, the first experience with the MSV-01 wasn't much better. I'm happy to report that the new firmware has made the Coolwalker a viable option. This is what I've found.

Image Display

The image display on the device I finally select has to be good enough that I can make some judgment calls. That means for me, it has to be better then the display on the camera. This is because I ~always~ go through my images each night after they've been taken. Being able to see what I did right, wrong or didn't capture has become an essential part of my workflow. Finding one of these handheld units that satisfies that need is really hard to find folks IMHO!

The display on the MSV-01 is a 2.5”, TFT color LCD 117,600 pixels (490x240). What does that translate to? The D1 has a 114,000 2” display and the D2H has 2.5-in., 211,200 display. The MSV-01 falls somewhere in between and is a pretty good display but not killer. I found by raising the display brightness to 10 (default is 8) that a slight improvement could be made. The display is such you can see images in daylight. In a darken area and with fresh eyes, I think the display will be good enough for a short term means of uploading images and learning from them.

The MSV-01 offers a number of viewing options. You can see 3x3 thumbnails, full screen-single image (with various information screens or no info) with the ability to zoom in (Jpegs only) 2x, 4x and 8x. The MSV-01 will display Jpegs, Nefs and TIFFS along with other QuickTime & Wav files.

Just for the fun of it, since it has the ability, I transferred some of my ~big~ Photoshop TIFF files to the Coolwalker and plugged it into the TV for a little show (the MSV-01 comes with a remote control for doing just this). It worked pretty darn impressively in this manor. But since taking a TV into the tundra rather defeats the portability concept, this was just an experiment in fun that might fit in some point to teaching. It does work, that's the main thing.

Battery Power

Now, there's the kicker, isn't folks! Just how much operational time can you get out these units is the key to whether they are a useable tool. They specs tell me that EN-EL6 Li-ion battery should provide approximate 1.5hrs of playback life. What about upload time, how many cards can I upload with that one battery fully charged? (The display is designed as such as part of conserving battery power. Bigger and brighter eats more power.)

Using a Lexar 2Gb 80x card, filled with 567 Raw +Jpeg Fine images (so that's 1134 files) and the MSV-01 coming fresh off the wall, fully charged, it took 24 minutes to upload consuming approximate 1 of the battery charge (using the Copy CF card – HDD command). The second upload of 558 Raw +Jpeg Fine images (that's 1116 files) took 23mins and consumed 1 of the battery power taking the charge down to less then 1 left. Letting the MSV-01 sit for a minute, the battery indicator came back up to 1 full. The third upload of 567 Raw +Jpeg Fine took 24mins and the MSV-01 to 1 battery power. So, that means you can basically upload 6Gb of images and quickly look at them with one charge. If you zoom in on the images, edit and the like, you won't make it through all 6Gb of images.

Charge time is 4.5 hours with AC! At this moment, there is no DC adapter for the MSV-01. For a unit that is portable, that seems a bit silly to me. It would be great for my application because I could then plug it into my solar panel and not worry about battery power.

Reliability

If you're running any firmware other than 1.2, don't use the Coolwalker. With firmware 1.2 though, I've found the MSV-01 to be ~very~ reliable! It is a moving hard drive, spinning it's little life away to move and display images. There are seemingly tons of warnings in the instruction book about what to do and not to do when using the MSV-01. They are reasonable warnings since we are working with a hard drive. But then again, it's a portable unit meant to be used in the field so to me, it better be able to take some “hard” use.

The first thing that caught me attention when I read the IB is that the MSV-01 is not to be used above 8202' in elevation. My driveway is exactly 8200' in elevation and I'm using the MSV-01 in my office which is on the 2nd floor so I'm not really sure about that warning, but all is okie dokie. There are warning about using the unit flat when uploading and not moving it around. Well…didn't heed that warning either and the MSV-01 just kept on working just fine. Would I pound in tent stakes with the MSV-01, na... But I don't think one needs to be a priss with it either.

The MSV-01 does come with a nice case. It fits well and gives it good protection. The finish on the MSV-01 will scratch real easily and the rubber door-flange that covers the power socket isn't the most secure. The door for the CF card (the MSV-01 accepts Type I & II) seems pretty solid which is nice. So when it comes to reliability, after three months of testing I would say the MSV-01 rates as one of the better units I've personally tested.

Misc Trivia

The MSV-01 is a nice, small size 3.2x5.1x1.4” and weighing in at 12.4oz in weight. It holds a 30Gb hard drive which means you have about 28Gb of storage space. It works with USB2 and with XP, was instantly recognized and useable. You can plug the MSV-01 directly into a printer and print. This might be a good solution for event shooters but it's something I've not personally played with.

As for my personal recommendations, I like the MSV-01 the best of the units I've tested so far. I'm not done testing though, so that might change. I can tell you that whatever device I get for my needs, I'll have two of them! I'll always copy the files from the CF card to the unit and upload each card to each unit prior to reformatting the card. You can read all the factory specs for more details here.

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